The Runaway Viper (Viper #2)
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Authors: Kirsty-Anne Still
The Runaway
Viper
Book two in The
Viper
Series
Kirsty-Anne Still
The Runaway
Viper
Book two in The Viper Series
Kindle Edition
Copyright © 2014
Kirsty-Anne Still
Cover design – Cover It Designs –
Arijana Karčić
All rights reserved. Please keep this book in its complete original form with the exception of quotes used in reviews. No alteration of the contents is allowed. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means – electronic, mechanical, photographic (photocopying) recording, or otherwise – without prior permission in writing from the author.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This is a New Adult Contemporary Romance novel recommended for readers over the age of 17 due to sexual themes, and violence used throughout.
Also by Kirsty-Anne Still:
A Fire That Burns
Watch What Burns
– SEQUEL to ‘A Fire That Burns’
Saturdays At The Viper Series
– Book one in The Viper Rooms
Coming soon:
The Viper’s Bite –
Book three in The Viper Series – expected late 2014.
Your Little Secret
- Co-written with Bethan Cooper – releasing August 15
th
2014.
Femme Fatale
– The Pericolo Series – expected late 2014.
Twisted Fate
– standalone – expected 2015.
Dedication
Erin, this really would never have happened had you not taken charge when life had taken me over.
Thank you for giving
Saturdays At The Viper Rooms
a chance and, ultimately, loving it and me in the long run. You have been an unbelievable piece of support I never thought I would get. My life would be seriously boring without you.
If I have it my way, I’ll be seeing you in 2015.
xx
Contents
I uncurl from my position. The sun beating down upon my body and I smile as I wake up to the heat. This is how life has been since Jace, in all manner of wording, kidnapped me.
We've resulted to never lingering too long in one place, but Jace has promised that when we make it to the right place we'll settle down. We can't run forever. That's no life. The entire point of Jace saving me was so we could make a life together, prepare for a perfect future.
I look down at the stretch of white sand to my left and just muse wistfully. We’ve been in the Dominican Republic the longest. We’ve been in this state of bliss, a honeymoon phase if you will, for almost two months and I don’t want to leave. I’ve grown attached and I know Jace has too.
"Australia," Jace suddenly calls out to me.
I whip my head around, looking across the sandy dunes to him. I squint to watch him intently.
“It’s a country,” I state dryly and he laughs. “What about it?”
“How do you feel about starting a life there?” he asks as he crosses the distance between us. “I’m a lawyer; I have a trade. It’s feasible for me to get you placed on my VISA to enter the country. Think of all the opportunities you’ll have. You’ll finally be able to do something with your talent.”
I don’t respond; I’m caught up in the ideology he’s bestowed upon me. I’d give anything to play in the orchestra of the Sydney Opera House. I’ve dreamed of composing the next best melody, having my name known for what I can create, not what I’ve done.
“Should I worry over your silence?”
“No,” I whisper coyly and tilt my head to look up at him. “It sounds like a perfect idea.”
He drops onto my sun lounger and I feel it sink into the sand beneath us. Jace leans in, his half-naked body towering over me and I can now see the perspiration beading all over his tanned skin. My eyes continue to glide over his skin until I’m staring up into his blue eyes. They’re my little pools of heaven, ones that I look into first thing in the morning.
“But?”
I shake my head. “There are no buts.” There really isn’t this time. We’re here, together, living in domesticated bliss. Right now, I’ve started to believe in our future. It’s there, a breath away. “Let’s make a life.”
I watch as his features lighten up, dragging his lips into a bright smile so full of life and excitement, I feel overwhelmed by it. “It’s been a long wait, but I think we did it,” he muses. From his tone, he fully believes we’ve outrun the devil.
