by K. L. Ramsey
“I ran into him tonight at The Voodoo Lounge,” Dallas admitted.
“Well, shit. That’s not good. Did you talk to him?” Eden asked. Dallas could hear the question her friend was really asking her.
“Just go ahead and ask,” Dallas said.
“Did you tell him about Greer?” Eden dramatically whispered.
Dallas shook her head. “No. I didn’t even get the chance to talk to him. He was sitting across the bar with some really good looking guy and by the time I tried to make it across the crowded dance floor, they bolted.”
“Good,” Eden said. “You don’t owe him anything, Dallas. He used you and left you pregnant and alone. Hell, you didn’t even know if that fucker was alive or dead. Telling him about Greer would be a huge mistake.” Dallas wondered if her friend was right. For months after Savage cut off contact with her, she worried that he had been in some horrific accident and was hurt or worse—dead. It was silly really but believing some made up tragic story was so much easier than knowing the truth. He just walked away from her and that realization stung like a son-of-a-bitch. Eden was right about one thing—Savage used her and didn’t even have the common decency to tell her it was over. He was a coward and he showed his true colors tonight when he ran out of that bar again.
“Maybe you’re right,” Dallas said with a shrug.
“No maybe about it, girl. You’ve proven that you don’t need his damn help with Greer. You’re an awesome mom and your daughter will get everything she needs from you and well—me, her fabulous auntie.”
Dallas giggled, “Thanks, fabulous auntie,” she teased. “I needed to hear that tonight. It was just so strange, you know?”
“You mean seeing him again?” Eden asked.
“No—the way he left out of that bar. First, he took off like his pants were on fire and then, I could have sworn that he was holding hands with the hot guy he was with.”
“What?” Eden questioned. “As in—they were there together, on a date?”
“Yeah, but that’s crazy, right?” Dallas asked. Maybe she hadn’t seen them correctly or she had just misread the situation.
“Well, that would explain why he ghosted you,” Eden offered. “Maybe he realized he liked being with guys,” she teased.
“Are you implying that I turned him gay?” Dallas mocked upset and Eden giggled.
“That is one explanation,” Eden joked, but Dallas found the whole topic less funny than her friend seemed to. Dallas had more at stake in all of this—she had more to lose and there would be no way she’d take chances with her daughter’s happiness, not even for the sexiest man she had ever known. When Savage walked away from her, he didn’t realize he was also leaving behind a little piece of himself that would remind Dallas, every day, of the time they had spent together. Her three-month-old daughter, Greer, was the spitting image of her father and the reason why she needed to work through her anger towards Savage. She owed her daughter at least that much.
BOWIE
Bowie grabbed two beers from his fridge and found Savage sitting on his little sofa, brooding. God, the guy was sexy as fuck when he was angry and for some reason, the hot blonde at the bar seemed to make Savage madder than hell.
“Here,” Bowie said, pushing the beer at him. “I think you might need this.”
“Thanks,” Savage said, taking the bottle from him.
“Want to tell me about her?” Bowie asked. Really, the last thing he wanted to do with Savage was talk about the woman at the bar. He wasn’t really jealous that Savage had dated her, but he wished he could get under the big guy’s skin as much as the blonde seemed to.
“No,” Savage lied. “Dallas and I went on a few dates and that’s it, really.”
“Liar,” Bowie accused. He knew there had to be more to the story than what Savage was telling him. The way she looked at Savage with so much contempt, he knew that Savage was leaving out a vital part.
“So, you ghosted her and then what?” Bowie pushed. Savage growled and set his beer down.
“I didn’t come here to talk about my ex or my past fuck-ups. I came here to hopefully have a few beers and get to know you,” Savage said.
“I’m calling bullshit on that one too,” Bowie said. He set his beer next to Savage’s and slid closer to him on the sofa. “You didn’t come here to get to know me,” he challenged. “You came here for this,” he said. Bowie pulled Savage against his body and sealed his mouth over his, using his surprised gasp to gain entry with his tongue. By the time Bowie broke their kiss, they were both panting for air and their raw need seemed to hum through the room.
