AllFreeNovel
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Viper pulls into the cracked parking lot of a long, two-story building, pulling into a yellow marked space outside the door with the neonReceptionsign.
“Stay here, Peaches.”
I nod as he slides out of the truck. I’m not going anywhere. It’s cold, and I don’t want to face another human being until I have showered away three days of travel grime. He reappears quickly, taking my hand as he moves the truck to a space in front of one of the lower-level doors.
Viper doesn’t have a bag either and wraps his arm around my shoulders, drawing me close as he leads me to the door, letting us inside, flipping on the lights, and kicking the door behind us.
It’s a generic motel with cracked wooden floors, a double bed with a floral-patterned bedspread, a TV, a mini-fridge, and nothing else. I don’t need much else.
“I need a shower,” I mumble, sidling away from Viper’s comforting warmth.
“Okay, Peaches.” He toys with his keys, his eyes lingering on my clothes. “You want new clothes?”
New clothes? Yes, please. I nod eagerly, and he grins, cupping my face and pressing a kiss to my lips. I’m glad he doesn’t deepen in. It’s been three days since I last brushed my teeth.
“And a toothbrush,” I squeak, pulling my head back, my cheeks on fire. Grinning, Viper nods, stepping away from me.
“Pizza okay?”
“Pizza sounds heavenly.”
He disappears, the door clicking locked behind him. I step into the bathroom, too excited by the prospect of a shower to cringe at the lime-green walls. It’s a lot, but there is a functioning shower.
I snatch up the little complimentary toiletries, using the first clean toilet I have encountered since waking up on that bus to relieve myself and step into the warm flow of the shower. The water pressure is terrible, but it’s better than nothing.
Scrubbing every inch of my skin, I wash my hair twice before it feels normal and not a ball of grease and shut off the water, stepping out and toweling myself down. My eyes land on the pile of clothes on the ground. I’m not putting those back on. It will feel like undoing everything good about my shower.
Wrapping the towel around me, I leave them on the bathroom floor – I don’t care what happens to them – and move back into the motel room, shivering a little at being so uncovered.
I’m contemplating sliding into the bed to get warm when the door opens and Viper steps inside, holding a large pizza box, a plastic shopping bag bulging with clothes dangling off one finger, and two bottles of water under his arm.
His eyes find mine, and he grins, dropping his goodies onto the bed. I eagerly paw through the clothes, my smile stretching across my face. He didn’t only buy me shorts, a T-shirt, underwear, and a leather jacket to wear home tomorrow; he even thought to buy me some long cotton pajamas for tonight.
I drop my towel, blushing as Viper’s eyes roam over my form, and pull on the cute sheep-patterned top and pants. Sinking onto the bed, I snag a water bottle and flip open the pizza box.
Viper kicks off his shoes, lounging on the bed beside me as he flips on the TV. We pick up a piece of pizza, but mine freezes halfway to my mouth when his finger runs up my arm.
“Don’t scare me like that again, Peaches.”
“I won’t.”
With a nod, Viper’s eyes turn back to the screen, watching the couple flip their house as the voice-over narrates what they’re doing and how much it will cost.
I’m finally full and offer Viper a smile as I slide off the bed, snagging the toothbrush and toothpaste out of the clothing bag and hurrying into the bathroom.
I brush my teeth until they feel ready to bleed. Oh god, that feelsamazing. Leaving the things beside the basin, I cross back to the bedroom, grinning at the sight of Viper stripped down to his trunks, lounging in the bed with the coverlet up across his chest. He opens his arms, and I hurry over to him, shutting off the light as I go and sliding into the bed and his arms.
They tighten around me, his nose nuzzling into my hair. My hand splays over his bare chest, gently stroking.
“You came for me,” I mumble. With a sigh, Viper brushes my hair out of my eyes, our foreheads pressed together.
“Of course I did, Peaches. You’re mine.”
“I’m yours,” I whisper back.
VIPER
“I’m yours,” she whispers. Yeah, she fucking is. And she’s safe in my arms, where she belongs. The second we get back to San Remo, I’m getting my claiming mark on her. No one else will try to take her away from me again. Ever.
