Sin & Savage

by Anna Mara

  At that moment, Holly approached the table with their food order. The waitress plopped down the two plates in front of them. “Steak and fries for the growing boy, and a dainty BLT for the little lady. I’ll bring your drinks in a sec.” She moved away again, walking back to the kitchen.

  Savage picked up his knife and fork, flashing them in front of Tori. “See, Snow White? I’ve been trained to use cutlery. I bet you thought I’d tear the steak apart with my bare hands.”

  The biker put a teasing spin on the comment but deep down he knew he was an animal compared to someone like her. He was just trying to joke about it first because then it wouldn’t hurt so much when the judgment flashed again in her eyes, as it had done a few times since he’d met her yesterday.

  Tori laughed, oblivious to the undercurrents laced inside his comment. “Table manners are definitely important. I always teach my kids that anyway.”

  Savage stared at her wide-eyed for a full three seconds! “You have children?” he blurted, the thought never having crossed his mind that she could have kids back home.

  Tori nodded. “Thirty of them. I’m a kindergarten teacher back in Gideon, Texas. And my father’s a pastor at our local church.”

  Savage’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a schoolteacher and a preacher’s daughter?”

  Tori giggled. “Yup!”

  “Son-of-a-bitch!” He stared at her in complete amazement.

  Laughter shone in Tori’s eyes, enjoying the fact that she had somehow managed to break through that cool, tough guy wall he always put up. “Does that mean you approve or you don’t?” she continued to tease.

  “I’m not sure. I think I’m going to have to start calling you Saint Snow White from now on!”

  “I’m just me, Mr. Savage, and I can assure you, I’m not perfect.” She smiled sweetly at him, before lowering her head to her plate to examine the sandwich Holly had brought her.

  Holy motherfucking shit! Of all the women that he had a major hard-on for, it would have to be a small town schoolteacher and pastor’s daughter, Savage thought. He was definitely going to end up in Satan’s pit of fire and brimstone for all the lewd and lecherous things he’d been thinking—like all of the hot, nasty things he wanted to do with her—and to her. He gave his head a slight shake, trying to clear the shock coursing through his brain.

  But did this new scrap of information put a damper on his plans for her? Fuck no! In fact, he wanted Victoria Alexandra Jones—as her grandmother had called her yesterday—even more! His body was hot, hard and ready, and it wanted nothing more than for him to bury himself deep inside her and come home.

  He watched as Tori innocently took apart the BLT sandwich to see what was inside. It was obvious that she was completely oblivious to what he’d been thinking. In fact, he was positive that, if she’d known about all the dirty things he wanted to do to her, she probably wouldn’t have even been surprised! After all, what else would someone like her expect from a disgusting barbarian like him anyway?

  Chapter 22

  Friday – 3:49 p.m.

  The Final Cut Hair Salon

  Savage steered the Harley into a parking spot in front of the beauty parlor and turned off the ignition. Tori climbed off and unstrapped her helmet, all the while frowning to herself.

  Savage followed suit and immediately noticed her pensive mood. “What’s wrong?”

  Tori removed her sunglasses and her brows creased with worry. “Do you think Roger will call the police? You know—about what you did to him?”

  The biker whipped off his own shades and his eyes crinkled at the corners with suppressed humor. “Do you mean, will the scumbag have me arrested for beating the shit out of him?”

  Tori nodded, biting her lip with concern. “Yes.”

  “Why, Snow White, I didn’t think you cared,” he teased, his mouth breaking into a wide smile.

  Annoyance lit through her at his devil-may-care attitude. “Be serious for one second, please, Mr. Savage! You were on a mission this morning to protect me and I don’t want you getting into trouble with the law for anything you’ve done on my behalf, that’s all.”

  The biker chuckled at her prim and proper, schoolteacher stance. “Asshole Roger will not be calling the police anytime soon…or ever, because he knows that if he does, my fellow club members will be paying him a social visit when I’m behind bars. Then, I’ll be dropping by myself again—to have tea with him, of course—when I get out on bail.”

