Before I knew it, he was opening his car door and setting me inside before stalking around to get in the driver’s seat. I was a panting mess, so turned on I couldn’t think straight, so my reaction response was way too slow. By the time I tried the door handle to get out, he’d already locked me in and was pulling out of the drive.
His hand came down to cup me again as soon as we were on the highway, and no matter how much I tried to tell myself to push him away, I didn’t. It felt good. It felt badly good. The forbidden-ness of it only turning me on more.
He drove as he teased me, the only sounds filling the enclosed space were the engine and the whimpers I kept trying to hold back.
“Don’t fucking try to tell me that you want that other guy instead of me,” Luis said, his tone angry despite the tender attentions he was showing my clit.
“I do. He was a good fuck. I wish it was him touching me right now,” I said back with a sneer.
Liar, liar, panties on fire.
In reply, Luis yanked at the waistband of my sweatpants and shoved his hand inside. I gasped when his fingers came in contact with my pussy, only a thin scrap of silk between our flesh.
“You’re wet. You’re biting back moans, and your hips keep arching up every time I touch you. So try again, Majesty.”
“Just make me come,” I pleaded, letting all of my carefully erected walls of denial crumble at my greedy cunt.
“Luis. Say make me come, Luis,” he demanded.
My words came out in a rush. “Make me come, Luis!”
As soon as I said it, his hand was gone. Pulled out of my borrowed pants and settled back on the steering wheel as he continued to watch the busy highway. My mouth dropped open in shock, and my body was shaking with unattained pleasure.
“Remember this, Majesty,” he told me. “Remember you begging me. The next time you wanna lie about another guy fucking you, you’re going to think about this moment.”
“You fucking son of a bitch,” I spewed.
He pulled up to my house, his tires scraping against the gravel. “I may be a son of a bitch, but I’m no liar. Enjoy your night out with your doctor,” he said with a condescending smirk as he hit the unlock button.
I wrenched it open and got out, slamming the door behind me. I heard him laugh as I stormed up the steps to my house, and I flipped him off over my shoulder as he peeled out. Of course, that was when my granddaddy opened the front door, seeing me in all my glory. Tangled hair. Men’s clothes. Flushed face. Flipping off a sports car as it kicked up gravel in the driveway.
Fuck. My. Life.
Chapter Ten
Royal
Despite my empty threat to Luis, I had every intention of blowing Aaron off. No way in hell was I going to agree to go out with him. But then he’d threatened and ambushed me, so here I was, sitting at a table at the Mirage, wearing a buttery yellow dress that I hated.
After my disastrous morning arrival, I hadn’t had time to go back to Rogue’s. I was sat down for one of my granddaddy’s stern talking to’s, and by the time that was over, it was lunchtime. Carlotta heated up some leftovers for me, and then I’d spent the rest of the afternoon packing some bags and trying to sneak out of there. Aaron had been harassing me all day and I finally responded to his text pretty much as soon as my granddaddy had stopped lecturing me, but his response had crashed around my body like a pile of bricks, trapping me beneath.
Aaron: You’ll come, or I’ll ruin you. Everyone will know what you did in Ecuador. The blood on your hands. You think your family disapproves of you now? Just wait until they find out the truth.
After a panic attack in my closet, where I’d hyperventilated until black dots appeared in my vision, my mama’s voice had called up the stairs telling me that my granddaddy and Aaron were downstairs waiting for me. She dressed me while I stood there numbly, my mind shut down.
The entire ride over I trembled as he smooth-talked someone at the hospital on the phone on his Bluetooth headset. He oozed pretentious charm, using a smooth voice I knew was just a mask for the roaring beast beneath. I kept my breathing even and kept my phone in my palm, ready to dial 911 should he veer from the direction of the restaurant. My vision turned black around the edges. I couldn’t get enough air. Aaron must have noticed this, because he grabbed my hand and pressed it into his crotch, smirking when I whimpered.
