SWNOVELS Brutal Savage: Chapter 3
The following day, on the way to my Saturday morning run, I stop by the local coffee shop so I can grab my grandma some breakfast.
As soon as I enter, someone I know waves me over.
“Elara! Oh my God! Hi!” Alice, a fellow teacher at the school, calls.
She’s about my age: twenty-three. I think she wants us to be friends. She’s nice and all, but unfortunately, my trust issues run deep.
Not surprised to see her here. She is here, like, every weekend. Though I swear she acts surprised every time she sees me, like it’s kismet.
Her eyes round with excitement when I start toward her, but she’s not alone. A guy I don’t know is with her.
“Hey, Alice.” My vision bounces between them.
“Oh…” Her face lights up. “This is my boyfriend, Chris. It’s kinda new.” Her cheeks grow with color.
“Nice to meet you.” I extend a hand, and he shakes it.
“You too. Alice has told me so much about you.” He glances at her and smiles, his eyes filled with affection.
“She has?”
“Yeah…” He straightens in his seat. “She said you’re her only friend at the school.”
“Chris!” She giggles and smacks him on the arm with the back of her hand. “He’s ridiculous.”
“She’s great.” I smile tightly, unsure what to say.
I barely know her. Occasionally, we sit together at lunch or exchange some words when we see one another passing in the halls.
“Well, it was nice to see you, Alice, and good to meet you, Chris. I have to get my grandma some food or she’ll get cranky.”
“Of course! Oh my God, I love her grandma.” Alice looks over at Chris. “She’s hilarious. She plays bridge with my grandma, and she tells the raunchiest jokes,” she whispers.
Oh, no… That does sound like Gran.
“This one time, I heard the funniest one.” She laughs, her attention jumping between Chris and me. “Okay,” she whispers. “So, how is sex like a game of bridge?”
“I don’t know. How?” Chris grins.
“If you have a great hand, you don’t need a partner.” She bursts into a laugh. “Isn’t that hilarious?”
“That’s her: hilarious.” And mildly uncomfortable. “Anyway, this was fun. I’ll tell her you said hello. See you Monday, Alice.”
“Okay, sure! I’ll see you!”
I give her one last look, waving back and heading for the counter.
As I do, I run straight into a wall and all the air leaves my lungs.
“What the…” I stare up at said wall.
Well, not exactly a wall, it appears, but a man. A tall man with a body that may as well be made of bricks.
Not into bricks—or men, for that matter. Not anymore, anyway. Not into women either. Kinda in my “not into adult humans” era.
I rub my shoulder as I mutter a curse, pain shooting down my arm.
He quirks a brow, his bright green eyes filled with mirth.
“You should probably watch where you’re going next time,” his deep, guttural voice reprimands, and I decide I already hate him.
Behind me, Alice gasps and the cashier stops moving, staring at the both of us like we’ve suddenly entered a very exciting TV show. And when I look around the café, I find the patrons all gaping at us too.
What the hell is this about?
He stares down at me with an amused expression.
Being five-two, I’m not exactly on the tall side, and standing next to this man, who’s definitely over a foot taller, is making me feel even smaller.
Popping my chin, I zero an intense gaze at the man who has his eyes still set on mine. “Thank you so much. I’ll be sure to take that under advisement.”
“That’s a good girl.” His eyes play as he cracks a smirk.
I shift uncomfortably, his hypnotic tone dropping into my gut and spreading warmth throughout my limbs.
Never had a man say that to me.
Never even thought I’d like it.
Until now.
He meets my stare with equal fervor, like he won’t be the first one to relent.
Don’t worry. I don’t like to lose either.
His smirk deepens, and I can’t stop looking. I take in those vivid green eyes, the high cheekbones, and that hard, angled jaw with just the right amount of stubble I’d love to run my fingertips over.
His hair is combed back, and I bet it would look just as sexy if I ran my hands through the deep brown hue and messed it up a bit.
My stomach clenches at how attractive he actually is. How dominating.
