Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

Zoey

WAKING UP, THE first thing I notice is I’m abnormally hot. Sweat covers my body and I feel a hardness that I’ve only felt one other time in my life. The night I was with Savage, I started to fall asleep on his hard body. Even the smell reminds me of that night. Savage smells like leather, oil, and something else uniquely belonging to him. It’s a smell I’ve always associated with him and one I can’t help but savor as it continues to wrap around me. If this is a dream, then I’m definitely not ready to wake up yet. I want to remain here in the dreamscape and pretend my life is complete with Savage in my bed and him willing to stay with me instead of getting what he wants and leaving once he believes I’m asleep. No, I don’t feel as if he used me. Savage wouldn’t do that to me. But, I do believe he can’t commit to one woman and he’s used to playing with every female that captures his attention. Something I had for a short period of time and I relive it on a daily basis.

However, I can’t lay in bed for very long. The need to get sick overwhelms me as I harshly jump out of bed leaving Savage groaning in my bed. Obviously I hurt him in my rush to get out of bed and to my bathroom where I slam the door closed behind me and head straight for the toilet. As usual, I spend an undetermined amount of time hunched over the toilet getting violently ill. By the time I’m done, I’m covered in sweat, my hair is matted to my head, and I’m ready to collapse back in bed as exhaustion consumes me. That’s not what I have to do though. First, I have to take a quick shower so I can figure out why the fuck Savage is in my apartment and what’s going on. Then, I suppose I’ll have to actually go to campus since there’s someone here. I can’t let anyone know I haven’t physically been attending my classes for any reason. If my family finds out, they’ll want to take matters into their own hands and I can’t let that happen. It’s why no one’s ever known about the bullying to begin with. My family don’t have off switches when it comes to one of their own needing to be protected. It’s balls to the wall and they won’t stop until my bullies are hurting as much as they’ve hurt me.

Turning on the water of the shower after pulling myself off the floor, I let it heat up while I brush my teeth. I can’t even do that these days without feeling as if I’m going to be sick again. So, I take my time and don’t rush through that part of my routine. The second I’ve rinsed my mouth out, I strip out of the shirt and panties I wore to bed and get beneath the hot water. It’s not overly hot, just enough to ease the aches in my bones while I let my hair get wet enough to put the shampoo in my hair. I don’t linger as I rinse it out before putting in the conditioner. With that on my head, I grab my loofah and body wash so I can wash the sweat from my skin. Thoughts of why Savage is here consume me as I wash, shave, and then rinse all the soap from me. The second I’m done, I grab a towel from the bar hanging by the shower and dry my body off. Taking the second one I leave hanging there, I dry my hair before wrapping the towel around my head to continue drying the long strands.

Since I didn’t bring clothes in the bathroom with me, I hesitantly make my way back into my bedroom to find Savage sitting up against my headboard with the blankets barely covering his legs and pelvis. He’s still a rumpled mess from sleep as he looks up and watches me cross my room. I stop in front of my dresser and grab a pair of panties and matching bra from the top drawer. Setting my panties on the top of the dresser, I put the bra on over my towel.

“You don’t have to hide your body from me, kitten. I don’t have a problem lookin’ at you anytime you wanna flash me that soft, smooth skin,” Savage’s deep voice washes over me as I close my eyes and my face heats with a blush.

“I don’t think now is the time for me to be flashing you, Savage. What are you doing here? And why are you in my bed?” I question him, not bothering to turn around as I slide the panties on under my towel and try to show as little skin as possible to the man behind me.

I can feel Savage’s eyes on me as he watches me. It feels as if his eyes are caressing my entire body everywhere he looks. I’m making a fool of myself as I practically fall against the dresser while moving around to get my panties in place and not losing my towel in the process. When my panties are finally in place, I turn to face Savage.

“I’m here because no one from the Phantom Bastards is lookin’ after you, Zoey. Because there’s nowhere else I’d rather be than right here at your side, in your bed, and knowin’ you’re safe as long as I’m here with you. Your dad and brothers are in town. They’re at the clubhouse right now waitin’ to see you so they can assure themselves that you’re okay. I don’t know what’s goin’ on, but you’re not goin’ through it alone, kitten. I’m here and I’m not leavin’ you,” he says, his words filled with promises I’m not sure he can keep as tears fill my eyes with the thought of how I’ve longed for those very words for so long from him.