“Yes, I think that’s the best treatment plan,” he said into the phone while pushing my hand down and guiding me to a stroking movement. I resisted. “It’ll be hard but worth it,” he added with a cocky play on words.
I felt a cool sheen of sweat break out on my neck. My body felt heavy. My lungs couldn’t get enough air.
And then, it was over. We parked. He kissed my cheek and got out of the car.
I didn’t feel real. Didn’t feel like myself. I was just a numb shell accepting the brick wall she was pressed up against. The train was coming. The tornado sirens were going off. I was in a room without oxygen, just biding my time until my lungs burst. “Are you coming?” he asked while opening the door, and I clenched my fist, claiming my forced hand back for myself.
“Yes, Dr. Carmichael,” I gritted.
Now I was sitting here at a restaurant I hated, in a demure dress that didn’t feel like me, waiting for a man that I didn’t want to have dinner with while he made yet another call outside. I got thirteen minutes to collect myself. I breathed. I traced my finger over the groove of my steak knife, pricking the skin just to remind myself I wasn’t the numb nothing Aaron wanted me to be.
It wasn’t until drops of my blood littered the crisp, white table cloth that he finally came inside, strolling in wearing his suit and the cologne that I used to like, but now the smell made my stomach churn. He leaned down and pecked a kiss on the cheek, his lips dangerously close to the corner of my mouth. I wanted to wipe my face and rub away the offending touch. He was pushing the boundary on purpose.
“Sorry, it was the hospital on the phone.”
“It’s fine.”
The waitress hurried over to take our drink orders as soon as he was situated. “We’ll take a bottle of your cabernet. And we’ll take your fruit and cheese appetizer,” Aaron ordered.
“Of course. I’ll be right out with that,” the waitress replied before hurrying off.
Red wine with a cheese and grape platter. I might as well have been on a date with my mother. My nose wrinkled up automatically. This was all wrong. None of this was me. I didn’t want to be here.
“What’s that face for?”
I looked up at him nervously, feeling like I was walking on eggshells. “What face?”
“That face. You look like you swallowed a bug.”
“If my faces are bothering you, I can go,” I said.
“You’re going to have to learn to watch your mouth,” he replied smoothly.
For the first time tonight, anger overrode my fear.
“Don’t patronize me. I want to know what you’re doing here, Aaron.”
“We’re having dinner, remember?” he said with a coy smirk.
“I mean here, in Savannah. You lived in New York before you went to Ecuador. What. The fuck. Are you doing here?”
His mouth turned down into an unimpressed frown. “Behave like a lady. Don’t swear at the table,” he reprimanded, his face turning stony. “Besides, I thought that would’ve been obvious, Royal. I came here for you.”
Confusion cracked over my head like a raw egg, it’s cold liquid dripping down the length of my spine. “Why?”
“I told you back in Ecuador. I’m not done with you yet.”
Fear skittered down my back, and I gaped at him, but before I could reply, the waitress returned with our wine and appetizers. She set them down, and Aaron immediately filled our order, getting a salad for me—of fucking course—and the filet mignon for him. I curled my toes inside my cramped heels, imagining they were my fists.
As soon as the waitress walked away, I leaned over the table at him, not caring t
hat my hair was about an inch away from the lit candles on the table, adding to the ritzy ambiance. “Aaron, I am not getting involved with you. The only reason I came tonight was because you threatened me. You need to leave me alone. You need to leave Savannah. This is crazy.”
He reached out and grabbed my hand, his smooth palm trapping me as he caressed the inside of my wrist with his thumb. “Don’t be annoying, Royal. I came all this way for you.”
“Yeah, and like I said, that’s fucking crazy!”
My voice went way too loud for the quiet of the restaurant, and several heads snapped over to look at us. Embarrassed, I tried to pull away and sit back, but Aaron’s hand tightened painfully around my wrist and hand. “Don’t make a scene, darling. I told you to stop swearing. Now drink your wine,” he said with calculated calmness. I knew it was a mask, because I could see his dark eyes glittering with threat.
