Heartless Savage

by Terri Anne Browning

  I regretted those words as soon as they left my mouth when Aunt Emmie gave me that narrowed-eyed glare, but even more so when I heard Violet’s voice from right behind me.

  “No, he was too busy getting into Megan Hawthorn’s pants to care he had people waiting to wish him happy birthday.”

  Fuck.

  She must have come in through the kitchen. I turned slowly, my eyes falling on the most beautiful girl I’d ever set eyes on. She was dressed in what had to have been one of Shaw’s dresses; the thing clung to her in all the best ways, and my body began to ache just looking at her. Her hair was curled around her shoulders, and she had on more makeup than usual, and I knew—fucking knew—that she’d dressed like this to punish me.

  Violet stood there giving me a look I never wanted to experience from her again. The anger and pain I saw in her eyes was my doing, and all I wanted was to toss her over my shoulder and lock her in one of the bedrooms until she forgave me.

  Clenching my jaw, because every teenage guy in the room who wasn’t related to her was currently eyeing what was mine, I slammed the door, only to get a glare from Dad—which I ignored. “Excuse me,” I told the newcomers, “while I go set the record straight. Again. It only makes the two hundredth time.”

  But I would gladly set it straight another two hundred—or two million—if it meant she would just fucking forgive me.

  By the time I turned back around, Violet had disappeared on me, but I caught sight of her hair as the upstairs bathroom door closed behind her.

  I glanced around the room, making sure neither my dad nor hers was watching and then followed her.

  She must have been more upset than I realized, because when I chanced the door handle, it was to find it unlocked. I pushed my way inside to her shocked “Excuse you!”

  I quickly shut and locked the door then pressed my back to it so she wouldn’t have a way out.

  When my gaze locked on her face, my knees went weak. Tears ran down her beautiful face, making me want to fall at her feet and beg for mercy.

  “Baby, please don’t cry.” I crossed to her in three steps and cupped her damp face.

  “If anyone finds you in here with me, you’re dead.” She pulled her head back and put a little distance between us. The guest bathroom was huge, but there was nothing small about me, and I was already crowding her in without even trying.

  “I don’t care. Apparently this is the only way to get you to talk to me.” I thrust my hands into my pants pockets as she walked to the sink and turned on the faucet.

  She grabbed a tissue and dabbed at her wet eyes, smearing her eyeliner.

  “Why were you late to the party?” I asked, needing to break the silence but also needing to know where she’d been all evening. Before I’d fucked up, I would have known everything about her day because she would have texted me the entire time. Hell, it was Saturday, so she probably would have spent it with me.

  I’d taken our time together for granted, and over the past two months, I’d missed her so damn much. Without her, it was like I was physically missing a part of myself, and it was agony.

  Instead of answering me, she stood in front of the mirror, fixing her makeup.

  “Vi,” I growled. “Where were you?”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize that was any of your business.” She rolled her eyes at me and then tossed the tissue in the trash. “I was at the corner of suck it and go fuck yourself.”

  The sassy way she glared up at me, her cute little nose flaring, made me hard as a rock. But those words coming out of that beautiful mouth from my sweet Violet made me burst out laughing.

  “You’ve been spending way too much time with Shaw lately.” I closed the distance between us and grasped her hips. Lifting her, I set her on the edge of the sink. Using my knees, I spread her legs and stepped between them, caging her in with my arms. Lowering my head, I pressed my nose to her hair and inhaled deeply. “Fuck, babe. I’ve missed you so damn much.”

  “Seriously, Luca,” she muttered in a shaky voice. “If someone finds us like this, my dad will kill you.”

  “I locked the door.” I pushed her hair over her shoulder, wanting to smell her skin. But when I skimmed my nose over her flesh, my lips grazed her pulse. Unable to stop myself, I licked her, needing her taste on my tongue. “Baby,” I groaned. “You taste so sweet.”

  “L-Luca,” she whimpered, squirming against me. “Wh-what are you doing?”

