Free Viper by Jessica Coulter Smith Page A

wanting to scare her more than she already was. Tipping her chin up, he stared down into liquid blue eyes, watching as a tear fell from her lashes and splashed onto her cheek. Ah hell. There was a lot of shit he could handle, but a weeping female wasn’t one of them. He should probably get one of the old ladies and let her take care of Scarlet, but…Viper couldn’t explain this sudden urge he felt to wrap his arms around her and tell her everything would be all right.
    “Thank you,” she said softly. “I didn’t know what he’d planned to do to me or I never would have walked off with him. He’d seemed nice.”
    “I’m guessing nice men were in short supply with the Red Devils.”
    She nodded. “No one’s been nice to me for a while. I let myself get carried away by the moment and dropped my guard. It won’t happen again.”
    Viper jerked his knife free and handed it to her. “Keep this on you at all times. Anyone does something you don’t like, you threaten to cut off their nuts with it. Then you come tell me what happened and I’ll see they learn from their mistakes.”
    “Why would you do that?”
    “Despite the fact I don’t know what the fuck to do with you, you’re mine, Scarlet. I won you fair and square. Some of the guys say I should fuck you and then send you on your way, but knowing all that I do about you, I could never do that. You’re too dangerous to our way of life to set you free, and yet, after everything you’ve been through, you don’t really fit into a specific role within the MC. I could force you into the position of a party girl, but we both know that would be a mistake. You’re strong, but even I know that would break you.”
    “Why do you care if I’m broken?” she asked softly.
    “I don’t know.”
    And the fuck of it was, he really didn’t know why he cared. She was nothing to him, and yet he wanted to take care of her. If his brothers even had a clue, they would give him some serious shit. Feeling strongly about a woman just wasn’t done, unless she was your old lady. Viper supposed there were worse things in life than having a willing woman in your bed every night, but he worried he’d get tired of the same pussy day after day. There were always a few party girls ready to service him, sometimes two and three at a time.
    Scarlet shivered again. Viper took off his cut, pulled his shirt over his head, and handed it to her before putting his vest back on. She accepted it, but stared at it a moment. When she didn’t move, he reached out and removed the torn remnants of her clothes, then helped her into the shirt. It fell to her knees and covered everything important.
    Fuck! What the hell did he care if she showed her ass? Because it’s our ass , his wolf growled. He supposed the beast had a point. He had won Scarlet, which made her his in every way that mattered. But he had a feeling the wolf meant to keep her for other reasons, and Viper wasn’t ready for that. He’d seen the way the old ladies looked when their men went off with the party girls, and he knew he never wanted to be the one to put that look of disappointment and sorrow on a woman’s face. They always knew the score up front, that it was a one-time deal.
    ****
    Scarlet smoothed the T-shirt down her body, feeling the heat from Viper seep into her skin. If he’d been even a minute later…no, she wouldn’t think about it. She’d weathered so much already, but she wasn’t sure how much more her mind or her body could handle. She needed out, a way to go back to a normal life, but even if the opportunity presented itself, she wasn’t sure she would know how to live a normal life. The Red Devils had taken her off the street, kidnapping her on her way home from work, and that had been six months ago. They’d delighted in humiliating her and causing her pain, making her service any and all of the Red Devils.
    That was behind her now though, and while she’d landed herself in another M.C., the Ashton