“Let’s take it outside before Red’s heart stops on her. That’s the last thing I need to add to my list of shit.”
He places his hand on the small of my back and guides me outside to the back of the building.
As soon as we’re out of sight, he wraps my legs around his waist and presses me up against the brick building.
Before I know it, his lips are pressed against mine and he’s reaching in between our bodies to undo the top of his jeans.
“Fuck, I can’t stop thinking about being inside you this way. You do things to me, baby.” Pulling my skirt up and my panties to the side, he sinks me down onto his erection and holds me still, while I adjust to his big size. “You okay?” He asks softly, while brushing my hair out of my face.
I nod my head and lean in to run my lips over his. “More than okay. I’m always more than okay when I’m with you, Royal. Never forget that.”
He places one hand behind my neck and gently kisses me, while rolling his hips and moving inside of me.
It feels so good to have him inside of me that I could care less about the fact that we’re outside of my work right now and that Claudette or anyone else could come around and find us at any second. I need this beautiful man to be with me like this. I’d gladly say goodbye to this job and move on if it meant getting this moment with him.
He moves slowly, being sure to sink in as deep as he can with each thrust. His breath is soft and controlled against my lips, causing me to lean in and taste him.
My heart swells at the thought that this is the gentlest he’s ever been with me. No choking. This is new to me.
“You’re fucking perfection,” he whispers against my lips. “And you’re mine. No other man gets to be inside you this way.” He gently runs his hand up the front of my neck, stopping when he reaches my lips. “You make me want to live again,” he whispers.
I tangle my hands in his hair and gently bite his bottom lip, causing him to growl out in desire. “You’ve made me feel alive from the very first day I walked in on you.” I brush my lips over his. “Let’s help each other live.”
“Fuuuck, Baby.” He runs his hand up the side of my head, before moving to the back and gripping my hair. “Hold on,” he breathes.
I grip his shoulders, digging my nails in as his movements pick up. With each quick thrust, I find myself digging deeper as I get closer to climax.
“Royal . . .” I breathe hard against his lips as I lose myself to him yet again.
Holding me tight, he slams into me three more times, before I feel him releasing himself inside of me.
He presses his forehead to mine and holds my face still. “Why the fuck are you so perfect for me?” His eyes search mine as he rubs his thumb over my face. “I never thought I’d meet someone that could make me fucking feel. You do, and it scares the shit out of me.”
I hold onto him, not ready to let go yet. “Royal . . . I . . .” Stopping myself from possibly making a huge mistake, I bite my tongue and rephrase what I was about to let slip. “You make me feel too. Please don’t ever stop. Please.”
Not saying anything, he presses his lips to mine and gently sets me back down to my feet. Quietly, he yanks his shirt off and cleans me off.
“Royal,” I call out as he turns away. “Are you okay?”
He runs his hands through his hair, but stays facing the other way. “I don’t know yet.”
Balling his shirt up, he turns around and faces me again. “You should get back to work. I’ll be back to pick you up in a bit.” He walks over and gently kisses me on the forehead. “Bye . . .”
“Bye,” I whisper as he walks away.
I wait a couple of minutes after I hear his truck pull off, before I walk around the building and go back inside.
As soon as I walk through the door, Claudette is watching me. “In my office.”
“Just great,” I mumble under my breath, while following her.
She waits for me to walk in first and then closes the door behind us. “You’re late from your break. You’re never late.”
I nod my head. “Well, I needed a few extra minutes to deal with my personal life. It won’t happen again.”
She walks over to her desk and starts gathering up her things. “Can I still trust you to run this salon in the same manner now that you have that man in your life?”
“Are you seriously asking me this right now?” I ask, pissed off that she’s treating Royal as if he’s some kind of dog.
She looks up from gathering her things. “Yes. I am. I’ve seen what men that look like that are capable of.”
“Is that right?” I give her a hard look. “And I’ve seen what men that look like your husband are capable of. That mustache is a bit creepy and suspicious of pedophile activities if you ask me?”
She huffs. “Are you accusing my husband of being a criminal?”
“I don’t know,” I reply. “Are you accusing my boyfriend of being a criminal based on his choice of tattoos and clothing?”
She shakes her head. “This conversation is not going in a direction that is looking well for you, so I suggest that you sleep on whatever else you plan on saying to me and we’ll be talking again next week.”
Grabbing her bag, she heads for the door and reaches to open it, but I slap my hand on the door, stopping her.
She looks over at me in surprise.
“Royal is a good person with a big fucking heart. You don’t know him. I do, so I suggest that you keep your fucking mouth shut before you think of speaking to me about him again. Got it?”
Her mouth opens in shock and for once, she looks stunned speechless. “Consider yourself lucky that you’re well desired here. You only get one second chance, Missy.” She runs her hand over her dress, smoothing it out. “Don’t blow it.”
She waits for me to back away from the door, before she pulls it open and stomps out.
I wait until the bell dings, indicating that she’s left the building, before falling against the door and running my hands over my face.
I was so fucking close to losing my job, yet I didn’t even have to think twice before defending Royal.
