This Savage Love: A Bad Boy Romance Boxed Set

by Kathryn Thomas

  “Where the fuck have you been?” Marie demanded, as she started to wake up. “I was worried.”

  “Why?” Kristina asked in surprise. “I’ve spent the night out before.”

  “Not in a garage that doubles as a drug cartel,” Marie said.

  “It doesn’t,” Kristina said immediately, unsure why she was defending her new employers. She didn’t have any proof either way, for all she knew, that was exactly what they were doing.

  “Please,” Marie said, rolling her eyes. “There’s some shady business going on at Lee and Seton and you know it. It’s been mentioned a couple of times on the local news, too.”

  “Really?” Kristina asked sitting upright. “Why was it mentioned?”

  “Apparently the biker gang that uses the auto shop as their headquarters had ties to some crime rings along the border.”

  “What kind of crime?” Kristina asked.

  “Nothing specific was mentioned,” Marie replied. “And to be honest I wasn’t paying much attention. Though if I’d known my best friend would put herself in the lion’s den, I certainly would have.”

  “You’re being dramatic,” Kristina said, rolling her eyes at Marie. “It’s hardly a lion’s den. I sit at a desk and answer phones. My boss is soft spoken and respectful, and if he happens to run a motorcycle gang on the side… well, that’s his business.”

  “Does this free-wheeling change you’re going through have anything to do with graduation?” Marie asked shrewdly.

  Kristina shrugged, without bothering to deny it. “Maybe,” she said shortly.

  “Can you explain to me why taking this particular job was so important to you?” Marie asked, turning towards Kristina and sitting upright with her legs crossed.

  “It’s not like it’s hugely important,” Kristina tried to explain. “It’s just that… it’s a new experience. The people who come through the auto shop... they're so different from me. They live in a different world and something about that is interesting to me. That kind of exposure might help me.”

  “Help you?” Marie asked with raised eyebrows. “Since when has mixing with dangerous people qualified as exposure?”

  Kristina sighed. “I just feel like… my life up until now has been so… sheltered, everything about me is beige… for once I want to fill my life with color.”

  Marie shook her head. “You sound ridiculous.”

  “No, I’m being serious,” Kristina said. “It feels somehow as though I’ve missed out, and I don’t even know what I’ve missed, but I can’t shake the feeling. Taking this job and going to the party last night, it made me feel as though I was taking control, doing something different, something I wouldn’t normally do.”

  Marie looked at her carefully. “Who was the guy?” she asked calmly.

  Kristina smiled. “You’re too smart for your own good, you know.”

  “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out why you were out the whole of last night,” Marie said.

  “His name is Keith,” Kristina said. “And I doubt we’ll have much to do with each other after last night.”

  “You sound disappointed by that,” Marie said pointedly.

  “I’m not,” Kristina replied a little too quickly.

  “Kristina,” Marie coaxed. “It’s me… I’ve known you for four years now.”

  Kristina sighed. “It’s not that I want a relationship or anything,” she hastened to clarify. “It’s just that… there’s something about this guy.”

  “Does he work at the auto shop?” Marie asked with interest.

  Kristina hesitated momentarily. “Well… actually…he’s one of the bikers. He’s the Vice President of the Iron Dragons.”

  “Are you serious?” Marie asked as her voice raised a couple of octaves.

  “Yup.”

  “You’re dating a biker?”

  “I slept with a biker,” Kristina clarified quickly. “I’m not dating him.”

  “Is…. that a mutual decision?” Marie asked slowly.

  Kristina felt herself bristle indignantly, but she kept her face straight when she replied. “Of course it is. I have no desire to have a relationship with the man. He just wanted sex last night—and so did I.”

  “So did I?” Marie repeated. “Since when have you ever been into casual sex… with a stranger no less?"

  “I get why people do it,” Kristina said. “It’s freeing, and there’s this sense of… I don’t know how to describe it… it’s like you don’t have to worry about anything, including the guy you’re with. You’re just there in that moment, and you have the freedom to be as uninhibited as you want because you’re never going to have anything to do with the person ever again.”

  She sounded convincing even to herself, but Kristina knew that her show of romantic indifference towards Keith was completely put on. She had every desire to see him again and every desire to talk to him again. In that moment, it had been all about the reckless abandon of sex, but now her curiosity had been piqued and she wanted to know more about him.

  “I don’t know,” Marie said doubtfully. “I feel like… sex is always better when there is a relationship there. It just creates another level of intimacy, one you will never be able to have with a stranger.”

  “You’re such a traditionalist,” Kristina joked.

  “If he’s one of the bikers though… won’t you have to see him at work?” Marie asked.