“Savage, you didn’t have to come here. I told you that night we were together that I didn’t expect more than just that night from you. You go through women faster than you change your underwear. You’ll never be content to be with one woman and I won’t ever be with a man who cheats. There’s no reason for you to be here, pretending like you care about me. You might in the sense that we grew up together, but that’s it. Whatever this is, will only hurt me further in the long run. I need distance so I might be able to finally get over you,” I tell him, my voice breaking as the tears start to spill over and slide down my face.

Savage gets out of my bed and makes his way to me with no hesitation. He’s only wearing a tight pair of black boxer briefs that do nothing to conceal the hard length beneath them. He places a hand on my neck and forces me to look up at him. For several long seconds he doesn’t say a word as he stares down at me. As I go to close my eyes, he raises his other hand and swipes the tears still falling down my face before leaning in and pressing his full lips against mine. He doesn’t attempt to deepen the kiss or push for more than just a simple kiss with his hand wrapped around my neck still. Desire immediately fills me with the knowledge that Savage can do anything to me and I’d enjoy every damn second of it simply because he’s the one doing things to my body.

When he finally pulls back, Savage rests his forehead against mine and slowly opens his eyes. I see so many emotions swirling in the dark depths as he doesn’t blink or look away from me.

“First of all, I’m not Savage to you. I’m Jameson, kitten. I get you wantin’ space to get over me, but that’s not gonna fuckin’ happen. I’m givin’ you notice right now, Zoey. You. Are. Mine. I’m claimin’ you as my ol’ lady the second you’re ready to take that step. I haven’t touched a woman at the clubhouse or when I’m out since the night I was with you. You broke my cock and it only belongs to you now. I don’t look at other girls or let them remain near me for any length of time. It’s always been you, kitten. I know I’ve got a lot to make up for when it comes to you and I’m gonna spend the rest of my life ensurin’ you know exactly how important you are to me and how much I’m fallin’ in love with you,” he says, letting me see his truth as he says each word.

Now, I notice the bruising and marks on his body as I finally rip my eyes from his. A gasp escapes me as I push him back far enough to let me see his entire body. In between all the tattoos covering his body are deep purple bruises that look as if they hurt him so bad. There are a few cuts on his body and face as I take in every inch of him.

“What happened to you?” I question him, already having a pretty good idea of where these marks came from.

“Your dad, brothers, gramps, and uncle came to Clinton City to see me. To confront me really. About why you haven’t been answerin’ their calls or messages and why you’ve been avoidin’ them. I stepped in the cage with your brothers and dad to show them how serious I am when I say you’re mine, kitten. They each got their one hit in on me for hurtin’ you so badly over the years before I fought back. I’m gonna show you every damn day how serious I am, Zoey. For now, I think we should head to the clubhouse. I know you’ve got classes to attend, but if your dad and brothers don’t see you soon, I fully expect them to show up on campus and make sure everyone there knows exactly who you belong to. None of us are happy that you’ve had someone watchin’ you for over two weeks now and haven’t said a word until you called Slim yesterday,” he informs me, raising one of his eyebrows as he waits for me to give him an explanation about why I’ve waited for him.

“Look, I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding everyone. You included. However, I can handle someone following me. I don’t need everyone all up in arms because you all feel as if I can’t protect myself. I’ve been trained by my dad, uncles, and you boys. You know this. So, no, I didn’t feel the need to report the feeling of me being watched immediately when it could’ve simply been a Prospect or someone watching me because of the situation with the cop who continues to follow me,” I state, cocking a hip to the side as I place my hands on them while staring Savage down. “And for now, you’ll remain Savage to me. It’s what I have to do until you prove to me this isn’t another one of your games.”

Turning my back on the man I’ve loved most of my life, I head straight into my closet to grab clothes for the day. I grab a pair of jean shorts and a tight tank top, putting them on in my closet so I can finally lose my towel to finish getting dressed. Picking up the towel from the floor, I head back into my bedroom to find it empty and my bathroom door closed. The water in the shower is running as I step up closer to throw the towel in the hamper just past the door.

Knocking on the door, I call out. “Savage, I didn’t leave you a towel. Can I come in?”

“Of course,” he responds, his voice muffled through the water raining down and the door separating us.

