Page 42 of Savage

“Do you mind talking to me for a minute?” He motioned to the table and several chairs sitting around it, as if he wanted her to have a seat.

Donna stared at the chair, wondering if she should sit. She couldn’t help the way she glanced at the door, wondering if maybe she should just leave.

It wasn’t that she thought he would hurt her, no she didn’t think Beth would put up with someone who did that, but she didn’t know what he would do. What kind of guy went by a name like Sadist anyway?

“You can ask Savage to join us if it would make you more comfortable.” He motioned one hand toward the door. “Or I can have Beth come in so you don’t feel like I’m trying to threaten you.”

She glanced in that direction again then dismissed getting Savage. That he’d offered to let her ask that someone else be present was enough. Instead, she changed directions, went to the table, pulled out a chair and sat.

“What would you like to talk about?”

“Savage told us a little about what’s going on with you,” he said.

Donna nodded, she’d told Savage he could tell them whatever he thought they needed to know, even about her pregnancy. She expected he’d done just that.

“Look at me, little one.” Sadist’s voice pulled her attention back to him.

Slowly, she turned her face back to him, not wanting to see what he thought of her now that he knew her shame.

“He didn’t tell us to be gossiping. He wanted to enlist help from the club. He needed to tell us why he was asking us to put ourselves and our women, at risk.” His voice was kind, but firm.

After a moment she hazarded a glance at his face, hoping she wouldn’t see contempt, or worse pity, there. She saw neither. Instead, she saw what she thought was compassion.

“We’ll help, that wasn’t in question, but I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things.”

“What?” she asked, frowning in confusion.

“I need to know what you’re after here. Are you in it because you care about Savage or are you just looking for a way to get out of your situation.”

Her face heated, she wondered what kind of person he thought she was.

Sadist held up one hand to stop her as she started to speak. “I don’t mean that as callous as it sounded. And either way, it won’t change whether or not the Souls help you. No woman should be stuck in the kind of situation Savage told me about. But I need to know.”

She stared at him for a moment, opened her mouth then closed it again as she let his words sink in. After a moment she started again.

“When I met him, it was about getting away. How could it have been anything else? I was desperate enough to get on the back of a motorcycle with a man I’d known a couple of hours. But since then I’ve gotten to know him a little better. Not just the surface stuff like what he likes and dislikes but more. I know it’s only been a few days, but in that time, he’s shown me so much about his character. It’s hard to believe, especially for me and given what I’m just getting away from but there is a lot to him that I like, and I think, given time, I could fall hard for him. He’s so kind, so gentle, even when he has no reason to be.” She looked down at the table. “I don’t know what all he told you, but Noah wasn’t who I thought he was, and I knew him for months before we joined the commune. At that time, I thought he was the one I’d be with for the rest of my life. I don’t know if he was always that way or something about the commune changed him. I will probably never know.” She took a deep breath and let it out as she tried to get her heart to stop racing. “I stumbled across something that could be amazing when I found Savage. I’m not here to take advantage of him. I’ve told him several times I don’t need everything he buys or wants to buy, but I can’t seem to stop him. I don’t need him to spend his money on me. I can make do. But what can I do when he insists?” She shrugged, hoping he would see how helpless she sometimes felt.

It wasn’t that she wanted him to feel sorry for her, but since he’d decided he needed to question her, she felt like she had to make sure he understood. She had just asked for a ride. Help getting farther away from Noah and the commune.

After today’s encounter, she suspected that if Savage had done as she asked and just helped her find a shelter, they would have found her already before today. And with no one to step between them the way he had, she’d be back at the commune enduring whatever they had planned as her punishment for daring to run.

“I’m not worried about how he spends his money or even if you’re sleeping with him. I’m worried about the club. He’s asked that we get involved in some things that have the potential for long term consequences. I would like to have at least a bit of an idea that the relationship has a chance of lasting longer than the cost. I’m not saying we wouldn’t protect you but how invested you are in this might affect our methods.”

Donna frowned. She felt like he was talking around something, but had no idea what he wasn’t saying. She was about to ask what he meant when he spoke again.

“Thank you for taking the time to stop when I asked. I’m sure Savage is wondering what’s taking so long.” He tilted his head toward the yard they had been using as a gathering space. The area where she knew Savage was indeed waiting for her.

A little befuddled at what he’d learned from those few questions, Donna picked up her bag and went out to find Savage. She was ready to call it a day.

33

“Thattooklongerthanusual, is everything okay?” Savage asked as Donna came back from getting ready for bed.

“Yeah, Sadist stopped me on my way out and asked me a few questions is all.” She stopped beside him but didn’t sit, instead she bent and kissed his cheek. “I’m going to go on back to the tent. You coming soon?”

“Yeah.” He caught her hand and looked up at her face, trying to get an idea of what Sadist had said to her. She looked a little confused, but not upset. Good. He might not have to come to blows with his VP. “You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m fine. He just needed to know a few things. It was no big deal.” She bent low, until her face was only a few inches from his. “It was nothing. He was just trying to protect the club. I’m fine. Don’t go pick a fight. Come to bed instead. Come to me.” She dropped a quick kiss on his lips then straightened and walked away, not bothering to look back.

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