Heartless Savage

by Terri Anne Browning

  She wasn’t wrong. Between getting grief from my teammates and suitemates and missing my girlfriend and twin, I’d had a lot of anger needing to be set free lately. I’d used the football field to work it out of my system, but it only helped so much.

  Seeing Violet, however, had made it all fade away as soon as I’d kissed her.

  “Yo, Thornton. Your girl is smoking, bro.”

  I growled at the linebacker as he walked past with his own parents and two guys a few years younger than him, who must have been his brothers. At the feral sound, he laughed, but I saw the way he quickly averted his gaze from Violet.

  Dad dropped a hand on my shoulder and squeezed hard to pull my attention back to them. “Your mom and I are going to head over to the hotel to get checked in. Violet can stay with you, because I didn’t get any lectures from her dad that she couldn’t be alone with you.” He smirked at me for all of two seconds before it turned into a scowl. “Don’t give me a reason to regret that decision, boy. You feel me?”

  “Yes, sir.” My arm tightened around my girl’s tiny body. “I swear, I’ll keep my hands to myself.”

  “We know you will,” Mom said as she kissed my cheek. “Take good care of her, and we’ll see you both…later?”

  “How much later?” I asked hopefully.

  “Breakfast,” Mom said with a wink. “You two use tonight to catch up, and we’ll meet for breakfast in the morning before you have to get ready for the game. But tomorrow after the game, you have to spend a few hours with us. Got it?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” I grabbed her for another hug before she could move away. “Thank you, Mom,” I murmured against her ear. “You don’t know how much I needed this.”

  “Oh, I think I do.” She patted my cheek, then put her hand in Dad’s. “Be good. Both of you.”

  I stood there with Violet until they got back into their rental and drove away. Then I scooped up my girl and twirled her around until her happy giggles filled the air.

  “This is the best early birthday present I’ve ever gotten.” I kissed her again then started toward my dorm with her still in my arms. “I’m not complaining, but why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

  “I didn’t know,” she confessed. “I got up for school this morning, and your parents were already downstairs waiting on me. Mom had packed my case and had it by the door. They told me what was going on, and I jumped in their vehicle before Dad could change his mind.”

  “Remind me to get my mom something really fucking amazing for Christmas,” I told her as I opened the door to my suite. “This must have been her idea.”

  “Pretty sure it was, and she conspired with my mom to make it happen.” I walked into the suite and kicked the door shut behind us before moving to the couch and sitting with her in my lap.

  She started kissing me as soon as I was on my ass, and I kissed her back, making sure to keep my hands in her hair so I didn’t do anything stupid. Like start taking her clothes off.

  Without warning, the suite door opened and Marsh walked in, whistling to himself until he saw us. It ended on a painfully loud note, and I lifted my head to glare at the guy who had become my closest friend and ally in this damn place.

  “Well, hello there, pretty girl,” Marsh greeted, his eyes skimming over Violet appreciatively.

  I made a snarling sound, and my friend smirked. “Down, boy. I’m just saying hi.”

  Violet grinned up at him. “You must be Marsh,” she said and tried to get off my lap.

  My arms tightened around her, refusing to let her get more than an inch away. Sighing, she stroked a hand through my hair but offered the other to Marsh. His dark caramel skin looked even darker against her creamy complexion as they shook hands. He was smart, though, and kept the contact to only a brief touch before pulling back, knowing I was likely to tear his arm off his body if he didn’t.

  “I was about to go to dinner. You two want to come?” he offered. “My parents won’t be in until tomorrow morning, but I think those other two asshats’ parents are already here. Heard them saying they were coming back here to chill later.”

  I groaned, not wanting either of our other two suitemates to be around Violet. But I wanted some alone time with my girl, too. “Babe? It’s your choice.”

  She touched her lips softly to mine. “It’s probably safer if we had company, don’t you think?”

  “I don’t know. You could always tie me down so I have no choice but to keep my hands to myself.” I grinned up at her and watched as her cheeks filled with pink. “Didn’t you say you liked that idea when we had a date the other night?”