A piece of me feigns happiness. It resides within me, lingering at the back of every moment, reminding me that we are only running away from something that can ultimately pounce upon this perfect life. I cannot dispute how quiet this life has been for us. Even if I panic at every sound and bump in the night, I cannot lie, living with Jace, building what we have only ever dreamed of, has been something I cannot help but enjoy. I lavish every single second we have without cause for alarm.
“Stop that,” Jace abruptly scolds me. He looks amused when my head shoots up to stare at him.
“Stop overthinking. We’re safe.”
But are we?
Taking a deep breath, I know I need to calm the storm that is beginning to take over within me. So I smile and resume the state of blissful unawareness I was in before this chat.
Jace obviously agrees as he begins to play with the bow on my bikini briefs. I feel him tug and the strings pull apart. I look down as one side of my bikini bottom falls open, leaving me vulnerable. When I steal my attention to focus on his face, he has that crooked grin. I feel the butterflies liven up, fluttering into a frenzy. It’s so sudden I catch myself looking over
Jace’s shoulder, looking for any form of life that could catch us in the act.
“We’re alone,” he admonishes my sudden rush of fear.
I know we are. It’s crazy to think otherwise. This tiny slice of heaven is so secluded and peaceful, if we find anyone on the premises, Jace will call the police and get charge them with trespassing. I think it’s one of the reasons I love it here, total seclusion was promised. Jace made sure of that.
I’m brought back from my thoughts as
Jace’s hand travels across my body, his hand untying the strings to the other side of my bikini bottoms. I gulp, my eyes keeping watch on his as they become drawn with lust and he looks at me under hooded lids.
Moving smoothly, Jace moves up the sun lounger, only to surprise me by lowering it. I find myself flat on my back, the sun and bright blue sky above me. My eyes struggle to adjust until Jace towers over me, blocking out the brightness. His body is covering me as he moves to touch all over my sun kissed body with his lips.
Now as I feel the butterflies escape, my body turning into a fireball of anticipation and desire, I forget about it all and just lavish the feel of Jace worshiping my body. I moan out as his hand squeezes my left breast, his lips travelling slower than ever. He cruelly works my body into a heated mess, making me weak for his touch. I feel his lips drag across my skin, nipping and kissing. I’m falling into the rapture so fast, my voice is lost to me.
“Jace,” I gasp as I feel him kissing back up my body, his hand slipping between my legs.
He’s barely over my midriff when I feel his fingers enter me. The sound of his chuckle at finding me already wet vibrates through my body, but I can’t react. I can only fall prey and allow him to have his wicked way with me.
“I will get you like this every single day of your life,” he vows intensely, his lips still brushing against my skin.
“Hot, wet, speechless.” As he finishes his staccato statement, he shifts his body weight and I feel his bare skin against mine. I never saw him remove his swimsuit, but when he’s working my body in such a way, I never pay much attention to anything else but the swirling desire he arouses.
When he enters me, my back arches in unison with my toes pointing, I’m fulfilled, and blissfully so. He starts a rhythm so gentle to begin with that I scratch at his back, begging him to hasten his speed. When he does, I’m left breathless as he fulfils me hard and fast. He works the art of penetration and separation into a steady pace, making sure I moan and writhe in pleasure. It’s captivating, and when I hear him groan, it pushes me up higher to my climax.
When my orgasm explodes, the fervor is out of this world. The fever pitch that takes me captive is one to match the beating sun above us. There’s no relief with my orgasm. I’m still a hot mess, if not hotter.
Breathlessly, Jace kisses my neck, whispering a string of sweet nothings that barely penetrate my addled brain. It’s only the kisses that make any sense to me right now. They’re direct and lingering. Even when Jace falls beside me, our bodies a raging mess of orgasmic afterglow and borderline sunstroke, there’s nowhere else either of us want to be.
We just lay draped over the lounger, both sexually drained. I curl into him, not caring about the humidity clinging to us. I want to lavish this memory for another moment longer. I kiss his chest, and in response, he kisses my hair.
I mew in pleasure and close my eyes. I’m content, but I’m eager for what awaits us.
