VIPER
Fallen Angel Series #2
Brooke Blaine
Ella Frank
Copyright © 2019 by Brooke Blaine & Ella Frank
www.brookeblaine.com
www.ellafrank.com
Edited by Arran McNicol
Cover Design © By Hang Le
Cover Photography by Rafagcatala
Cover Model Christian Pérez
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
Synopsis
Also by Brooke Blaine
Also by Ella Frank
1. Viper
2. Halo
3. Viper
4. Halo
5. Viper
6. Halo
7. Halo
8. Viper
9. Halo
10. Viper
11. Halo
12. Viper
13. Halo
14. Viper
15. Viper
16. Halo
17. Halo
18. Viper
19. Halo
20. Viper
21. Halo
22. Viper
23. Halo
24. Viper
25. Halo
26. Viper
27. Viper
28. Halo
29. Halo
30. Viper
31. Halo
32. Viper
33. Halo
34. Viper
35. Viper
36. Halo
37. Viper
38. Halo
39. Viper
40. Halo
41. Halo
42. Viper
Thank You
Special Thanks
About Brooke Blaine
About Ella Frank
Synopsis
USA TODAY bestselling authors Brooke Blaine and Ella Frank continue the story of sexy Fallen Angel rockers Viper and Halo in VIPER.
Scorching chemistry. Red-hot lyrics. An irresistible bad boy.
Halo, the new lead singer for Fallen Angel, never stood a chance against Viper, the legendary lead guitarist for the band.
From the moment Halo set foot in Viper’s lair, the match was lit, threatening to consume the two men with the heat of their desire. But when their casual flings begins to morph into more, will it leave the entire band in flames?
After all, it may have been Halo who fell from grace, but it’s only a matter of time before Viper falls for an angel.
VIPER is the second book of the Fallen Angel Series and should be read following HALO. Halo and Viper’s story concludes in book three, ANGEL.
Also by Brooke Blaine
South Haven Series
A Little Bit Like Love
A Little Bit Like Desire
The Unforgettable Duet
Forget Me Not
Remember Me When
L.A. Liaisons Series
Licked
Hooker
P.I.T.A.
Romantic Suspense
Flash Point
PresLocke Series
Co-Authored with Ella Frank
Aced
Locked
Wedlocked
Fallen Angel Series
Co-Authored with Ella Frank
HALO
VIPER
ANGEL
Standalone Novels
Co-Authored with Ella Frank
Sex Addict
Shiver
Wrapped Up in You
All I Want for Christmas…Is My Sister’s Boyfriend
Also by Ella Frank
The Exquisite Series
Exquisite
Entice
Edible
The Temptation Series
Try
Take
Trust
Tease
Tate
True
Confessions Series
Confessions: Robbie
Confessions: Julien
Confessions: Priest
Confessions: The Princess, The Prick & The Priest
Sunset Cove Series
Finley
Devil’s Kiss
Masters Among Monsters Series
Alasdair
Isadora
Thanos
Standalones
Blind Obsession
Veiled Innocence
PresLocke Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
ACED
LOCKED
WEDLOCKED
Fallen Angel Series
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
HALO
VIPER
ANGEL
Co-Authored with Brooke Blaine
Sex Addict
Shiver
Wrapped Up in You
All I Want for Christmas…Is My Sister’s Boyfriend
One
Viper
FUCK. I FEEL amazing…
The distant sound of crashing waves woke me from one of the best night’s sleep I’d had in months. It was a lazy sound, relaxed, a direct contrast to the hot-as-hell sounds that had come from Halo last night when I’d been deep inside him, making him shout my name.
I stretched beneath the tangle of sheets, burrowing my face into the pillow, and as the smell of Halo’s shampoo hit me, I ground up against the mattress. I groaned, that scent making my blood hum through my veins as my body revved up for round two, and suddenly, the mattress wasn’t good enough. I wanted Halo under me, I wanted his legs wrapped around my waist, and I wanted to watch that flawless face of his when we came all over each other. And with that delicious thought in mind, I turned my head, searching for the angel who had weaved a spell over my throbbing cock.
The room had been swallowed up by shadows, and as I reached across the wide expanse of the California king to get my hands back on the body mine seemed to crave, my hips stilled, as I felt around the empty space beside me.
Putting my hands on the mattress, I shoved up so I could look over to the other side of the bed, and when I found it empty, I glanced over my shoulder, to see if Halo was somewhere else in the guesthouse. When all that met my eyes was darkness, I cursed and shifted over to the nightstand so I could flick on the bedside lamp. I winced against the brightness of it as I turned to sit up, and as I scanned the living space, taking in my duffel bags and guitar, it became crystal clear that the only thing missing from the room was Halo.