  “Well, yes… but it’s not like there’s any pressure for us to talk or be friends. If I see him, I see him, and if I don’t, I don’t.”

  “I’m going to be honest. This new mind set of yours is a little jarring to me,” Marie said, as she shook her head in Kristina’s direction.

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s so unlike you,” Marie said forcefully. “You’re just not that girl.”

  “I know,” Kristina nodded. “Which is why I have to do it. I’m sick of being ‘that girl.’ I want to be wild for a change. I want to be reckless and crazy and young and thoughtless. I just want to feel like I’m living my life… at least before we graduate and the real world calls.”

  “Just because you’re not doing a bunch of crazy stuff does not mean you’re not living,” Marie pointed out.

  “I know,” Kristina nodded. “I’m just talking about myself… this is what feels right to me. I don’t regret last night at all. In fact, it might have been something of a sexual awakening for me.”

  Marie smiled pointedly at her. “Was he that good?”

  “You should see him,” Kristina said. “He’s gorgeous.”

  “Describe him to me,” Marie said immediately with keen interest.

  “Firstly, he’s tall,” Kristina began. “It seems as though he’s made of six feet of hard muscle and abs. His eyes are blue, but they’re incredibly light, and they’ve got this electricity running through them. And he’s blonde, but more strawberry than blond. He’s got tattoos, too. They cover his arms and chest, and I could barely make sense of all of them.”

  “Plus, you were a little distracted,” Marie teased.

  “I was a little distracted,” Kristina agreed.

  Slowly, the smile on Marie’s face began to fade, and Kristina knew what was coming before Marie opened her mouth. “You’re not going to see him again, right?”

  Kristina hesitated only for a second. “No.”

  “What if he approaches you?” Marie asked. “What if he pushes you up against a wall and pulls up your skirt? Would you fight him?”

  Kristina knew where Marie was going with this. She made eye contact and answered without blinking. “I would,” Kristina said confidently.

  “Liar.”

  Kristina looked down. “What do you want me to say?”

  “The truth,” Marie insisted. “Because as far as I can see… it seems this guy has done a number on you.”

  “You’re reading too much into this,” Kristina said. “He’s just a guy I had sex with, that’s it. And even if I were to have sex with him again, i
t still wouldn’t mean a thing.”

  Marie’s expression didn’t change at all. “Under normal circumstances, I would agree completely. You’re young and hot, and if you want to have a bunch of one-night stands, that’s your prerogative. I would actually encourage it, just not in this case.”

  “Why?” Kristina demanded. “Because he’s got tattoos?”

  Marie rolled her eyes. “In case you’ve forgotten, I’ve got tattoos, too. This has nothing to do with those tattoos; it’s about what they represent.”

  “You don’t like that he’s in a gang,” Kristina said.

  “For good reason,” Marie said in frustration, as though she couldn’t understand why Kristina was being so difficult. “This is not some innocent teenage gang… this is serious stuff, Kristie. These are men who are involved in some pretty serious shit. Do you really want to put yourself in the middle of it?”

  “I just work there,” Kristina said. Unbidden, the man who had called the auto shop that morning jumped into her head, and she wondered if she was just being naive to believe that. “I’m not going to be in the middle of anything. I’m just going there so that I can put a dent on my student loans.”

  “That’s not the only reason and you know it,” Marie pointed out. “You just got through telling me that you wanted to make your life more dangerous.”

  “I never said ‘dangerous’,” Kristina corrected quickly. “I said interesting.”

  “Sometimes they’re the same thing,” Marie said, shaking her head. “The Iron Dragons are criminals…which means your tattooed prince is one, too.”

  “Have you ever thought that there’s more to them than just crime and tattoos and… bad shit?” Kristina asked before she could stop herself.

  Marie was looking at her as though she were a lost cause. “You’re a smart girl. And I know that you know bad boys don’t make good boyfriends. The only thing they are capable of doing is breaking hearts.”

  Kristina was about to argue, but at the last minute she held her tongue and said nothing. She understood where Marie was coming from, and a few years ago she might even have agreed, but something had shifted inside her and Kristina knew that this new thirst she had would not easily be satiated.

  “I’ll stay away from him,” Kristina said at last.

  Marie stared at her for a moment longer and then nodded. “Ok.”

  Relieved to have Marie off her back, Kristina sunk into her bed and sighed as warmth and comfort spread through her tired limbs. She hadn’t realized how uncomfortable her body had been all this time. With silence clinging to the room, Kristina was able to close her eyes and reflect on the last few days. The first thing she saw in her mind’s eye was the image of Keith, sitting astride his gigantic motorcycle, and a part of her felt a pang of regret that they had not had the opportunity to fuck again before saying goodbye.

