Sawyer

by Nicole Edwards

  Interesting.

  That was really all she could say about that.

  Kennedy found herself leaning against Sawyer, the warmth of his body at her back making her feel safe in this weird predicament she found herself in. In no way did she wish she was one of those women. Not here anyway. And certainly not with multiple partners. However, there were plenty of thoughts flitting through her head when it came to what she wished Sawyer’s hands would do to her, but not in public.

  “Have you seen enough?” he asked, as though reading her mind.

  Kennedy nodded, feeling slightly bereft when Sawyer released her from his arms, taking her hand again.

  “Have you seen my club?” he asked, leading her to a set of doors behind where they’d been standing.

  “No,” she admitted. “Is it open to the public?”

  “Yeah. We set them up the same as the restaurant. Accessible from the outside. The rest is by invitation only.”

  Kennedy nodded in understanding as Sawyer opened the door. They stepped into a small, quiet room where a bouncer stood, manning the double doors behind him. A big formidable-looking black guy who was as handsome as he was gigantic. Kennedy kept her eyes on him, waiting for him to say something. As soon as he saw Sawyer, his face lit up, his smile gleaming in the dim room.

  “What’s up, man?” the guy asked Sawyer, reaching out and shaking his hand. “Come to hang out tonight?”

  “Just showin’ my girl around,” Sawyer said, and Kennedy felt a strange emotion surge through her chest.

  His girl?

  Why that made her feel good, she had no idea, but she immediately refused to think too much about it. Sawyer probably said that about all the women he brought there.

  “Kennedy, meet Davis. Davis, meet Kennedy.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Davis said, his dark brown eyes glued to her face. “You must be somethin’ special. I don’t normally get introduced to anyone Sawyer’s with.”

  Kennedy wasn’t sure how she felt about that. The thought of all the women who had passed through there on Sawyer’s arm made her a little sick to her stomach. Knowing that he didn’t introduce them made her feel somewhat better, but not a lot.

  Thank goodness she didn’t have time to dwell on that before Sawyer was leading her into the club. Kennedy was immediately assaulted by a sexy bass beat and colorful strobe lights. The place was packed, which wasn’t all that surprising for a Saturday night.

  Every woman in the place was wearing something short and sexy, which made Kennedy only slightly self-conscious as she glanced down at her jeans and sweater. When she had gotten dressed, she’d only been thinking about arming herself against Sawyer’s wicked ways. Never would she have imagined feeling underdressed when going to a sex resort, but she did.

  “You look beautiful,” Sawyer whispered, his warm breath right up against her ear. A chill raced down her spine at his words and the sexy, gruff sound of his voice. She didn’t believe him for a second, but she appreciated the effort he made to make her feel better.

  Unfortunately, less than a minute later, Kennedy had several more reasons to feel like an outcast.

  “Hey, Sawyer.”

  There they were, face-to-face with a group of women who were looking at Sawyer like he was candy and they were ready to eat him up.

  “I was hopin’ I’d see you here tonight,” the well-endowed brunette said, brushing up against Sawyer’s arm as she spoke in that rough, throaty tone.

  Kennedy couldn’t help it. She rolled her eyes.

  To Kennedy’s surprise, Sawyer tightened his hold on her, his arms wrapped around her shoulders as he pulled her closer against his side. Kennedy willingly moved to him. He nodded his head at the woman as they moved past them, not a single word spoken. However, Kennedy didn’t miss the way the woman grabbed Sawyer’s ass as he walked by.

  “I’ll be here when you’re done with her,” one of the women said, giggling uncontrollably.

  A sudden churning in Kennedy’s stomach had her wanting to pull away from him, but his arm was like a steel band around her back.

  “Hey, baby,” another woman crooned, her eyes sliding over Kennedy once before clearly dismissing her. “If you’re free later, call me.”

  The woman had the audacity to slide a slip of paper into Sawyer’s front pocket, her hand sliding down to cup him intimately. To Kennedy’s utter horror, Sawyer didn’t say anything to her, nor did he do anything with the obvious phone number that was now in his pocket.