  Tori took an involuntary step back from ‘his world and his rules’, as he’d put it to her so many times. His world was one of violence and destruction; and that wasn’t the way to solve problems with people. It made her feel ashamed that she and Nana had stepped into this realm. Well, from now on, she would make doubly sure that Mr. Savage would not use violence in any way, shape, or form where she was concerned. After all, if she was involved, then this was ‘her world’ too, wasn’t it? Yes it was, and so, she would do her best to make the biker follow ‘her rules’ instead of his.

  Tori nodded. “Okay, I understand.” She began walking towards the entrance of the hair salon, before stopping and turning back to him. “Oh, by the way, Vivian is Joe’s first cousin.”

  Savage playful smile dropped, to be replaced with a scowl. “When did you find this out?”

  “Back at the restaurant, when you were in the bathroom. I called my grandmother and she told me.”

  Savage sucked in his breath. “If we’d known about this, we’d have come here first and not wasted all morning on a wild goose chase.”

  “Well, Nana can’t remember everything at her age and Joe only mentioned his cousin a couple of times to her.” Tori raised her voice with enough ire to match his. It was one thing for her to scold the senior but she wouldn’t stand for anyone else saying one bad thing about her beloved grandmother.

  Savage took in her courageous posturing and smiled inwardly to himself. It was obvious that the sweet, innocent Snow White could be quite fierce when defending someone she loved, no matter whom she had to take on, even a violent dirt bag like himself.

  His anger evaporated. “The next time you speak to her, please inform your grandmother to provide any and all pertinent information if she expects this job done right?” He’d reverted to his clipped, business tone.

  “Duly noted, sir,” she nodded, her own voice mimicking his cool one.

  Chapter 23

  The hair salon was a busy beehive of activity. Savage approached a young brunette sitting behind a massive reception counter at the front, flashing her his best smile. “Hi there, I’m looking for Vivian.”

  Suddenly, a high-pitched squeal was heard coming from the very back of the establishment as a tall, reed-thin, mid-twenties, model-type raced out. She was wearing a black smock over her clothes and her hair was plastered to her head, covered with blonde hair dye. Her face was classic and beautiful, like one of those Greek statues Tori had seen outside one of the casinos on the Strip.

  “Savage!” The woman barreled towards the biker, before throwing her arms around his neck and planting a devouring kiss on his lips.

  The biker wrapped his arms around her back and returned the caress before pulling back and smiling down on her. “Hello, Sandy, it’s been awhile,” he drawled, all the while his hands massaging her back. His glance skimmed beyond her shoulders, taking in Tori’s shocked expression. He threw her an unapologetic, badboy wink before returning all of his attention back to the tall blonde in his arms.

  Tori fumed inwardly as another surge of pea green jealousy lit through her but she quickly brushed the emotion away without acknowledging it.

  “Where have you been, Savage? The girls and I have missed you,” the blonde whined.

  “Outta town for a while, but I promise, I’ll be by the club soon, sweetheart.”

  Sandy traced the contour of his lips with her well-manicured index finger. “Swear? I want to dance for you again.”

  Tori rolled her eyes heavenward. From their conversat
ion, it sounded like the woman was an exotic dancer of some kind. Well, it figured! Savage Monroe certainly enjoyed his extracurricular activities.

  “Cross my heart, baby,” he murmured, in a low, husky voice. “Is Vivian around?”

  “In the back.” Sandy whipped her head around. “Vivian?” she yelled towards the rear of the shop.

  A well-maintained woman in her mid-sixties appeared. She was wearing casual black pants and a black shirt, her hair was in a topknot and her makeup was impeccable. She approached the couple, her eyes narrowing on Savage’s biker persona. “Can I help you?” She addressed him specifically.

  Savage released the blonde and turned towards the older woman. “Yes, ma’am, we’re looking for your cousin, Joe Sorelli. Do you know how we can reach him?”

