Page 4 of Viper (The Dark Angel’s MC #4)

Viper – Age Twenty Six

I slowly wipe my bottom lip with my thumb as I eye the door at the bar the club owns, wondering if I made a mistake agreeing to this date.

I mean, fuck, I never date, only getting off with ring girls or the strippers at Dark Angel’s Girls that I run.

I refuse to touch a clubwhore knowing they become possessive with the brothers.

So why in the fuck did I say yes to this girl?

Originally, when she nearly bumped into me, I was pissed. She wasn’t looking where she was going, and I could have been holding Tate, my pseudo-niece that I sometimes have with me when I go to the gym.

Fury, formally known as Nyx, screwed a hang-around four years ago to try and run from his feelings after Brick demanded he get to know his daughter and encourage her to come home.

Unfortunately for Brick though, his plan backfired because the fucker fell in love with his daughter.

He decided to tell her the truth once he realized there was no running from his feelings, even planned to propose but Lacey, a now clubwhore who in my eyes shouldn’t be one because she has fuck all to do with Tate, had popped up like an unwanted daisy with a pregnancy test right before Fury went to tell Skylar everything and beg for forgiveness.

The bitch tried trapping him on purpose and would have worked if Fury hadn’t met Skylar but despite his feelings for her, Fury dumped Skylar that night so he could focus on Tate after dropping the bomb that he was a brother.

He admitted to lying to her and using her for the club but ever since, he’s regretted his decision and has been trying to win her back but to no avail.

I sigh before taking another sip of my beer.

My generation of brothers, they like to fuck up a lot but on the bright side none have cheated like our fathers had.

I mean Blade, formally known as Leo, did call his old lady a patch chaser and a traitor after she kept quiet about being Axe’s sister, the president of the Furies MC who we were at the time beginning a war with us caused by their then VP that no one was aware of.

Turned out he raped Luna every chance he got from the age of thirteen, the sick fuck, and no one in her brother's club believed her when she brought it up after the first time, including her own brother.

Even before hearing her truth, Blade wanted her back and thankfully, after she killed her demon, she and Blade got married and he’s there for her every single day.

He’s helping her realize that even though they may not be able to have kids because of her trauma, he loves her and will never let her go.

Psycho also messed up a little by trying to allow Ivy, whom he fell madly in love with, to live her own life. She is now seeing someone, and don’t get me started on Venom with Ivy’s best friend, Raya.

The idiot is adamant she’s using Ives for his cut, and as each day goes by where he’s a dick to her, her crush she’s had on him for years, a crush everyone except for him can see, disappears.

So like I said, my generation is fucking up left, right, and center. So why did I agree to this?

I sigh as I look at my drink, her sweet voice coming back to me.

“I’m Lake, by the way,” she quickly adds, and my lips tilt at her quirkiness, the shock that she’s just asked me out slowly wearing off.

“Jaylen,” I reply, not wanting to give away that I’m a brother. Why, I don’t really know, but something is telling me not to mention it.

As soon as I locked eyes with her, I was entranced.

I wasn’t wearing my cut, I never do when I fight or train in the ring, so she had no idea who I was, but she also looked way too sweet for me.

I walked away knowing that hitting on her will do us no good.

I didn’t expect her to ask me out for drinks though.

Don’t get me wrong, you could see she was nervous, and it was clear as day she hadn’t done it before, but it took guts, especially when I was dismissive.

“Hey Viper, where’s your cut?” Matty asks, and I look at him to see his brows furrowed as he grips his prospect cut with pride.

“Long story,” I reply, “but whatever you do, don’t call me my road name for the evening.” His mouth parts in shock so I admit reluctantly, “A woman asked me out on a date after I left the gym, I don’t want her knowing I’m club.”

The light clicks on for him as he mutters, “Oh, want to make sure she’s not a patch chaser, got it,” before he turns and walks away towards a customer, and I chuckle as the girl's eyes light up seeing he’s her server.

