Annihilation Road (Torpedo Ink 6)

The bar was up the road, just below Highway 1. Above the bar were the two apartments the club owned and rented out to Bannister and Delia. There was a large parking lot in front of the terraced landscaping that wrapped around the building. A narrow path led up to the highway through overgrown grass to one side of the property. The other side was by parts parking and landscaped.

Savage had known he was taking her into a dicey situation, and he had waited until the last minute to tell her. She was someone who had to process information. He knew that about her. Lana and Alena had cast doubts on her going on the run; in fact, she’d decided she’d just stay home while he went on it. She wasn’t going to take any chances of being the cause of Savage going to prison. And now this . . . Yeah, her temper was quite close to the surface.

By the time Savage parked the bike, Seychelle was seething. She smacked him in the back of the head as she got off, all but tossed the helmet to him and started walking toward the bar without him.

“Woman. You wait for me.”

That was a direct order. There was no doubt about it. That was Savage being the enforcer. She stopped in her tracks but didn’t turn around. Maybe it hadn’t been the best idea to smack the back of his head, but if she was going to be in trouble for it, she wished she’d put a little more effort into it.

She felt the heat of his body before he reached her. He was always so silent in the way he moved, like some great jungle cat stalking his prey. Her body gave a little shiver all on its own, responding to his aggression in spite of her own anger at him. He slung his arm possessively around her neck and pulled her in to the shelter of his body. He was solid muscle, a wall of sheer strength. When he locked her against him, she wasn’t going anywhere. She stood very still, waiting, trembling, but not with fear, more with a mixture of anger and anticipation.

“You have every right to have your nasty temper exploding right now, Seychelle. I fucked up. I should have listened to my instincts regarding you. I know your personality. You like to hear about things, even a little bit at a time, and then think it over. I was happy in that cottage with you and I didn’t want to leave. We were laughing every day. All night. The last thing I wanted to do was bring this mess up, especially when I didn’t know what we were walking into, but I should have.”

She turned to face him and he pulled her in close again, sliding one hand down her back to the curve of her bottom. “You’ve gotten so you like my hand or even occasionally the leather decorating your ass. And you’ve let me clamp your nipples a couple of times, and you enjoyed it. I was so wrapped up in you and me that I didn’t want anything else to interfere. I didn’t want to bring the outside into our world. What I did was wrong, and I’m fully aware of it.”

Seychelle pressed her forehead against his chest. When he did that, just simply and succinctly owned his mistakes, it turned her heart over. Savage never beat around the bush, he just simply told her outright what he thought was his part in what went wrong.

“Not the leather. I’m not sure about that leather strap thing yet. Clamps I love. Your hand too. Leather, um . . . not so much.”

“Your body always tells me something else.”

“I know, but I think I’m going to have a serious talk with my body. Okay. I’m not angry anymore, but please, when something big is up, let me know ahead of time. I really do have to think things through. I’m not good at this caught-off-guard thing.”

He tipped her chin up so he could look into her eyes. His eyes had gone from ice-cold blue to flames, ones that licked over her body and turned her to pure fire. “You’re good at everything, Seychelle. I love you. Just remember that and you’ll be fine. Stay with the band. Don’t step into the crowd for any reason. When we go in, you search that crowd for anyone with illnesses who could distract you or force you to help them. That’s the first thing.”

He framed her face with his hands and brushed kisses over her lips. “You can do this, baby. More than anything, you stay safe for me. Tell me you understand that’s the most important thing. You’ll sweep that room, and we’ll clear it of anyone with an illness.”