What the fuck? He left? When? I shoved my fingers through my hair and pressed the heel of my hand against my dick, trying to get it to calm down now that I knew it wasn’t about to get any kind of fucking action. My mind was busy trying to play catch-up, but with the fog of sleep still lingering, I was finding it difficult to put two and two together.
Halo had left my bed. Crept out like a thief in the goddamn night. And while I’d usually be ecstatic if one of my casual hookups took such initiative, the fact that Halo was gone and I wasn’t done with him yet had me swinging my legs over the edge of the mattress to hunt down a pair of sweats.
As I rounded the end of the bed for the duffels, I spotted my phone over on one of the recliners and made a beeline for it. Picking it up, I checked to see if Halo had left a text or a voice message, and when nothing came up, I tossed it back on the cushion and grabbed some sweats from my bag.
After pulling them on, I picked the phone back up and reached for the packet of cigarettes on the coffee table. I made my way to the French doors, unlocked them, and pushed them open, still trying to think of a logical reason as to why Ha
lo had ghosted. That had never happened to me before, ever. Usually, it was the other way around.
Planting my ass on one of the Adirondack chairs, I stared at my phone, trying to decide what the fuck to do next, because this…this was so far outside the norm for me that I had no clue what was expected of me right now. Was anything?
Fuckin’ Halo. I swear, ever since he’d shown up, he’d had me all kinds of messed up. I wasn’t the insecure type, but here I was before the ass crack of dawn staring at my phone like a schmuck and wondering if he’d run away because I’d done something to upset him.
Had I hurt him? No. I knew Halo had enjoyed himself. Hell, I’d made sure he got off before I even thought about it, and when he came all over my hand and his ass had tightened around me, I’d had a difficult time holding back to give him what he’d asked for.
But I did. I gave him exactly what he’d asked for. He used me, I used him, and there was no reason I should be sitting out here feeling— Shit, I didn’t know what I was feeling. But it was nothing good.
Opening up a new thread on my phone, I shot off a quick text to the angel. Correction, I shot off a quick lame text. You okay?
I wasn’t sure how long I stared at the phone, three, five, ten minutes. But when I got no reply, I shook my head and reached for my pack of cigarettes. As I lit up, I stared out at the white wash crashing onto the sand and couldn’t stop my mind from replaying in vivid detail the words, the images, the sublime feeling of finally having Halo in my bed, and I knew I was screwed. Once hadn’t been enough for me; I’d woken up wanting the unthinkable—more. But judging by the angel’s vanishing routine and my unsatisfied cock, it seemed like once was all I was going to get.
Fuckin’ Halo…
Two
Halo
I WRAPPED A towel around my waist as I stepped out of the shower the next morning, still feeling the ache in my muscles even after soaking them under the hot water. But I wasn’t sad about that. Not at all. The soreness I felt was a reminder of my night in Viper’s bed, and I wanted to hold on to it for as long as I could.
As I brushed my teeth, I looked at myself in the mirror, expecting to see some kind of physical change, one that would blast to everyone what I’d done last night. I had sex with Viper, it would say. And I fucking loved it.
But, of course, there was nothing there, no words written across my forehead, no markings anywhere someone would be able to see. My eyes dropped down to the barely there bruises along my hips from where Viper’s fingers had gripped me as he drove into me from behind.
God, he’d made me so crazy, so delirious with lust that I thought I’d known what to expect when it finally happened, but nothing, and I mean nothing, could’ve prepared me for the force that was Viper. The sheer control he wielded over my body, playing it the same way he dominated his guitar, had been like nothing I’d ever experienced. Had I known how fucking good it would feel to have Viper inside me, I would’ve let my guard down a hell of a lot earlier.
But then I’d still be in the same situation I found myself in now, wouldn’t I? Creeping out of the guesthouse in the middle of the night to avoid an awkward morning after that I had a strong feeling Viper usually did his best to avoid. Knowing him, he’d wake up grateful I’d given him an out, though I wouldn’t have minded staying, stealing more time with him.
And that was the problem, wasn’t it? What had he called me last night? A “romantic”? I could already see the way this thing would go, and I needed to stick to what I’d told myself would happen from the first moment I found myself being tempted by Viper. He was a one-and-done kind of guy, he didn’t do relationships, and while whatever this thing was between us had exploded in something seriously hot last night, that was all it would ever be, and it had to be enough to get him out of my system. I couldn’t afford to be stupid about this or let emotions get involved. We were bandmates, for fuck’s sake, and that needed to take priority over everything.