  “Just for that, no more dates for two weeks,” she threatened, her face blood-red now as she ducked her head to avoid Marsh seeing how embarrassed she was.

  “It’s okay, Violet. I know all about your weird ‘date nights,’” Marsh told her, and she groaned into my chest.

  Laughing, I kissed the top of her head. She slapped at my chest then pinched my side.

  “Let me get my wallet, and we’ll go,” Marsh said as he walked toward his room.

  Violet watched him go then looked up at me with a sweet smile. “I like him. I’m glad you’ve got him as a friend.”

  “Me too.” Lifting her off my lap, I placed her on her feet and stood. Readjusting my jeans so I didn’t cripple myself, I made sure I had my wallet and keys and then took her hand. “Ready?”

  We went to a local barbecue place Marsh had introduced me to. Violet moaned when she tasted the food, and she and Marsh got to know each other while we ate. When we were done, Marsh got a text about a party, and he asked us to go with him.

  Parties weren’t my scene here. In all the weeks I’d been at college, I hadn’t been to a single one, even though Marsh had asked me countless times, along with other guys on my team. But I wasn’t there to party and have a wild time. It would only mess everything up. Having a hangover when I should be concentrating on football was not how I was going to continue being a starter.

  Lyric was doing enough partying for the both of us. His college experience was considerably different from my own, because our endgames were completely different. He needed to make connections while double majoring in business and art. He was also apprenticing at a tattoo shop close to his campus. My twin had a plan he was determined to see through. Graduate and then get a job under Dustin Branch in New York. Once he had a little time under the best tattoo artist in the country, he could open his own place anywhere he wanted.

  I wanted him to set up shop wherever I ended up at a pro team so Violet and I could help him out and have him close.

  “Let’s go,” she told me when I left the decision up to her about the party. “But only for a little while. I’m a little tired.”

  “Whatever you want, babe.” I really wanted some alone time with her, but that could be seriously dangerous. I hadn’t seen her in weeks, and even though we’d had plenty of ‘dates’ during that time, having her beside me, getting to touch and smell her sweet scent, was driving me crazy.

  There were people pouring out of the Omega Psi Phi house when we got there. The yard was scattered with college students holding red Solo cups and sporting school colors in celebration of homecoming. I could smell smoke and steered Violet away from that area as Marsh led us into the house.

  “You don’t drink anything unless I give it to you,” I told Vi as we grabbed cups, and I half filled both of ours. “That’s all we need, okay?”

  “We don’t have to drink,” she assured me. “I know you have an important game tomorrow.”

  “Yo, Thornton. Thought you were too good for college parties.” I turned my head and instinctively moved closer to Violet when I saw Martins, the junior whose starting spot I’d taken.

  Martins was about an inch shorter than me and at least twenty pounds heavier, but the extra weight was all in his gut and not his actual muscles. He was a twentysomething pre-law major, but from what Marsh told me, he didn’t hav
e the grades to get into a decent law school. Of course, that hadn’t been his plan. Until I came along and pushed him to second string, he had high hopes of going fast in the draft. Now he would be lucky if he got picked up at all.

  Violet shifted beside me, and Martins’s eyes zoomed in on her like a predator. Fuck, if this asshole kept looking at her like that, I was going to bury his ass.

  He licked his lips, and I pushed my cup into Violet’s hands, ready to tear the motherfucker apart. Then a pair of well-manicured hands wrapped around him from behind, and the girl they belonged to giggled drunkenly as she moved in front of him. “Marty-Mart-Mar, you promised me a tour of your room upstairs,” she said as she pressed herself up against him.

  When his eyes only flicked down at her for a second and then back to Violet, I took a menacing step toward him. The girl pouted up at him and grabbed his crotch at the same time Violet stepped in front of me.

  I didn’t even hear Martins leave with the girl as Vi took a huge gulp of her drink. “I need a refill,” she said and pushed her cup into my hands.