Like an animal suddenly realizing it was being hunted, every hair on my arms and the back of my neck rose to attention. A chill fell over me, polluting my skin with goosebumps. My eyes darted down to our hands and back up to his face. “Let go. You’re hurting me.”
“Not until you drink your wine and agree to stop acting like a child.”
I was getting really fucking tired of hearing people say that to me. Why was it that when anyone reacted with any real emotion, people accused them of being childish? As adults, were we just supposed to always grin and bear it? Be fake? Feel nothing?
That wasn’t me.
I cried when I was sad, and I raged when I was angry. I laughed hard, and I screamed when I came. I never cared how loud I was. I never liked to censor myself. But all my life, all I ever got was censored. Everyone was always trying to get me to be quiet, to sit up straight, to act like a lady. Well, fuck that. Fuck this.
I picked up my wine glass, just like he wanted. And then I flung it into his face.
People gasped. Silverware dropped. Everyone in the entire restaurant turned to watch the spectacle. But I was looking at Aaron. And what I saw in his dark eyes was pure untethered violence.
Alarm bells went off in my head as he picked up his cloth napkin and began to dab his face. The red of the wine had already stained his shirt, making me flashback to the blood stain on Mrs. Salvador’s blouse. “That was a very stupid thing to do.”
Despite the tremors going through my body, I managed to lift my chin as I stood. “Leave me alone, Aaron.” I turned and walked away, ignoring all the gaping, gossiping faces as I made my way past the tables to get outside. As soon as the warm, humid air hit me, I could breathe easier than I had inside the air-conditioned space of the luxurious restaurant.
My pulse was racing. My anxiety was so strong that my hands were shaking, and even now, my eyes were darting over my shoulder, worrying if he was about to come out here and attack me again. I’d impulsively embarrassed him, and I knew he wouldn’t let that go unpunished. I dug out my phone and ordered an Uber, relieved when I saw one was close by.
“Eleven minutes.”
I whirled around at the voice, only to find Luis propped up against the decorative gate outside the restaurant, looking ridiculously suave in his dark-washed jeans and black tee.
“What are you doing here?”
He straightened from his spot, making several of the women eating dinner on the restaurant patio look over at him, disappointed that they were losing their eye candy. He walked over, stopping just in front of me. “Eleven minutes,” he repeated. “That’s how long you lasted with that asswipe. And he spent thirteen minutes outside on his phone. I wouldn’t keep you waiting thirteen minutes, Majesty, but if I did, it wouldn’t be in a stuffy place like this.”
“Maybe I like stuffy places like this,” I challenged, crossing my arms in front of my chest.
His warm brown eyes swept over me, noting the thick heeled pumps and dress. Even my makeup was timid, with just hints of mascara and blush. “Nah,” he said with a slow shake of his head. “This isn’t your scene. I know you better than that.”
He was right, goddammit. How did he know me so well?
“This…” he said, motioning to me up and down. “This isn’t you. This is just what everyone wants you to be.”
I didn’t know why that made me want to cry. “Including you?”
He shook his head slowly. “Nope. I like you wild. I like the real you.”
My heart pounded, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw Aaron through the windows, walking towards the exit. “Shit. I gotta go,” I said in a panic.
The last thing I wanted was to be confronted by him right now, with Luis here, but before I could find an escape, Aaron came outside. He immediately noticed me and walked over. His shirt was damp but less red than before. No doubt our attentive waitress had given him some seltzer water for the stains.
“Mr. Salvador. I’m surprised to see you here so late,” Aaron said with false politeness. “Isn’t it a school night?”
My eyes widened at his bold words, and I held my breath for Luis’s reaction. I checked my phone for my ride, praying it would hurry the fuck up.
But instead of rising to the bait, Luis just smirked. “I already graduated, Doc. But your concern for my education is impressive.”
“I always try to support the youth.”
Luis snorted. “I guess your support is the closest you’ll get to youth again,” Luis taunted with a laugh.
