Page 9 of Savage Temptation (Savage Reign #2)

EMILIA

J agger helps me fully sit up, but refuses to let me slide off his spent cock.

I mean, the longer I sit up here the more ready he becomes for a second round.

But by the scowl moving over his handsome features, thirty seconds after answering his cell phone I feel like another love session isn’t in our cards.

I lean forward a bit and he has no choice but to let me slide off. The glorious view of his cock wet with our releases has me rethinking my plan, but not now. That can come later, when we have time to really talk.

I straighten myself as much as possible as he does the same. What a freaking shame that is, but there seems to be real trouble by the way he follows me off the bike and checks our surroundings.

“What’s wrong?” I mouth, not wanting to interrupt.

His arm comes around me and I’m back on the bike, this time on the rear seat.

He shakes his head. “Club stuff, baby,” he says back.

“Close up the lounge like the police are saying and contact our patches once you’re done.

Tell Jax and Rogue they are to check in on the Blackjack Bayou and Reign’s Den.

I want both places cleared for that shit.

If one bag of Euphoria is found among those scruff fuckers, I want the place closed down.

Hold anyone you find with it and contact Reaper or Ash for further instructions.

I’ll be out of communication for the rest of the evening. ”

I suspected the police would have the Voodoo Lounge closed until they gave the clearance to reopen. A lot of people go there so the Savages will be out a good chunk of money if they can’t reopen soon.

Blackjack Bayou is one of Savage's gambling locations back in the city. I put in a resume there once, but that was before I did the same at Voodoo Lounge, also a Savage Reign establishment. It’s how I met Jagger.

He hired me to sing. A couple of nights of watching me from the back of the room is all it took for him to ask me out.

And here we are today. Fighting for the love we still have for one another.

I tune out the rest of the conversation as he talks to Bourbon.

I remember the burly man, but never had a lot of interaction with the loyal bartender.

I trace a finger over the skull and viper logo of Jagger’s biker gang.

I always found the brotherhood they have to be interesting.

I see so many people get pulled into the biker life and then get hooked on drugs or land in prison because of nefarious activity.

While I know Jagger and his brothers are not saints, I also know they are not your usual crew of bikers.

They aren’t out to ruin lives and raise hell.

Their mission has always been to provide a family for those in need and help to others if they can.

They protect what belongs to them, but I know for a fact they can not save everyone.

I’m proof of that.

The Savages are good people at the core. It’s why I can't find it in my heart to tell Jagger I don't want to go back to the Savage compound. They opened their arms and doors to me once, I can’t ask them to do that again after I left.

“Have Jax take extra men when inspecting the Den. Fuckers are mean and I don’t need his ass landing in the hospital again because he can’t take a right hook.”

Jagger goes silent for a minute and then signs off with, “Stay in touch.”

“What’s the Den?” I ask when he hits the end button.

He strokes the back of his knuckles over the swell of my cheek. “A lot has changed since you stepped away, baby. A lot.”

I blink up at him. Even sitting on his massive bike, he towers over me. He holds my gaze, unblinking. He didn’t use the word left , I realize. And there’s no acid or judgment in his tone. Just the simple truth and I can accept that.

The muscles in my chest loosen a fraction. I don’t know why I’m waiting for him to lash out at me and sling hateful words at my past actions. But so far he hasn’t, and it’s not really who I remember him as anyway. Oliver has reprogrammed me to expect the worst in others, starting with himself.

“Tell me about the Den.” I pick neutral territory for now so I can ease him into all the other shit I need to ruin our night with.

Jagger rolls his thick shoulder. “You know we don’t mind getting a little dirty. The Den is a place where we take our frustrations out with anyone willing to step into the cage. And get paid to do it.”

My mouth hinges open. Now that he mentions it, I recall seeing more puckered white lines on the backs of his knuckles than I remember being there.

I grab his hand and press kisses over the warm skin.

Did he ever step into that cage and fight with the rage he must have felt when I left?

I place another kiss over the largest of scars.

There’s so much I wish I could take back.