He commands a room just by entering it.
I try not to continue checking him out, but that’s becoming quite impossible.
He’s dressed like he’s going to a business meeting on Wall Street. And something about those gray dress pants and the white button-down with that gray silk tie really turns me on. His shirt easily shows off every indent, every inch of muscle. His hard, defined chest jerks when he notices that my line of vision has inadvertently stopped there.
Okay, so maybe my “not into people” era has got a teeny dent.
His mouth twitches a fraction before it loses the amusement. And once his attention falls to my lips, his throat bobs.
My gut jolts hotly, the sudden electric energy between us making my heart skip right up my esophagus. And the more his penetrating gaze sears into mine, the more my skin grows prickly.
He stares like he knows me…or wants to.
Neither of which are good.
He stalks a step forward, and my breath hitches. His eyes bore deeper into mine, the air around us thicker with my undeniable urge to throttle him. Or have him return the favor. I’m not really being all that picky at the moment.
My pulse spikes from this pull between us. From this quiet, yet unnerving attraction I’m fighting like hell to pretend doesn’t exist.
He doesn’t appear like the type of man I need to be attracted to.
I’ve had my fill of dangerous men.
And this one? He even smells like danger.
Who even is he? I’ve never seen him before. I’d have instantly recognized him.
“I really should be going now…” I whisper, attempting to sound brave and totally unaffected, yet completely and utterly failing.
He doesn’t say a word.
Instead, he drags in a slow breath, his fingers reaching for my face, stopping just short before he pushes a strand of my hair, tucking it behind my ear.
And just from that touch alone, I forget how to breathe.
I can’t seem to look away, to move and walk out of this place. He keeps me rooted somehow, like he holds the key.
His mouth twitches as though he knows precisely what he’s doing to me.
With gentle strokes, he smooths down his tie, the thick veins on top of his large hand snaking beneath his skin.
I hate that I want him.
That my body craves his.
My stomach drops from the exhilarating tension building inside me, like with one touch I’d fall apart.
The intoxicating scent of his cologne surrounds me—something masculine and expensive—making my heart beat faster while my mind conjures up thoughts of him and me ripping at each other’s clothes.
Clearing my throat, I force myself to shake off the magnetic connection between us and head for the counter. But I can sense him behind me, feel the way his body almost brushes mine.
I take slow, shallow breaths, trying my best to forget that he exists, and order an egg burrito and coffee for Gran.
“Is that all?” the cashier asks, glancing behind me at him.
The room is still eerily quiet, making me shudder.
His hot breath creeps across the back of my neck, turning me to ash.
“No,” that husky timbre drawls out, sending a shiver slinking up my spine. “She’s going to order something for herself.”
He outstretches his arm from behind me and hands her a card. And as he does, his fingers graze my arm like a slow-dancing flame, torching me where I stand.
I look over at him from behind my shoulder. “How do you know that—”
“That the food you ordered is for your grandmother and not you?” He hits me with a cocky, lopsided grin. “Heard you talking to your friends.” He tilts his head toward an awestruck Alice. “So please order something for yourself. It’s on me. You know…” His mouth descends across my ear, breath caressing down my neck. “…for running into you.”
My inhales turn shaky, but he doesn’t offer any reprieve. Instead, he moves in closer, until his front presses into my back just enough to make me feel it—his power.
And I don’t mean the one in his pants. Or maybe I do…
I’m not entirely sure of anything at the present moment.
My nerves tingle through me, forcing me to pinch my thighs to satiate this pulsing need that has grown almost unmanageable.
This man, there’s something about him—something I desire, yet fear—and he knows it too.
I’ve met men like this. I’ve looked them in the eyes as they hurt me and lived another day.
So with this man, I refuse to be like the rest. I won’t cower in fear. I won’t let another man hurt me like my father and Jerry did.
“It’s awfully kind of you to offer to pay, but that’s not necessary.” Returning my attention to the cashier, I reach into the pouch around my waist and remove a twenty-dollar bill, holding it out for her. “Could you get my order, please?”