  A wave of nausea rolled over Kennedy and this time she did pull away from Sawyer. He looked at her suspiciously, his mouth a hard, thin line.

  She had no idea where they were going, but she managed to follow him, making an effort not to touch him. Every ten feet or so another woman approached him, smiling as though he’d hung the moon. Several more phone numbers went into his pocket, but he did nothing with them, and a fury unlike anything Kennedy had ever known took root deep inside.

  “I need some air,” she finally told him as they approached the bar. Without waiting for him to follow her, she turned around and forced her way back through the wall of bodies grinding alongside one another. The music pounded against her eardrums, giving her a headache and making her stomach roil even more.

  She needed to get out of there. Fast. More importantly, she needed to get as far away from Sawyer as she possibly could.

  As she raced through the resort, making her way to the front after getting lost only once, Kennedy managed to get in touch with someone to pick her up. Granted, it wasn’t the someone she’d originally hoped for, but she hadn’t been able to reach her father when she’d called into dispatch. He was out on a call, but her ex-boyfriend, Tim, a deputy, was on his way. Had she known he would’ve been sent, she would’ve just preferred to walk, but it was too late for regrets.

  “Are you all right?” Tim asked when she reluctantly climbed into his car. He must’ve been in the area because he’d managed to get to the resort in record time. Kennedy had been praying he would hurry, hoping she would not have to see Sawyer. With every second that passed, she knew it was a real possibility.

  “I’m fine,” she told Tim as he pulled out of the resort and onto the road that would lead them back to town. “Thanks for picking me up.”

  “What were you doin’ there?” he asked.

  Kennedy noted the contempt in his tone. Tim was one of the people who had rallied to keep the resort from being built, but in the end, they’d been outweighed by the promises the Walkers had made to the town.

  “I had a date,” she informed him, wishing he’d let the subject drop. If he would just take her home, she’d be more than happy to ride in silence.

  The police radio made a strange noise, but Tim merely turned it down, his eyes darting over toward her. “With who? What asshole would take you there for a date?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she told him. None of it mattered because she didn’t intend to have a second date with Sawyer. Not after that little debacle that had left her feeling about three inches tall. How could she have been so stupid? She had told him she trusted him.

  “It does matter, Ken,” Tim stated firmly, his hand sliding over onto hers where it rested in her lap.

  God, she hated that he called her that.

  Kennedy jerked out of his grip, not wanting him to touch her. She realized instantly what she’d done and she offered a mumbled apology, hoping he would just let it go.

  “Did someone hurt you?” he asked.

  Not the way he was thinking, no. Kennedy didn’t tell him as much, she just shook her head. “I told you, I’m fine. I just needed a ride home. I thought my father would come get me.”

  “I was in the area. I offered.”

  Of course he did.

  Luckily, they lived in a small town and it took no time at all for Tim to reach her house. When he pulled into her driveway, she was prepared to launch herself from his car, but he put a gentle hand on her arm, stopping her.

  “Kenne
dy, I . . .”

  Oh, God. Please no. No, no, no.

  “I really need to go in,” she said, not looking at Tim.

  “Do you think maybe . . . maybe we could go out tomorrow night? I’m off work. I’d like for us to . . . you know . . . talk.”

  It wasn’t the first time Tim had asked to take her out since they had broken up. In fact, he had asked her out quite a few times in the last few weeks and she wasn’t sure why that was. They’d split up nearly two years ago, but for whatever reason, his interest in her seemed to have returned recently. She suspected that probably had something to do with her involvement with Sawyer. After all, it didn’t matter that they weren’t officially dating; there were still rumors.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Kennedy told him. It was an honest answer and she figured it beat the brutal truth. She didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want to go out with him. She didn’t want to even talk.

  “Baby . . .”

  Nope. No way.