“An underground fight club. I gotta see that someday.” I release his hand and take a deep breath, knowing I can't hold back the conversation we need to have any longer.

The fire in the pit of my stomach is a whole other kind of heat than what I felt a few minutes ago.

“Speaking of Euphoria,” I start. “There’s something you need to know. A lot of things, actually.”

Jagger leans his weight against the bike and I can feel his attention on me as I stare off into the bayou.

“I came to you because if I hadn’t I'd probably be dead and in the belly of a gator right about now.”

Jagger’s stance goes from casual listening to intense in a snap. I hold up a hand and push on before he can ask me all the questions I see ready to burst free.

“Very long story short. Oliver is in on dealing Euphoria. I stumbled in on him doing a deal in the back of the theater’s dressing room tonight and the murder in his eyes was scary. I swear I saw the cold insides of my dirt grave reflect at me from the depths of his soulless, brown eyes.”

Jagger wraps me in his arms. “No one will ever touch you again unless you want them to.”

I feel him nod and despite the darkness I can practically see Jagger thinking up a plan of how to dispose of Oliver’s body.

“Where is Oliver now?”

“Right now?” I give a half shrug, because I am just realizing the answer to that question myself.

“Um, the fucker is probably contacting all his friends in the underground of New Orleans. All the dirty cops and anyone he can tap on the shoulder in order to find me. I’m probably on someone’s security feed and they'll find me running through all the back alleys to your place.”

That’s a sobering thought.

“How long have you been in New Orleans?”

Mental brakes grind at the change of direction, but I can understand how the dots are connecting for him. I inhale and exhale slowly. “Three weeks. Tomorrow is, or was, our last day here.” There’s no point in lying.

Jagger tenses. “You were going to leave without coming to see me?”

“It was the plan, yes. I was scared to come to you no matter how much I wanted it. I keep telling myself there is no way you would want to see me after what I did to you. To us and then I had no choice.”

I sigh heavily and rub a hand over my chest, but it does nothing to help the pain subside.

Jagger tucks me under his chin, and I rest my cheek over his heart. The rhythmic beat soothes my shaky nerves.

“Who was he making a deal with?”

I fill him in on everything from the flowers to the Russian dude.

“Trust me when I say everyone from the flower delivery dude to the governor is dirty in this state.” The more I explain the darker his expression turns.

Murder has two shades, I’m quickly learning.

There is black as death, cold. That is Oliver’s.

He exudes an aura of decay and maliciousness where love and light go to die.

Jagger’s shade of murder is fiery red. Vibrant with rage and freshly infused with the energy of wrath and vengeance.

An aura of death lingers just under the surface but there’s a layer of protection that shines through.

He’s always protected those weaker than him. I’m happy to see that hasn’t changed.

I like his version a lot better. It fills my soul with heat and makes me feel safe in his presence, as odd as that is to think after what I did to our love.

I close my eyes and hope it all ends soon. Living five years with constant stress and secrets is killing off parts of me that used to love the light.

“Hey, look at me, baby.” Jagger tips my chin up. “He will not live to see the sun rise. That’s a promise.”

There’s that red energy again. He can’t stand to see others suffer. It’s what I love most about the big guy.

Jagger cups my face and tips my head up with his thumbs under my chin. His gaze blazes into mine and more than our hearts fuse at that moment. Our souls firmly reconnect. He means what he says and I know better than to doubt him.

“You need to know why I left. We have a lot to talk about.”

“Yes, we do. But first, there’s some people who need to hear what you have to say. And the sooner the better.”

My heart sinks. I am not ready to face anyone else right now.

“You mean your crew. The club girls. Charli.” I didn't think my plan all the way out when I ran to Jagger. Way back when I was an item with him, his friends treated me like family. I left with no explanation. If I walk back through their door, they’ll probably shove me right back out of it and slam it in my face. And I would deserve it.

“They are yours, too, you know.” Jagger considers me in the moonlight for a long heartbeat. I know I’m an outsider now.

“Stop what you’re thinking right now, baby.”

