Page 46 of Savage Kingdom

We turned the corner on Jackson, Gideon walking ahead of me, his body slightly shielding mine. He held on to me like a vise; it was almost like he was afraid I would disappear.

“As soon as I had the location, I cashed in a favor,” he told me when we walked into an underground parking entrance. He looked up; the parking spiraled for at least five floors.

“Come here. I think you’ve hurt enough for one night,” Gideon said as he scooped me up. He carried me bridal-style toward the elevators.

Why was I letting him?

Never in my life had anyone protected me. I always expected the worst in humanity—in men.

We made it to a black bike. Gideon kneeled, and from under the motor, he pulled out the keys.

He straddled the bike and turned to me. “Hop on, love.”

I did as he asked and held on to him tighter than I had ever held on to anyone. He didn’t know that I had put my trust in him. He had no idea the horrors I had lived, and to me, this moment was monumental.

Gideon drove away from the city, and the building lights became a blur. My face pressed against his back, and my arms alternated between squeezing him tight and sending out a message. I had no idea what was going to happen, but for now, I was content.

As soon as it was safe, I needed to get in contact with Damian and Bas, but for now, I just held on to Gideon and hoped he didn’t let me fall.

We made it to a hotel in the suburbs. He made no mention of our previous arrangements, so I kept quiet.

“Wait here,” Gideon said while he went to go get us checked in. I nodded and waited by the motorcycle. As soon as Gideon went into the lobby, I broke the burner phone I had grabbed from White when I searched him. Knowing I didn’t have enough time, I typed in Bas’s number. As Gideon drove, I’d texted, “I’m k--D.” Easy enough to spell with one hand. The phone broke in two, and I threw it in the bushes with enough time to spare before Gideon came back.

He came from the side entrance. “Come on, Petal, let’s wash that blood off your body.” His voice was by my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

The soothing motion of his arms brought up sensations in me that I didn’t think possible. When he pressed a soft kiss behind my ear, my pussy throbbed, and the fact that I was bare seemed to scream at me.

I’d been deprived of human contact and emotions for far too long now, and my body was begging for affection. I wanted his affection, even if it was only temporary.

My head turned, and our gazes collided.

He sucked in a breath, and I bit my lip.

“Don’t tease me, Petal. We both know I’m not a good man.”

Something was seriously wrong with me, but one thing I did know was that life was not guaranteed, and the only thing I regretted was the missed chances I’d had.

“It’s safe to say I’m not a good woman either.”

He pressed his face closer to mine, our lips brushing against each other without kissing. “You want your pretty little pink cunt fucked?”

I raised on my tiptoes and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I’m pretty sure we agreed that I was doing the fu—”

He kissed me, cutting off words I was sure I would regret saying once this was all over. His hands came to my waist, pressing me close enough that I could feel his hard-on.

“You’re fucking killing me,” he murmured.

I really hoped it didn’t come down to that.

We made it to the room with soft touches and kissing, the complete opposite of what had happened in the club. Even though that had been rough, near violent, it was all about me and my pleasure, and that was more than any man had ever given me.

As soon as we were inside, the air changed, charged with sexual tension. I turned around, and Gideon was already removing his shirt.

“You going to back off now, or are you going to jump on my dick?”

I walked back to the bed. Somehow everything I’d been taught on how to seduce a man seemed pointless at this moment. Gideon saw right through it—he saw through my façade, touching the surface of who I was.

“I’m in the mood for a quick ride,” I teased as I removed one button.

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