“So, Australia?” I ask him, not moving, just remaining staring at the crashing waves beyond us.
“Yeah?” he questions back. This time his voice is tiredly laced, heavy to hear.
“When do we leave?” I sit up then, only enough to look at him better. “I’m ready to make this life permanent. It’s been seven months now, let’s do this.”
A part of me wants to escape completely, another wants to believe in fairy tale endings, and still another part of me wants to believe that how we came to be was the perfect start of our forever together.
SEVEN MONTHS EARLIER
It’s been two hours since we fled. My mind can only imagine what type of hysteria has hit the party because I am sure, without any seed of
doubt, Clara knows I am now missing. I laughed mirthlessly when the thought first entered my head, but then the fear hit me. It was like fire striking me for the first time. The damage I have caused, the hell I have unleashed.
“Are you coming to bed?”
Jace’s voice whips around me. Once again I am thrust into this dangerous reality. We’re like fugitives running from our fate. The fate I helped douse us in. I feel my eyes water as I see him stand before me in nothing but pajama bottoms. This is a sight I thought I would never see again. It’s one I shouldn’t be allowed, but now that I have been graced with it, I’m overwhelmed. My head involuntarily drops, and I’m overcome with a gauntlet of emotions.
“Hey,” he softly coos, advancing toward me. He places his hand gently under my chin, his thumb running across my
jawline. Lifting my head up, he’s calm and gentle with me. “What’s wrong?” he asks, and I feel my lip begin to tremble. “Hey, hey,” he soothes me again, this time releasing my chin to wrap his arms around me.
My cheek rests against his warm skin, and I just break down completely. I haven’t any restraint left in me to stay strong. I’m overpowered by this. I grab onto him, holding him fiercely close.
“I’m sorry,” I sob into his chest, my tears streaming and wetting skin as they fall. “I’m so sorry.” It’s all I can say. A rush of emotional apologies is all I can offer. I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve him, and the more I apologize, the harder I grip onto him.
“You can’t be doing this,” Jace tells me and pulls away. He puts me at arms’ distance and looks at me. The gaze he fixes me with is intense, but not in a negative way. He has so much he wants to say and wants me to know. He’s only being inquisitive and curious as to how we wound up here. “Can you listen to me for a moment?” he asks me delicately. “I know you’re confused over me coming back for you, and I think you need to know the whole truth.”
“Okay,” I whisper, gulping slightly. I can feel my stomach beginning to knot up. I feel sick at what I’m going to learn.
“You breaking up with me, it almost killed me,” he begins the onslaught of torture. “I never thought you would be that girl who said those things and made me feel like I was nothing more than something to be used. The pain I felt is something I never want to experience again in my life. I went to the club to make you regret it and to make sure I saw
Delvine realize she got what she wanted.”
I see his eyes twist and darken.
The curse of our memories lashing at him.
“I chose Cassidy purposefully, and I acted heartless because I wanted you to think I was making you pay. But I saw you and saw how miserable you looked. You looked like the girl I first met.
The one who did her job but kept every ounce of emotion in her eyes. You’re still the same girl who wears her heart on her sleeve. I watched you walk away from me in tears, and I watched Clara with you, but I had no place to go to you. I’d have been stupid to not see what was going on in that moment. The thing is I hate that I never truly believed you. At least, not completely. A part of me was adamant that what you had done was Delvine’s doing. It was that part of me I listened to most.”
I bow my head, the honesty of the moment weighing heavily on me. It seems that while I was playing into Clara’s game, Jace was playing his own deceitful game too.
“And at the auction, I wanted nothing more than to bid every last cent in my bank account for just one last chaste night with you, Joely. But I knew far more than I should have.” When I look up at him, I see him before me guiltily solemn at his own actions. “I had to lose the club and cut all ties so I could really focus on saving you.” There’s a moment of silence before he lays upon me a new piece of information. “And Eli helped.”
