Page 22 of Savage

It did seem it, but nothing about Clint made me nervous. I felt… safe. With Todd, I was always on edge, even when he was charming. I always felt off-balance and wrong-footed, as if I could never say or do the right thing. With Clint, it was the opposite. I felt totally at ease. There was even the looming issue of my pregnancy standing between us, and I was going off with him into the cold night. The cab of his truck was warm with the heat blasting.

He pulled up in front of a cute cottage not far from Audrey’s house in town. “This is a place that my parents own. It’s not rented right now, so you can stay here as long as you need.”

The porch light was on, and the sidewalk shoveled. A large tree was in the front yard, and I guessed it was leafy and shady in the summer. It was… cute.

“Thank you for this,” I reached over and touched his arm. “I’ve been alone in this mess with Todd for so long… it feels nice to have someone in my corner for a change. After what he did today, I admit it felt good watching you try to strangle him.”

He frowned. “You’re talking about more than the tire, aren’t you?”

I looked away, nodded.

Fingers beneath my chin had me looking back at him. “What else did he do?” The question was low and deadly.

I took a deep breath, told him about the credit card and the bank account.

“Fuck… shit, sorry.”

I laughed at the way he tried not to swear. The feeling, the… lightness of being with Clint was almost foreign to me.

Easy.

He took off his hat, ran a hand through his hair. I realized I’d never seen him without his cowboy hat before. His dark hair was longer on the top than the sides. Ithadbeen groomed until his frustration messed it up. It still looked good.

“Sugar, I’m definitely in your corner,” Clint declared. “Even without sex.” He threw open his door.

“Yeah, about that…” I slid out my side of the truck and dropped to the ground.

“Oh?” There was no denying the obvious interest in his voice. He pulled my suitcase out of the back seat and walked around to meet me.

“I might have been a little hasty,” I admitted. God, I’d made it five whole minutes after telling him no sex toyes sex. I was a little slut where he was concerned.

His eyes caught the streetlight and for a moment looked like they glowed silver. His grin was definitely feral. I didn’t even know how it was possible because he was still holding my suitcase, but he somehow swept me up into his arms like a new bride and carried me up to the doorstep. I gasped and set my hand against his hard chest. Even without a coat he was warm.

Hot, even. Literally and figuratively.

“There’s no pressure, sugar,” he said in a deep, velvety rumble. “I need to keep you safe, that’s all.” He fit the key in the lock and pushed the door open. “But if you did want a repeat of our previous escapade, I promise I’ll make it worth your while.”

The bastard winked. Of course, the wink was my undoing. I bit his neck. He growled.

“Make you a deal,” I whispered.

“All right.” He flipped on the lights. I shot my hand out and flicked them back off.

“Keep the lights off, and I’m all yours.”

He stood still for a moment. I couldn’t make out much of his face in the darkness, but his eyes still glinted, almost like an animal’s. Like he could see in the deep shadows of the room. But of course, that would be impossible.

“Deal,” he murmured, carrying me swiftly through the darkness, like he knew his way blind. He kicked open a door and lay me on a soft bed. I tugged off my coat and heard the thunk thunk of his boots hitting the floor. I toed mine off, too, then pulled my pajama top over my head.

This was going to work out perfectly.

He wouldn’t see my baby bump, and I’d still get to have fun. It wasn’t like we’d seen much of each other in the storeroom. My skirt had been hitched up about my waist, and he’d been too frantic to do more than yank my panties to the side. I’d barely gotten a glimpse of his dick. We’d had incredible sex without seeing each other’s bodies. We could do that again now.

In the back of my mind, I knew my reasoning was about as wonky as a tilt-a-whirl, but I ignored my better sense. I blamed it on the hormones. I’d never been hornier in my life than I had been since I started growing this baby, and the fact that it was Clint here with me…

I had to admit, he’d featured prominently in all my fantasies when I took the time to relieve my frustration with my fingers or my battery-operated boyfriend since the summer. He’d pretty much ruined me for all other guys.

I cupped my tender breasts, my nipples already hardened into tight buds.