Savage Fire (Savage Angels MC #2) (22 page)

“Don’t you Kat me, Dane! Look at her!” she yells. I stand up and walk towards her, hoping to calm her down.

Then I hear laughter coming from Emily. Both Kat and I look at her. “I’m sorry,” she says between fits of laughter and then Kat smiles. “It’s just that Dane is huge and compared to him you are little but he actually looked scared for a second.” Then more laughter fills the room and Kat laughs as well.

“I was not fucking scared,” I say with a smile. Both women laugh harder. I put my hands up as though to surrender and Kat embraces me around my middle. I engulf her in a hug and I say, “I think you two are ganging up on me and I’m not fucking sure if I like it.”

I look down at Em and she smiles at me. “Babe, I think you need us to gang up on you. Everyone around you does as they are told. It’ll do you good to have a little chaos in your life,” replies Kat.

I shake my head in the negative at them both. “Darlin’, my life is full of chaos. Trust me, at home I need peace, quiet and tranquility.”

I kiss her on the mouth and she pulls away from me. “I’m still mad at you.” Then she says to Emily, “I have coffee, milk and I got a couple of Dane’s old T‐shirts for you to put on. They’ll be huge on you but good to sleep in.” She bends over, picks up the bags and walks towards Emily. “Ok, I also got some body wash, perfume, moisturizer, chocolate—‘cause every girl needs chocolate—a dressing gown—”

“Did you leave anything in the house?” I ask her with a smirk on my face.

She whirls around to face me with one hand on her hip and is about to let loose when Emily laughs again.

We both look at her. “I think Dane has a point! But you are right, every girl needs chocolate!”

Both women smile at me, and then there is a knock at the door. I open it to find Salvatore on the other side with at least three shopping bags in each hand. I open the door wider, he walks in and both my girls laugh.

Salvatore

I
walk into the cottage and I am greeted with laughter. It’s the last thing I expected. I look at Dane and even he grins.

“What’s so funny?” I ask as I look at all of them. Dane shakes his head at me and ushers me inside. “Don’t shut the door, could you help me bring in some more bags?” To my surprise, Emily laughs and Kat quickly follows her. I look quizzically at Dane who smiles, shakes his head and walks to the door.

I look back at Emily and say, “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, Salvatore, I’m fine!” she says as she wipes tears from her eyes. “Go get your bags!” Then more laughter bubbles up out of her. I smile at her and her laughter stops. “My Lord, you have a beautiful smile.” I give her another grin and head outside.

Dane is at the back of my car pulling out more bags. “Brother, did you buy out all the shops in town?”

He’s started to call me brother, which I know in his world is more than a term of endearment. It implies trust and loyalty.

“Most of them are for Emily and only a few for me,” I say as I grab a few bags myself. “Have you spoken to her about not filing charges?”

“She spoke to me.”

“What do you mean?”

“She asked me if I would handle it. Apparently, Maggie at the clinic told her I could make it so she didn’t have to testify. This is good, it works in our favor.”

I have to agree with him but we still have a problem. “What do we do about the Sheriff? He has a reputation of being one who doesn’t let things go.”

“If Emily goes along with our story he will have to let it go. She just needs to be convincing.” He moves back towards the cottage. “I’m thinking you could help her with that,” he says over his shoulder.

I close the trunk and follow him back to the cottage. As we go through the door, I can see Kat as she sits on the edge of the bed talking to Emily. Surprisingly, after her ordeal Emily looks good. I watch as she grabs a tissue and her face scrunches up slightly. I put down the bags and walk to her.

“Are you in pain?” I ask. 

“Only when I move,” she says.

“Didn’t the doctor give you something for the pain?”

“Yes but he said it would make me sleepy. I don’t want to sleep right now,” she says and smiles at me. “Are those all my shoes and clothes?”

“Most of them are yours, but a few of the bags are mine. Don’t try and change the subject, if you are in pain you should take something,” I say sternly.

She looks at Kat and says, “You should see some of the shoes I got! They are gorgeous!”

Kat claps her hands together and starts going through the bags. I look at Dane, who shrugs and gives me a look of sympathy.

“Emily, I think—” I begin to say.

