Viper
Marteeka Karland
(Bones MC, #4)
Publication date: December 13th 2019
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, New Adult
Darcy: I didn’t run away from a sadistic stepfather and a mother who wouldn’t protect me from him to be carted off by a strange man. I fought the son of a bitch. Woulda won, too, except the bastard had help. He was rough around the edges and some kind of bad-ass biker so there was no way this was going to work out well. Unfortunately, he called to me on a purely sexual level. Made my heart race and my body melt just by looking at me. It didn’t help that he was actually nice to me. He claimed to know my dad. My real dad. Said he’d been sent to bring me back. I had no idea if I believed him or not. Just didn’t really have a choice but to go along with him. At least for now.
Viper: I tracked the cunning little wench for three fuckin’ days. In the fuckin’ snow. Little wench was good, too. She survived on her own in a hostile environment with only a little trouble. That alone would have given me respect for her, but then she had to go and kick me in the balls. Had I not been on the ground in agony, I’d have been turned on beyond belief. Now, with her safely under my protection, I’ve got to figure out how to keep my hands off her so her father won’t kill my sorry ass. He’s our intel man and one of my best friends, so I don’t want to cause him grief. But I want Darcy. Badly.
As Christmas nears, an enemy approaches us with a unique gift. One that will leave all of us with hard choices. Darcy especially. What unfolded next was never somethin’ any of us planned for.
—
EXCERPT:
“We’re not gonna hurt you,” Viper said, hands out in front of him as he approached her.“I know,” she said, her voice a whisper of sound.
“Viper!” It was the only warning Arkham could issue before the girl attacked. She launched herself at Viper. In reflex, he caught her.
Two things happened when he closed his arms around her. First, Viper recognized she was more than a girl. The woman had curves aplenty, two of which were mashed against his chest, rubbing over him with every movement of her body. Second, the woman was fucking fierce. Viper was perfectly capable of defending himself, but he was hesitant to do anything for fear of hurting her. So she pummeled him with that fucking rock. By sheer luck, she didn’t catch his head with it, only his jaw. Viper retained his hold on her with one arm securely around her waist while using the other to block her blows as best he could. For such a small little thing, she packed quite a punch! Despite his efforts, she still connected several times before Arkham disarmed her. Bastard didn’t help him any more than that. And still, she fought. Apparently frustrated with her lack of progress, Darcy shrieked, kicking out and continuing to hit at him with her fists.
“Knock it the fuck off, woman!” Viper finally set her on her feet and captured her wrists in his hands and wrapped his arms around her, trapping her with his superior strength. “Look at me, Darcy!” Viper used every ounce of command he possessed. In the end, it was probably the use of her name that made her pause in her tirade. “Look at me!” When she gave him a wary look he took a breath. “Your father sent us to find you and bring you home.”
“I’m not going back! I’m old enough to make my own decisions, and I’ll be damned if I go back to that bastard!” Her struggles resumed. She tried to hike her knee up into his groin, but he managed to avoid it, pulling her tighter against him. It was getting exceedingly hard to ignore the lush curves pressed against him. The woman was tempting in the worst way.
“You’ve never even met your dad,” Viper said, struggling to hold her while not hurting her. “I assure you, he’s a good man.”
“Rayburn, my stepdad, is a molesting bastard and my mom is nothing more than his pimp! I’ll kill both of them and you before I go back!”
Viper was so shocked, he relaxed his hold for a second, giving the girl enough leverage to break free. Darcy promptly kicked him in the balls before spinning around to flee again. Arkham caught her, spun her back around, and zip-tied her hands behind her back, ensuring he didn’t get a repeat of what Viper got. Once she was secured, he looped a length of rope around her waist and tied her to a tree.
“That should take care of that.” Arkham turned his attention to Viper, kneeling down beside his biker brother. “You gonna be all right?”
“Shut the fuck up, you smug bastard.” Viper tried to sound menacing, but it was hard to do when his balls were singing. Didn’t help with him down on one knee looking up at the big man, either.
“Just trying to help a brother out.” Arkham raised his hands in surrender before turning back to their prisoner.
“You gonna fight me, girl?”
“You gonna try to take me back to that hellhole?” She had to look up at Arkham, but Darcy didn’t seem the least bit intimidated. In fact, she looked to be sizing him up, looking for the easiest way to take him down.
“Hadn’t planned on it,” he said.
When Arkham didn’t offer anything else, Viper added, “It’s your biological father who sent us. We’re takin’ you back to the clubhouse.”
She looked from Arkham to Viper. “Biological father. Clubhouse?”
“Yeah.” Viper groaned as he got to his feet. “Look. I’m Viper. This is Arkham. We’ve been huntin’ you for three fuckin’ days, sweetheart. I’d like to get out of the fuckin’ snow.”
“Three days? I’ve only been gone like five.” They had Darcy’s attention now. Viper could see her calming down and really listening to what they had to say.
“Data set us on you less than an hour after he got the news from your mother.”
“Bullshit,” she spat. “My mother hasn’t had contact with my dad since right after I was born. She said he had no use for a kid.”
“Don’t know their story. Or yours.” Viper shrugged. “All I know is a man as steady as a rock under any kind of pressure is on my ass in a big way to get you home and out of danger.”
“Well, he hasn’t been in my life for the first eighteen years. I don’t need him for the next eighteen.”
“You don’t even want to hear what he has to say? Not gonna cost you anything but a few hours of your precious time. You don’t like what he says or think he’s feedin’ you a line of bullshit, you can leave. Hell, I’ll even take you anywhere you wanna go.”
She was silent for a moment as she pondered what he’d said. Viper had to stifle a groan. It was the first time he’d had a chance to really study her. Her stocking hat had fallen free, releasing a riot of bright red curls that spilled around her face and down her back. Her skin was nearly as pale as the snow around her but smattered with a light dusting of freckles across her forehead and the bridge of her nose. Delicate eyebrows rose in a fiery arch above sparkling pale blue eyes. Her appearance matched her temper, but also gave a man black ideas. Like spreading her out right here in the snow and fucking her until they melted the clearing around them. God! Would she have fiery curls on her cunt? In an instant, Viper was hard and aching, his need to claim this woman here and now so strong he had to bite back a growl.
Finally she relaxed against her bonds. “Fine. Kinda cold out here anyways.”
Author Bio:
Romance author by night, emergency room tech/clerk by day, Marteeka Karland works really hard to drive everyone in her life completely and totally nuts. She has been creating stories from her warped imagination since she was in the third grade. Her love of writing blossomed throughout her teenage years until it developed into the totally unorthodox and irreverent style her English teachers tried so hard to rid her of. Now, she breathes life into faeries, space hunters, werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, and a few just plane ole ordinary people. She loves to see the awkward, self-conscious band geek get the captain of the football team and make him beg for it.
Viper looks tough. Sounds like a great NA read.
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