“Fuck,” Savage growled. “Do that again,” he ordered. Bowie was right—Savage was bossy and that was just the way he liked his guys. Bowie did exactly as ordered, straddling Savage’s big lap and covering his body with his own. Bowie could feel Savage’s heart racing under his t-shirt and it was doing all kinds of crazy things to his libido. Knowing that Savage was just as turned on by the whole scene as he was made him hard.
“You feel so fucking good,” Bowie whispered against his lips. He ground his own cock against Savage’s letting him feel every inch of his arousal. Bowie fucked his lips just the way he wanted to fuck Savage’s ass and he just hoped to God that was the way their evening together was going to end. He needed to find his release and he hoped that Savage would agree to let him do it in his sexy as sin ass.
“Bed,” Savage gasped between kisses. “Naked,” he ordered.
Bowie smiled down at him and nodded. “I want in your ass,” he admitted.
“Fine,” Savage barked. “But first, you’re going to give me a blow job and get me off.” Bowie loved that Savage was calling the shots. The thought of wrapping his lips around Savage’s dick made him nearly come in his damn pants.
“Yes,” he hissed. He stood from Savage’s lap and pulled him up from the sofa, leading the way back through his tiny apartment to his bedroom. Bowie pushed Savage back against his bed, liking the way he fell onto the mattress, accepting whatever fate Bowie had planned for him. He unbuckled Savage’s jeans and pulled them down his thick thighs.
“No underwear?” Bowie asked. He made a mock tsking noise and Savage laughed.
“I don’t own underwear,” Savage said.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” Bowie groaned. He palmed Savage’s impressive erection and knelt over him, sucking him completely into his mouth. When Savage shoved in further, to the back of his throat, Bowie swallowed around his cock, causing him to moan out his name.
“You keep doing that and I won’t last long, Babe,” Savage growled. Hearing the little term of endearment made Bowie’s heart do a flip-flop in his chest. He needed to keep his head in the damn game and remember that wasn’t what this was between the two of them. This was just a fuck to Savage and Bowie needed to play the game. Savage had already made it loud and clear that he wasn’t looking for anything more. The last thing Bowie wanted was to end up the jilted ex giving him the stink-eye across a crowded bar. It seemed that Savage already had a not so secret ex-lover that was handling that role quite well.
Savage took over, pumping his cock in and out of Bowie’s willing mouth, taking exactly what he needed from him. He knew Savage was close and when he hoarsely cried out Bowie’s name and came down his throat, Bowie swallowed all of him and licked him clean.
“God, Babe,” Savage whispered. He was trying to catch his breath and Bowie smiled down at him, damn proud of what he had just given Savage.
“Wait here,” Bowie ordered. He ran to his bathroom and grabbed the lube and a condom. He needed in Savage’s ass, as promised, or he was going to burst.
“Up,” Bowie ordered. Savage seemed just as willing to take direction, doing as Bowie had ordered. He bent over Bowie’s bed and let him rub lube in his ass. Bowie let his hand trail down to Savage’s balls and gently caressed them, feeling his cock spring to life again.
“You’re going to feel so good, Savage,” he crooned. He put the condom on and lubed up h
is cock and when he lined himself up to take Savage’s ass, his guy pushed back against him, taking him all in just one thrust.
“Shit, man,” Bowie shouted. “Fuck, you’re going to have to give me a minute.” Savage felt so fucking good, he knew he wasn’t going to last long. Bowie thrust in and out of Savage’s body, loving the way he ruthlessly pushed back into him with every thrust as if challenging him to be rougher than he already was. Savage was a beast and Bowie’s only thought was to tame him. When he came, he shouted Savage’s name and collapsed on top of him, pushing Savage face-first into the mattress.
“That was—” Bowie didn’t get to finish his thought before Savage was rolling out from underneath him to stand.
“Great,” he finished for Bowie. “But, I have to get going.”
“Going?” Bowie questioned. “You alright, Savage?” He asked. He knew Savage was running scared but he wasn’t about to hold the guy up from making his hasty retreat. If Savage wanted to fuck him and then run off, that was on him.
