CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Setting down the role of packing tape, Ella cricked her neck. "I'm never moving again. I just wanna throw that out there."

"You said that last time you moved," Mia reminded her, putting together another box.

"Yeah, well, I seriously mean it this time round." Over the past five days, Ella had gradually relocated her belongings to the compound. There wasn't much left to go.

Viper and his brothers had done all the heavy lifting, treating her like she was made of spun glass. But since she wasn't a fan of hauling stuff around, she hadn't complained. In fact, she and Mia had had fun observing all those male muscles bunching and rippling.

"It puts a slight downer on things that I don't have the blessing of all the people I love before taking this big step," said Ella. "Stupid, right?"

"Not stupid. They will pull their acts together eventually. Even Luka."

Ella sure hoped so. He wasn't being a total ass. He'd taken to texting her twice a day to check in and see how she was doing. He also called her regularly, his overprotective nature on hyperdrive due to her pregnancy. But he refused to acknowledge that Viper was her child's father.

She'd asked Luka how he'd like it if she acted this way toward his partner. He'd merely stared at her, his expression one of total incomprehension. In hindsight, she shouldn't have tried appealing to his sense of empathy—it was too detached.

She didn't want there to be a rift between her and Luka, but that could potentially happen. Because how could she ever pick his side—despite being his anchor—if he made any kind of move against Viper?

Neither male would go down easy in a fight. Blood would be spilled, and both were the type to keep battling until someone was dead.

Viper wouldn't end Luka's life—that would risk ending hers. But Luka might not pay him that same courtesy. And if her anchor somehow succeeded in killing him, Viper's brothers would seek revenge by executing Luka and his entire lair.

She didn't want any of them fighting. Didn't want to see any of them dead—not Viper, not Luka, not the Black Saints.

She also didn't want her mother or aunt to put some kind of hex on these particular celestials, but it could very well happen. Melodie and Jocelyn were visibly pleased by the pregnancy. They just annoyingly acted as though the child was an immaculate conception.

Whenever Ella mentioned Viper, they would either lapse into silence or quickly change the subject. It was ridiculous, but at least they were welcoming toward the baby.

"Do you regret telling Mom, Jocelyn, and Luka about you and Viper so soon?" asked Mia.

"No. It wouldn't have mattered when they found out, they were always going to react badly. And why should I have to hide something that brings me happiness?"

"I almost didn't tell Joe about Dice when he asked if I was seeing anyone yesterday. But I'm done keeping it secret to pander to other people's feelings. Still, I didn't expect Joe to flip. Even more shocking was his admittance that he'd ended the fling because he'd thought I'd protest."

Yeah, it transpired that—rather than simply ask Mia if, like him, she'd come to want more—Joe had decided to test her by putting a stop to the fling to see how she'd react. While it seemed nuts, it did explain why he'd recently acted like a jilted lover.

"At least he acknowledged that he should have manned up and handled things differently," Mia continued. "I feel bad, because it must have stung him to realize I didn't care for him the way he did me. I hate that I hurt him."

"Him being upset didn't entitle him to turn into a complete jerkoff. It wasn't as if you'd done anything to make him believe that you two were building a relationship."

Mia nodded her agreement. "I'd had boundaries firmly in place. We hadn't gone on dates or done any romantic stuff."

"I wish I'd been there to see Dice give him a dressing down." Apparently, the seraphim had gone almost nose to nose with Joe, who—struggling to stand his ground in the face of all that badassery—had gone from mouthy and snarly to silent and unsure.

Ella went on, "Dice was right that Joe expects a lot when it comes to you. He expects you to want what he wants, feel how he feels, chase after him when he pulls away, and put up with his shit. He always expected to be the center of everything for you."

Mia sighed. "I know. He always pressured me to cancel plans I had with others. He never had anything nice to say about any guy I got involved with. That Dice is one of the Fallen just gives Joe an excuse to piss and moan. I really hope he doesn't take too long to fix things."

Ella went to speak, but then Viper teleported into the room. She felt her mouth curve. "Hey. Didn't think you were coming until later."

His lips canted up. "I managed to shuffle some things around so I could come sooner." He inclined his head at Mia and then crossed to Ella, staring down at her with a possessive gleam in his eyes. "How are you and Peanut doing?" he asked, dropping his gaze to her belly as he gave it a light rub, practically brimming with masculine contentment, like all was right in his world.

