Untamed: The Savage: The Complete Series (9 page)

“
C
hloe
.” Her name came out on a ragged breath as I took a step closer.

“No.” She took a step back, her arms held out. “Don’t come closer.”

“Why?” I clenched my hands at my sides, fighting the need to touch her.

She glanced around, looking for a way out, for escape. “You shouldn’t be here. The police are looking for you.”

“That doesn’t matter to me.” In one long stride, I reached her and pulled her against me.

Her limbs were stiff at first but, soon enough, she melted into me. I heard the sigh, felt her hands squeezing at me. Then she pushed me away, struggling against my hold. “Stop. Let me go.”

I didn’t. I couldn’t. “No.” I fought to hold on. “Why are you fighting me?”

I finally let her go when she kneed me in the crotch. I folded over in pain, hands protecting my manhood. I looked up in time to see her pull something out of the nightstand and point it at me.

I didn’t flinch or blink. I stared straight into the barrel of that gun and said, “It’s me, Alaric.” Had my fears come true—had she already forgotten about me?

“I know who you are,” she said with a shaky voice. With the gun in one hand she reached for her cell phone on the bed. “Stay right there. I’m calling the police.”

I rose, confused and angry and… hurt. “Why?”

“Because you’re a killer. I saw what you did to those men. You cut their throats and threw them into a ditch.”

Holding her gaze, I came closer. “Shoot me then if you really believe that.” When she didn’t move, I reached out and cupped her cheek in my hand. “Otherwise I’m going to do what I came here for.”

She could barely speak when she asked, “Wh-what?”

I bent lower, leaned closer. “This.” I took her lips, groaning as her mouth opened up immediately and let me in. The muzzle of the gun bit into my rib, but I didn’t care. She could have shot me right then and I would have died a happy man.

I pushed the gun aside and pulled her closer until her soft body was pressed to mine. She let the gun drop to the bed and then she grabbed me and kissed me in return. I moved lower, kissing the soft skin of her neck, breathing in the scent that had haunted my dreams for weeks.

She moaned. “Why are you here?” she asked, her fingers in my hair.

“For you, for me,” I said, moving lower. I didn’t remember her skin ever tasting so good. “I needed you.” With my hand supporting her back, I lowered her to the carpet and settled over her.

I stared down at her, this tender, lovely thing in my arms. “My Beauty,” I whispered, touching the pads of my fingers along her collarbone. “I have dreamed of you, of this.” I grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it over her head, the breath hitching in my throat at the sight of her breasts. But I couldn’t wait like I intended. Impatience got the best of me and I dipped my head to taste it all.

She trembled under me, moaning when I held a nipple between my teeth. “Alaric,” she breathed, gripping my hair.

I sat back and peeled off her clothes and then mine. Slowly I dropped back down to her, our warm bodies coming together.

“Are you really here?” she asked, pulling my head back to look at me.

“I am.” My entire body clenched when her fingers wrapped around my cock.

Her eyes flicked up to mine. “Are you going to kill me too?”

I pulled her hand away and nudged her legs apart. “Do you really believe that?” I put my hands under her ass and lifted her hips, pressing myself to her entrance.

“You didn’t answer the question.” Through the desire in her face I could see the doubt. Even as she offered herself up to me, she still believed I was a killer.

“And if I said yes?” I demanded and pushed my way in. She sucked in air, her eyes going wide. “What would you do?”

She squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from me, but her legs folded around my back. I took my time, pulling out slow and thrusting in hard, anger and relief and joy all swirling around inside me. After all I’d done, all the miles I’d traveled, did she really think I would hurt her?

I gritted my teeth when she tightened, squeezing me. I put a thumb to her mound and swirled it around. She arched her back just as her body convulsed. With a groan, I followed her.

After, I sat her up on my lap and held her protectively. “I didn’t come this far to hurt you, Chloe,” I said, brushing hair away from her face.

She looked at me for a long time, her lips trembling. Then finally, slowly, she wound her arms around my neck and kissed me. I accepted the gift and returned it tenfold. After, she set her forehead on mine, holding my face in her hands. “Just be honest with me. Please.”

I gazed up at her, hoping she’d see the truth in my face. “It wasn’t me.”

“You didn’t kill those men,” she said, relief in her voice.

“No.”

She buried her face in my neck and cried.

