Page 68 of Viper

“Like what?”

She grinned like a little vixen. “Crazy.”

He kissed her lips, then tweaked her nose. “Any man who wouldn’t put a bastard in the ground for hurting their woman needs to be shot.” He angled his chin and held her gaze. “Is that a problem?”

She tossed back her hair and patted his chest. “Just so happens I like your kind of crazy.” She dragged her teeth over her bottom lip. “A lot, apparently,” she said, her voice low and husky and full of adoration.

He brought his mouth to her ear and kissed the sensitive spot beneath. “You’re killin’ me, babe.”

“Which isn’t hard to do, from what I’ve noticed.”

He straightened and tucked her hair behind her ear, fighting the urge to kiss her again. If he did, he wouldn’t stop. “I’m going to deal with this today. Might be gone awhile, but this shit’s gone on too long already. Spend some time with your brother. I know he’ll keep you safe.”

Not that the other guys wouldn’t. In truth, when it came to protecting any woman, each and every Phantom Ops man would lay down his life. However, Striker had been overprotective of his sister to begin with.

She sighed long and hard. “Fine.” A sad look crept into her eyes. “I love being here. Especially with you. But right now, I just want to go home.”

“Me, too,” he admitted. Although part of him was nervous that being back in Pittsburgh would change things between Paige and him.

Sun, sand, and beaches often brought out the romance in people. Not to mention they’d been pushed together due to her being targeted. If it hadn’t been for her needing his protection, things might not have escalated in the same way between them.

He couldn’t help but fear that once they returned to their regular lives, maybe she’d realize she didn’t want to be with him.

Before he could say anything else, she placed a kiss to his lips and beamed. “Be careful. We finally have a good thing going, and I don’t want you to screw it up by getting shot.”

He laughed and swept his hand up the back of her towel to catch her perfect ass cheek in his palm. “Don’t worry. I’ll come back in one piece. I’ve got this waiting for me.”

She grinned and settled her hand on his jaw. “And this.” Her lips pressed to his.

Time slowed as he wrapped her in his arms.

Hedley could wait a few minutes.

“We’ve got some time to kill,” Atlas said from where he sat on the couch, bracing his ankle on his knee. “Want to watch a movie?”

Paige frowned at her brother. “Are you serious? It’s like 1:00 p.m., beautiful out, and we’re in Florida.”

“Well after last night, a walk on the beach is out. It’s probably best we lay low until Craig’s caught—which will be today.”

She dropped into the beige accent chair and placed the turquoise throw pillow on her lap. “No offense, but if I have to sit here and make small talk with you all day, it’s going to kill me.”

“We can talk about all the reasons you’re too good for Viper.”

Her mouth popped open. “I can’t believe you said that,” she snapped. “He’s your best friend, so what’s that say about you?”

Her patience was fizzling. If the pillow on her lap were a heavier object, she’d have hurled it at his head.

Atlas crossed his arms over his chest. “I love Viper. I do. He’s a great guy. I also recognize he treats you well and seems to care about you.”

“So what’s the problem?”

He slid his gaze to the window and then slowly back to her. “I’ve known him a long time. He’s never settled down.”

“You also never settled down until you met Molly.”

His mouth lifted at the corner. “True.” He sighed. “All right, I’m happy for you. I just hope it lasts.”

“It will.”