  A silence as thick as concrete froze between them as Vivian’s suspicious regard took in his tattooed arms and biker’s club vest. Immediately on the defensive, her hooded eyes narrowed even further. “I’m sorry but I didn’t catch your name.”

  Tori sensed that the older woman wouldn’t be giving away any family information to a shady-looking biker, and so she stepped in between the two of them. Pasting on her Sunday-best, church-going smile, she extended her hand. “Hi Vivian, my name is Tori Jones. I’m from Gideon, Texas, and my grandmother Estelle has been Skyping with Joe these past five months. They’re very close friends. Has he mentioned her?”

  Out of politeness, Vivian shook Tori’s hand. “No, I’m sorry he hasn’t, but then again, my cousin and I aren’t that close. We usually only see each other a few times a year, on holidays mostly.”

  “Oh, I see. Well, my grandmother and I are worried about him because she hasn’t heard from him since last Tuesday. So, we came to Las Vegas to look for him. Have you heard from him since then?”

  Vivian shook her head. “No, sorry. The last time I saw Joe was a couple of months ago when we had lunch together and caught up on some family gossip.”

  Savage had been studying the older woman’s body language as Tori had been talking to her and his frown was telegraphing the fact that he wasn’t believing anything coming out of the lady’s mouth. “Do you know of any other friends of his that we can go see for information?”

  Vivian’s eyes again narrowed as they turned back to the biker. “He’s a good friend of Dirty Dan, the pawn shop owner, and also of Rebecca Shelton’s. She’s a blackjack dealer at the Selah Casino.”

  Tori opened her purse and pulled out a notepad and pen. “Here’s my name and phone number.” She scribbled the information on the paper, before handing it to the older woman. “If you happen to hear from him or think of anything else, please call me anytime.”

  Vivian smiled politely. “Of course.”

  “Thank you. Have a nice day.” Tori grabbed Savage’s hand and tugged him towards the door.

  Sandy the blonde stripper stopped his movements as she threw herself into Savage’s arms again and kissed him slowly. She pulled back. “See you soon, sugarbear,” she whispered in a husky tone.

  The biker’s lips curved into a warm, breathtaking smile. “You bet,” he whispered back.

  Tori was glued to the intimate moment and for one sharp second, she wanted to be the one to taste those sexy lips of his as Sandy just had. In fact, she longed for it. What would they feel like? Would they be hard and demanding, or soft and giving? Would they feel hot and greedy, or slow and sweet? But why was she feeling like this?

  She gave her head a slight shake to stop her thoughts. She shouldn’t be thinking like this about someone like him anyway. He was just too dangerous.

  * * *

  Outside, in the Vegas sunshine, a frown creased Savage’s brow as he walked towards his bike. Tori followed closely behind him.

  “Vivian’s lying,” he decreed.

  “Think so?”

  “My gut is screaming that she knows more than she’s saying.”

  “Should we go back in and ask her again?”

  Savage shook his head. “It wouldn’t do any good. She’d clam up tighter than my fist on good ol’ Roger this morning. Let’s go check out this Rebecca Shelton instead. If that’s a dead end, I can pay Sandy a visit at her club later on. If she frequents this shop, she may know something.”

  “Okay,” Tori said, as she strapped on her helmet.

  * * *

  Vivian watched the biker and girl leave; and then walked purposefully to the back of her shop, towards her private office. Shutting the door behind her, she quickly reached for the phone on her desk and dialed.

  “Yeah?” a male voice answered on the other end of the line.

  “I need you do something else for me. Are you interested?” she asked.

  Chapter 24

  Friday – 5:05 p.m.

  The Selah Hotel & Casino

  After having just spoken to Rebecca Shelton, Tori and Savage exited the front doors of the Selah Hotel & Casino and walked towards the Harley parked in the lot. The gaming establishment was a small casino about six miles from the Strip; and was more of a hangout for the locals rather than the tourists.

