Page 27 of Savage

“He hit you? I’ll fucking kill him.”

“Savage, you're scaring me.” He went quiet after she said that. Before long, the silence became deafening. She could feelhis anger simmering just beneath the surface. Finally, unable to bear the quiet, she asked, “Are you mad at me?”

Savage exhaled a long, slow breath. “Not at you, sweetheart. At the situation.” His voice was low, measured, but she caught the steel underneath. “Tim better hope I never get my hands on him. He’s a dead man walking. No one hurts what is mine and lives to talk about it.”

“Yours?”

“Baby, when I saw you at The Citadel, I turned to Arrow and asked him who you were. When he didn’t know, I knew I had to find out. My mom always says when you find your soulmate, you know. Your souls will be drawn to each other. I don’t know why. I don’t know how. But, I know, you are mine.”

“Do I get a say in this?” She asked quietly. She wasn’t sure how she felt about his declaration.

“In all honesty, can you say you don’t feel something between us?”

“I feel…” she thought about it. “Chemistry. For sure. Physical chemistry.”

“Is that all?” He raised an eyebrow at her.

No. That wasn't all. Savannah felt something different with him. Lust, sure. But… more. She couldn’t rationally call it love, but she felt drawn to him, like a moth to a flame.

“I mean, we barely know each other.”

“True. And I plan on spending the rest of my life getting to know you. I’ll tell you one thing, Savannah. If I didn’t feel like you were mine, you wouldn’t be sitting here right now. I’d have already called my brothers and you would be long gone. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t put you out in the cold or without protection, but it wouldn’t be with me. I’d make sure you were somewhere safe, likely on Valhalla, until I dealt with the threat to The Watchmen. But, because you are mine, because I feel something between us, you are sitting on my lap and I’mlistening to everything you have to say. Don’t ask me to explain it, because I can’t. Am I scaring you with what I’m saying?”

Was he? He wasn’t. If anything, he was turning her on. The first time he claimed her with his words, her clit tingled. “No.” She barely heard the word drop from her own lips. She tilted her head up and looked at him. He nodded once, confirming he’d heard her.

Then, without warning, he shifted gears. “How serious were you about being a little?”

Savannah blinked, caught off guard. “What?”

“You heard me,” he said, his tone gruff. “How serious were you when you talked about wanting that kind of relationship? You said you’d researched it to go undercover, what I want to know is, was that all? Are you curious about it or was it simply an act?”

“I… When they first told me about it, I was put off. What kind of adult woman wanted to be treated like a child? But, when I read the books, I found myself drawn to the idea of it. The concept of not having to be in control and having someone else care so thoroughly, so completely for you… and it definitely turned me on. I thought about how great it might be to find that kind of chemistry and connection with someone. But I don’t know what you’re asking. I didn’t think I’d ever actually find that kind of relationship. I thought I’d pay off the debt I owed, and no one here would want to see or hear from me again.”

“And now? Knowing I’m not asking you to leave?”

“I mean… are you asking me? Do you want to be…my…?”

“I’m asking if you trust me enough to let me take control,” he said, his gaze locked on hers. “Control of all of it. But if you do, I won’t ask again. I’ll lead, and you’ll follow. That’s what I need right now—to fix this situation, to protect you and those I love, and to make sure it never happens again.”

Her chest tightened at his words, but it wasn’t out of fear. It didn’t feel like it did when she’d seen Tim standing there. No, this was a different kind of fear. It was… something else. For the last two years, she’d longed to give everything to someone else to take care of. She’d been in charge of everything. The house, her mother’s care, the finances… she’d been overwhelmed more than once, wishing there was someone else who could step in and let her rest. She longed to be cared for, looked after, loved unconditionally. But could she really do this with him? He was all but a stranger… Her thoughts raced, but her heart knew the answer. “Yes,” she whispered. Not out of coercion, not out of fear but out of want and need.

“Good.” His lips curved into a faint smile before he reached down and cupped the back of her neck, holding her still, lowered his mouth and kissed her, slow and deep, like he was sealing a promise. “Good girl.” Those two little words really did something to her. When he pulled back, his expression grew serious again.

“Then let’s start. Right now, I want you to go stand in the corner. Nose against the wall. Don’t talk, don’t move. Just stand there and listen to what I say and how I handle this situation. When I’m done, if you still want this, we’ll talk more.”

Savannah looked at him closely. Was he serious? Did he really want her to go stand in the corner?

“Right now, Savannah. You are lucky Daddy is letting you remain dressed. Go now, little girl.”

Her stomach fluttered as she slid off his lap and walked to the corner. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but the firmness in his voice left no room for argument. She placed her nose against the wall, feeling his eyes on her. She’d never stood in the corner in her entire life. The room was quiet as she stood there. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.It was awkward and embarrassing to know he was sitting there watching her.

As she started to work through everything in her head, the fact that Savage now knew everything, wondering how they were going to deal with Zeb and Tim, fear of what the girls were going to think of her when they found out, she heard Savage’s voice.

“Hey brother,” he said into the phone. She turned around to look at him. “Nose back in the corner,” he ordered her sharply. “We’ve got a problem.”

He laid out everything to Lucky while on speaker phone—Zeb’s blackmail, the threats against the club, and Tim’s involvement in it all. Savannah flinched at the anger in Lucky’s tone, but it was more at the situation than at her. He wasn’t happy about there possibly being another person involved. They couldn’t rule out Tim’s words but at the same time, they trusted everyone directly involved in The Watchmen. They decided to keep the situation close, only letting the officers and a few trusted allies know what was going on.

They quickly devised a plan: Savannah would continue feeding Zeb information, but it would all be false, designed to lure Zeb and his crew into an ambush. The Watchmen would be ready and waiting. Lucky promised to reach out to the officers, and they decided locking down the girls at the clubhouse would be the best course of action for their safety.

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