  “Babe, please don’t drink more than that.” I put a little more keg beer into her cup and handed it back before taking my own red cup.

  “No fighting,” she told me.

  “He was begging for it,” I muttered.

  “He was only looking at me,” she tried to reason.

  “Yeah, and he was about to be a dead man.”

  Rolling her pretty eyes, she stepped into my space. “You can’t kill every guy who looks at me, Luca.”

  “No, but I can blind them so they can never do it again.” She sighed dramatically, and I smirked down at her before kissing the top of her head. “Let’s find a place to sit.”

  We walked through the house, but each room was practically splitting at the seams with people. Keeping her close, I walked us outside because it was just too crazy inside. Violet seemed bored, and I was beyond ready to take her back to the dorm for an all-night cuddle fest.

  I opened my mouth to tell her that, when something seemed to catch her eye. Violet’s brows wrinkled together, and then she scrunched up her nose as if she’d just smelled something foul before she turned angry eyes back to me.

  “Were you even going to tell me?” she demanded.

  “Tell you what?” I glanced back to where she’d just been looking, but I seriously couldn’t tell what or who had pissed her off so suddenly. There were about ten girls and just as many guys in that direction, and other than a few of my teammates, no one else was even remotely familiar to me.

  “Megan!” she exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me Megan Hawthorn was going here?”

  “Who?” I was clueless for a moment, then the name clicked in my memory. “She’s here?”

  “She’s right there, Luca,” she hissed, waving her hand at the girls.

  When I looked again, the girls were looking right at us, and I got a better look at their faces. The blonde in the middle did look a little familiar now that I was really paying attention, but I’d had no idea Megan was attending Alabama. It was the first time I’d seen her in all the weeks I’d been there.

  “I didn’t know she was here,” I told Violet as I focused back on her. But her purple eyes were full of disbelief. “I swear. This is the first time I’ve seen her all semester. I don’t go to these damn parties, and you know it.”

  “You’re honestly telling me you haven’t seen her this entire time?” Her brows were raised in skepticism, but I saw the way her eyes brightened, wanting to believe me.

  “Babe, I go to practice, class, eat, and sleep. Not always in that order, but that’s my schedule every day. I don’t have time to socialize, and even if I did, I wouldn’t want to.” Grabbing her hips, I lifted her off the ground until our eyes were on an even level. “If I knew she was here, I would have told you. That bitch tried to come between us before. I won’t let it happen again.”

  Violet wrapped her legs around my waist, locking herself against me. “I don’t like that she’s here.”

  “Maybe she’s just visiting,” I suggested, hoping I was right, but I had a bad feeling I wasn’t. There was something off about Megan. She couldn’t take no for an answer, and she’d gotten more than a little stalkerish even though I’d told her to leave me the hell alone when I got tired of her constantly trying to get my attention the last few months of high school.

  But she hadn’t been on my mind once since graduation. I’d forgotten she even existed until Violet pointed her out to me.

  That she was at my school, when she could have gone to any other college in the country—fuck, the world—made me think she’d followed me specifically. I needed to talk to Dad about this, ask him if maybe I needed to get a restraining order or something.

  But I would worry about that later. For now, I only wanted to soothe my girl. Rubbing my nose against hers, I pulled out my phone and ordered us an Uber. Once that was done, I shot Marsh a text, because I hadn’t seen him since we’d split up while getting drinks, to let him know I was taking Violet back to the dorm.

  With so many parties and parents in town, the driver was dropping off a group of students in front of the house and was able to pick us up within a few minutes. In no time at all, we were back at the dorm, and I was locking us in my bedroom.

  Chapter 20

  Violet

  I didn’t know how I was going to repay Uncle Jesse and Aunt Layla—and my mom—for taking me to Alabama for the weekend, but I was so grateful. It was something both Luca and I had needed.