After rinsing my mouth and tying my hair back so I wouldn’t have to deal with it today, I threw on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt and then grabbed my phone from the jeans I’d been wearing last night. As I turned on the cell, a message from Viper, sent around three a.m., popped up.
You okay?
I sat down on the edge of the bed, my eyes still on the two simple words. So Viper had woken up after I left to realize I wasn’t there, and shot off a text to check on me? I doubted he sent a message like that to his other one-night stands, and for some reason, that made something in my chest lurch.
I started to text him back but got a look at the time and jumped up, shoving my cell into my shorts pocket. It was closing in on ten a.m., and the producers we’d be meeting with today were apparently sticklers about starting studio sessions on time. I needed some coffee if I was gonna be able to function on all cylinders today.
The kitchen was empty when I walked in, but I could smell the freshly brewed coffee, so I wasn’t the first one down. Grabbing a travel mug, I headed over to the coffee station and dumped a spoonful of sugar into the mug before pouring in the hot brew. I gave it a stir, took a sip, then capped it, just as Viper’s voice came from behind me.
“Mornin’,” he said, as I turned around to face him. Damn. Viper’s dark hair was still wet and combed back from his face, showcasing his strong jaw and those lips that had worked me over last night. In the light of day, it was hard to remember why I thought leaving him had been a good idea. I should’ve stayed and woken up to that face…
Before I could give any more thought to that, I set my mug on the large granite island between us. “Hey.”
“Hey.” He leaned his elbows on the counter, mimicking my position. “Where’d you run off to last night?”
“Hmm. What makes you think I was able to run?”
Viper’s lips quirked. “You sayin’ you crawled? ’Cause that would be a real stroke to my ego.”
I laughed and took a sip of my coffee. “Like you need your ego stroked any more. But yeah, running would’ve been…difficult.”
“Uh huh.” Viper smoothed the stubble on his jaw. He hadn’t shaved the past couple of days, but the look suited him. Made him look even more dangerous than I now knew he was. “So. I thought you had a good time last night.”
Good was an understatement, and as the images from the night before flashed through my mind, a small smile turned my mouth up. “I had a great time. Pretty sure you know that.”
“Oh yeah? What was with the vanishing act? I woke up lookin’ for you, but you’d ghosted.”
“Maybe I didn’t want you to see me crawl,” I teased. “Or maybe I was saving you the awkward morning after.” When Viper’s brows pulled together, I said, “You’re not the cuddling type, and I get that. So don’t worry; I’m not gonna pull a stage-five clinger act.”
“Huh.” Viper cocked his head to the side, studying me, but when he didn’t say anything else, I picked up my coffee.
“See you down there,” I said, walking by him out of the kitchen and heading to the studio.
There. Now he wouldn’t have to stress about whether I’d be cool about things. We could go back to working on music, and if something happened again between us, it happened again, and if not…well, at least things would stay amicable. Right?
Three
Viper
TODAY WAS GOING down the shitter, that was for damn sure. For the past eight hours we’d been locked up in the studio with the producers, and what did we have to show for it? Absolutely fucking nothing. Every song we’d attempted to lay down sounded jacked, and the more we reworked it, the more it tanked.
I’d like to say it was everyone’s fault, because that would be the easy out, but that would be a total lie. It was me, and only me. I was annoyed, irritated, and distracted as hell, and all because of the man sitting behind the piano on the opposite side of the room to me—Halo.
“Stop, stop, stop,” Killian called out for the umpteenth time, and aimed a glare my way that spoke volumes—volumes on how
much he thought I sucked. “V, you totally missed your cue. What the hell is going on with you today? The concert last night make you deaf or something?”
I narrowed my eyes on Killian, who was waiting for some kind of explanation as to why I couldn’t seem to get my shit together today, but when nothing logical sprang to mind, I said, “How about you get off my ass?”
Killian walked over to me, his eyes blazing, an argument swirling in their depths even as he tried to bank it. “Maybe if you had someone on your ass you’d be in a better mood. Jesus, V. I can’t remember the last time you sounded so off.”
I could. It was right after Trent Knox had walked out on the band. My concentration had gone to shit for about three months after that. Actually, it hadn’t gone to shit—it had found its way down to the bottom of every bottle of whiskey I could get my hands on. And as I stood there facing off with Killian, I tried to pinpoint what exactly it was about my exchange with Halo in the kitchen that had me so…so…pissed the fuck off.