Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131708 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 527(@250wpm)___ 439(@300wpm)
My mistake.
Prophet slowly and woodenly turned to face her, releasing the office door as he did so. It steadily swung open, and her gaze slammed on Viper. He was pushing out of his seat, his broad shoulders tense, his face hard.
Ella glared at him, dropping her glamor, barely holding back a snarl. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her jaw hurt from how tightly she clenched it. Her demon longed to punch him in the throat.
Dice took one step toward Mia, and Ella sensed her sister stiffen; heard her low hiss of fury. He halted, his lips thinning,
“Prophet, get gone,” Viper ordered, the words coated in frost.
The angel disappeared fast.
Viper’s eyes flew back to Ella as his expression softened. “Baby, come inside,” he urged, his tone beseeching. “You too, Mia. Jester, give us some privacy, would you?”
“You got it.” Jester stalked out.
Ella half-considered pivoting on her heel and marching out of the club. But, no. No, she was going to give this lying son of a bitch a verbal ass-reaming before she did.
Barging into the office, she bared her teeth at him. “You are such a hypocritical fucker. You don’t want me sleeping with other guys, but you’re fine having other women in your bed.”
He lifted his palms, skirting around his desk. “Baby, you’ve got it all wrong,” he swore.
Dice tried taking Mia’s arm, but she flinched away with a growled, “Don’t.”
“It isn’t what you think,” the VP told her.
As he and Mia began to argue, Ella took an angry step toward Viper and said, “I believed you. I actually believed you when you assured me there’d be no one else. More fucking fool me.”
Viper dropped his arms to his sides. “There hasn’t been anyone else, Ella.”
“Other than for the brunette, you mean?”
His jaw went tight. “She’s not someone I fuck.”
“So, what, she’s all about blowjobs and hand jobs? Because that counts as cheating, in my book.”
Viper prowled to her, his face solemn. “I swear to you, I haven’t touched another women since you; none have touched me. What Prophet said … It doesn’t mean what you think it does.”
Ella guffawed. “What else could her being a regular possibly mean?”
He pressed his lips tight together.
She felt her mouth twist into a bitter smile as hot tears stung her eyes. “Right.”
He covered the space between them in a blur of movement and caught her face with his hands. “Every word I’ve said is the truth.”
He looked so earnest it was difficult to doubt his words, but how could she not? “Then explain what he meant by ‘regular’.”
Viper drew in a deep breath and looked beyond her—something he often did when she asked him questions. “Some secrets aren’t only mine to share, you get me?” he asked, his eyes returning to hers. “If you react badly, if you tell others, a lot of people could be affected. Even killed.”
Ella’s skin chilled at the grave note to his voice. He wasn’t being dramatic here. This whole ‘regular’ thing was strongly linked to one of the things he’d so far kept from her. “Those people being your brothers,” she guessed.
“They rely on me to keep them safe.”
Ella licked her lips, only then becoming aware that her sister and Dice had fallen silent. She looked their way. He was rubbing at his nape while Mia—who’d now also dropped her glamor—stood with her hands on her hips, her chin up in challenge … as if daring him to cough up a truth he clearly felt compelled to keep quiet.
“Ella,” Viper said, pulling her attention back to him. “I promise you, baby, I have not betrayed you. Never would.”
“I want to believe that.”
“Then believe it,” he implored, his eyes delving so deep into hers it was hard to hold his gaze. “Trust me.”
“Why? You don’t trust me, or you would just be honest with me here and now about what Prophet meant.” She paused. “I guess this answers the question of whether or not you always planned to keep me ignorant. If you’re ever willing to share anything with me, now would have been the time to do it.” She pulled her face free of his hands and whirled, meaning to walk out.
Power rushed through the room. The door slammed shut. The lock flicked. A growl sounded behind her. Mia sucked in a breath. Dice cursed low.
Ella furiously spun back to face Viper … and froze. His eyes had changed, becoming all white. A white so pure it faintly glowed.
What the fuck?
Her skin prickled as the temperature dropped … much in the same way it did when a person’s inner demon surfaced. But what stared back at her was not a demon. Nor was it Viper. Something lived inside him. Something not anything close to holy—a strange sort of malice oozed from it.
Her demon should have been unnerved. Instead, it was plain intrigued, the weirdo.