Page 59 of Savage

It was late. I ate very little from the buffet, flicking the food around my plate as people were starting to leave.

Jaxon was still attentive and guided me around the room as we delivered our goodbyes to our friends. His touch was stiff and unfamiliar, almost like a stranger’s, his hand resting against the bottom of my back. It was only as we walked out into the night air that I realised how much I’d had to drink. Jaxon had only consumed one glass of champagne as he was driving.

I shivered in the night air and Jaxon took his jacket off and draped it over my shoulders. The gentleman-like gesture just made me feel more upset. It felt like mixed messages.

“You wait here, I’ll bring the car around,” he instructed.

I stood there, draped in his scent, waiting for said car to appear. After around ten minutes, I decided to go and meet him by the car. What the hell was taking him so long?

As I approached, he was standing glaring at the Range Rover in the semi-pitch blackness. He had his phone in his hand and did not look happy.

I was confused.

“What’s up?”

“Little fuckers,” Jaxon snorted, his face a mixture of annoyance and frustration.

My brow threaded as I glanced around the car park. “Who?” I questioned.

Dashing a hand across his jaw, my stepbrother pinned me with those steely eyes of his. “The car that attempted to cut us up earlier. It’s gone. The little twats must have let my tyres down.”

“What? All of them?”

“Yes. All of them—fuck.”

“—Can’t you just jack the car up and change them or something?” My comment made Jaxon look at me like I was a moron. What? I hadn’t got a clue what we needed to do. Pump the tyres up I supposed.

“No, I can’t just jack it up, Genuis. It’s a fucking Range Rover. It weighs over a tonne.”

“So, what are we going to do? Do you have roadside assistance?”

“Yes, I called them and there’s a two-hour wait. And before you start, there are no taxis either. Well, not until three, which is almost three hours away.”

I suddenly felt tired. “What do we do now then? We could call Marcus?”

“No fucking way. We’ll have to say here,” Jaxon announced with a flick of his head at the hotel.

It sounded like a reasonable idea and I immediately agreed. I so needed to sleep.

“OK. I’ll text my mum. I’ll say we decided to stay as it’s easier, I don’t want to panic her whilst she is feeling so low.”

Jaxon nodded and then opened the boot of his car, retrieving a small bag. At that point, I didn’t care what he had in there.

We made our way back towards the doors of the hotel. As I went to text my mother, I saw another message from my father but decided against reading it. I was slightly tipsy and needed to reply when I had my head in gear.

As we got to the desk, we were met by a friendly member of staff who then went on to explain that they only had one room left. Fucking great. It was also a double which added to my torment. Now I had to share a room with all Jaxon’s manly testosterone as well as that unpalatable fact that he considered himself off limits.

Jaxon paid for the room and took the key card, his body language unimpressed.

We rode the lift to our floor and found our room. Jaxon unlocked the door and allowed me to proceed him. Still the gentleman. Fuck that, I wanted the rogue!

The door closed with a click of finality and our eyes met across the room. It was basic, a bit like a Premier Inn which was a surprise for a place which was so grand.

“This must be the shittest room in the building,” Jaxon commented with a dry twist to his lips.

I shrugged and lowered myself onto the double bed. “At least it’s clean and dry and has a bed. I’m exhausted.”

Walking into the room, filling the space, Jaxon muttered. “The sofa has a pull-out. I’ll sleep there, you take the main bed.”

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