  Kennedy grabbed the door handle and pulled. “Thanks for the ride home, Tim. I really appreciate it.” Without another word, Kennedy jumped out of his car, ignoring him when he called her name. After shutting the door, she stormed up to her front porch, unlocked her door, and then practically dove inside.

  The last thing she needed was for Tim to make her already shitty night even worse.

  chapter FOURTEEN

  Sawyer was ready to kick himself for bringing Kennedy to the club. When she ran out on him, he knew without a doubt that he’d fucked up. He should’ve just taken her home, left her on her front porch, and ended on a good note.

  Instead, he had wanted to show off what he’d built for himself.

  Obviously, he hadn’t thought it all the way through.

  And now, as he tried to follow her, he was getting nowhere fast. Thanks to a consistent stream of women stopping him from making his way to the main doors, he knew the night was officially over for him. At least where Kennedy was concerned.

  “Hey, man,” Greyson hollered over the thunderous boom of the music.

  Knowing he wouldn’t be heard, Sawyer simply nodded his head toward the bar and then made his way through the horde of bodies.

  “Didn’t know you were gonna be here tonight,” Greyson said, stepping up beside him as Sawyer signaled the bartender for a drink.

  “I didn’t, either,” Sawyer muttered.

  “Was that Kennedy with you?” Greyson asked, glancing around as though he was going to see her somewhere behind them.

  “It was. I’m sure she’s halfway home by now,” Sawyer replied a little testily, turning his attention to the scantily clad bartender when she approached, rattling off his order and getting one for Greyson as well.

  When the woman disappeared to make their drinks, Sawyer turned and pressed his back to the bar, taking in his surroundings. This was his club, a place he frequented at least three nights a week, although until several months ago, he could pretty much be found there at least five. A lot of the people he recognized, considering they’d garnered quite a bit of a following due to their location in Coyote Ridge. It was a hell of a lot easier to stop in there than it was to make it down to Austin and then worry about getting transportation back once the night was over. Cabs were nonexistent in their neck of the woods, and if they did come all the way out there, it would cost a pretty penny.

  The thought made him wonder how Kennedy was planning to get home. Who would she call to come get her?

  He shook off the thought, remembering the horrified look on her face seconds before she bolted.

  Until tonight, he’d always enjoyed stopping in, making his rounds, but tonight had gone an entirely different direction than he’d anticipated. So much for trust, he thought to himself.

  “Why’d she leave?” Greyson asked, his eyes boring holes into Sawyer’s face.

  “No idea,” he said truthfully, just as a brunette made her way toward him, stopping just a few feet away.

  “I think I’ve got an idea why,” Greyson offered, his attention turning to the brunette.

  “Nice club,” she told them, looking back and forth from one to the other.

  “Thanks,” Sawyer stated unenthusiastically, his gaze darting past her. He wasn’t interested in the woman and he knew there was no reason to lead her on tonight.

  Greyson, on the other hand . . .

  “Thirsty?” Greyson asked, reaching out and snagging the woman around the waist, pulling her against him.

  The woman giggled and Sawyer rolled his eyes. Yeah, he wasn’t sticking around for this bullshit.

  “I gotta go,” he told Greyson, not bothering to look at the woman. “She can have my drink.”

  With that, Sawyer pushed away from the bar and moved into the crowd once again, trying to avoid the sweaty, writhing bodies as he eased his way toward the entrance to the hotel.

  “Hey, honey, where’re you headed?” a tall redhead asked when she stopped him in his tracks.

  Sawyer had no choice but to come to a halt. It was that or run her clear over, because she inserted herself right in front of him. When her red nails scraped down his chest, he kindly removed her hand by wrapping his fingers around her wrist and pulling her back from him. “Sorry, darlin’, but I’m headin’ out.”

  “I’d love to go with you,” the woman said as though he’d offered an invitation.

  “Not tonight.”

  He had another woman on his mind tonight. He wasn’t even worried that she’d run out on him. Or that his chances of changing the course of the night were nil. Kennedy was still the only woman on his mind.