My eyes widen in terror. Eli risked too much for me. He stepped outside of what I asked of him to save me and I’ve now left him behind.
“He told me everything. I know how Clara gave you the ultimatum and forced you to end it with me. I know this is all her doing, Joely. Knowing the truth made it clear what I had to do, and I don’t think we would be here had you told me she was behind it.”
“I couldn’t tell you,” I murmur. My voice is hoarse, and I’m caught in a whirlwind of emotions. “I wouldn’t have forced us to that fate. I’d rather live with a broken heart than deal with the consequences.” I squeeze my eyes shut as I relay the last part of my speech. “I don’t expect you to want me back how you used to.”
“I do,” he whispers at me. His tone is full of hard conviction, and it’s something I needed to hear. “But what I said to you,” he pauses, finding his bravado all over again. “That was cruel and unforgiveable.” He reaches for my hand, clasping it in his tightly. “I never once stopped loving you and wanting you to be free. I never gave up, not once. I never even thought about giving up on you, Joely. It was never an option. You might have broken my heart and been cold, but I can’t stop how I feel for you. You mean more to me than anything else. You’re more than just another person in my life. You’re
the
person I need in my life. The one and only person I’ll ever want in it until my last breath. Living a day without you is pure torture.”
I’m silently crying as he confesses, and as much as I want to throw myself into his arms, warmed by his forgiving embrace, I can’t. I unfold my body from its position, tear my hand from his, and get up. My legs carry me away from him reluctantly, and I know I just have to distance myself from him for a moment.
I broke this man down to the bare bones and he still saved me – like he always promised he would.
He forgave me, a heartless Viper Girl, because ultimately he knows me best.
“Lee?” he calls out for me, not moving from the window ledge.
“What if I am like her, like you said?” I ask him, my voice shred to pieces by the vivid memory that constricts around me. I force myself to look at him. “What if you’re right and the only reason I’m still here is because I am like Clara, Jace? Look what I allowed her to make me do? She got in my head, and I ruined my life. She hit me with a riding crop to make sure I was compliant and it worked.”
“She did what?” His face is clouded, darkened by the thunderous emotions that are now heinously smothering him. “Tell me you’re lying.”
I bite my lip, intent to keep myself calm and not breakdown, but I’m beholden to the truth. “I wish I were.” And just like that, I begin to unfold. Telling the ultimate truths
are my undoing. Having him here, hearing me out, is making me far weaker than any lie I could’ve spun him days ago.
“No.” He’s horrified. I see it all over him.
“When?” His question only makes me shake my head, I don’t want to admit this. Instead of adhering to my rejection, he stands and comes towards me. “When?” he asks again, his body stiffened.
“Our last night together,” I admit softly, and I feel like I’m slipping into a greater pool of emotion. One I’m sure I’ll drown in. “She beat me before giving me the ultimatum.” I watch him with bated breath and see he’s in total disbelief. He doesn’t want to believe it, but I had to live it and I still have the lash markings from it. I decide to show him. There’s nothing else to lose. The disbelief that has marred his beautiful face makes him look so tortured in this light. I gulp, turn, and allow my cardigan to fall down my arms and show my back.
“I should’ve noticed,” he whispers across my shoulder. I feel his fingertips lightly come up to dance across the healing wounds. He sounds so twisted with the pain I’m causing him.
I close my eyes to his words and actions. “I didn’t want you to know.”
And just like I’ve been stung, I step away and prevent him touching me anymore. I was beaten for a reason, and it wasn’t so I could end up here. I have seen what dark traits Clara beholds and with it, I have seen what she is capable of. And I cannot allow Jace to see those.
“I can’t do this,” I mutter under my breath and rush away, unable to do this to him. I have to pack to leave. I can’t allow him to do this for me. I have to leave and go back to my life as a
Viper Girl. He has to have a chance at a happier future. I love him for giving me this opportunity, but the problem with our pasts is that they have a way of creeping up on us.
