by Jenika Snow
Feral
A Real Man, 7
Jenika Snow
Contents
Copyright
A Real Man Series
Newsletter
Feral
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Epilogue One
Epilogue Two
Out Now
Want More?
About the Author
FERAL (A Real Man, 7)
By Jenika Snow
www.JenikaSnow.com
[email protected]
Copyright © December 2016 by Jenika Snow
First E-book Publication: December 2016
Photographer: Wander Aguiar :: Photography
Model: Jonny James
Image provided by: Wander Book Club
Editors: Kasi Alexander / Lea Ann Schafer
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction, transmission, or distribution of any part of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
This literary work is fiction. Any name, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or establishments is solely coincidental. Please respect the author and do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials that would violate the author’s rights.
Book 1: Lumberjack
Book 2: Virgin
Book 3: Baby Fever
Bundle (books 1-3): A Real Man: Volume One
Book 4: Experienced
Book 5: Roommate
Book 6: Arrogant
Bundle (Books 4-6): A Real Man: Volume Two
Book 7: Feral
Book 8: coming January 2017
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She’s about to find out exactly how much he wants her…
Lexi
I’ve been fascinated with him for years.
He’s wild and lives alone, and everyone has been smart enough to keep their distance.
Except me, that is.
Until now.
I see something in him that I see in myself, and I want to explore that. He’s untamed and raw, and maybe dangerous.
But that’s exactly what I need.
It’s what I want.
Dillon
She shouldn’t have come to me, but now that she’s here, I can’t let her go.
I don’t do well around others, so going off the grid has been for the best.
What Lexi doesn’t know is that I’ve noticed her for years and wanted her as mine for just as long. It would be safer if I kept her at a distance, which I’ve managed to do … but I can’t anymore.
I won’t.
I hope she’s ready to be mine, because she’s about to see exactly how feral I can be where it concerns her.
Warning: This book is wild and dirty, short and smutty. Sure, it’s unbelievable, and features a celibate recluse who will make the woman he wants his at all costs, but who doesn’t like it that way? If you are into an over the top alpha hero, and some filthy goodness, dive in.
1
Lexi
I knew he’d entered even though I wasn’t looking up. The feel of the air changing around me and the sound of people whispering told me Dillon Sparrow had just walked into the grocery store where I worked. I lifted my head, not seeing him at first, but then noticing everyone was looking toward the back of the store.
And then I saw him.
He was big, seeming to take up the entire aisle he was in. The short-sleeved shirt he wore showed off the tattoos that covered his arms, and when he reached out to grab something off the shelf, I saw the ink on his hands. All those tattoos made him seem dangerous, although it wasn’t the markings that had everyone talking and keeping away.
Dillon had a reputation in our town, one that had a lot of people staying back when he traveled down from his cabin in the middle of the woods. But what I didn’t admit to anyone was that I looked forward to my monthly sightings of him. I anticipated them, hoping I was working when he came in.
And I was. Every single time.
“God, why does he come down here? He has to know everyone is afraid of him.”
I glanced over at one of the other cashiers. She whispered to the stock boy, passing judgment on a man I knew she’d never even spoken with.
“Who is he?” the stock boy asked. He was new in town, but I was still surprised that he hadn’t picked up on the gossip.
“Used to be a Marine. He was overseas, and when he came back, it was to find his younger brother dead.”
My heart hurt in that moment. That was the actual truth.
“So why is everyone scared of him? I mean he’s a beast, sure, but…”
“After he found his brother, he got drunk and beat the shit out of four guys. It was like nothing anyone had ever seen.”
I ran my hands over my jeans, my palms sweaty.
“He did that for no reason?”
The cashier shrugged. “No one really knows. But he sent them all to the hospital.” She lowered her voice. “If the cops hadn’t shown up, he probably would have killed them. I’ll tell you this, that man is dangerous and probably killed his brother himself.”
“Shut the fuck up, Mary,” I found myself saying, the words tumbling out of my mouth on their own.
Mary, an older lady, looked at me with wide eyes.
“All you do is talk shit.” Heat filled me after I told her off. It felt good, empowering.
I looked over to where Dillon was. He had to be acutely aware that people talked about him, had to feel their gazes and hear their whispers. But he always kept to himself when he came down from the mountain. No one knew why he’d gone off the deep end. There were, of course, rumors about issues he’d had while deployed, or that he’d lost his shit when he found his brother—the only remaining family he had—dead.