I
sobbed
into Alaric’s shoulder for a long time, my tears dripping down his back. I held him tight, afraid if I let go he’d disappear again. He had left his home and traveled so far to find me and, in return, I had pointed a gun at him.

“I’m sorry,” I said between sobs. “I’m so sorry.”

He pulled me away by the arms, eyes filled with concern. “Is that why you left?”

I swiped at my face. “Not at first. I was protecting you. I was trying to keep your secret. But then…” I shuddered at the thought of those bodies I’d discovered, the memories of which still jolted me awake at night. “Then I found those men.”

He wiped at my tears with his thumbs, long, tender sweeps across my cheeks. I caught his wrists and kissed his knuckles. “I shouldn’t have doubted you.”

Without a word he lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bed. He lay down beside me and gathered me into his arms. “I watched you leaving that day. You looked up into the trees before getting into the car. You looked right at me but you didn’t see me.”

I laid my head on his chest, thankful to hear his heartbeat once again. “I was saying goodbye.”

“I know. I said my goodbye too.”

“But still, you came. Even at the risk of coming face to face with your past.”

He tilted my face up to his. “I had to. It hurt to breathe without you.”

With tears stinging my eyes, I straddled him, taking him inside me once again. And under my palm I could feel his chest inflating, taking in deep breaths again.

I
woke
up the next morning to an insistent buzzing.

“What is that?” Alaric’s deep, coarse voice raked up my spine.

“The doorbell.”

“That’s not a bell. That’s a million angry wasps preparing to attack.”

The buzzer stopped for a moment then started again.

“Persistent wasps,” Alaric murmured in my hair.

I groaned and finally disentangled myself from his arms. Only one person would ring my doorbell for that long and, if I waited another minute, I knew Anna would be calling the super to break down the door. “It’s my best friend,” I said, slipping into my robe before heading out of the bedroom.

“Took you long enough,” Anna said as soon as I opened the door. She entered, filling the apartment with her blustery energy. “I almost called the super.” She handed me a cup of fresh-brewed coffee, then stopped, her eyes narrowing as she really took me in for the first time. “Chloe Jane Randall, you had sex! Who was it?” She paused, her face souring. “Please tell me it wasn’t Ethan.”

“It wasn’t Ethan,” I said, biting back a grin.

“Then who?”

“It was me.”

Our heads swiveled around to my bedroom doorway where a naked Alaric stood. And damn, was he glorious.

Anna’s eyes almost popped out of her head. Her mouth fell open.

I rushed to stand in front of him. “Anna, this is Alaric. Alaric, my best friend Anna.”

Anna glanced at me once before looking back at the naked man over my shoulder. She began to back away to the front door. “Okay, I see you’re busy. Just call me later.” She raised a hand, lips pursed tight. “It was nice to meet you,” she added before slipping out the front door.

“Your best friend is strange,” Alaric said.

I spun around, trying to keep from laughing. “You’re the strange one, coming out here like that.” I put my hands on his chest and pushed. “Come on. Let’s get you dressed in case anyone else comes over.”

W
e ate
breakfast on the balcony, looking out at the park across the street. I served him eggs, bacon, pancakes, fruit, orange juice, the works. He picked up the bacon, sniffed it, and took a bite. His nostrils flared as he chewed, his head bobbing in appreciation.

“Good, right?” I asked, taking a bite of my own.

He nodded, stuffing the rest in his mouth. “I’d forgotten how good it tastes,” he said through the food, then reached over and tried to steal mine.

I smacked his hand away with a chuckle. “Hey! That’s my last one.” But I picked it up and offered him a bite, one that he took willingly.

He picked up a slice of his own melon and fed it to me slowly, his eyes fixed on my lips the entire time. When he leaned over and licked the juice off my lips, it became instantly clear that breakfast was over.

L
ater that afternoon
I took Alaric clothes shopping. The outfit he’d arrived in—jeans, boots, and the red plaid shirt I’d worn—would not last him very long. So I took him to the mall, allowed him to pick out some shirts, pants, and shoes—while picking out some of my own—then paid for it while he wasn’t paying attention.

I thought I was being sly but, after we left the store, he bent down and whispered, “I’ll find a way to pay you back.”

I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t want to sound too flippant, but didn’t want to act the opposite either. So I just ignored it, pretending I hadn’t heard.

