Page 60 of Viper

“You wanted to send me back,” I whisper. His body stiffens, and he looks away. I grip the bottom of his mask and tug, so he looks at me again. I like his eyes on me. Dark and hungry and so full of secrets.

“He’s cruel,” Reaper says. “Worse than you could imagine. He’s not supposed to be here. That was the deal we made.”

My brow furrows. “You mean when you took us?”

He tugs at the back of his mask, but doesn’t answer. My gaze drifts to the thin fabric, tracing the outline of his nose. He’s only wearing his mask because I told him to. He’s only doing this because he’s protecting me. Breaker and Viper left to be with Cora, but Striker and Reaper are herewithme.

He was going to send me back. He was going to send me away and not complete the mission. Then Fallon returned, and now…

Now, I think he may be just as trapped as I am. They both are.

The more you know about us, the less you’ll want to be ours.

That’s what he told me, but I think the opposite may be true. The more I know, the more I want them.

Reaper’s fingers weave into the hair at the nape of my neck, and he cups the base of my head. He picks up a grape, but I’m so busy staring at him,seeinghim, that it doesn’t register as he presses it against my lips.

When I don’t open my mouth, Reaper’s brow moves under his mask like he’s frowning.

“Tell me,” I whisper.

He narrows his eyes. “Tell you what?”

“Who you are.”

“Nothing good,” he says. “I’m death. Born of darkness and vile deeds.”

My chest twinges. He doesn’t feel like death. He no longer feels scary, and now that I have seen, have felt that possessive heat, I know in my gut Cora was right. They aren’t bad. I don’t think they ever were.

“Who told you that?”

“No one, Kitten,” he says. “I was born to be exactly who I am.”

“I don’t believe that. I think someone put that into your head.”

“If you think my father shaped me…” He trails off, the hand with the fruit dropping to his lap, eyes drifting to some memory I know I’ll never be privy to. “You’re not the only one born of tainted blood.”

“What does that mean?” I ask. Part of me wants to rip his mask off to see his expression.

He shakes his head. “Open.”

Frustration weaves a path up my spine. I grip his wrist and bring his hand to my mouth. His focus clears and shifts to me. Those dark eyes I’ve come to like focused solely on me, glaze over as I open for him, leaning forward just enough to wrap my lips around his fingers, sucking them into my mouth as I take the grape.

Reaper’s eyes lock onto my lips. I let his fingers go and he rubs his thumb over my bottom lip. He picks up another grape. I taste the tips of his fingers as I take it and his eyes darken. He lets out a breath that reminds me of that night in my room. Hungry. A little desperate. I relish in the effect I have over him. How he’s letting me see it. Before it was anger and wild lust. Now it's different. Controlled and charged with pure heat but lined with a delicate want.

I chew and swallow. He watches me, his fingers tightening on the nape of my neck. When he doesn’t reach for another grape, I pick one up and pop it into my mouth and wait. He grips the seat of my chair and drags me slightly closer, framing me between his large thighs. The legs of the chair screech along the tile floor so loudly that my eyes fly to the soldiers. They shift but don’t turn to look at us.

Reaper leans in close to my ear. He’s so much larger than me that when he dips his head, I feel swallowed up by his presence. His masked mouth brushes the shell of my ear. “You enjoy testing me, Kitten,” he breathes.

“And I think you like being tested.” I say.

“Dare to risk it again?” he asks. “You may very well end up over my knee.”

I can’t help but smirk.

He swipes my grin away with his thumb. “Such a brat. I should tie you up and spank your little pussy until it’s red and swollen.”

“I think you’d like that too much.”