  If it hadn’t been for the fact that she had a roommate, Kristina knew that she might have asked Keith to walk her upstairs. Her desire for him burgeoned, and she felt moisture bubble between her thighs. She resisted the urge to slip her fingers downwards to relieve herself of some of the want that tickled her body. She could easily satisfy herself, but that was not what she wanted. She wanted him.

  She wanted to feel the length of him inside her. She wanted the heat of his hands on her body; she wanted his tongue on her neck and her nipples. She knew immediately that their one night was nowhere near enough. Instead of fulfilling her as she had hoped it would, last night had only created a larger and deeper hunger. It was a hunger for the excitement and passion that Keith had given her that had evaded her all her life.

  Chapter Four

  Keith

  The house still smelled of his childhood. Keith leaned back against the couch with his feet kicked up on the coffee table, trying to shake off the barrage of memories that haunted him every time he paid his mother a visit.

  “Your boots are dirty,” Emma pointed out, as she came around the corner from the kitchen carrying a tray of hot dogs and beer.

  “Sorry, Mom,” Keith said easily, as he placed his feet back down.

  Keith had inherited his mother’s glassy blue eyes. On him, their lightness created an intimidating, almost sinister persona that Keith made full use of. But for Emma, their lightness created the appearance of fragility. Keith knew that this was simply an illusion. If there was one person out there who was made of invisible steel, it was his mother.

  She was only fifty-three, but the lines marring her face, the strings of grey running through her dark hair and the hunch in her gait made her seem much older. She set the tray down and sat down opposite Keith, her eyes trained on him as though she were using full concentration.

  “Stop worrying, Mom,” Keith said, helping himself to a hot dog.

  “What makes you think I’m worrying?” Emma asked, as she leaned back into the chair.

  Keith smiled. “I’ve known you a long time; I can read the facial signs.”

  Emma returned Keith’s smile, and then she sighed deeply. “I hate to break it to you… but the worrying is never going to stop. Especially given…”

  She trailed off and Keith allowed the moment to fall into silence. She didn’t need to finish her thought. Keith had known how his mother felt about his lifestyle from the moment he had entered into it.

  “How’s Miles?” Emma asked, breaking the silence.

  “He’s doing alright,” Keith nodded. “A bit nervous about impending fatherhood.”

  Emma smiled. “There’s nothing quite like parenthood… he’s going to love it.”

  “You never know,” Keith said without thinking. “Not everyone does.”

  Keith gave himself an internal kick the moment he saw his mother cringe at his words. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I didn’t mean—”

  “It’s ok,” Emma interrupted. “You’re right, not everyone can handle it. But Miles is different, he’s a better man than your father was.”

  Keith nodded. “He is.”

  “And how are things… with everything else?” Emma asked tentatively, as though she didn’t want to ask the question but obligation drove her to.

  “Fine,” Keith said shortly, knowing that the truth of the matter would only worry her.

  Emma looked at him through lowered eyes. “It doesn’t seem like it.”

  “What do you mean?” Keith asked, fixing his mother with a searching gaze.

  “The local news is filled with reports of unrest at the borders. Apparently it’s being caused by a gang called the Rusted Chains.”

  “I’ve heard,” Keith said flippantly, as though the news did not affect him directly.

  “Reports of violence have been reported,” Emma went on in a calm tone. “As I recall, that’s where most of your shipments operate from.”

  Keith looked up at his mother and held her gaze for a short moment. She knew some things about his life in the gang, but she didn’t know everything. Keith was amazed at how much she had managed to piece together without his help. He shouldn’t have been surprised though; he had always known that his mother was a smart woman.

  “Did I tell you that?” Keith asked, simply because he was curious.

  “My wits haven’t abandoned me yet, son,” Emma said with satisfaction. “I pay attention to things, especially where they concern you.”

  “Yes,” Keith said finally, realizing there was no point in denying what his mother already knew. “That is where our shipments travel through.”

  “Maybe you should lay low for a while?” Emma suggested innocently.

  Keith understood her instinct to cower; he himself had felt the same way in those kinds of situations. He was not the scared little boy he had once been, however. Now, when he sensed danger, he tended to face it head on.

  “It doesn’t work that way, Mom,” Keith said gently. “We have a business to run.”

  “A business is it?” Emma said without judgment.

  “An illegal business is still a business,” Keith
said calmly. “And it requires intelligent thinking and careful planning.”

  “There are some things that you can’t always control, Keith,” Emma replied. “No matter how careful or intelligent you are. And in this case… you don’t have anyone to turn to.”

  “Are you referring to law enforcement?”

  “You won’t be able to report anything if things turn bad,” Emma said sensibly. “Are you willing to take that risk?”