A
laric
and I held hands as we walked around. His eyes were everywhere, no doubt on sensory overload from all the lights, sounds, smells. People walking by made no effort to conceal their stares at the enigmatic man towering beside me.

After a while I noticed Alaric’s shoulders hunched, his head bowed slightly so that hair was falling over his face. It hurt to see this once proud man reduced to this insecure creature.

I squeezed his hand and waited until his eyes were on me. “They’re looking because you’re magnificent.”

He shook his head. “I feel too vulnerable,” he said through his teeth. “I’ve never seen so many people.”

When a bunch of teenage boys went by, laughing and pushing each other as teenage boys do, Alaric grabbed me and spun me into the nearest store doorway. He covered me with his body, hands flattened on either side of my head, nostrils flaring as he stared down at me. “You okay?”

I smiled up at him and touched his stomach. “I’m fine. There’s no danger here.”

He glanced over his shoulder to confirm the rowdy boys had passed before stepping away. “Sorry,” he muttered under his breath.

I grabbed his hand. “Okay, we need one final thing then we can go,” I said, leading him into the Brooks Brothers store.

Alaric stopped at the entrance and refused to move. “I don’t need a suit.”

I gave him my sunniest smile. “My dad is holding a fundraising gala tomorrow night and I’d like you to be my date.”

His eyebrows drew together as he fixed me with those dark eyes. “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Chloe.”

Before I could respond, the store clerk came over to us in her high heels and pencil skirt. “May I help you?” she asked, giving me less than a cursory glance before turning her full attention on Alaric.

He let out a defeated sigh through his nose. “I need a suit for a gala, I guess.”

The clerk jumped into action, asking what he already had—nothing—and if he also would need shoes—yes. I fielded the questions, trying my best to make the process as painless as possible.

The clerk stood Alaric in front of a full-length mirror and held up two suits. “Dark blue or grey?” she asked, her eyes fixed on his reflection. Not that I blamed her—the long-haired man with intense eyes was truly something to behold.

“Definitely dark blue,” I said.

Alaric took the suit into the dressing room, two pairs of women’s eyes following him.

“Your brother?” the clerk asked in an all-too innocent way.

“Actually, he’s my boyfriend,” I said. The word
Mine
flitted through my head, but I figured it would be a little much to say aloud.

She smiled, looking a little abashed. “I apologize. He’s just very…” She fished around for the right word and gave up. “You know.”

Boy, did I. “I know. He really is.”

S
tealing clothes was a swift
, painless act. You ran in, grabbed what you could, and sprinted away. I always thought buying clothes would be similar, but I was wrong, very wrong.

Before you buy anything, a suit especially, you have to try it on first. Then try another—Chloe swore there was a difference from the first—and another. Then, just when I thought we had found a suitable one, I was told it had to be tailored. That meant I had to stand on a platform, my arms lifted and legs spread, for almost an hour while an old man pinned the suit to fit me better. The same suit I’d already spent an hour trying on to make sure fit. But we weren’t done. There was the shirt, the shoes, the cufflinks, the tie.

By the time we got back to Chloe’s apartment, I was ready to claw right out of my skin. I dropped the shopping bags on the floor and stood in the middle of the living room, surrounded by Chloe’s fine furniture and delicate things. My muscles strained as the walls closed in on me, the air growing thinner.

“Hey, are you okay?” Chloe asked, standing at the edge of the room. She was worried about me, as she should be.

I turned in a circle, feeling like a caged animal. I tugged at the tight collar of my shirt then just wrenched it over my head. The shoes and pants came off next. Only when I was completely naked was I finally able to breathe.

Chloe watched me with wide eyes, her lips parted slightly. She gulped. “So you want to try on your new clothes?”

I shook my head and took a step closer. I felt like a ravenous predator. When she drew back I grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. Before she could protest, I ripped her shirt right down the middle and proceeded to peel everything off her beautiful body. “No more clothes,” I said with a shake of the head.

Even though her chin trembled, she lifted it. Her eyes teased. “Then what do you want?”

I took her hand and wrapped it around my throbbing cock. “I want you.”

She climbed on the couch, knees on the cushion, back to me. She lifted her ass, offering it up to me. “Then take me.”

So I took her, plunging right into her hot sex without thought. She moaned under me, her ass rippling when I rammed into her. From her lips came requests for more, harder, faster, and I granted each one.

