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Thirty-Six
Halo
MY LIFE IS fucking perfect.
It definitely felt that way as I lay back against Viper’s chest, his legs on either side of me as we lounged on the private terrace. Even in the middle of the night, the Sunset Strip was still wide awake, but the faint sounds of music and traffic that traveled on the warm breeze were like a lullaby. I let out a long exhale and closed my eyes, completely content to stay where I was for the rest of my life, and judging by the lazy way Viper was tracing his fingertips up and down my chest, he felt the exact same way.
Not much had been said between exiting our bedroom and settling out here on one of the recliners. But as I lay there, wrapped up in Viper’s arms, the calm that settled around us felt as comforting as the robe I’d slipped on.
Magic. That was what it was like whenever I was with Viper like this. And the crazy part was that even if this all disappeared tomorrow, if all of the glitz and glam that came hand in hand with Fallen Angel faded from view…I’d still feel as though my life was perfect, and that had everything to do with the man I’d fallen so deeply in love with. The man I’d never seen coming.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Viper said, still caressing my skin.
“Hmm.” I ran my hands up and down his robe-covered thighs. “Only a penny? Why not a quarter? Or a dollar?”
I could feel Viper’s rumbling laugh from where my head lay against his chest. “A thousand fucking dollars for your thoughts, Angel.”
I laughed and covered his wandering hand with mine, bringing them up to hold over my heart. As my laughter faded, I looked out at the night sky just in time to see a shooting star streak across the dark expanse. I quickly made a wish and then brought Viper’s hand up to my lips, pressing a kiss against his knuckles.
“Did you make a wish?” I asked.
“A wish?”
“On the shooting star. Didn’t you see it? You’re supposed to make a wish when you see one.”
“I wasn’t looking at anything but you.” Viper’s words made my stomach flip, and when I leaned back to look up at him, he said, “What did you wish for, Angel?”
“This,” I said. “For it to always be this way.”
Viper sat up, forcing me to do the same, and held the back of my neck as he brought me in for a kiss so passionate that it made my whole body feel like a live wire. There was nothing better in the world than when Viper’s lips were on mine. No matter how crazy things got, one kiss from him and I was home.
“You’re happy?” he murmured against my mouth. “With me?”
I pulled back from him just enough so I could look into his eyes. “Happy isn’t a strong enough word for what I am with you.”
Viper’s lips curled, his fingers tightening in my hair. “Such a romantic.”
“Says the man who bought me a piano with angel wings.”
“What can I say? I guess you’re rubbing off on me.”
“Mmm. I do like rubbing myself off on you…” I teased, and grazed my lips over his. “And you? Are you happy with me?”
It was crazy, the way nerves suddenly flooded my body then, even though I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt what Viper felt for me. I still wanted—needed—to hear him say it. To confirm that what I felt for him was in every way reciprocated. That he couldn’t live without me any more than I could live without him.
Still, it felt like a thousand lifetimes passed until he spoke, and when he did, his voice was low and more serious than I’d ever heard him.
“Angel, if tonight was my last night here on earth, even heaven couldn’t fucking top this.”
My breath caught and my vision blurred, and when Viper cradled my face and brushed a thumb over my cheek, I realized a tear had escaped. My emotions were there on the surface, and so overwhelming that I could no longer keep them inside. Because who could’ve ever imagined that Viper—the bad boy of the rock world—would ever be sitting out here with someone as ordinary as me?
“Angel?”
I blinked, trying to clear my view, and when his beautiful face came back into focus, my eyes blurred all over again, because Viper was looking at me as though I was his everything—and never had I wanted to be anything more.
“Shit, I told you I’m no good at this,” Viper said, and went to lower his arm.
But I quickly reached up to cover his hand, and as I turned my head to press a reverent kiss to his palm, I closed my eyes and swallowed around the lump that had formed in my throat.