"We're okay." A smile warmed her chest as she heard Viper's voice float into her mind as he babbled sweet greetings at their baby, whose mind stirred and fluttered against theirs. Something that never failed to fill her with wonder. "I'm almost done packing the last of my stuff."

He frowned. "I told you to wait until I got back; I said I'd help."

"I didn't need help with packing clothes—they're not exactly heavy. Still, Mia gave me a hand."

"I'll reach out to my brothers. They'll help with carting more of your stuff to the compound." His eyes skipped from hers to Mia. "You both look a little down."

"We were just talking about how our anchors are acting lately," said Ella with a sigh. "It tends to shit on our mood. I know you're not bothered that Luka pretends you don't exist, but I care. Especially when his behavior emboldens my mother and aunt, making them feel it's okay to do the same. I've decided that I'm going to give them a few weeks to get over their crap. If they haven't done it by then, I will have a serious talk with them."

It wouldn't come to that, because Viper had already discussed with his club what would happen if this continued. He wouldn't wait as long as three weeks to make his move. Not with how much it was getting to Ella. She didn't need the stress, and she shouldn't have to be saddled with it.

Ella sighed. "Right, call your brothers so we can teleport all my stuff out of here. I want to go home."

Home . He fucking loved that she called his compound that. "All right. It's pizza night apparently, you good with pizza?"

Her brow creased. "You guys have pizza night?"

"Not until an hour ago—Darko decided it's gonna be a new tradition."

She snorted. "I'm good with pizza. After we've scoffed some down, we can go to bed and you can fuck me stupid."

"If I must."

"You must."

Ella really did love when Viper put that tongue of his to work.

She lay flat on her bed, fisting the sheets, as his velvet-soft tongue flicked and lapped and pumped. She occasionally felt the edge of his teeth—a scrape here, a nip there.

He'd been at it for … she wasn't sure, she'd lost track of time. She only knew that her orgasm was already on her. She just needed his tongue to stop with these maddeningly shallow pulses.

Ella tugged hard on his hair in demand, knowing he liked it.

A low, deep growl fanned her slick flesh. Viper then tilted her hips and sank his tongue deeper. Oh, thank the good Lord.

His tongue pumped, pumped, pumped just as his hand pushed down on her navel. Oh Jesus, it put the best kind of pressure on her G-spot. Game over.

She came, her back bowing, her thoughts splintering.

Viper slinked up her body and lowered his weight onto her, his muscles bunched with barely restrained need. A hand palmed her ass and lifted it as he nudged the broad head of his cock inside her. "You ready to be fucked?"

Ella licked her lips. "I'm ready to be claimed."

He went completely rigid, tension crawling into his frame; his gaze piercing hers, searching and studying.

He wasn't going to find any doubts there. All he'd see was excitement and certainty. Those same emotions coursed through her demon. The idea of performing the binding—whatever it entailed—appealed to them both.

She understood why he'd asked her to wait. Understood he'd wanted to be certain she was fully committed to him in mind, body, and soul before he bound them together. But if he asked that they wait longer she was gonna throat punch him. After he'd fucked her, of course. She wasn't going to do herself out of another fabulous orgasm.

"You're sure, Ella?"

"I'm sure."

"I'll claim everything that you are," he warned. "You'll never get any of it back."

"I won't ever want it back. It's all already yours anyway."

Viper pulled in a breath as relief, triumph, and male contentment rooted themselves deep in his belly. "Mine." With a low growl, he closed his mouth over hers and slammed his cock deep.

He swallowed her sharp cry as he rode her hard, urged on by his smug-as-fuck entity. Viper had originally intended to take her slow and easy. But his restraint was a distant memory. All he could think about was taking, possessing, gorging, claiming .

So long he'd yearned for this. He'd almost had it once, only to lose her before he could lay his claim. Now it would finally happen.

His entity pushed to the surface and stared down at her. "We own all of you now. You'll only ever belong to us."

Ella swore in surprise as the entity began to ferociously fuck in and out of her. She tightened her legs around its waist, digging her fingers into the hard muscle of its back. Every thrust was savage, relentless, entitled.

Pure white eyes became a striking blue as Viper resurfaced. "Open for me."

She felt him, then; felt his mind stroking against hers insistently. "It'll hurt you to be in my mind."

"It'll hurt a lot less if you drop your shields. Open for me, Ella."