  “Punishing myself,” I murmured, kissing my way down her neck and across her collarbone exposed by her dress. “And kissing away the hurt I caused.”

  “I wish it were that easy.” But she arched her back, giving me permission to keep going as I pushed the straps of her dress over her shoulders so I could kiss my way down her chest.

  She smelled like heaven and tasted so sweet, she was giving me a sugar high. When I saw she wasn’t wearing a bra, it took everything in me not to latch on to one of her pretty pink nipples as it strained toward my mouth, begging for my attention. My cock jerked painfully in my pants, the tip leaking against my thigh, but I welcomed the pain.

  I deserved to hurt for what I’d done to this amazing girl.

  My lips reached the valley between her perfect tits. I dropped to my knees in front of her and buried my face there. I kissed over her heart, praying she would forgive me. I licked and sucked and came a little bit in my pants because I wanted her so fucking bad.

  Her fingers stabbed through my hair, holding me against her as her soft pants filled my ear. “Luca…” She moaned as my chest pressed against her core, and I could feel how wet she was for me through the thin layer of her panties and my shirt.

  I leaned back, gasping for breath as I looked at the one place I’d never allowed myself to truly look before. Her panties had a wet spot that was quickly growing by the second, making the soft material almost sheer, and I wanted to lick it so badly, I actually started to lower my head.

  The sound of someone knocking on the door had me jerking my head back. My gaze locked with Violet’s startled purple eyes, and I swallowed my groan, unsure if I was pissed at being interrupted or grateful.

  The shock quickly left Vi’s eyes to be replaced by fear. She was right. If someone caught us together like this, Uncle Shane would kill me.

  The knock came again. “Luca, let’s go.” Lyric’s voice was quiet, but I heard it as clear as if he were standing at my side. “Nevaeh is here and will be down soon.”

  “Give me two minutes,” I called back and got to my feet.

  “Dad is looking for you,” my twin grumbled. “Hurry the fuck up before they find you.”

  “Two minutes.” I repositioned my cock so I didn’t hurt myself permanently, then fixed Violet’s dress. As I put her straps back in place, covering her perfection, I kissed each shoulder. “That was close. My brother just saved me from committing a felony.”

  “I wish he hadn’t,” she muttered unhappily, making me grin.

  I kissed her temple and finally took two steps back from her. “Part of me wishes he hadn’t either.” Grabbing her by the hips, I lifted her and placed her on her feet in front of me. Other than her fever-bright eyes, there was no outward sign on her of what I’d just done. “You are so beautiful.”

  She started to smile, and my heart lifted. But before the smile could reach her eyes, she jerked back from me. “This doesn’t fix anything,” she said, her eyes turning stormy. “You can’t do…that…and expect me to go on like what happened on your birthday never happened.”

  “I wasn’t expecting it to. I got carried away and nearly messed up. I haven’t seen you, touched you, fucking kissed you in months. I lost my head for a minute.” I cupped her chin between my thumb and index finger. “I love you, Vi. I’ve missed you so damn much. I’m not asking you to forget about what I did. All I’m asking is for the chance to make it up to you. Give me another chance, baby, and I’ll never hurt you like that again.”

  Her
teeth sank into her bottom lip, and I knew she was giving it serious consideration. Lyric knocked on the door again, reminding me that we had to go. I clasped her hand in mine and brought it to my lips. “Think about it. You don’t have to decide tonight. Just promise me you will consider it.”

  “O-okay,” she whispered.

  Some of the pressure in my chest eased, and I brushed a kiss over her forehead. “Thank you.”

  Linking our fingers together, I walked toward the door

  “Luca…” Her hesitation made me pause and look down at her.

  “Yeah, baby?”

  “I’ve missed you too.”

  Chapter 12

  Violet

  Nevaeh’s birthday party was a turning point in me giving Luca a second chance. Our encounter in the bathroom at my uncle’s house had effectively softened me toward the boy who’d broken my heart, and while I felt easy for having given in and let him touch me, I wasn’t going to lose sleep over it.

  Scratch that.