But no one knew the real truth, and to be honest it wasn’t anyone’s business. I don’t know why I found Dillon so fascinating. Maybe it was because he didn’t have anyone either. With my mother passing just last year, and no siblings or really any extended family, I was truly alone in this world.
Just like him.
I couldn’t help myself from staring at him a little longer. He kept his head down unless it was to grab something off the shelf.
I felt pissed because of the way he was treated, at the fact people kept a wide berth form him like he had the plague.
Then do something about it. Talk to him. Make him see he’s not this outcast that should feel like shit when he comes to town to get supplies.
Of course I didn’t think he gave two shits about what anyone said.
But when I glanced up at him, I was surprised to see Dillon staring right at me. His dark gaze locked on mine, and a chill raced up my spine. The feeling I got was pretty intense.
I turned and made myself busy because I didn’t want to be one of those people who gawked, but also because I felt weird in my own skin right now. It wasn’t an uncomfortable sensation, so to speak, but one that made me highly aware of what was going on around me.
I didn’t know how long I “kept myself busy,” but when I felt someone behind me, I turned, ready to help the customer. I didn’t even have to look up to know Dillon was at my register. I saw his hands first. They
were so big, tattooed, and powerful. They made me think of erotic things, of what I wanted him to do to me with them.
Touching me.
Holding me.
Keeping me down as he took what he wanted.
I shivered at the thoughts and images that slammed into my head.
I ran my gaze along his abdomen. I could see how strong he was under the shirt, the ridges and outline of his muscles beneath that thin gray material. He was tall, muscular, but not so huge that it was grotesque. His power was lean and intense.
And then I looked into his face. The black facial hair only added to how mysterious he appeared.
Then there were his eyes: dark, brooding, seeming to spear right into the very essence of my soul.
I was aware of others watching, maybe wondering what was wrong with me. I was frozen in place, unable to move or think rationally. But then again I felt like this every time he came in … every time he picked my register out of all the others.
I started ringing him up because I needed something to do or I’d just stare at him.
Does he feel that spark of electricity between us, too?
Focus on the checkout. Don’t seem like another off-balanced citizen of this fucked-up town.
Batteries.
Canned food.
Nonperishable items.
Alcohol.
I focused on the groceries he’d gotten, but I felt him watching me. It was like he reached out and touched me.
Once I had everything scanned, I looked at him and stated his total. For a second he didn’t say anything, just stared into my eyes. But then he reached into his wallet and handed me the cash. Our fingers brushed together when I took it from him.
The words I’d wanted to say each and every time he came to the store were right on the tip of my tongue. But instead of saying them, I got his change and handed it back.
Right before he left, I felt the courage rise up.
“Don’t worry about what anyone else says. Not everyone likes judging others.”
He stopped and turned to face me. Still he kept quiet.
I felt stupid for having mentioned anything, but a part of me was glad I had.
“What makes you think I worry about what these assholes say about me?” He showed no emotion on his face.
I swallowed, feeling my face heat at his words. “I don’t think you do care.” I ran my hands down my pants again, my nerves setting in. “I don’t judge,” I said. God, I was so nervous, and his eyes felt like daggers in my side. “I just wanted you to know.” Fuck all my coworkers watching this interaction. I was done being quiet and pretending like this town wasn’t one cesspool of hateful gossip.
“Thank you,” he finally said, and I swear my entire body lit up like it had just been set on fire. He grabbed his bags and left without saying anything else.
I stood there for a second, barely able to breathe. Then I looked around and saw coworkers and customers alike staring at me.
Yeah, fuck them all.
Dillon
I watched her while I sat inside my truck. Her dark hair was piled high on her head, and the flush that stole over her face when she’d spoken to me was starting to fade.
She fascinated me, had for years, but I was smart enough and had enough self-control, that I didn’t even fucking go there.
She’s too young for me.
She’s too innocent for what I want to do to her.
Little Lexi Brandon doesn’t need a man like me in her life.
I ran a hand over my face. I came to town once a month strictly for supplies, or at least that’s what everyone thought. Truth was I did come down for supplies, but I also came down to see her.
But my life hasn’t been easy, and I wasn’t stable on the best of days. I had a lot of demons I fought, and so moving out to the middle of fucking nowhere was my best option to live some kind of productive life.
But none of that, not even the thoughts of wanting to protect her—from myself—could stop me from craving Lexi.
Despite my best judgment and telling myself I needed to leave her alone and not obsess, I knew what I had to do.