I cupped a hand under her chin and turned her head, capturing her gaze while I drove into her. There were no words said, only gusts of air passed between our lips, and the unspoken understanding that it would always be this way, just Chloe and me.

A
day
later I found myself wearing clothes again, in a dark blue straightjacket also known as a double-breasted suit.

“Why do I have to wear this?” I tugged at the tie, trying to loosen its chokehold on my neck.

Chloe pulled my hand away. “It’s a black tie party. Everyone will be wearing a suit,” she said as she readjusted the fabric noose.

“How many people?” I asked.

“I’m not sure.” She reached up and touched my beard, shorter now that she’d trimmed it, then ran her fingers through my hair, which she’d trimmed too. “Nobody will recognize you there.” She kissed my nose before disappearing into her enormous closet.

I sat on the edge of the bed and tried to loosen the cuffs. Going to a fancy pants party for people I didn’t even know sounded like hell. I don’t do small talk. I can’t mingle. I’d be nothing but a sweating, uncomfortable statue.

“You’re grumbling,” Chloe called from inside the closet.

I stood up, my mind made up to stay, when Chloe came out of the closet. She wore a slinky blue dress that reached the floor and hugged her body in all the right places. The top half left her shoulders uncovered, with the tops of her breasts peeking out.

“How do I look?” she asked, turning around, making the skirt twirl and her breasts jiggle. “And please, be honest. Like you were in the caves.”

I walked closer, forcefully holding my fists at my sides to keep from grabbing her and bending her over. I wanted so bad to be inside her right then. “You look… different.”

I knew I’d said the wrong thing when her smile fell. “Different good?”

I took the sparkly pin from the top of her head and long, blonde hair fell around her face.

“Alaric!” She reached up to try and fix it, but I nudged her hands away and shook out her hair. With my thumbs, I wiped the red off her lips. When it smeared, I grabbed a towel from the bed and wiped the rest of the lipstick off.

“We don’t have time for this…” Chloe said, but her voice was without fight.

I held her face in my hands. “Why do you cover yourself with this… paint? When you are so beautiful without it?”

She covered my hands with hers and shrugged. “It’s just what we do.”

I bent down and kissed her, the strange flavor of the lipstick lingering on her lips. “You don’t have to mask yourself around me.”

She nodded and pulled away. “I know.” She turned back to the dresser and swept her hair up again. “But around these people, I do.”

T
he gala was fancier
than anything I’d ever seen, held in a marble ballroom, with women wearing dresses that belonged more in those old Disney movies. I thought it could not have been more uncomfortable until Chloe said, “Come on, it’s time you met my dad,” and tugged me across the room.

I studied the mannerisms of men around me and tried to mimic their aloof, haughty demeanor. All it took was a lift of the chin and a bored look on my face; it wasn’t hard to do.

Chloe stood me in front of the man with the white hair. I had only seen him from afar and was surprised to see he looked younger than I thought, his skin tan, his body still fit.

“Darling,” the man said, kissing Chloe on the cheek but never once taking his eyes off me.

“Father, I’d like you to meet my boyfriend Alaric.” The pride in her voice squeezed at my heart. Nobody had ever been proud of me before. Nobody had ever called me boyfriend before either. It was a night of firsts. “Alaric, this is my father, Senator Keaton Randall.”

“Nice to meet you,” the senator said.

I took the outstretched hand and tried to match his firm grip without going overboard. When I pulled away, he nodded. “Strong handshake you have there.” He looked me up and down, measuring me. A robot scanning me with laser vision couldn’t have done much better.

“How did you two meet?” he asked.

Chloe glanced at me then flat out lied. “Atlanta.”

“Oh? You don’t look like you’re from around here.”

“He lives out of town, but he used to live here,” Chloe said.

He sniffed as if he could smell the lie. “Where?”

I copied his stance; I put my hands in my pants pockets and tried to act indifferent. “Just south of here,” I said.

Someone from across the room called the senator’s name. “I would like to visit with you more, Alaric,” he said. “Perhaps breakfast this Saturday?”

“Okay,” Chloe said with a nod. After he left, she turned to me with a barely repressed smile. “That went well.”

I took a deep breath, but still it didn’t seem to fill my lungs. “I need a drink.”

“I didn’t know you drank alcohol.”

“I don’t,” I bit out. “But I need something to survive the night.”