I’m beginning to see that Royal comes first to everything else. He’s all that truly matters to me at the moment and I’m not afraid to make that known.
This man completely consumes me and there’s nothing that could make me want to stay away from him. Nothing . . .
“Yo! Woman!” Madison’s voice screams from the front, making me smile. “Get the hell out here.”
Feeling relieved that she’s here to keep me company I pull the door open and walk out.
I’m surprised to see my uncle here as well.
“Well this is weird,” I say awkwardly. “Did you two come together or something?”
Mark laughs and takes a seat in my chair. “Not exactly. We just shared a stoplight together on the way here.”
Madison shrugs. “Close enough.”
“Hi, Officer Knight,” Ellie says while looking up from her phone.
“How’s it going, Ellie? Staying out of trouble?”
Ellie pops her gum and nods her head. “Of course I am. You’d be the first to know if I’m ever in trouble, Gorgeous.”
Rolling my eyes, I toss the apron on Mark and grab for my scissors. “You’re every woman’s favorite officer. How does that feel?”
He looks at me through the mirror. “What can I say? I’ve still got it.”
“So, Mark . . .” Madison says from her chair. “What do you think about Ava over here spending time with Royal? Have you arrested him before? I want the scoop.”
Mark shrugs. “I’m trusting him to take care of her. I’ve known Royal for almost two years now. Doesn’t mean that I won’t be creeping around a damn corner ready to arrest him if he fucks up my trust.”
“So you haven’t arrested him yet?” Madison asks with wide eyes, pushing for an answer.
“Only once,” Mark says stiffly. He sits up and takes the apron off. “Follow me o
utside real quick.”
“Alright,” I say nervously. I turn around to look at Ellie. “I’m going outside for a minute.”
“All good,” Ellie says while playing on her phone.
I follow Mark outside to stand by his car. “What do you know about Royal and his past?”
I get a bit choked up just thinking about what I’ve learned about him. “I know about him losing his pregnant fiancé. Is that what you’re asking?”
Mark looks up from his phone that starts going off. “Is that all you know? He hasn’t told you how?”
I shake my head. “No, I haven’t asked. I didn’t want to make him feel uncomfortable.”
He holds up his finger and huffs as his phone goes off again. “Give me a sec.”
I watch him as he walks away and takes his call. He returns a few minutes later with a look that tells me he isn’t happy.
“Look. We need to talk later tonight. I’ll come by your house when I get off work.”
“Okay,” I say confused. “What is going on? Is there something that I should know?”
Mark opens the door to his car and gets ready to get inside. “Yeah. I definitely think you need to know this. I don’t have time to explain right now. I hate to tell you this way and I’m sorry, but I can’t hold it in. His fiancé was raped and murdered. You need to know the whole story, and if Royal isn’t going to tell you I am. I’ve given him time.” He pauses and looks down, frustrated. “Gotta go. Be home later and I’ll swing by.”
Before I can stop him, he jumps into his car and slams the door shut behind him.
I stand here and watch him drive off as the information slowly starts to sink in and I piece the puzzle together.
My breath escapes me and I feel sick to my stomach at how stupid I was to not put this together when Blaine told me about his sister the other day.
“Holy fuck. No . . .” I cry.
I cover my mouth as the tears come pouring down. Gagging, I fall to my knees with my hands on the pavement as I empty my stomach in front of me, while fighting to catch my breath.
Royal killed those three men after they murdered Olivia: Blaine’s sister.
SITTING HERE, MY THROAT FUCKING burns from the pain and hate that is building up inside of me and eating at me as I sit here in this darkened room, looking around me.
I should be holding my baby girl in my arms, loving her and giving her everything that her tiny heart desires. Anything that girl would’ve asked for would’ve been hers. I’d give her the world just to know that my baby was happy and well.
I should be able to see her tiny fingers and toes, and be able to smell her soft little baby hair as I hold her close to my chest and remind her over and over that nothing in this world will harm her as long as her daddy is here.
God, it fucking hurts so bad to know she’ll never have that.
Everything is so different than what I expected it to be when I first found out the news of Olivia’s pregnancy. I thought I had life figured out; that we would live happily in our big home, have the guys over for dinner and watch games on the TV while Hadley laughed and played with her uncles.
None of that is my reality. None of that will ever happen. Fucking ever. She’ll never have the love and security that she deserves and I’ll never forget how I’ve failed her and Olivia.
I’m royally fucked up. My head is fucked up. My past is fucked up. My future is fucked up. Nothing about me is what Avalon wants or needs in her life, yet I’m slowly letting her break me down and force her way into my heart.
My memories and loss of the past will always fucking consume me; therefore, fueling the monster that I’ve become and making it impossible for me to love her the way that she deserves. It will always lead me back to this room full of baby stuff that will never get touched.
This is my fucking life.
Screaming out, I clutch the half bottle of whiskey in my hand and toss it at the wall. The bottle shatters into sharp pieces that land at the foot of the wooden crib I put together just days before Olivia died.
I numbly watch with tears stinging the back of my eyes as the amber liquid spreads across the floor, running to my feet and wetting my boots.