“No, I don’t like it when you call me that. I like it better when you call me Amare and no, I’m not taking anything just yet. I will tonight when I need to sleep.” Her eyes go to Kat as she unearths a pair of snakeskin heels and she says, “Aren’t they to die for?” I look at Dane who grins and I think I’m fighting a losing battle.

I turn back around to see Kat trying on Emily’s shoes. “They fit! Excellent we can share! You should see some of my boots. Now, baby, they are to die for!”

“Kat, Darlin’, time to go,” says Dane trying to give us some privacy.

“But I haven’t gone through all her shoes!” says Kat, sounding a like a spoiled child.

“Kat, could you come back later? I need to talk to Sal,” says Emily.

“Oh, ok, I’ll come back later. Actually why, don’t you both come up to the house for dinner later? Dave— my manager—and Truth—the guitarist from my band—are here. We could all do dinner together.”

“I’d like that very much.”

“Excellent! Anything you don’t like to eat?” asks Kat.

“Hmmm, I like everything really but vegetables are my favorite. I don’t want to be a pain but I haven’t eaten anything all day, is there more than chocolate in those bags?” asks Emily.

I am angry with myself now; of course, she hasn’t had anything to eat. I should have realized this.

“I’ll go back into town and get you something. What would you like?” I ask.

“No, no, no!” says Kat. “I have bread in one of these bags along with cheese and ham. There are also apples.” She rummages through the bags on the floor then she stops and looks up. “I could go and cook you something.”

Kat Saunders surprises me; she’s gone from spoilt child to mother figure in the blink of an eye. Emily looks at me then back to Kat.

“I like ham and cheese toasted sandwiches and apples are good.”

“Ok, Sal, can you help me put all this into the kitchen and we’ll find Emily something to eat. Em, would you like a drink?” she says and takes control of the situation.

“I would really like some water if that’s ok?” says Emily tentatively.

“Right! Dane! Come with us into the kitchen and let’s get Emily something to eat and drink!” says Kat as she bosses everyone around.

I raise my eyebrows at Dane, who does as he’s told and walks towards the kitchen. When we arrive there, Kat whispers to me, “Do you think you could make the sandwiches without us? I think she feels a little bit overwhelmed. I think she just needs you and we should leave.”

I shake my head slightly at her and I watch as she frowns at me. She is a complete contradiction, and I can now see what Dane sees in her. She has an amazing depth of character that I did not expect.

“Can you show me where everything is? I’m sure I’ll manage but are you sure she wants me here?” I ask.

“Am I sure she wants you here?” She’s put her hands on her hips and has her head tilted to the side.

“Men, you’re all stupid! Did you not see the way she lit up when you walked into the room? And when you went outside with Dane, she told me how you spoilt her and made her feel like a princess with your generosity. But she said she is going to pay you back and if you want to make a go of it with her, you will let her.” Then she smiles at me and squeezes my hand. From behind me, Dane clears his throat. She looks around me and says, “Get Emily some water and then we are out of here, babe. We have a lot to talk about!”

Surprisingly, Dane does as he’s told by this fiery little dynamo. It’s interesting to see such a big man being bossed around by such a small woman. She smiles at me.

“I don’t know what’s going on. Dane says he’ll fill me in, but I can tell you she’s vulnerable right now, so treat her right. Now, what do you need to know?”

***

K
at and Dane return to the main house and I try to make something as simple as toasted ham and cheese sandwiches. I burn the bread but overall it doesn’t look too bad.

“Sandwiches are served!” I walk into the room with a dish towel over one arm, trying to look like a waiter. She smiles at me as I place the dish towel on her lap then the plate on top of it. I sit in the chair that is next to the bed. She sits there and stares at the sandwich. “I’ll go into town and get you something from the café. You don’t have to eat it, Amare,” I say, thinking she finds my cooking to be less than great.

“No, it looks fine. It’s just that my hands are sore and I’m trying to figure out how to eat it.” She gives me a small smile.

I stand and take the plate off her lap and place it on the side table. I sit on the bed and grasp her hands in mine. I carefully undo the bandages and inspect her hands. The sides of them have a lot of skin missing and near the wrists it is red and blistered. I bend my head and kiss the palms of both her hands.