I knew what I wanted to do. Although I could have just made my point now, made her mine now, I didn’t want to scare the fuck out of her.
I wasn’t a total heathen. Well, I didn’t want to be one with her.
I wanted her to desire me as much as I did her. Even though I was in the mind to just throw her over my shoulder and haul her back to my cabin like some caveman carrying his prize, I also had an abundance of patience.
She’d be mine, one way or another.
2
Lexi
One week later
I wasn’t a child that didn’t know what I wanted in life. But I was ignorant about what I could have. Because what I desperately wanted was to know who the real Dillon Sparrow was.
And that’s exactly what I planned on doing.
I grabbed my hiking pack off the floor by the door, turned, and looked at the quiet, lonely house I’d grown up in. I exhaled. I’d isolated myself so much since my mother’s death. What little friends I did have were now gone, moving on with their lives. I had no one to tell me this was a bad idea.
And it probably was a very bad idea, but I was done sitting here feeling sorry for myself.
I didn’t even know Dillon aside from the things I’d heard about him through the rumor mill.
I wasn’t waiting another month for him to come into town to take action. My fascination with him might make me do foolish things, but I was ready to find my own answers.
I shut my front door, made my way to my car, and climbed in. My heart was thundering, and I honestly had no idea what I’d do when I got to the mountains.
I knew he lived off Crystal Lane, a small dirt road that ascended the mountain before stopping. The road just ended; then I’d have to hike. I prayed I was leaving early enough to make it there before nightfall.
Then what? Just show up at his door saying I’m crazy enough to break through the privacy he clearly wants?
I shook my head and sat with my hands on the steering wheel, rethinking this.
This is a bad idea.
I’d either find the things I was looking for and tame this curiosity I had for him, or…
This would be the worst mistake I ever made.
Dillon
Lexi’s been mine since the first moment I saw her.
She was on my mind constantly, this need I couldn’t shake.
I didn’t want to try and stop myself from thinking about her though.
I wanted it to consume me until there wasn’t anything left, until I was just a shell of a man grasping for the reality of my life.
She’s that reality.
Seeing her every month was a light to my darkness, a spike of pleasure to the coldness of my heart.
I obsessed about her, wanted to possess every inch of her. I wanted Lexi to look into my face and know I owned her irrevocably. It was sheer self-control and the need to protect her—even from myself—that had me staying away.
I never claimed to be a good man.
I didn’t want to be a good man.
Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t give her that happily ever after.
The other part of me was just a territorial bastard when it came to her.
What I could provide was a twisted fairy tale that made her understand she was it … that she was the only one that would ever matter.
You’re fucking crazy to think she’d want you, that she’d want anything to do with you.
There were rumors in town about me, some fabricated out of fear but mostly all true.
What did she think about that? Did she fear me too? Did she wonder how far I could go, how broken I really was?
I scrubbed a hand over my face, feeling the facial hair scrape across my palm. I’d waited a long time, held back from going after what I wanted … her. But the anticipation of having her as mine ate at me, made me tear at my insides, and had me des
perate for her.
I’d waited long enough. It was time to make my move, to show Lexi what we could have together. I’d go to her, make her see I wanted her … always.
She’d find out exactly how far I was willing to go to make sure she stayed by my side. Because when it came to her, I was feral.
Lexi
Sweat covered my body, and I was having a hard time breathing the higher I ascended the mountain.
I’d been walking for the last … I didn’t even know. My legs hurt, my feet ached, and I was seriously starting to reconsider this idea.
I had to be close. I’d followed the path, but the sun was hidden above the treetops, and I knew it would be setting soon.
How stupid and desperate do I have to be to think this is a good idea?
I adjusted my bag on my shoulder. At least I wasn’t dumb enough not to bring a couple of water bottles with me. I sat on a boulder, resting my feet and staring at the path. Maybe I should just head back, call this a bust, and decide what exactly I needed in my life.
After taking a long drink of water, I stared up at the trees. A slight breeze blew by, making the branches sway back and forth. It was peaceful up here, with just nature and my thoughts to keep my company. But for as beautiful as this all was, it was getting dark, I didn’t know how far off I was, and I wanted to just go home.
How could I have thought showing up at some random man’s house was the best-laid plan? How did I think Dillon would even welcome something like this?
The sound of a twig snapping close by had me standing. My heart raced, and my entire body became alert. I scanned my surroundings, but of course I saw nothing. Every horror movie I’d ever seen slammed through my head.