  I was losing sleep, but it wasn’t from feeling guilty or even angry with myself. It was because I couldn’t stop thinking about what had nearly happened. Every time I remembered Luca’s lips on my chest, his soft kisses on my flesh, the hungry way he’d licked and sucked… Then the way he’d looked at me—there…

  I didn’t sleep much at all because of the memories, and I was more than a little grumpy by Monday from lack of sleep.

  I hadn’t seen Luca since the party, but when he called or texted, I talked to him. As promised, I’d thought about giving him a second chance, and with how much my body ached for him, I knew it was only a matter of time before I did give him that second chance he wanted.

  Until I saw Lyric’s social media post. He took a selfie with Luca after football practice that evening with the caption: Feeling cute, might bang the whole cheer squad later. IDK.

  Normally, I would have just rolled my eyes at what a horndog Lyric was and kept scrolling. But one of the cheerleaders in the background of the selfie caught and held my attention. Seeing Megan looking at Luca like he hung the moon made my chest ache, and all the pain from the last few months came flooding back.

  “What are you looking at so hard?” Cannon asked as he came up behind me.

  I was sitting at the island in his kitchen, doing homework with Shaw. But when my bestie had gone to the bathroom, I’d decided to check social media. Now I was wishing I’d deleted my accounts so I wouldn’t have to see the enemy practically panting over the one guy who was supposed to be mine.

  Dropping one arm over my shoulders, he leaned down and frowned at the picture on my screen. “Lyric is such a dog,” he said with a snort before walking to the fridge for a bottle of water.

  “Yeah,” I muttered, my eyes still glued to Megan.

  I heard Shaw coming from the bathroom and exited the app. Schooling my face so it didn’t give away how destroyed I was once again, I turned my attention back to the rough draft of my essay that was due the next day.

  “You feel like going out for dinner?” Shaw asked as she retook her seat and picked up her pen. “Mom and Dad are out tonight, and I don’t feel like cooking for myself.”

  Cannon glanced over at us. “I’m down for whatever you two want to do.”

  “Vi?”

  I lifted my head. “Hmm? Yeah, sure. I’m good with whatever. Just let me tell my parents.”

  “Great. Can, see if Jagger wants to go with us.”

  I wrote the last sentence in the rough draft and closed my book before reaching for my phone again so I could text Dad. By the time he gave his okay, Shaw was ready to go.

  “We have to pick up Jags,” Cannon told his sister as we walked out to his vehicle. “You decide where we’re eating yet?”

  “There’s that Mexican place Jagger likes about five miles from his house,” she suggested.

  “Yeah, I love that place,” he agreed. “Best queso I’ve ever had.”

  I got in the back seat of his car like always and pulled out my phone. There were so many comments on Lyric’s picture that, of course, it was the first thing in my social media feed. I put an eye-roll emoji in the comments and kept scrolling, refusing to look at Megan or even Luca in the picture this time.

  It wasn’t until Cannon drove past the Thorntons’ house that I even tuned in to what was going on around me. Luca’s SUV had obviously just pulled into their driveway, and he stepped out of his vehicle. Seeing Cannon’s car, his head snapped toward us, but he couldn’t see me through the tint on the back window.

  I turned my head to look out the opposite window until Cannon pulled into Jagger’s driveway and honked the horn. My phone rang just as Jagger jogged toward us.

  Sighing, I grabbed my phone, already knowing it was Luca. Sending him to voice mail, I put a smile on my face as Jagger got in beside me.

  “Hey, beautiful,” he greeted with a grin. “Hope you’re hungry because I’m starving.”

  “I could go for a taco,” I said as Cannon reversed. When he drove past Luca’s house this time, I didn’t even look in that direction, keeping my eyes on Jagger.

  “There’s Luca,” Shaw said. “Vi, do you want to invite him to dinner with us?”

  “Nope.” My phone rang again, and I silenced it without even looking at the screen. “I’m hungry. I don’t feel like waiting on him or anyone else.”

  Jagger gave me a strange look but didn’t comment.

  “Okay, then,” my best friend muttered. “I thought you two were working things out.”