Even as her belly fluttered with nerves, she lowered her psychic shields. He poured into her mind, fast as water gushing along river rapids; filling every space, marking every corner, leaving pieces of himself.

Then … it was as if her very being lifted . Floated toward him, like it had been called. She recalled that he could do that; could call souls, take them.

Their souls touched. No, joined with a warm click . And, God, now she felt every bit of pleasure he was feeling.

That pleasure soared through her, amplifying her own.

Then his teeth sank deep, a flash of pain spiced her spiraling pleasure, and boom she fractured.

By the time she came down from her high, he was slowly and idly gliding his softening cock in and out of her as he blew over her bite, healing the puncture marks.

Ella blinked at him. "Wow. That was intense."

His lips curved. "And now you're irrevocably mine. Good luck with that."

She chuckled, sweeping a hand up his back.

Withdrawing his cock, Viper nuzzled her temple. "Love you, baby."

Her lips trembled. "And I love you."

Fuck, his heart hurt in the best way. She always showed what she felt for him; never hid it from her voice, expressions, or body language. Saying it aloud simply never came easy to her, so it meant that much more when she gave him the words.

Right then, the cell on her nightstand began to ring but she ignored it, her gaze turned inward as she let his hair sift through her fingers. "Even though you're gone from my mind, I can still feel your ‘touch' there. Your psychic fingerprints, for lack of a better term."

"I had to be inside both your mind and body in order to reach your soul," he explained, rolling them both onto their sides facing each other. "Our souls are now connected." Satisfaction dripped from every word. He could not be more fucking content right now. It genuinely wasn't possible.

"What does that mean for us?"

"Many things. Our hearts now beat in sync. You'll age as I age. We'll forever be connected—nothing could pry our souls apart." Viper paused, suspecting she might not like what he said next. "And neither of us can exist without the other."

She stiffened against him. "So if I died—"

"That won't happen."

"But if I did, despite how powerful you are, you'd die along with me?"

He dipped his chin.

She gaped at him in horror. "Why would you do that? Why would you make yourself vulnerable this way?"

"You'd be my one vulnerability either way, Ella. I've lived a very long life, but I never felt alive until you. Before, I followed and served and did extremely dark deeds. My entity was the only light I had, but then it lost its light when I fell. You're that for me. Without you, I'd be the living dead. I'd do terrible things once more. It's better that you'd take me with you."

Ella felt her throat thicken. He'd spoken so matter-of-factly, no hesitance in being so bluntly honest. And his words, oh, they hit her hard. "I … I don't know what to say to that."

One of his fingers traced the shell of her ear. "Just say you love me again."

"Later. I'm too busy being mad that you'd essentially tie your lifespan to mine." She loved that he'd claimed her; loved that they officially belonged to each other. But she didn't like what it meant for him. Her demon didn't particularly understand her problem, but it wasn't in the habit of putting other people first, so …

"Not sure if you've considered this but, being half archangel, our baby is not going to have an average lifespan. Now, neither will you."

" You won't either if I die before you," she pointed out.

His gaze turned severe. "Nothing is going to happen to you. I'd never allow it."

She was about to remind him that he couldn't control everything, but then her cell began to chime again. "I think it might be Luka. I can feel his psyche buzzing against mine." He didn't feel whatsoever happy.

"He might have felt my mind briefly fill yours," mused Viper.

She nabbed her still-ringing phone from the nightstand. "Yeah, it's him." She answered, "Hello."

"What just happened?" Luka demanded.

She bit down on her lower lip. "Uh, I got claimed by Viper."

"What does that mean?"

"That we're permanently bound together."

Several Russian curses streamed down her ear. "This shit just keeps getting better and better," he groused.

Pretending to misunderstand, she smiled and said, "Agreed."

His response was a low growl. Then the line went dead.

Ella jerked away from her phone, frowning. "He just hung up on me."

Viper nuzzled her neck. "What else would you expect? He hasn't gotten used to me being in your life yet. He will, though."

"He'd better," she muttered, tossing her phone back on the nightstand. "But I'm not holding my breath." Her eyes bled to black as her demon shoved its way to the surface and took over. "I do not want to talk about him anymore," it told Viper.

"Okay. What do you want to do?"

"Claim you right back." The demon slapped its hand on his chest, the flesh beneath its palm began to burn … and he realized it was branding him.

His cock came to life once more, and the demon had barely finished leaving its mark before he'd slammed his dick home again.