The fucker is over seven feet tall, full of muscles with wavy brown hair, and the women eat that shit up. Which is why when he applied to be a prospect last month after being a hang-around for a year, we put him on bar duty here.

He’s managed to double what we used to make.

Chuckling at the drool the girl basically has going on right now, I check the time again, but scowl seeing Lake is nearly twenty minutes late.

What the fuck? I never wait on a girl, fucking never!

I mutter, “Fuck this shit,” and move to get up because clearly I’m being stood up, but pause when Matty walks past, grunting, “Incoming, gorgeous red head coming your way.”

I turn to see Lake quickly rushing over to me, and I have to swallow my tongue at her tardiness because fuck me, she is gorgeous.

Her dark red hair is down and straight, with non-existent makeup, showcasing the freckles dusting her nose, and she’s dressed in jeans and a plain, flowy top with thin straps.

“I am so sorry I’m late,” she says as she takes the stool next to me, and I nod, still taking her in.

She didn’t even try and looks completely breathtaking.

Fuck me, I bet when she does try she’ll knock me completely out of orbit because right now, if I wasn’t already sitting down, she’d knock me on my ass.

“What can I get ya, sweets?” Matty says, gaining my attention, snapping me away from how beautiful this woman really is, and I narrow my eyes at him being flirty, but he smirks at me and sends me a wink.

Fucker knows I can’t snap at him.

I mouth, “Ring tomorrow,” and he flinches but tries to hide it, making me grin while Lake says, “Can I have a Coke, please?”

I raise a brow at her, but she smiles and admits, “I’m on early shift tomorrow.”

I nod and take a drink of my beer as I eye her up, her nerves that I find completely adorable radiating from her.

“How did it go with the girl?” I ask, hoping talking about her work will ease her as Matty goes to grab her drink, and she winces before admitting, “We had to call the cops, that’s why I’m late.”

“Shit, really?” I ask in shock, my brows high, and she nods as she gently tucks a piece of her hair behind her ear.

Matty drops off her drink and she gives him a small smile that makes me want to throat punch the fucker.

Which is weird because I have never had a reaction to a woman like this before.

She looks down at her glass before picking it up, the small piece of hair she tucked behind her ear coming loose again.

Why is her hair color so familiar?

“Yeah, the girl ended up jumping on Callum’s back,” she admits after taking a sip of her drink, and I confirm, “Your partner?”

She nods then continues, “She dug her nails into his cheek, assaulting him while screeching that she needed to go to the hospital.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, then ask, “Did she have to go?”

She snorts, twisting her body on the stool my way, giving me her entire attention, and replies, “No, she was a hypochondriac with no health insurance. When I nearly bumped into you, she was screaming at her father because he refused to pay for her to go in over a torn toenail.”

I chuckle before taking a sip of my beer, then ask, “Do you deal with many patients like that?”

“No,” she admits, “though we did get called out yesterday to a guy who got his you know what stuck in his vacuum,” before her eyes widen and I laugh as her cheeks redden.

“You ramble a little when you're nervous, huh?” I confirm as I turn my body on my stool, ensuring one of her legs goes in between mine, feeling at ease with her, which again is fucking weird.

“I told you I’ve never done this before,” she reminds me, but I deny, “No, you told me you’ve never asked a guy out before.”

“Oh,” she mutters, then admits, “I’ve never dated.”

I raise a brow and ask in shock, “How is that even possible?”

She winces and says, “My birth mom, well, she never wanted me, but had a bad reputation, so my dad homeschooled me. Don’t get me wrong, I have a few close friends thanks to the woman who was a motherly figure in my life over the years, but dating never really interested me.”

“Then you bumped into me, huh?” I say with a smirk, and her cheeks heat again. I have to admit, I’m beginning to love that look on her.

Lake clears her throat as she grabs her glass and takes a sip before changing the subject, “So what do you do? I mean I know you know what I do...”