With his card in hand, she glances at him like she needs his permission.
“Run my card,” he tells her.
She does so immediately, her fingers jittery as she hands him the card back, then gives me a receipt. She rushes off to get the stuff I ordered while I shake my head and turn around to face him.
“Does everyone just do whatever you want?”
“Usually. If they’re smart, that is.”
Something heavy sinks into my stomach. This man…he’s definitely dangerous.
Yet utterly alluring.
“Here you go.” The cashier hands me a brown bag and places the cup of coffee on the counter.
“Thanks,” I tell her, turning to him. “Please take this.”
His face hardens as I attempt to hand him the twenty.
“What are you doing? I’m not taking your money.” He looks almost furious, yet it only lasts a moment. “It’s my treat, Ms. Hill.” His fingers trace up my elbow, and I inhale a sharp breath. “Don’t fight it.”
It hits me then.
He knows my name.
Panic creeps up my skin.
“Have we met before?” My words come out almost like a whisper as I stuff the twenty back into my pouch and close it.
His mouth bends into a quick grin. “I know everyone in this town.”
I swallow down the fear those words just caused me. The last thing I want is for him to know who I am. Who I was before I became Elara.
I don’t bother asking his name. I don’t want to know it.
“Thanks for this.” I grab the order. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”
I brush past him, hoping to make my escape, but his sudden grip on my wrist has me dead in my tracks.
My skin sears where he touches me. I glance back at him to find those eyes burning with a new flash of heat. The vein in his neck throbs.
“You dropped something, Ms. Hill.” He accentuates my name like he’s having sex with it.
This all becomes too much to bear.
Then he lets me go, kneeling to retrieve something, his eyes still on mine.
And I realize it’s my driver’s license.
Oh God, how could I have been so reckless?
“You can never be too careful.” He slowly opens the pouch and places the license back inside.
And the way his fingers move, the veins atop his hand practically ripping through his skin, has a new murmur of desire breathing life between my thighs.
“Enjoy your run.” That deep, raspy baritone turns my entire being into something warm and wanton.
Wait. How did he know I was going for a run?
Maybe he assumed because of how I’m dressed. I’m sure that’s it.
With my heart hammering, I rush out the door, sucking in the cool air.
As I start toward Gran’s, the doors open, and it’s Alice, breathless as though she just ran a marathon.
“Oh my God!” she whispers, pulling me close and glancing sheepishly to her right at the café. “Do you have any idea who that was?”
“No.” I shake my head. “I’ve never seen him before.”
She swipes her forehead with the back of her hand. “He doesn’t usually frequent this part of town.”
“So who is he?” Now I’m really curious.
“His family’s practically royalty here. Super wealthy. They own lots of land and property a few miles north. They own just about everything in this town too, including this café.”
“What?” I can’t help the shock in my tone.
“Yep.” Her brows shoot up as she nods slowly. “And rumor is…” She leans in. “They’re connected to the Mafia.”
Before I even look, I feel his menacing green gaze on me—feel the burning intensity pulsating through me. I glance back and lock eyes with him through the window.
The hairs on my arms stand up.
I knew it. I knew he was someone to be feared.
What if he knows the people I was once connected to? What if he discovers my secrets and hands me to them?
And worse, what if he knows what I did…
The bodies I buried.
What if he uses that against me somehow?
Every molecule in me wants to pack my bags and run again. Everything about him makes me uneasy. Like my subconscious is telling me he’s not safe.
But what if he wouldn’t do that? What if I’m just scared?
I have to be sure. I don’t want to leave my grandparents here alone unless it’s for a good enough reason. I have to find out if he knows something about me.
“You okay?” Alice places a concerned hand on my forearm, and I accidentally fling it away.
“I’m fine. Sorry,” I mutter. “I have to go, though. Have to get this food to my grandma before she sends a search party.”
“Of course. Just be careful,” she says softly.
I should go before the devil finds a way to unravel me more than he already has.