“Yep,” Savage lied.
“Wow,” Bowie whispered. “You really don’t do the whole dating thing at all, do you?” Savage pulled on his pants and tugged his shirt over his head. He was getting dressed so fast, he looked like a blur of arms and legs. It was almost comical but Bowie wasn’t in the mood to find anything funny. Instead of amused, he was feeling used and a little hurt.
“I have a kid—remember? I need to get home before the babysitter’s time is up and I promised Chloe I’d be home in time to tuck her in.”
“Okay,” Bowie said. He couldn’t fault the guy for wanting to get home to see his kid before she went to bed. “Will I see you again?” God, he sounded like a lovesick schoolgirl and he wanted to stop talking but that was proving impossible.
“I mean—only if you want to see me again. I know what this was, Savage and if you are just a one night kind of guy, then I get it.” Bowie couldn’t seem to stop the verbal diarrhea that was running out of his mouth. And, Savage had the nerve to laugh at him. Bowie wanted to crawl under the bed and stay there until Savage was gone, but he said what he said and taking it all back now was impossible.
“Geeze Bowie. Take a breath, man,” Savage teased. “Besides seeing you around the arsenal, I’d like you to come over to my house for dinner this Friday if you are free. Chloe has a sleepover at a friend’s house and you can even spend the night if you want.”
Bowie whistled, “Well, I didn’t see that one coming,” he teased. Savage gave him a sexy smirk and shrugged.
“Me either, really. Listen, Bowie—I don’t get all mushy and sentimental. I don’t do flowery, romantic gestures; that’s just not me. If you need all that shit, then this might not work,” Savage said, motioning between them.
“No, I’m good with no romantic shit. I was just not expecting a second date is all.” Bowie stood and made his way to the bathroom to discard the condom and pulled on a pair of gym shorts. He found Savage standing by his front door as if he had a meter running on an Uber.
“So, we on for Friday?” Savage asked. Bowie nodded and brushed past Savage to open the front door. Savage grabbed his arm and pulled him back against his body. “Was that a yes?” Savage questioned.
Bowie smiled at him, “Yes,” he agreed. “I’ll see you Friday. Just text me your address and I’ll be off at about five. I’ll need to grab a quick shower and then I can be over to your place around six if that works. I’ll bring the beer,” he offered.
“Sounds good,” Savage said. He kissed Bowie and then left, leaving him to wonder what the hell had just happened. The man he’d been watching for weeks now not only ended up in his bed but was agreeing to see him again. Bowie always did like surprises and Savage was turning into quite the surprise first date, considering it was leading to a second one and he didn’t see that one coming at all.
SAVAGE
What the fuck was wrong with him? He had just spent the evening with a damn near perfect guy and here all Savage could think about was the sexy little blonde who gave him the evil eye all night long. He went and acted like a complete ass to Bowie; running out of his fucking apartment as fast as humanly possible to drive all the way back to The Voodoo Lounge to see if Dallas was still there.
Yep, he was a complete asshole and if Bowie found out about why he had hightailed it out of his place so fast, he’d probably never speak to him again and Savage wouldn’t blame him. If the situation was reversed, he’d feel the same way. He drove straight to the bar, sending his sitter a quick text that he was going to be a little later than usual. He offered to pay her double and she agreed to stay an extra hour with Chloe. He was going to miss saying goodnight to his little princess and tucking her into bed as promised, and that pissed him off. He was mad at himself but there was no way around it. He needed to find Dallas and explain to her what happened. He needed to apologize and beyond that, he was secretly hoping she’d give him another fucking chance. After the night he had with Bowie and the mind-blowing orgasm he had, the only thing he could think about was putting Dallas between the two of them.
The problem was getting Bowie to agree to his crazy idea. Hell, the problem would be getting Dallas to give him five minutes of her time and not rip his fucking heart out of his chest. He’d deserve it too, but that wouldn’t stop him from trying. He parked in front of the bar and looked around the lot as if expecting to find her standing there waiting for him. Instead, he found the place had pretty much emptied out and his heart sank.