We walked over to the bar—it wasn’t hard to find, it was the most populated area of the ballroom—and I ordered a Scotch. I didn’t really know what it was or how it tasted, but I sure as hell wasn’t about to order a beer. In my experience, beer was the drink of violent, angry men who beat on those smaller than they.

I took a sip of the drink the bartender handed over. I very nearly spat it out.

“You don’t like Glenlivet?” a male voice asked beside me.

“Ethan, hi,” Chloe said in a breathless voice that perked my ears. “Alaric, this is my friend Ethan.”

I gave a short nod and took another sip, my eyes fixed on the new man, the one that had caused Chloe’s voice to rise in pitch. And even though the Scotch burned going down, I swallowed that son of a bitch.

Ethan touched Chloe’s elbow and led her to the side. “I thought you and I were coming together? I waited at your place for nearly an hour.” He didn’t do a good job of lowering his voice.

“I never agreed to go with you,” she said.

“So you ditched me for this guy?” he asked, jabbing a thumb in my direction. I turned away just as he looked over his shoulder. “He looks like Tarzan in a suit.”

Chloe giggled and looked over at me. She winked and resumed her place beside me. “He’s my boyfriend, actually,” she said, slipping her hand into mine.

D
uring dinner
I had a hell of a time figuring out the utensils. I had never seen so many forks and knives in my life. It took me a while to figure out how to cut meat with the knife in my right hand while holding the meat with the fork in my left. I didn’t even bother with the tiny tomatoes in my salad. Never had I felt more of a primitive barbarian than around these people with their perfect table manners.

After, we did more standing around, more mingling, more pointless bullshit.

I ran into Ethan again after Chloe went to the bathroom.

“So, Alaric was it?” he asked, not bothering to hide the fact that he hated me. He glanced down at my empty glass. “You finally get used to the taste?”

I nodded, keeping my eyes towards the room. The drink had started to go down smoother and smoother until it started to actually taste good. I thought it would relax my muscles, but what I didn’t anticipate was the way it made my head swim. When I tapped my fingers on the glass, I realized they had gone a little numb.

Ethan continued to glare. “You don’t say much, do you?”

I finally looked at him. We stood eye to eye. “No.”

“Well that works because I have a lot to say.”

My free hand clenched inside my pants pocket. He hadn’t even started talking and I already wanted to punch his face.

“I don’t know if Chloe told you, but she and I were together for a long time.”

“Together?”

He nodded, barely concealing a smile. “As in, she was my girlfriend. As in, I got to fuck her every which way for three years.”

My entire body tensed. It took everything in me to turn away and act like his words didn’t bother me. Even if the thought of him inside Chloe made me want to commit murder. Hell, I was already being accused…

My eyes desperately searched the room for Chloe, but she was not around.

“I can tell from the tick in your jaw that you want to punch me,” Ethan said with too much glee in his voice. The asshole was actually enjoying this. “But the truth had to come out sometime.”

I rounded on him and snarled. “What do you want from me?”

Ethan stood his ground. “I want you to know that she was mine first.”

My eyes narrowed. I bared my teeth. “Well she’s mine now.”

“Not for long.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“She’s going to see through you. See that you are beneath her,” he said, looking me up and down. “I know people like you. You think putting on an expensive suit will buy your way into our world. But you’ll never be like us. We have money and education, two things you seem to lack. You will never belong with Chloe.”

The hot air went out of me. Like it or not, everything he was saying was true. One look around this room said as much.

Ethan nodded, taking note of my sagging shoulders. “Maybe now you get it,” he said with a sneer. “Maybe now you’ll finally accept that you don’t belong here. Compared to us, you’re nothing.”

A voice from the past boomed in my head, a voice I’d long tried to shut out.

You’ll amount to nothing. You know why? Because you
are
nothing.

I lost it. I leapt forward and wrapped my hands around his neck, rushing him until we fell to the ground. His head hit the wood floor with a satisfying thunk.

Before I could plant a fist in his face, hands were grabbing my arms, pulling me away. It took three men to hold me back and one to help Ethan up off the floor.

“I was right,” Ethan said, rubbing the back of his head as he sat up. “You’re nothing but trash.”

Breathing hard, I looked around the room, at these people in their fancy clothes and expensive jewelry. Every one of them held contempt in their eyes, Chloe’s father especially.

Two men in uniforms stalked towards me. I didn’t need to be rich nor highly education to know they were about to escort me out.

I did them a favor and left.