Page 5 of Filthy Savage

Oh, no.

My pulse jumps. I completely forgot that Xander has our room key. What the hell am I going to do? I don’t have a penny to my name. Every dime I make at the coffee shop goes to household expenses and rent.

Shaking my head, I say, “He kept everything.”

His chiseled jaw tightens, that emerald glimmer turning darker. “Alright, don’t worry. What’s your room number?”

“6693.”

“Okay, I’ll get you a suite and move all your things to it.”

I hit him with a wide-eyed stare.

A suite? I’m sure he misspoke.

“I don’t have money.”

“You don’t need money.”

I almost cry, and I swear, my heart skips a beat. A half-smile curves one side of his face, and it becomes harder to breathe.

I shouldn’t be feeling anything for him. Nothing at all. Not this attraction, nor this need to spend more time with him.

He could be dangerous, for all I know. But he doesn’t seem dangerous. Not to me, anyway.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” My voice drops.

“Because someone has to be.”

Emotions hit the back of my throat. Why does his voice calm me so much? And why does it feel like I’ve known him all my life? It’s weird, really. To meet someone and feel like you’ve always known them.

When his full mouth twitches, I wonder how it’d feel to kiss him. To run my hands through his hair.

My God, this needs to stop.

He’s gotta be thirty. Doubt he’d be interested in a nineteen-year-old anyway. He probably dates older, more sophisticated model types. I definitely don’t fit that mold. Though I try to look away, I can’t seem to untether my gaze from his.

Someone clears their throat from my left, and I suck in a breath, finally remembering we aren’t alone. The other men he’s with are still right here, not saying a word.

I give them a quick glance, and a chill runs down my arms. Their expressions are tight, their stances exuding power and superiority.

Who are these people?

“Come on, let’s get you settled into a new room.” He breaks through my thoughts, waiting for me to follow him.

I glance at the men again—who are now falling further behind us as we walk away—and keep pace beside the manwhose name I don’t yet know. Only a hand’s length remains between us; I’m nervous to get nearer.

Even this is too close. Though I want more.

My heart grows frantic.

But when he cuts the distance between us until his arm almost touches mine, the warmth of his proximity makes all the nerves sizzle beneath my skin.

“Do you like weddings?” he asks out of nowhere, staring at me with that awfully sexy smirk. “Because one of my brothers back there is getting married in about three hours, and I could use a date.”

My eyes flicker to his. I hadn’t expected that.

I shouldn’t go. It’d be stupid to risk growing more attracted to him when I’m already feeling all these things. But I could use a little bit of fun. Something to help me forget all my problems before I have to return to the hell that awaits me back home.

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