Viper's Hope (Anguis Defenders Book 1)(44)

It wasn't just that she wanted him to get some rest. Viper had teased her with his body all week though not intentionally. The man never wore a shirt over his mouth watering chest, and he thought nothing of leaving the bathroom door open when he bathed. Hope wanted to pinch and bite his firm ass on more than one occasion. Just the way he swaggered when he walked was captivating.

It really didn't help that the man was so sweet. Viper insisted on carrying her about, till her infernal monthly friend was over. Being held in his strong arms made the jittery feeling inside her go wild. Not that she could act on her increasingly naughty thoughts with aunt flo in town. Thank god the bitch left yesterday.

Still Hope dropped hint after hint, hoping that maybe they could snuggle or make out a little before bed, but besides the incident in the garden, the only time Viper touched her was when he carried her. It was maddening.

So either the man was truly honorable, or he really was having a hard time with the fact she was human. Though Hope refused to believe that, he was too personable, and she was sure he flirted with her. Plus the dates they went on around the ship were too romantic.

Despite the sexual tension they had a good time together, and the conversations were amusing. Not only was Viper sexy in a swarthy dark way, he was also pretty charming and funny.

Hope looked over at him as he told his story and smiled.

"I found myself on the back of the Hecca beast. It's almost like your cows but the size of your elephants, you saw them in the holo room." Viper described his first hunt. "It was running, and I was holding its ears as I flailed around its back." Viper mimicked how he looked as a youth bouncing around on the shaggy wild animal's back as it went on a rampage.

God, the man was cute. Watching his face and gestures as he told his story, had Hope admiring his body, as she had a dozen times a day. It was driving her crazy. Just because she wasn't certain about this mating thing, didn't mean she'd decided to become a nun. This was her fault. She was the one who insisted he not touch her.

"How old were you?" Hope asked realizing she was smiling and staring at Viper with goo-goo eyes.

"Ten rotations, that's usually when a male is old enough for their first hunt. I was a bit shorter than you are now." Viper smiled back, his fangs peaking from behind his lips.

Hope's hand drifted up to her neck, feeling the spot where he'd marked her.

"That's young." Hope replied bringing her wayward thoughts back to their conversation.

Hope imagined ten year old Viper trapped on a charging elephant. She would've freaked out if she were his mother.

"Well the beast managed to flip me off his back." Viper pantomime cartwheeling end over end with his hands.

"Please tell me you didn't break both your arms and legs!"

"No worse. My fall was broken by landing in a massive pile of crap." Viper shook his head in disgust but also chuckled. Hope adored hearing that sound, it made her smile. Apparently Anguis males took great honor in sharing their first hunt story, it was like some rite of passage thing. Hope could only imagine how embarrassed young Viper was.

"My brothers loved that one. I used to hate their teasing." Viper said pensively.

Hope learned Viper had lost all of his siblings to the Morbo virus, like many of the Anguis. It was a sad story. She could see he was thinking about how he wished he had his brothers to tease him now. She wanted to change the subject, they were having such a good time sharing stories.

"No shit!" Hope winked at him, impressed with her pun.

"You are a comedian huh?" Viper's mouth tipped up in amusement as he stretched uncomfortably.

"I insist you sleep in the bed tonight. If you don't I'll take the floor." Hope threatened.

She decided she'd try this angle, knowing full well Viper wouldn't abide by her sleeping on the floor.

Viper's looked absolutely miserable with his long legs hanging off that footrest, though it had to be a stitch better than the hard floor. Tomorrow afternoon they would land on his home world. The man really needed to get a good night's sleep before he had to start in on the task of getting the colony settled.

Then again her offer wasn't altogether altruistic. Hope's nipples constantly ached begging to be touched, and she felt empty inside. It had only gotten worse as the days passed. She wondered if she was going through some sort of withdrawal, she certainly wanted him like a drug.

"Hope I cannot lay in that bed with you." Viper rejected her offer yet again.

Hope was starting to feel slighted. It's not like he had to do more than sleep. She got up, grabbed a pillow along with one of the blankets and plopped down on the floor casting him a defiant look in the process.

"I will not have this." Viper shook his head.