He cups either side of my face between his palms again and waits until I peel my eyes off his chest before continuing.

“You’re welcome where I’m welcome. None of the crew will say a damn thing to you but hello and welcome back, you got that?”

Slate gray turns into dark granite.

My stomach does a kind of roll around that has me queasy.

“Okay I guess,” I offer tentatively, sounding more than a little nervous even to my own ears.

“I’ll share anything that will help you stop Euphoria from killing more people and find Oliver.

But you will need help. Oliver is big. He’s got deep connections and will pay lots of dirty money to anyone to get what he wants.

He’s going to hurt…” I stop mid sentence and sit upright on the bike.

“Oh, my God! I am such an idiot. Jagger, I need to get a hold of my sister.” Blood drains from my face and fingers until I’m shaking. “I did a lot to make sure it would be hard to take her, but like I said Oliver is a dirty fucker and there’s no way he doesn’t know where she is.”

“Whoa. Slow down. Take a breath.”

My hands turn into fists around the last of my feathers. “I need to warn her and to get to her safe place. Can I use your cell phone?”

He pulls it from his back pocket and hands it over. “Code is zero, six, two, four.”

Our eyes meet. I recognize what was supposed to be our wedding date, I want to melt right then and there from embarrassment, but I don’t have that kind of luxury.

He reaches out and fixes my ragged hair.

Or a piece of it that hangs over my eyes.

“What are you not telling me? Why did you need to stash your sister away?”

I swallow thickly.

“Err… she was. It was too dangerous to leave her so exposed. Oliver left her alone as long as I played to his every whim.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath to settle my ragged nerves.

“Look. I have a big story to tell you, but right now can you help me? I mean, more than you already are. My sister is in Chicago. I moved her out of New Orleans the same week I left you, and hid her there. Oliver hates that city so I figured it was the best place to put her in case he turned on me and the deal my father made.”

Ghosts of my past sins against the man in front of me drift over his dark eyes. There’s buried pain there, and I caused it. I can only hope he will let me explain and he can forgive me.

“Tell me where she is, baby. I’ll take care of getting her safe and once we have a minute, you’re going to tell me all the ugly shit you’ve been hiding. I can’t help you with half truths.” He takes the phone back.

My stomach churns. “Deal.” Fire replaces my blood. When I tell him everything he might throw me out the door. But there’s no escaping the truth. Something I’m learning the hard way.

“Now tell me where she is at. I’ll get help to her so you don’t have a heart attack.”

Instead of professing my undying gratitude, which I can do later, I opt for what he’s asking for. “She’s at a place called Club Genesis. I figured getting her a job around a lot of armed people wouldn’t be a bad idea. She’s a waitress there.”

His lip turns into an outright smirk instead of a flat line of disgust. My brows scrunch together. “Um. Something funny?”

He shakes his head still wearing that smirk. “Funny, no. But I have to say fate has a fucking enormous sense of humor. We have friends at Club Genesis. Hold tight.”

For the next five minutes I listen to a one-sided conversation between Jagger and someone named Harlon. There was someone named Cassius who came on the line at some point and then there was a Santi.

Jagger ends the call and sends a quick text out before he explains everything.

“Those men are the owners of the club you stashed your sister at and friends. You must have a legion of guardian angels sitting on your shoulders, baby.” He takes my face in his hands and presses a warm, gentle kiss over my lips.

“They have already pulled your sister from the floor and have her under their protection. They’ll keep her on the top floor until we give them further instructions. ”

My heart finally leaves my throat. “Thank you, Jagger.” I slip my hand into his and link our fingers. “Thank you for not asking questions and just helping me. I can never repay your kindness.” Tears are impossible to fight back so I stop trying.

Dark brows scrunch over a deep scowl. “The truth is all I ask for. You never have to repay the love I have for you.” He kisses my tears away.

“I can do that.”

“I want to know why you didn’t trust me with whatever had you running away on our wedding day. But first, we have to get to the compound. Okay?”

I don’t know what I ever did to deserve this man.