  I left that Sunday with a heavy heart, but at the same time, feeling lighter than I had in weeks. Having to wait until Thanksgiving to see him again didn’t seem so daunting now that I’d gotten two full nights of snuggling up to him, kissing him whenever I’d wanted, and just soaking up the joy being beside Luca Thornton gave me.

  Because I was in such a good mood, when Shaw asked me to go to a party with her the following Friday, I actually gave in and decided to go with her. Luca had an away game and was already on his way to Mississippi with the team. As a kid, Luca never traveled well, especially when it came to flying. It wasn’t nearly as bad these days, but motion sickness still hit him pretty hard. Luckily, they took a bus when away games were only a few hours away.

  Still, he needed two motion sickness pills to make it through the ride, and they usually knocked him out. Thankfully, Marsh would sit with Luca during the trip to keep people from messing with him while he was out cold.

  “How do I look?” Shaw asked as she walked out of her bathroom and did a little twirl. She was wearing a little black dress that fell a few inches past her ass. The glittery black boots she was wearing went all the way up to her thighs, making her incredibly long legs look even longer. She’d done her makeup with a smoky eye and bold, dark-red lips, while her hair fell around her shoulders in silky waves.

  I gave a wolf whistle. “Sexy,” I told her then looked down at my simple jeans and vintage Demon’s Wings T-shirt. My feet were in a pair of running shoes, and the only makeup I had on was a little mascara and Chap Stick. My hair was in a messy knot, and when I looked at my hands, I saw my polish was badly chipped. “Don’t even think of asking me to change.”

  “Vi, you’re dressed like a rag doll, and you’re still hot as hell.” She rolled her blue eyes at me then grabbed her keys and purse. “Let’s go before Cannon starts running his mouth.”

  I grimaced, hating that she and her brother were fighting so much lately. Since Shaw had gotten her license and she’d been given a car of her own, we’d hung out less and less with Cannon. That had put distance between the two siblings. But with how things were between Shaw and Jagger as well, that was probably a good thing.

  When we got out to the driveway, however, it was to find Cannon’s car was gone already. Shaw muttered a curse as she started her vehicle. “If he’s at this party, I’m going to kick his ass.”

  Of course, his car was already parked in front of the house
where the party was being held, and I seriously began to wish I hadn’t agreed to come to this damned thing. It was just after nine, so the party was only really getting started, but the place was packed with kids from our school.

  And some who weren’t fellow students.

  Like Jagger.

  Who was making out with some blond girl I didn’t recognize on the couch in the living room.

  It was hard to miss them since it was the first thing anyone saw when they walked into the room. I was in front of Shaw, but as soon as I saw Jagger and the girl, I turned to look at my friend and saw the emotions flit across her face one after another.

  The shock. The hurt. Then…the anger.

  I knew I should have stopped her, that it was the smart thing to do to keep the peace and the bloodshed to a minimum. But I didn’t make a move when she snatched someone’s red cup out of their hand and walked up behind the couch.

  Without a word, she poured the contents of the cup over Jagger’s head. He jerked in surprise and ended up pushing the girl off his lap by accident. “Shit!” he said with a yell as he jumped to his feet and helped the girl stand. “Are you okay?”

  “She’s fine,” Shaw snarled. “But you’re not going to be in a minute.”

  Jagger turned at the sound of her voice, his face tensing when he realized she was the one who’d just doused him in stale beer. “Shaw—” He started but quickly broke off. His jaw clenched, and he balled his hands into fists at his sides. “Look—”

  “No, you look, dickhead.” She moved between him and the girl he’d been kissing only moments before. Stabbing him in the chest with her index finger, she glared up at him. “You can’t kiss me one weekend, then avoid me like the fucking plaque for days, only to set it up so I would find you like this. You were the only reason I even came to this damn thing tonight, and you knew it!”

  He swallowed hard a few times before shaking his head. “Listen—”

  “No, you listen,” she spat at him. “You know how I feel. You told me how you feel too. I thought we had a chance. That we could be the next Violet and Luca and have something amazing. But apparently you’re too much of a goddamn pussy to fight for us.”