Page 10 of Unbound By You (The Viper’s MC #1)
HARLOW
G roaning, I arch my back, trying to stretch my body in every direction like I do every morning, but I can’t. My eyes fly open, taking in the room that’s not mine and the man curled around me. His heavy limbs don’t budge as I try to wiggle free. They tighten, pulling me closer to his chest.
He groans when my fighting doesn’t let up. “Stop trying to escape, wildcat. I need more sleep,” Silas mutters into my neck.
“Well, unless you’re into golden showers, I need to get up. Right now.”
“Dammit, woman, way to ruin a good morning wood.”
“I’ll check that off the kink list then.” I bark out a laugh as he lifts his arm from around my chest and frees my legs from the tangled mess of his.
Running for the bathroom, I slam the door behind me and make it to the toilet just in time. How fucking long was I out? The last thing I remember was the most mind-blowing orgasm I’d ever experienced, and then nothing.
A dreamless sleep that didn’t have my mind up and racing all night long with nightmares of the shit I’ve seen and done. It had to have been the most uninterrupted sleep I’d had in years. No wonder I feel like I could get up and run a marathon.
I finish my business and realize I didn’t pee after Silas fucked the life out of me last night. “Stupid men.” I huff in frustration, praying my ass doesn’t get a UTI.
Walking to the sink and looking up into his dirty mirror has me halting in place. Dear God! My hair is a tousled mess, sticking up every which way. My makeup is smeared, adding the rabid raccoon caught in a dumpster look to the vibe.
Fuck it, I’m already naked. I might as well put off the inevitable as long as possible. I don’t even want to think about what’s next for me after I exit this bathroom and walk back into Silas’s waiting grasp.
Flipping on the shower, I stick my hand under the stream, waiting for the water to warm. Thankfully, Silas isn’t the typical bachelor with the five-in-one shower care products—a sure perk of his long, wild hair.
I stand under the spray, letting it wash away the dried sweat and unforgotten sins of last night's mayhem. He really shouldn’t have shown up to catch me dealing with Evan.
If he hadn’t, I’d be back home with Lexi, her none the wiser, and me moving on to the next one.
Now, I’m standing in Silas’s shower, for the second time, washing his flaking dry cum from between my thighs much like the blood from my skin last night.
Ugh, thinking of Evan reminds me that I need to check in with the guys and make sure everything is good.
That’s not how our arrangement usually goes down.
I trust Pierce and Branson with my life.
Obviously, or else they wouldn’t be the two I call when I need bodies to disappear.
But with Silas in the mix and hours unaccounted for, God only knows how things got wrapped up last night.
After scrubbing the shampoo into my roots, I reach for the conditioner, bringing it to my nose. The deep aroma of pine and something smokey fills my senses, and a sick enjoyment in knowing I’ll smell like him bleeds through me.
That’s some attachment shit I really don’t need to be dealing with on top of everything else.
My brain can’t make up its mind on whether the last twenty-four hours have caused the best chain of events or the worst. Shaking the decision off for another time, I squirt a dollop into my palm and massage it through the bottom of my long strands.
I just need to finish up, find some clothes, and get the hell out of this place.
I can’t think straight with him hovering around me, and I’m sure I’ll have more than a few missed calls from Lexi when I find wherever my phone went.
I pull up my proverbial big girl panties and finish my shower, wrapping the only towel hanging in the bathroom around my damp body.
When I step back into the bedroom, it’s empty.
I blow out a dramatic sigh of relief before scrounging through Silas’s dresser for more of his clothes to steal.
That’ll be a fun little conversation with Lexi if she’s still home when I return.
Fingers crossed, I can sneak in and change before she recognizes my clothes as her brother’s if she is.
I find my boots in the corner and pull them on. The rest of my clothes have disappeared, I assume never to be seen again. Fine by me. One less thing I have to worry about doing.
The house is quiet as I skulk down the hallway toward the living room and kitchen. Maybe he needed to be somewhere and my plan to wait him out in the shower worked. I pause at the end of the hall, peeking around the corner into the not-so-empty kitchen.
I could try to make a run for it, through the house to the door, but I don’t know where my keys are with my riding jacket missing.
“You know a walk of shame’s a little beneath you, wildcat. Come have a cup of coffee and chat with me.”
Rolling my eyes, I pull back my shoulders and head toward the one thing that can make this conversation palatable so soon after waking up.
My eyes bug out when he moves from in front of the oven. The clock reads one-fifteen. Jesus, we slept forever.
“You know where my phone went?” I ask as he pours me a cup of coffee, adding the right amount of flavored creamer to the dark liquid.
Said phone slides across the counter, stopping right on the edge, much like my nerves are now.
“You might want to call Lex. She sounds a little pissed.”
“No shit, she’s pissed. I never came home last night or this morning.”
“Tell her you were here with me.” He raises his eyebrows and hides the shit-eating grin behind his own mug.
“You’ve lost your fucking mind, Silas. Did you see her reaction when she caught you feeling me up against the couch last night?”
Shit, was that only twelve hours ago? It feels like so much longer.
“There’s nothing to tell her anyway. I’ll just say I hooked up with someone from the bar, and my phone died.”
His large body prowls around the kitchen island, coming to stand in front of me. Thick fingers pluck the half-finished coffee from my hands before he lifts me from the ground and drops me on the counter. Always so overbearing.
“Think again, Harlow. You’re not about to pass my marks off on some random motherfucker. Even imaginary men don’t get the privilege of fucking you, baby.”
My eyes roll so hard at his overhanded comment they strain. “And what about the real men, Si? How about the ones that get to feel me come on their cocks just as hard as you did last night?”
He closes the mere inches between us, reaching up to grab my throat, using his thumb to push my chin up to meet his glare.
“Fucking try it. We’ll add their body count to your tally, and then I’ll watch you figure out how to get rid of them.” He leans down, pressing his lips to my ear, and then whispers, “Because your cleaner’s gone out of business.”
“You didn’t.”
“Oh, don’t worry. Pierce still breathes to live another day. He’s just had a change of heart when it comes to answering your every beck and call.”
“Fuck you.”
“Always willing and ready, baby,” he taunts before licking up my throat and biting down on my earlobe.
He pulls away, dropping a heavy hand to my thigh, and I hate how easily my body responds to the simple possessive hold.
“But I’ve got shit to do, and you need to go make sure my sister isn’t sending out a formal search party for you or our recently departed friend from last night.”
He leans down, and I think he’s going to kiss me. My lips part instinctually because somewhere in my fucked-up brain that keeps telling me we don’t want this man, there’s another insatiable part of me that wants nothing more. And I’ve yet to decide where the truth lies.
He doesn’t kiss me, not really. His lips fiercely pin mine, and his teeth clamp on the corner of my bottom lip, biting down and sucking hard enough to make it swell with blood under his assault. It’s another mark, another claiming.
He pulls away, a smug tilt to his lips as he turns and heads for the breezeway door.
“Key’s on the table. See you soon, wildcat,” he calls over his shoulder before the door slams closed behind him.