Aaron’s black eyes flashed with anger. Trepidation filled me, and all I wanted to do was escape. They were sizing each other up, looking like a couple of alpha males posturing and searching for weaknesses. Luckily, my phone buzzed, announcing my ride, and I practically bolted to it.
“I’ll see you soon, Royal,” Aaron called at my back, making my shoulders tense.
Without answering or turning around, I slipped into the car and got the hell out of there. I knew in my bones right then and there I’d just tipped over the edge of a precipice. I was falling, and I knew it was just a matter of time before I started colliding with every rocky edge until the ground rushed up to flatten me.
Chapter Eleven
Luis
I watched Royal’s ride speed away. She should’ve been in my car, letting me take her away from this asswipe. But instead, she ran again.
“She’s a little old for you,” the prick doctor said as her taillights disappeared down the street.
“She’s a lot young for you,” I shot back.
I didn’t like this asshole one bit. Guys my age liked to play the game. Take a while to respond, fuck around and resist being tied down. But I'd never been like that. If I saw something I wanted, I went for it. That was why I followed Royal to this restaurant with overpriced steaks and overconfident doctors. I didn’t give a fuck if it came across as clingy or weird. I’ve been in love with Royal since we were kids, I was just finally able to act on it now. But this guy? Something was off with him. I could feel it.
Royal deserved a fun night. She needed something to make her feel alive, not a quiet pedestal to sit on. And this prick screamed trophy wife hunter. I didn’t believe for one fucking second that she actually liked him. I also didn’t miss the stain on his shirt; obviously wine had been tossed in the fucker’s face. I wanted to know why, and I was going to find out.
“I’m starting to think you won’t be a good fit for my mother,” I said while tearing my eyes from the road to glance at him.
He looked presumptuous as fuck, probably never had a woman tell him no before. I didn’t want someone like that around Ma, and I sure as fuck didn’t like the idea of him being with Royal.
“I’m better than any doctor she’d see in prison,” he replied coolly. “You do realize that’s where she was headed if you didn’t let me treat her, right? I don’t care who you own in this town, she fucked up this time. You got lucky and you know it. I saw her file. Seven rehabilitation centers in the last three years,” he said, clicking his tongue. “I have people in high places too, you know. Like a lawyer who specializes in making fe
lony charges for DUI offenses. This is your mother’s third charge, is that right?”
I gritted my teeth. Yeah. Ma had issues. Her life had become a pattern of numbers. Seven rehabilitation stints. Three incarcerations I had to buy her way out of. Fourteen counselors fired. Four overdoses. Eight dealers I had to bribe to stay the fuck away. Six pills she’d taken the night she got into the accident. And one son that had to take care of it all.
I’d tried everything. Hypnotherapy yielded the best results, but it brought out the worst in her. Ma had a past she was always running from. A past she felt she could chase away with booze and pills.
“Are you even qualified to handle a detox?” I retorted, but it was a weak, half-assed response, and we both knew it.
“I am. I actually do want your mother to get better,” he said while placing a hand on my shoulder, switching to the fucking caring doctor routine. I wanted to punch him in his shitty face. “I know this is hard. You should be enjoying your time as a newly graduated high school student, not worrying about your mother’s healthcare. Royal and I can take good care of her, as long as you handle this the right way.”
I knocked his hand off me. “Is that your fucked up, polite way of threatening me?”
“It’s a reminder. Royal and I have a history.”
“I don’t give a shit if you have chemistry, calculus, and anatomy too. She walked out on your ass. You should probably take a hint.”
Dr. Carmichael’s eyes flashed with anger, but he reeled it in. “You know, if your mother doesn’t show improvement, this case will be out of Detective Mervicker’s hands. The case will even go above your sleazy judge. So I suggest you think very carefully about whose territory you’re trying to encroach on.”
Red haze filtered over my vision. “Royal is not your fucking territory.”
“She is,” he said simply before turning to walk away. “Have a good night, Mr. Salvador. Better get to bed soon. I think it’s past your curfew.”
Wild: Savannah Heirs Page 11