  “I haven’t made up my mind yet,” I muttered.

  “Take your time, Vi,” Cannon said as he drove out of the neighborhood. “You don’t have to decide to take his ass back yet. But we all know you will eventually.”

  “Shut up, Cannon,” I snapped. “You don’t know anything.”

  “Please,” he said with a laugh, and I seriously wanted to slap him on the back of the head. “You are so predictable where Luca is concerned. All right, so I’ll admit that you surprised the hell out of me by not forgiving him before now. But if I were going to put money on this, I’d say you two will be back together before Christmas.”

  “That’s still a few weeks away,” Shaw commented, turning in her seat so she could wink at me. “I give it until New Year’s. What do you think, Jags?”

  He was still looking at me peculiarly. “Less than a week,” he said with a smirk. “Actually, less than forty-eight hours.”

  My phone went off for the third time, and I glared at them. “I hate you guys sometimes.”

  They were still laughing when Cannon pulled into the Mexican restaurant’s parking lot. My phone had logged calls from Luca two more times, and as we walked inside, a text popped up on my screen.

  Luca: I know you were with C. Tell me you’re okay, or I’m going to worry all night.

  I’d barely read it before there was another text.

  Luca: Better yet, tell me where you are. I’ll come get you and take you home myself.

  While Jagger told the hostess we needed a table for four, Shaw pulled me to the side and glanced down at my phone screen. “What’s up?”

  “He wants to come get me,” I told her with a roll of my eyes.

  “Not surprising.” She lifted one perfect brow at me. “What’s the problem?”

  Sighing, I opened my social media, and of course, Lyric’s selfie was still right at the top of my feed. Turning the phone, I let her see it.

  My bestie frowned, then met my gaze. “I still don’t understand what the problem is.”

  I tapped the screen. “That is Megan Hawthorn.”

  “So?”

  “Are you being obtuse on purpose, or is it a blonde thing?” I shoved the phone in her face again. “Read what Lyric wrote.”

  She narrowed her blue eyes at me but did as I said. I watched her lips move as she silently read the caption then lifted that damn brow again. “That’s exactly what I would expect Lyric to write. I
’m sorry, Vi. I don’t know what you want me to say right now. Maybe give me a hint because I’m lost. What does Lyric being a total horndog have to do with you being mad at Luca?”

  “They do everything together, and there’s Lyric talking about banging the entire cheer squad, and bitchy Megan Hawthorn is standing there looking at my man like…” I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. “Like I look at him,” I whispered.

  Shaw wrapped her arms around me and started rubbing my back soothingly. “Ah, Vi. I know you’re still sensitive over the whole thing, but just listen to me. Okay?” I gave a small nod, and she pulled back to look down at me. “He didn’t cheat on you. Megan set that whole thing up. And in the past two months, I’ve watched him like a hawk. Well, I’ve had Jagger watching him like a hawk for me. Whatever—I’ve had eyes on him. He doesn’t even look that bitch’s way. She’s tried to talk to him countless times, and he won’t give her two seconds of his attention. He loves you, Violet. And he’s trying to make this right between you two. You’re scared and I get that, but this is Luca we’re talking about. I’d be scared of him doing a lot of shit, but not hurting you again.”

  “Really?” She gave me a skeptical look, and I sighed before amending. “He hasn’t talked to her once?”

  “No, babe. Not once.”

  I gasped at the sound of his voice right behind me. Turning, I found him standing in the doorway, looking at me with the same hunger that had been in his eyes Saturday at Nevaeh’s party.

  “Luca…” But before I could out get more than his name, he bent and tossed me over his shoulder, making me squeal.

  “Thanks, Shaw.” I heard the earnestness in his voice, and my heart melted a little. Until he slapped me on the ass and carried me out to his SUV.

  The passenger door opened, and I was deposited in the seat. Grabbing the seat belt, he locked it into place around me and then cupped both sides of my head. “You have a really smart best friend,” he told me as his amber eyes locked with mine. “Listen to her more often.”