He closed the distance between them in two strides, catching her wrist with his hand before she could zip the bag.“You’re not leaving,” Viper repeated .
Her eyes shimmered with tears.Mara looked angry and scared all at once.
“Why not?I’m not worth this, Viper.I never was.You’ve done enough.You’ve saved me more than once, and I can’t keep relying on you forever,” Mara said.
“Don’t.”He gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes.“Don’t say that.”
“It’s the truth,” Mara said, voice hitching.
“No.You don’t get to decide what you’re worth to me,” he said.
She blinked, confusion flickering across her face.“Viper...”
“I meant what I told King,” he cut in.“Every damn word.You’re mine now, and I protect what’s mine.”
Before she could argue, he kissed her.It was hard and searing, the kind of kiss that burned through logic and fear and everything that had kept him chained for years.
Mara froze for half a heartbeat, then melted against him, the fight leaving her in a rush.She placed her hands over his chest, clutching his cut.Mara pulled him closer instead of pushing him away.They deepened the kiss and it was raw and desperate.
When he finally broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against hers.Both of them were breathing hard.
“You don’t get to run from me,” he murmured.“Not after this and not after everything we’ve been through.”
“Viper ...you don’t know what you’re doing,” Mara said, voice trembling.
He gave a rough, humorless laugh.“Trust me, sweetheart, I know exactly what I’m doing.I’ll admit that it scares the hell out of me.”
She stared up at him, tears welling again.“Why?Why would you risk everything for me?”
“Because somewhere between saving your ass and trying not to lose my goddamn mind around you,” he said, brushing a thumb along her jaw, “I stopped thinking about what I should do and started thinking about what I want to do.”
Her breath caught.“And what’s that?”
“Keep you right where you belong,” Viper told her.
Her eyes widened.“With you?”
He didn’t answer in words.Viper slid his hand to the back of her neck, pulling her closer until their lips almost brushed again.“You already know the answer.”
For a moment, they just stood there, with Mara pressed against the edge of the bed and him looming over her. The duffel bag lay half-packed on the mattress, forgotten.
Then Viper reached out, grabbed the zipper.He yanked it shut, not to finish packing, but to close it.
“You’re not going anywhere,” Viper repeated for the last time.
Mara searched his face.“You’re serious.”
“Dead serious.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed for me,” Mara finally whispered.
“You’re underestimating me, sweetheart.I don’t die easy,” Viper told her.
He leaned in, brushing a kiss against her temple.“Now unpack that bag.You’re not running from me again,” he ordered.
Mara hesitated, then exhaled shakily.Slowly, she pulled the zipper open, her movements small and uncertain.
Viper stayed close, watching her.He’d made his choice.She might still believe she wasn’t worth it, but to Viper, there was no question anymore.
