Page 10 of Savage

He leans in and kisses my cheek, the scent of cigars on his breath. The smell still grosses me out. Growing up, the whole house smelled like cigar smoke. I don’t know how he managed to fill five thousand square feet with the rich, earthy smell of sweet leather, but he did.

Clyde drapes my coat over my shoulders and helps me outside into the fresh air before we both explode. I’m not looking forward to his questioning, but I’d rather that than listen to my father for another second.

“Jesus,” Clyde groans. “No offense, but your dad is a trip.”

“Yeah, he’s something. Thank you for doing that. I… I shouldn’t have let him think you were my boyfriend. I just,” I blow out a breath, “well… you saw.”

“I did, and it’s okay. Boyfriend is a huge improvement from the asshole I was earlier today.” We step into the side parking lot where our vehicles sit parked under a dimming light. I make note to have maintenance check it out. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home tonight. It’s late. I don’t want to worry about you on the roads.”

“What? No. I’m fine.” I’ve dated a little here and there, but I’ve never had a man so worried about me that he’d take me home because it’s dark. Most men just wave goodbye and maybe ask for a text. I’ve also never had a man hold the door open for me, which Clyde is currently doing.

“Let’s be fair. Get in or I’ll put you in. You’re not driving up that mountain alone at this time of night.”

“Did you hear anything my father said in there? I’ve grown up under the thumb of a controlling man.I’m independent. I don’t need a man driving me around and holding my doors open.”

He lowers his head and grins before staring toward me intently. “You don’tneedone. I know that. You’re perfectly capable of getting up that mountain alone. This is about me. I want to take care of you. I want to know you’re safe.”

A sudden desire to erase all distance between us washes over me, and my clit begins an untimely throbbing that sends my thoughts careening off the edge of reasonable and into the place they were earlier this evening.

“Come on.” He motions me forward, and I fold like a cheap suit in his arms.

I let him help me up into his truck, pull the belt over my lap, and buckle me in. I also let him climb up into the driver’s seat and drive us away. Twice in one night I’ve been more vulnerable with this man than I have with anyone, ever.

I glance toward him, studying his side profile. He’s so masculine, so opposite of everything I usually go for, yet I’m totally turned on.

His hands are big and rough. They grip the wheel casually, and that gun I hated so much earlier sits on his hip like a powerful reminder that he’s got everything covered.

“Is it awful I’ve never actually been in a pickup truck?”

He grins. “A rancher who hasn’t sat in a proper truck? Yeah, that’s pretty bad.” He twists the heat higher and turns the radio up until country music plays low in the background. I also don’t listen to country music. Sure, I’ve listened to a little now that Buck Dalton is staying at the ranch, but I find classical music more relaxing.

“Thank you… for everything. I know I’ve been a dick, and you didn’t have to be so good to me in front of my father.”

“Glad I could be there. What’s with all this investor talk?”

“Oh, he has a buyer for the ranch. Some guy who’s willing to give him triple what he paid, including my improvements. He thinks my whole idea is stupid, so he wants to sell before I crash and burn.”

“What does your mother think of all this?”

I drag in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “No. She’s, ugh, she passed away when I was six. She had Lou Gehrig’s disease. I don’t remember her much except for the photos. Some days, I fantasize about what it would be like to have her with me. I wonder who I’d have been with a female influence. I like to think she’d have stuck up for me with my dad when I was young. When I was a teenager, most kids I knew were so sick of their mothers, but I was still daydreaming about mine. What about you? Your parents still alive?”

“Long gone.” He scrubs his hand down over his beard. “Dad was former military and mom was a homemaker. They both passed together in an accident out near West Lake about ten years ago. They still have a property out there I need to sell one of these days. People say there’s gold buried in the hills. My sister would benefit from the profits as well. It’s a pretty big nest egg. We should really sell it, but it’s hard to give it up, ya know? Losing them was really difficult. They were great people.”

“And that’s why you feel so responsible for your sister?”

“Always have, but we’re the only family we have now, so we stick even closer. You have any siblings?”

“No. I used to think I was lucky, but the older I get, the more I realize how alone I am. It’s weird that there’s no one else in the world with my DNA. No one else who really gets the childhood I’ve had, ya know?”

“I get it.” He turns left up the old mountain road that leads to my cabin. It’s no joke how dangerous these turns can be at night. Between the wild animals, shadows, and sheer drops, it’s no wonder so many vehicles go off the road up here. “Any close friends that can sub as siblings?”

“Yeah, a few. Dad and I traveled a lot, so most of my friendships got kind of strained, but I have a few people I’ve stayed close with. I probably sound pathetic to you.”

“Why would you think that?” He rests his hand on my thigh.

“I don’t know, all those comments about success earlier. You define it as family and relationships. I don’t have any of those things.”

He glances toward me, then back at the dark road. “I was trying to get under your skin. It’s the thing we were doing twenty minutes ago, remember? You called me poor and—”

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