I slowly open the door and try to keep my eyes away from the shower. I will only be able to see shadows, but it’s more than enough to outline his body. Okay, so I’m not going to lie and say my eyes don’t dart that way a time or two to find Savage still hard as he washes his hair. His head is tipped back as he runs his fingers through the strands while rinsing my shampoo out. Before he can focus on what I’m doing, I head for the small cabinet I have in here where I keep my towels and other things. Grabbing one, I place it on the bar next to the shower before grabbing my brush and leaving him alone in the bathroom again.

While I wait for him, I brush out my hair and braid it. If we’re going to my grandpa’s clubhouse, we’ll be on the bikes. I’m not about to let my hair become a tangled mess because I didn’t braid it before leaving the apartment. By the time I’m done, Savage is entering my bedroom again. He’s only wearing the towel wrapped around his waist and his underwear are in his hand as he makes his way to the side of my bed where his jeans are laying on the floor. I turn and leave the room so he can get dressed. Savage’s laughter follows me from the room as I head for the living room where my riding gear sits by the door. I don’t even stop long enough to grab socks to put on my feet. I’ll have to grab some when I know he’s dressed.

With my gear on, I find Savage walking out fully dressed and a smirk covering his face. He looks me over from head to toe before wandering into my kitchen and straight for the refrigerator. I watch him grab a bottle of water and chug the entire bottle before I leave and go grab my socks so I can put my riding boots on. I’ll have to grab a backpack and my sneakers so I can change out of my gear once I’m at the clubhouse. It’s too hot to wear this for the rest of the day.

Savage talked me into riding his bike with him instead of riding my own. We stopped long enough to get breakfast before finishing our trip to the clubhouse. The second he pulls in, the main door opens I watch as my dad, brothers, uncle G, Kingston, and gramps make their way outside. Savage doesn’t pull up to them like I’m expecting though. He makes his way to the end of the row of bikes and backs in before shutting his engine off. I’m lifted into my dad’s arms before I can blink or attempt to get off Savage’s bike. I bury my face in my dad’s neck as he moves away from the bike and leads me into the clubhouse. Right now, I feel like a little girl as I let the tears fall from my eyes once again.

“Don’t cry baby girl. I’ve got you,” my dad whispers as he sits down at a table and I’m pulled from his arms.

I turn expecting it to be my uncle G or gramps, but Savage has me in his arms and wraps my legs around his waist. He sits in the chair next to my dad as my brothers, uncle, Kingston, and gramps take the remaining seats around us. No one says anything about me in Savage’s lap or arms as I try to offer my family a small smile.

“We need to know what’s goin’ on, baby girl,” my dad says, his voice soft and gentle as he continues looking at me.

Before I can move, Savage takes off my helmet and hands it over to my dad because he knows no one else touches my helmets. Then he’s unzipping my riding jacket so I can pull my arms from the sleeves. Hawkeye stands up to take it from him as he lays it carefully over the back of the couch directly behind us. I slide my backpack off and set it on the table in front of me before moving around on Savage’s lap so I can remove my boots and put them in my bag while putting my sneakers on. Kevlar, always the asshole of the group, starts making jokes about my feet smelling up the common room as I stick my tongue out at him. Everyone laughs at us because when Kevlar is around, no one is safe from his mouth. We’re all potential targets and have gotten roasted by him so many times over the years that if he doesn’t do it now, we all think he’s mad at us.

With everyone’s eyes on me, I explain in detail what’s been happening as far as it feeling like someone’s been watching me. None of the guys are happy I didn’t come to them the second I started feeling this as I once again explain that as far as I knew it was one of the Prospects and no one mentioned it to me for some reason. I can see a few nods in response to my words because that’s something my gramps or uncle G would definitely do. Especially if my dad called and made any kind of comment about worrying about me. So, they can kind of understand where I’m coming from. The only thing I don’t go into detail about is the bullying. In fact, I don’t mention it at all.

The minute I’m done talking, I remove myself from Savage’s lap and kiss my dad on his cheek before heading around the table. The only two I don’t kiss are Savage and Kingston. After stopping at each member of my family, I head away from the table so they can discuss my life. I need to get to work so I’m off to find a Prospect to take me to the garage. Savage or my dad can pick me up later. It doesn’t take me long to find one of the Prospects and we leave the clubhouse. I don’t have to tell anyone where I’m going because they know where to find me if I’m not with the ol’ ladies or men in the club. Since most everyone else is at work, there’s no reason for me to be here. I need a sense of peace and that’s what I find when I lose myself working on vehicles and bikes. It’s definitely something I need today. Lord help me!