Leaning my head back, I squeeze the gun in my hand and let my eyes close as my whole chest begins to burn. I can barely fucking breathe right now and I’m not sure if I even deserve to.
“Whoa! What the fuck!” Blaine yells from the open door. “Put that shit down.”
I sit up and open my eyes to look at Blaine. “Relax. I’m not going to shoot myself. Fuck, I’m not that fucked up. Not yet at least.”
“Good. Now get the fuck up!” Blaine says in a rush, while painfully looking around the room. “I’ve been looking for you for over a fucking hour and have been calling your ass nonstop. We’ve got to go. Now.”
I reach into my pocket and pull out a cigarette. This motherfucker has bad timing. Always. “My phone died. It’s downstairs on the damn charger. What the fuck do you want? I’m busy drowning in my fucking sorrows.” I motion around the room with one hand, while placing the smoke between my lips. “Can’t you see?”
Blaine’s jaw clenches as his eyes meet mine. He looks extremely pissed and anxious. “It’s Brian, dickweed.” My heart fucking stops at the mention of that name, and suddenly I’m done drowning in my sorrows. “Cole said he spotted him an hour ago over at Happy’s Lounge. Cole is there now, keeping his eye out for him to leave. We need to be prepared before he fucking skips town again.”
“Fucking shit!” With my head spinning, I jump to my feet and rush past Blaine. “I need to call Jax.”
“We don’t have time for that shit,” Blaine points out. “What the hell.” He grabs at my arm in an attempt to stop me from going downstairs for my phone. “That’s not important, dammit!”
I turn back and growl at him, before pushing past him. “The fuck it isn’t. Avalon, man. Fucking Avalon.”
His face changes, finally understanding what the hell I need my phone for. If this shit is going down, I need Avalon in the safest hands I can get her in. I don’t trust anything not to happen to her.
Yanking my phone off the charger, I run up the stairs, while giving Jax’s phone a call. He picks up on the second ring.
“I need you to get to Avalon’s work and pick her up. Take her away for the night. Got it.”
“Oh fuck,” he says, fully aware of what’s about to go down. “What time can she get off?”
I pull my phone away and glance down at the time. “A little over an hour, but I don’t give a shit. Make her leave now.”
“On it. You just take care of what needs to be done.”
“Plan to.”
Rushing outside, I slam the door behind me and jump into Blaine’s truck.
He offers me a quick glance, before pulling off and heading for Happy’s.
I look down at my phone in my hand and take a second to look through my phone to see four missed calls from Avalon.
“Shit,” I mutter, while calling her back. I don’t like that one bit. She’s never called me. Ever.
Avalon picks up on the first ring. “Royal? I’ve been looking for you. We need to–”
“I need you to go with Jax,” I blurt out, cutting her off. “Don’t ask any questions. Just get on his bike and leave when he picks you up.”
“Royal. What is going on? Are you okay? Are you hurt?” She asks in a panic. “Tell me where you are. Please. I need to see you.”
I shake my head. “No. You can’t. Not for a while. I just need you to go with Jax.”
“I know,” she blurts out. “I know what happened to those men that murdered Olivia and it doesn’t matter to me. You didn’t do anything wrong. Please just see me. I need to see you. Royal. Royal.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “Just fucking go with Jax. That’s all I’m asking you. Trust me. Please promise me you’ll go with Jax.”
She’s silent for a few seconds and it almost sounds as if she’s crying. “Dammit, Royal.
I promise.”
“Thank you.”
Before I let myself get too wrapped up in Avalon, I hang up the phone and look over at Blaine. “Let’s do this, Brother.”
Blaine grips my shoulder and turns back to the road.
Now all there is to do is wait . . .
I FEEL COMPLTELY SICK TO my stomach as I gather my belongings in a hurry.
I have no clue what is going on or why Royal asked me to leave with Jax when he gets here, but my gut is telling me to listen to him and hope that nothing is going to happen to him.
“Ellie, I need you to close up for me tonight. I’m suddenly not feeling well. Can you do that?”
She looks away from her customer and nods her head at me. “Yeah, I can take care of it tonight. Go home and get some rest.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
I open the door when I see a set of headlights outside, thinking that maybe Jax drives a car that I don’t know about.
Slowly walking closer, I finally see that it’s Colton’s car.
“What the hell?”
Gripping my purse, I walk up to the driver’s side window and lean my arm over the top of the glass. “What do you want, Colton?”
His eyes look pained as he looks my face over, stopping when his eyes land on my lips. “I can’t stop thinking about you. I miss you so damn much, babe.”
“Now is not the time for this,” I say softly. “Please don’t do this right now.”
He reaches out the window and grabs my hand. “Will you give me two minutes? Please. I just need to talk to you and find some kind of closure. That’s all I’m asking.”
Sucking in a frustrated breath, I look around me to see if Jax is anywhere. The small parking lot is empty besides who’s inside the building. “Fine, Colton. You get two minutes.”
I hear the sound of his doors unlocking as I walk around to the passenger side and jump inside.
He smiles weakly and places his hand over mine. “You look beautiful.”
“Let’s just talk about what you came here to talk about. Got it?” I yank my hand away. “Okay?”
Royal Savage Page 20