Savage walked into the bar, pretending to be cool and collected although he felt anything but. “Hey, Savage,” the bartender called. “You forget something?” He wanted to tell Mike that he had forgotten his damn rules because apparently, that was true. His rules were in place for a reason and not getting too involved with anyone seemed like a damn good rule right about now. But here he was, wanting to get into a messy situation with not one but two people and that drove him just about fucking nuts.
“No,” Savage said, doing a quick surveillance of the bar. When he spied the bride-to-be from earlier, he wasn’t sure if he felt relief or panic. He needed to man-up and ask her where Dallas was. That was why he drove back across town and left a warm bed with a sexy as fuck, willing man, wasn’t it?
“Excuse me,” Savage yelled over the bad honky-tonk music. The woman turned and eyed him and then smiled as if she recognized him.
“Hey—it’s you,” she slurred.
“Yeah,” Savage said. “Um, your friend that was here, earlier—Dallas,” he started. The bride-to-be threw her body up against his and practically knocked him over.
“You’re the nice guy who bought us all drinks,” she stammered. Apparently, he wasn’t the only person buying the bridal party drinks, judging by how drunk the woman was.
“Um, sure,” he agreed. “Listen, the woman who was here earlier, Dallas,” he tried again.
“Have you ever been to Texas?” She interrupted again.
“Yes,” he said. “Damn it, will you just listen to me for a second?” The woman looked as if he had slapped her and he felt like a complete ass. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have yelled, but I’m looking for Dallas. It’s kind of important.”
“She had to go home,” the woman slurred. “Her babysitter called because the baby won’t stop crying.”
“Baby?” he asked. Savage had no clue Dallas had a kid.
“Yeah—she just had a kid a few months back and that bitch has the nerve to look as good as she did tonight. I bet she doesn’t even have stretch marks.”
“A few months?” Savage questioned. He was trying to do some quick math in his head and it was starting to all add up. “Is Dallas with the baby’s father?” Savage asked. He was afraid that he already knew the answer, but he still asked.
“No,” the woman confirmed. “Dallas is a single mom—poor thing.” She made an effort to pout and it was almost comical. At least it would have been funny if Savage wasn’t just hearing for the first time of the possibility th
at he was a father, from some drunk chick in a dive bar. Not exactly how he saw this whole night ending. Hell, nothing about today had gone as planned and he worried he was going to open a can of worms that might be better off left closed. The problem was—if Dallas had his kid and didn’t tell him, he’d want to know. Hell, he’d want to be a part of his kid’s life, no matter how badly the mom hated him and if Dallas was keeping his baby from him then he had a feeling she hated him a whole fucking lot.
“Thanks,” Savage said. “And good luck with the wedding.” He turned to leave, trying to remember where Dallas lived. It had been about a year since he was at her place but he was pretty sure he knew the route. There was no fucking way he was going to ignore the possibility that she had his kid and waiting until tomorrow wasn’t an option either. He was going to find Dallas’ apartment and then he was going to stop being a fucking chicken and find out what the hell was going on. If he had a kid out there, he was going to be a part of his or her life or at least he’d fight like hell to be.
_______
Savage drove around Huntsville, trying to find the road that led back to Dallas’ apartment complex and after about an hour of driving in circles, he was about ready to give up. That was when he spotted the sign to her complex and headed to the back of the development, knowing she was in the last building. He parked his pick-up and took a deep breath, trying to steady his nerves. He remembered the way her blue eyes looked straight through him tonight and how angry she seemed to be with him. She had every right to be—he had cut off all communication with her and that was a shitty thing to do. But, there had to be some way for her to reach him, especially if she was pregnant with his baby. He tried to think back to what he had told her about himself. Savage cursed when he realized that he probably hadn’t even told her his full name. How was she supposed to track him down if she knew close to nothing about him?
He needed facts—the first being if the baby was his or not. Hell, first he needed to find out if there was a baby. He couldn’t go off half-cocked making assumptions based on the ramblings of a drunk bride-to-be. He’d have to figure out the rest of this mess from there.
