I stare at him as he backs away, climbing into the cab of the van as the other two slide the back door open and collapse inside. They’ll both be feeling their injuries for the next few days but I don’t care. They’re lucky they’re able to walk away. The door clatters closed and the van starts up, and I watch them head down the street before ascending the steps to Amara’s door and pushing the buzzer for her place.
“It’s me. It’s Saint. They’re gone. Can you let me inside, Amara, I want to know you’re OK.”
***
Amara’s eyes go wide when I step inside her door and she backs away from me, glancing down to the metal pipe in my hands. I place it by the door, stepping away from it with raised arms.
“It’s OK, baby, nobody’s going to hurt you.”
Her eyes are still glued to the pipe behind me as she shakes her head, her hand going to her lips. She’s dressed in a silk robe, and the thought that there might be nothing underneath is driving me crazy, despite the situation we’ve both just been in. Or perhaps because of it. I’ve never acted the way I did out there and it’s all because of her. I feel like a caveman defending what’s his, this savageness she brings out in me. Her protection is my new purpose in life, above all else, and I feel alive with the need to claim her.
“Saint, please get that thing out of here. Please.” There are tears in her eyes as she says the words. “You don’t understand. I don’t like it. My father, he—” She draws a sobbing breath. “It reminds me of something I saw, a long time ago.”
“OK, look, it’s going,” I tell her as I take a step back, keeping my eyes on her as I reach out for the pipe, pull open her door and toss it out in the hall. “There, gone. OK?”
She doesn’t answer me with words. Instead, she rushes forward, throwing her arms around me and crushing her body to mine, tears flowing down her cheeks, a scent of citrus and mint around her unable to fully hide the musk of her recent release.
“Shhh. It’s OK. I’m here now and I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I was so scared. I was scared for me and after I called you I was scared for you. I don’t want you to get hurt. Camilo is… I thought he was my friend but he’s not. He’s just like everyone else my father keeps around. Willing to do anything he tells them to do,” she spits, the fury clear in her voice. She feels betrayed and it makes me furious all over again. Camilo. I shouldn’t have let him walk away. “Please tell me it’s over, that you’re not like them.”
“Hey, shhh, no I’m not like them. I’ve never acted like that in my life, but for you I’m whatever I need to be, baby. If that means being a savage beast, that’s what I’ll be, because you mean everything to me and protecting you is all that’s important now.”
She turns her head and stares into my eyes, and a second later I feel her lips hard against mine, needy, demanding.
And I return it like a man who’s just found an oasis in the desert.
Chapter 9 – Amara
My need for him is undeniable. The feel of the kiss, his lips against mine, his body is hard as he presses me back, into the kitchen, against the counter, and I finally raise my legs, latching onto him for all I’m worth. Forgetting all caution for a moment, I rub my sex against the hard bulge I feel beneath his jeans, knowing I’m bare under this robe and wanting him to know it too. I want to make him want me, need me, I want him to claim me and never let go.
And in the next moment I’m pulling away, disconnecting our mouths as I feel the tears start up all over again.
“Baby, what is it?” he asks, his hand instantly at my throat, making me gasp, at my ear, making me lean into him, brushing hair back from my face. “Please tell me. I can’t be without you, not anymore.”
“My father…” I gulp a breath, wondering how to tell him everything. He must have guessed most of it already, so why do I find the words so difficult? “He’s a bad man. H—he kills people. Everyone thinks the mayor runs this city, they think the city council makes the decisions, but it’s him. It’s all him. I didn’t tell you my last name before. It’s Volos. Amara Volos.”
I watch his face as his brows draw together in thought. “I’ve heard that name, but it doesn’t mean anything to me.”