  As the pair reached the motorcycle, Tori turned to the biker. “Do you think she was telling the truth?” she asked, referring to the blackjack dealer they’d just met inside.

  Savage nodded. “Yeah, I do—at least, that’s what I was sensing.”

  Arriving twenty minutes earlier, the duo had managed to catch Rebecca before her shift was to begin. The woman, in her mid-forties, had told them that Joe Sorelli was only a casual acquaintance, having patronized the casino several times during the year. The last time she’d seen him was over two months ago and that was when he’d visited her table as a customer. She didn’t know why her name would come up when anyone was mentioning who his closest friends were because she wasn’t one and never had been. Tori had thanked the dealer for her time, and she and Savage had left.

  Tori frowned, as she stared up at Savage. “If Rebecca Shelton is telling the truth, then that means that Cousin Vivian isn’t.”

  The biker smirked. “Yeah, Vegas is full of liars and I’d bet my last penny that she’s one of ’em.”

  “Should we go back and confront her?”

  He shook his head. “No. I’ll go see Sandy at her club tonight instead and find out if she’s heard anything at Vivian’s shop. In the meantime, I think we should go back to your hotel and have another little chat with your grandmother. I suspect she may know more than she thinks.”

  “Nana always knows more than she thinks—or that she’s telling you. In fact, you can take that back inside,” she indicated the casino entrance with a nod of her head, “and bet on it.” Tori laughed, as she turned and reached for her black helmet slung on the back of his bike.

  As her fingers grasped the straps, she suddenly realized that they were knotted together. “Oh darn, look what I’ve done,” she mumbled half to herself. She tried to undo it but the bulge remained impervious to her efforts. “I hope this isn’t going to lower my grade in Biker Chick 101, Mr. Savage,” she giggled.

  At that instant, her gaze swiveled upwards and met his. His eyes were dark, raw and intense; she sensed they’d been watching her for the past few seconds. Her laughter faded as a sudden, overpowering, sexual hunger emanated from him and engulfed her senses completely. He was standing a couple of feet away but his dark heat closed the space between them in an instant. Her surroundings seemed to vanish and there was only him in the sensual cocoon his energy was creating around her.

  Her breath caught in her throat as his throbbing power pulled her towards him and she knew, in that instant, that he wanted her. Matthew Jack Monroe, Son of Perdition outlaw biker and general badass who solved problems with his fists—wanted her, Victoria Alexandra Jones—the small-town schoolteacher who had never missed a Sunday church service in her life, and who believed in God and country and doing good unto others.

  An aching need sizzled through her body like a live wire as she finally admitted to herself that she wanted him too. Ra
w fire pooled in the center of her being and desire flared in her veins. But how could she want him? He was dangerous and vicious and taboo.

  Trembling, her nervous fingers clutched the helmet tighter to her body, keeping the object between them, as if that alone could protect her from the crackling heat emanating from his presence. Like a tiny sparrow made immobile by the hypnotic stare of a dangerous cat about to pounce, she remained rooted to the spot.

  “Let me,” he suddenly whispered, as he breached the distance between them and reached for the straps on the helmet.

  Tori’s head lowered to watch his strong, capable fingers, slowly and deliberately, thread one end into the other, trying to loosen the knot…and she gripped the object tighter against her chest for dear life.

  His hands gently brushed her own as he continued his efforts, and every spot he grazed on her skin burned as if touched by shooting embers from a wild fire. Suddenly, he stepped even closer and bent his head down to her height in order to see better what he was doing.

  As he did so, his stubbly jaw accidentally touched her soft cheek and a bolt of sexual excitement curled in her gut. The maleness of his musky scent invaded her nostrils and her pulse quickened to lightning speed. God, the man was handsome—and hot—and exciting—and she felt herself drowning in him.

  His gaze inched up then and immediately, his eyes darkened dangerously before slowly lowering to her mouth. His breathing grew heavier and Tori felt her lips swell to their fullness beneath his intense regard.