I can tolerate Josh coming back into my life and telling me the truth but I cannot survive Clara returning. I cannot bear to think of how life will be looking over my shoulder. Jace and I would be like Bonnie and Clyde, chased and hunted until death throws us apart. My position in The Viper Rooms makes the bounty far higher. We’re wanted, and in the eyes of Clara, we’ll be wanted fugitives.
I can hear Jace calling out to me. Feeling him begin to follow me, I know the shock has lessened. But I don’t stop, and I don’t look back. I need to leave, and I need to do it now. I need to go and grovel, tell Clara I had no say in this, that this wasn’t my idea. I’ve been reprimanded far too much lately to test the waters. I didn’t choose to rock the boat. I was forced to jump ship. It’s these thoughts that make me throw what minimal things I had unpacked back into the duffel bag. I had no idea, but Eli had packed my things and helped orchestrate this entire thing. I have to go back for his safety as well now.
“Where are you going?” Jace interrogates the moment he barges into the room. By which time I’m in a new flood of tears, my heart tearing itself to shreds in my chest.
“I can’t do this. I can’t,” I whisper, my tears wrecking me slowly, but I don’t stop making my way to the door with my poorly packed bag. “You brought me here, but you don’t realize what you’re risking. What you’re putting on the line.”
Jace stops me, blocking my way. “Tell me then,” he pressures me. “You didn’t tell me the truth before. Tell me now.”
“Your life,” I admit, and I see a part of clarity beckon forth in his eyes. I hiccup on the thought, but I bear down and master the words. “She told me-” I pause, I have to because it’s too hard to confront. He forces me to look at him, and the strength in his eyes compels me to admit the punishable future bestowed upon us. “She told me I would have to pick the way for you to be killed.” I see him wince, the horror flashing in his gorgeous eyes. “She gave me an ultimatum. End it or choose how I got to kill you.” I feel my body shudder. “Can you see why it was better for me to break your heart?”
“You broke my heart. There is no reason for her to think you’re with me. I quit the club, made damn sure it looked like I hated you.” He’s fighting for me, fiercer than ever. “We got out. You look like a runaway again, Lee. You did it once when times got
tough, she had to know you were capable of doing it again.”
“This is different.” I heave in a deep breath. “I didn’t have a life bound to you when she found me. And I can’t handle being the one thing
who jeopardizes you.” I feel my shoulders slacken, and I soften as I admit what’s in my heart. “I just want you to have a safer future, Jace, and if that’s without me, then so be it. I won’t risk ruining your future just because I love you.”
“But I love you too.” His tone cuts me deep. “So it isn’t easy to just cut a loss and run, Joely! I’m a counterpart in this. I forced you here, and I know the dangers, so will you just give this a
chance. It’s going to be difficult, but I know if we have each other, it’ll be worth it. So don’t leave.”
I nod a little, still reluctant to his claim. I allow him to take my bag. I look at the bed as he sets it down and starts to unpack for me. Jace won’t ever let me leave him as easily as he had, and I’m not sure I could make myself go through that again. As he pulls the extravagant dress I stripped out of two hours ago, something else flies out with it.
We’re both left looking down at the tied up piano string.
“You kept it?” he asks me, his voice stolen with his shock.
“I deserved to be reminded,” I solemnly admit. I hate feeling so heavily to blame, but it’s all I’ve really known. When life goes wrong, it’s usually my fault – killing Dylan was and breaking Jace’s heart was. Now I know that neither were my doing.
“Joely,” Jace breathes, stepping toward me. When I look back, he’s before me. His body is right in front of me, and his gaze is settled firmly on me. “You are never leaving me again. I won’t let you. Whatever happens, it happens to us both.”
I don’t have time to argue. When his lips crash down upon mine, I feel my world begin to revolve once again.