Page 75 of Saviors

“I don’t want anyone else.”

Just the idea made my stomach tumble. I had no desire to even talk to other men.

“Never again.” Reid kissed my temple. A shiver of anticipation chased away my anxieties. “We’ll keep you safe.”

I desperately wanted to trust them. The truth was, I already did. I was afraid what I felt for them went a lot deeper than trust.

40

Connor

“No.” Violet’s knuckles turned white as she gripped the plastic helmet harder. Her wide eyes rounded in fear as she stared at me and the motorcycle I straddled.

I knew she was afraid, but I also knew she’d love it if she gave it a chance. “Why not?”

“I could die.”

Her answer was so earnest I almost laughed. All the things she’d endured, and this was what scared her. Not that the fear was unfounded, but that wasn’t the way to walk through life.

It was too fragile to live in fear. Too easily taken from us. The best we could do was enjoy it while we could.

I patted the seat behind me; a challenge in my gaze. “You only live once.”

My fingers smoothed over the warm metal. A psychologist would probably say I was insane for riding this. That I was seeking answers where they couldn’t be found. But I enjoyed having control over the thing that had ruined my life. Taken everything from me.

Violet’s throat bobbed as she swallowed. Her skin fluttered where her pulse raced. My fingers itched to touch right there, to feel she was alive.

“Come on, little bloom. Show me how tough you are.”

She held my gaze. I saw the same glimmer of recklessness in her eyes that pumped through my veins. The connection sparked between us for a moment. I felt it in my blood. My chest. My heart.

Then she turned her head down, severing the line between us, and whispered. “Red.”

“Okay.” I stood, ignoring the urge to convince her. I hooked my helmet to the handlebars before moving across the driveway towards my SUV. Violet held her own helmet limply in her hands as I opened the door for her. My head tilted in invitation.

“Seriously?” She blinked up at me. “Th-that’s all it takes?”

“Yes. The use of your safe word is sacred. Technically, it’s for the bedroom, but any one of us is going to respect it outside of that too.”

“I—. Thank you.” Her teeth sank into her pale pink lower lip. The indentations she was creating begged to be licked away. “I didn’t… mean…”

Her gratefulness was palpable, but so was her hesitation. The car door snapped shut as I let it go. Closing the distance between us, I pressed a single finger under her chin. Her lashes fluttered as her green eyes connected with mine.

That spark was there again. All she’d needed to know was that she was safe. That she could stop at any time.

“Do you want to take it back?” Her shoulder brushed my arm as she shrugged. “It’s okay to be scared, but is that how you want to spend the rest of your life? Wondering about the chances you didn’t take. The moments you missed because you were afraid.”

I saw the decision in those green eyes before she moved. She shoved the helmet onto her head. A smile spread across my face as I grasped the straps for her and secured it in place. Strands of her dark hair stuck out, shifting in the air as she stomped to the bike. She threw her leg over it like an old pro.

She was so much stronger than she gave herself credit for. Violet believed she was broken, but she wasn’t. She was bent. And she was the one who’d put herself right again.

The smile pulled at my mouth as I followed her. After securing my own helmet, the engine roared to life. I felt more than heard Violet’s squeak as she threw her arms around my waist. Her heart beat on my spine as she plastered herself to me.

My body tingled as we drove down the driveway and onto the road. And I didn’t think it was the power of the bike I was reacting to; but the girl who owned every inch of me.

41

Violet

---