She let her fingers slip away, and she let out an exaggerated breath. “Why can’t you talk to me? I mean, really talk to me?”
“Some things are better left forgotten.”
“It’s a simple question,” she said. “I’m trying to get to know you better. Every time I think we’re having a breakthrough, you pull away. Why?”
“Pepper, don’t push this.”
She frowned and crossed her arms. The girl was stubborn as a mule. “So, what, you’re using me for my inheritance? Is that all you care about, the almighty dollar?”
Viper scoffed. “Look around you, sweetheart, do I look like I need your money?”
“I guess hitmen only know how to use women. No sense actually opening up and getting close, right?” Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on him.
He held both her upper arms, securing her in front of him. The sky had darkened since the sun disappeared on the horizon, leaving them in partial shadows. “I haven’t had an easy life. Most of it would give a girl like you nightmares, and I’m trying to protect you from that shit. I’ve never cared about anyone before—until you.”
She swallowed hard, her anger draining away. “Then stop putting up walls, Viper.”
They sat on his oversized sofa, the one set up with his sheets and pillows. “If you have to know about the damn scar, I’ll tell you. When I was a kid, around ten, I think, a pregnant dog got into our compound. We were surprised when they let us keep her. A month later she had five puppies, black with white spots. I can still remember them like it was yesterday.”
“That’s so sweet.”
He frowned. “Six months later they brought us to the main yard. One of the leaders had gathered up the mother dog and pups. He forced us to slaughter them. It had all been a test, to teach us to block out emotion, and remind us that love made us weak.”
Pepper cupped her hands over her nose and mouth. “Oh my God, did he cut you for crying?”
“I didn’t cry. Didn’t even flinch. I knew better.”
“Then how did you get the scar?”
“They’d forgotten one of the pups. I hid him in my hut and tried to keep him safe, but as he grew, he wanted to play and I couldn’t keep him quiet. When they found out what I did, they beat me, forced me to watch them stomp the life from the puppy, and then used a machete to slice my face.”
“Why would they do that?”
“As a warning to the other boys not to break the rules. A visible reminder.”
Those assholes had destroyed him, body and soul. But Viper was a man now, and he’d never be a victim again. He bolted to his feet and began to pace, not wanting Pepper’s sympathy.
“Where are those wicked men now?”
“They’re dead. All of them.”
“Oh. How did they die?” she asked.
“I killed them.”
It had been a long time coming. It wasn’t until he’d physically matured, after the years of training behind him, that he dared to fight back. They’d transformed him into a vicious animal without considering the long-term consequences. It still gave him a natural high when he reflected on that day, the day he took his revenge and snuffed out their evil lives. He’d been killing ever since.
He expected Pepper to turn away in distaste, to judge him, to hate him. It wasn’t easy sharing such dark secrets. Instead, she stood up and wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “I can’t even imagine living like that. No child should have to go through what you went through.”
“Now you know,” he said, trying to replicate disinterest.
Her head was pressed to his bare chest. He draped his arms loosely around her. When she started to kiss his pecs, slowly, sensually, his emotions shifted to lust. Passion was ripe in the air, feeding into their mutual desire.
“Pepper, don’t start something you can’t finish. I’ve already told you that you belong to me, so I can only hold back for so long.”
“Maybe I don’t want you to hold back.”
If anyone was using a person, it was her. There was no way a good girl like Pepper wanted more than a fling with a man like Viper. She was right, for course—she deserved more; she deserved a man who wasn’t broken. But he wouldn’t deny her, not when he was pent up and hadn’t stopped replaying her little moans from their shower together.