  As had several others, the woman slipped her number into his pocket, copping a feel as she did. Sawyer sucked in a breath and then eased around her, not making eye contact. Yeah, he was a dumbass for bringing Kennedy here. This was par for the course. He owned the club and he was constantly propositioned by women when he showed up, but the truth was, when he had been with Kennedy, he hadn’t thought anything of it. He didn’t want any other women.

  He wanted her.

  By the time he made it back to the entrance doors from the main part of the hotel, he was out of breath and slightly pissed.

  “Where’d your lady go?” Davis asked when Sawyer nearly plowed him over in an attempt to avoid another woman who was standing near the exit.

  “No idea. Did she say anything?”

  “Nope. I tried to talk to her, but . . . well, I know when to leave well enough alone. She didn’t seem all that happy.”

  No, he could imagine she didn’t. In fact, even though he didn’t like it one damn bit, he could understand how pissed off she was.

  Pulling the phone numbers from his pockets, Sawyer handed them to Davis, as he usually did.

  Davis chuckled, glancing down at the papers. “Well, that explains it, boss,” Davis told him.

  “I didn’t ask for those numbers.”

  “You never do.”

  No, it was true. He never did and on any given night, he usually ended up with at least five. And every time, he handed them over to Davis to dispose of. Sawyer didn’t make calls to women who came on to him. If he wanted company for the night, he would either go home with one of them, or he had been known to take one or two up to the room he had in the hotel.

  Fuck.

  “I gotta find her,” Sawyer told Davis.

  “Good luck, man. If I had to guess, either she started walkin’ or she found someone to take her home.”

  “Well, let’s hope you’re wrong,” Sawyer said as he pushed open the door that led into the play area.

  Unfortunately, Davis had been right about the latter. According to the front desk, Kennedy had been on the phone when she made a beeline for the front door. Sawyer knew as soon as he stepped outside that she was gone. While he waited for the valet to bring his car around, he tried calling Kennedy’s cell phone, but just as he expected, she didn’t answer. Before getting into his car, he asked the valet if he’d seen her leave. Sawyer was t
old that she had gotten into a sheriff’s car just a few minutes before.

  Twenty minutes later, Sawyer was pulling up into Kennedy’s driveway for the second time that night. He parked his car behind hers and then got out, making his way to the porch. He had no idea what he was going to say if and when she opened the door, but he damn sure wasn’t going to leave without talking to her first.

  He knocked on the door, then listened for the sound of her footsteps.

  Nothing.

  Waiting a full minute, he tried again, ringing the doorbell as well. This time he did hear noise coming from inside the house.

  “I’m not leavin’ until we talk, Kennedy,” he said loudly.

  It was a good thing her neighbors were a quite a ways away because otherwise they would’ve heard him and he couldn’t mask the displeasure in his tone. She’d run out on him without giving him the chance to explain. She might’ve been angry, but he was now as pissed as she was.

  Kennedy pulled the door open slightly. “I don’t have anything to say to you.”

  Sawyer immediately stuck his boot in between the door and the jamb. “We’re gonna talk. Either let me in or come outside.”

  Kennedy shook her head, her eyes locked with his.

  “Come on, Kennedy,” he said, his anger beginning to bubble up. He understood why she was mad, but in a way, he wasn’t sure how he was to blame. Never once did he speak to any of the women who approached him tonight. He didn’t accept their phone numbers, he didn’t tell them he’d talk to them later.

  Yet she was obviously blaming him for the entire ordeal and he knew that she’d been lying when she told him that she trusted him. Obviously she didn’t, or she wouldn’t have bolted.

  “I don’t want to talk,” Kennedy said, her tone low, sharp. “Now move your foot or I’m gonna slam it in the door.”

  “Do your worst, baby,” Sawyer growled, refusing to remove his foot.

  Apparently, Kennedy was one of those women who was true to her word. But he was faster than she was. In order for her to slam the door, she had to pull it open and that gave him the opportunity he needed. He inserted his body between the door and the jamb, surprising her, which caused her to stumble back.