I chuckle, “Relax, you can ask me questions.”

I swear if her cheeks redden anymore, she’s going to end up staying that color, though it is cute as fuck.

“I uh, I work in a strip club,” I reluctantly admit, not wanting to give too much away, and her eyes widen as she asks, “You strip?”

Fuck!

I let out a shocked chuckle and quickly admit, “I manage, I’m the manager.”

Her lips form ‘o’ and my cock twitches.

Damn, down boy, don’t want to scare the girl.

She clears her throat and asks, “So uh, what uh does a manager do at a strip club?”

I tilt my head at her question and reply, “Arranging the staff, ensuring the girls are good with their sets, hiring and firing, pay role, you know the normal stuff a manager does, though I do have to watch the new employees dance to see if they know what they’re doing so I guess a normal manager doesn’t do that shit. ”

She frowns, staring at her drink for a moment before she quietly mumbles, “Why does that bother me?”

I grin widely at her confession, even if she didn’t mean for me to hear it.

Now, normally jealous women piss me off, it isn’t attractive and doesn’t get my dick hard, but this woman, yeah, I fucking like it a lot, especially when she has no idea that's what she's feeling.

Still looking at her drink with a frown, confusion all over her face, I ask, “Any siblings?” gaining her attention again.

“Huh?” she asks, and I grin and repeat, “Do you have any siblings?”

“Oh no, well, at least I don’t think I have. Dad never married, though I’m not stupid, I know he dates and my bio mama, well, the last time I spoke to her I was ten and she threatened to drag me out by my hair and admitted I was a mistake,” she replies, then winces like she told me too much.

“Your mama sounds like a fucking bitch,” I say, and she giggles, making me smile.

Fuck me, that is a sweet sound.

“What about you? Do you have any siblings?” she asks.

I deny, “Nah, it’s just me and my dad, my mother died two days after I was born.”

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she whispers, and I swear to fuck, I melt.

“It’s fine,” I say softly, “She never wanted me.”

Her eyes soften towards me, and I feel locked in as lean closer to her, fucking happy she came after me and asked me out for a date. We have a connection I never thought I’d have with someone, never wanting one.

We spend the next two hours talking and laughing, and for the two hours, I’m completely entranced by her, not even noticing Matty directing the girls from Dark Angel’s Girls away from me.

She has my whole attention, and I don’t want the night to end.

She’s funny, kind, sweet, smart, and loves her fucking job despite the crazy she dealt with today. I know she’s on early shift tomorrow, so I’m currently helping her stand from her stool.

I give a nod to Matty, who salutes me as I gently press my hand on Lake’s back to guide her outside, but she pauses and says, “Oh wait, I need to pay,” and I put pressure on her back to keep her going as I state, “It’s taken care of.”

She goes to protest like I knew she would, but I wrap my arm around her waist, shocking her as tingles rush through me and I take her outside.

“Which car is yours?” I ask, and she points to the dark blue Chevrolet truck. I grin and say, “Good choice in vehicles.”

She snorts and admits, “My dad chose it. Something about needing to know his daughter is safe and a baby blue convertible that most teenage girls want won’t. Not that I ever wanted one of them, I love my truck.”

I chuckle as we get close before my stomach plummets.

I don’t want to leave her. Fuck.

I always said I wouldn’t have an old lady, and I’m sticking to that, but it doesn’t mean I can’t date her to see where this goes, right?

As we stop near the truck, I quiet my thoughts and let my instincts take over as I pull Lake into me, making her gasp before I slam my lips against her. She fucking melts into me, her upper body leaning against mine as her hands go to my sides, gripping my shirt as she kisses me back slowly.

I lick the seam of her lips, and she opens before our tongues tangle and fireworks shoot between us. I know without a doubt that we won’t be dating, that this woman is mine.

Mine to have, mine to love, mine to keep.