“I am so sorry. This was done to you because of me.”

“No it wasn’t. This,” and she holds up both of her hands, “I did to myself.” I frown at her and tilt my head to the side. She points to her hand where the skin is missing. “I did this trying to rub through the rope on a rock and this,” she points to her burns, “is where I burnt the rope off. Unfortunately I burnt myself as well...” She draws the last word out.

“The man who took you did so to get to me. He thought you were something special to me.” Her face falls and I realize what I have said. “That wasn’t what I meant.” She avoids my eyes. “Amare, look at me.” Slowly her eyes come to me. “We have much to learn about each other.” She nods. “I want to know about you. I want you to get to know me but there are things we will never be able to talk about because of my work.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “If we are going to see where this goes then we have to be honest with each other. The man who took me was going to rape me. He was doing it to get at you as he thought I was yours. He...he did...things...” Her eyes fill up with tears and she looks down. “He got a phone call and told the man I was a screamer. I was lucky he left the room and I managed to escape before he could do too much to me.”

I study her face and see pain flash across it. “Amare, are you saying he didn’t rape you?”

She shakes her head. “I woke up tied to a table. I didn’t even realize I was naked until he put his hands on my back. He touched me then he,” she takes in a gulp of air and cradles herself, “shoved his fingers inside me. I screamed and he laughed. He was beginning to undo his belt when his phone rang. He went outside and I got away. I ran and kept going.”

I lift her chin. “You were very brave. Nothing like this will ever happen to you again.” I wipe the tears from her face and kiss her forehead. “Now, food, you must eat. What if I hold it and you bite it?”

“Let’s see if that works, I am starving,” she says. I help her eat her sandwich and we spend most of the time laughing. She eventually eats all of it and drinks two glasses of water.

“I need to go out for a while; I’ll be back for dinner. You will be safe here but I am worried about your hands. How sore are they?”

“They are throbbing right now.”

“Ok, what if you take one tablet now and I’ll wake you for dinner?” I say.

She frowns at me and then looks at her hands, turning them over and inspecting them from every angle. “Will you wrap them back up again for me as well? And yes I’ll take one tablet now.”

“Of course, Amare, I will do whatever you ask.”

“Whatever I ask?” she says with a sense of playfulness in her voice. “Yes, do you want something else?”

“A kiss.” I freeze and move only my eyes to her. “It’s ok, I understand. I probably wouldn’t want to kiss me either...”

I lightly grasp her face in my hands and move into her. I brush my lips against hers and then I deepen the kiss. My tongue pushes past her lips and finds hers. She sighs and my hands begin to explore her body. I am lost in her, and I want to devour every inch of her, but then I remember what she has been through and I abruptly stop.

“I am so sorry, Amare, I did not mean for it to go that far.”

Her eyes are filled with desire and her lips have gone a deep red. “Don’t stop. I want you to take me; I want you to obliterate what that man did to me. I want you to make me yours and only yours.”

“I want to do that too but you are injured and I do not wish to hurt you.” I raise both her hands to my lips and kiss them. “I want you to enjoy it as much as I am going to. Know that I do want you, but you have a decision to make. If you wish to take this further, I would hope that you would want more than just an affair. I would hope that you would want to take this to another level, to be a part of my world and to see if you could fit into my life and if I could fit into yours. I don’t want or need another fuck, Amare. I do want you, but I want more of you than what I think you are offering right now.” She nods at me. I begin to wrap her hands and she winces. “Will you take a painkiller now?”

“Yes please.”

“Yes please? How much pain are you in? Say, out of ten?” I ask.

“A nine.”

“A nine? Amare, you are going to take two painkillers and if you sleep through the night Kat and Dane will understand,” I say in my most commanding voice.

“Do you think they will mind? I don’t want to let anyone down.”

“You couldn’t do that if you tried, you are remarkable.” I stand and go find her pills.

I hand her two painkillers and when she has them in her mouth, I hand her a glass of water that she awkwardly holds up to her lips. I finish wrapping her hands and sit down on the bed.

“I will stay until you fall asleep. It should only take about half an hour, so let me help you to lie down and get comfortable.” I watch as she shuffles further down the bed.