Chapter Three

Anna

One entire wall is lined in mirrors and it’s nerve wracking.

Is this guy some kind of pervert?

I roll my eyes. I mean, obviously.

I hear a lock clicking and a doorknob turning, and it’s loud like a firecracker.

I startle and move to cover myself with my hands.

“Drop your hands,” a deep, gravelly voice commands one second before I see him.

Holy. Shit.

My breath freezes in my lungs as I take in the enormous figure of a man standing in the doorway. He’s still cloaked in shadows, but one more step inside the bedroom, and I can really see him.

He’s huge. At least a foot taller than me, and thick ropes of muscle cover his arms and torso.

He’s only wearing jeans, and damn, they look like they are struggling to contain him. But his face. It’s familiar.

“You look like Angel,” I blurt.

He dips his chin, and it looks like he’s going to smile. But he doesn’t.

“Angel is my cousin and my second. My name is Nico,” he replies. “Do you know why you’re here, Anna Keller? Do you understand what you’re here to do?”

I lick my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. His voice is so rich and masculine, I swear he should narrate audiobooks or something. I press my legs together, hopefully in a way that doesn’t draw attention.

But his gaze drops to my thighs, or maybe he’s looking at the close-cropped curls covering my sex, so I guess I failed to be inconspicuous.

“I’m, um, here to pay a debt. To give you my body for one night in return for wiping my brother’s bill clean.”

He nods. His eyes never leave mine.

He steps forward, raising his big, inked up hands to my face. His nostrils flare and my eyes go wide when I feel him wrap his long fingers around my throat.

“Why are you doing this for him, huh? Your brother is a piece of shit,” he growls, startling me.

“He's my brother.”

It’s the only answer I have. But I can see it makes him angry. Or maybe that’s disgust marring his otherwise handsome features.

He steps back, releasing me, and I can breathe more easily. But I’m cold without his hands on me. And I’m very aware that’s not something I should be feeling.

His gaze rakes over me from head to toe, not lingering anywhere in particular. I’m a little disappointed but not surprised.

The man, Nico, looks like he’s chiseled from marble. I feel flabby and unworthy by comparison.

I’m nothing special.

And yet, there I am. Butt ass naked. Standing in front of a crime lord built like a superhero.

I’m nervous. I might start sweating, and God knows, my knees are knocking.

I can’t help but wonder what I’m supposed to do next.

Good thing I don’t have to wonder for long.

“Get on the bed. On your hands and knees. Face the wall.”

His words are clipped, and I know I’m right. He is angry.

But I do as he says, a sliver of nervous anticipation works its way through my body, stopping somewhere in my core.

It’s been a long time for me, and he’s a really good-looking guy. The kind of man I fantasize about when I’m reading romance novels and picturing myself as the heroine.

Yeah, his body is amazing. He’s just so ripped. But he has scars, too. And I know those muscles aren’t just for show.

He’s handsome, too. His nose is straight. His chin defined. He has high cheekbones and perfect lips. But it’s his eyes that really caught my attention.

They’re bright blue and stunning.

Still. Nothing about him or this sick little exchange should turn me on.

I’m basically prostituting myself. Giving my body to him in exchange for clearing Sammy’s debt.

Shit. I’m so mad at him. So disappointed in my brother.

And I want to hate this guy for letting Sammy do it. For taking his marker when he clearly doesn’t have the experience to make such bets.

But I can’t blame Nico. He is what he is.

King of the Vipers.

“I said, get on the bed, Rosebud,” he growls.

My stomach clenches and I move to obey his commands, trying not to care that my soft body is completely bare to him.

I’m shocked, and a little embarrassed. I know this position will expose my sex to this stranger, and he’ll see it.

He’ll know I’m excited.

I close my eyes and inhale a shaky breath as I lean forward until I’m positioned on my hands and knees, facing the exposed brick wall.

I hear the rustling of his jeans as he shucks them off. I suck in another breath as the bed depresses when he joins me on top of the mattress.

The comforter is slate gray, thick, expensive. It feels nice beneath my hands.

“Relax, Anna. I won’t hurt you.”

Then I feel his hands on my body. He’s touching my back, tracing lines down my spine, conjuring shivers, and making me ache.

“You’re so fucking soft. I knew you would be,” he murmurs.

My eyes close as he does it again. Nico runs his big hands down my sides this time, over my hips, tracing the globes of my ass, all the way down to my knees.

Then his fingers trace along my inner thighs, and suddenly, he’s pressing my legs apart.

“Fuck,” he grunts. “You’re fucking soaked, Rosebud.”

I don’t understand the nickname or why he’s given it to me. But I can’t find the air necessary to speak because Nico is kneeling behind me.

“Look at you all pink and wet for me. Gotta see if you taste as good as you look.”

His big hands are holding my thighs apart, my pussy on display, and fuck, I think I feel his warm breath on my skin before I feel him press his mouth against me.

A keening moan escapes my lips and I clutch the blankets beneath my hands.

I expect him to come at me like a beast. But I don’t expect this. Hell, I don’t even know what this is.

I’m not a virgin, no, but this is beyond my experience.

Nico is everywhere. His mouth, his tongue, his hands. He moans as he eats me out from pussy to asshole and I don’t know what to do with any of it.

So, I just hold on and let the big, bad Viper have his way with me.

The fact that I love what he’s doing is something I’ll never tell. I can’t. It’s just not something I can reconcile in my brain.

Nico is a criminal. He’s not the kind of guy I date, if I was dating anyone.

My brain is scrambling to catch up to the way he’s making my body feel.

I should have mercy on myself.

I should lie and tell myself I’m letting him ravage me all for Sammy’s sake.

That’s probably for the best. But I never was a good liar. And when he asks me if it feels good, I answer.

And I beg for more.

“Y-yes. It feels so good, Nico. Please.”