Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Kelly joins us on the front porch. “Hey,” she says. “I think we should go, Leif. Savannah’s hitting a wall.”
Leif rises. “I get it. This has been a lot for her to handle.”
I shake his hand. “I’ll be in touch. I’m sure I’ll be hauled in for questioning tomorrow.”
Leif nods. “No doubt. You got an attorney?”
“Yeah. My father’s got many on payroll. I’ll be covered.”
“They couldn’t cover you the last time, though…”
I sigh. “Don’t think I haven’t forgotten that. But they won’t make an example of me twice. Not in this lifetime.”
I wave as Leif and Kelly drive away, and then I take the dogs and go inside to see to Savannah.
24
SAVANNAH
“Hey.”
I open my eyes.
Falcon stands over me as I’m lying in a fetal position on his bed.
“What do you need, Vannah? What can I do for you?”
I have no words.
I’m at a loss.
My life has fractured into so many pieces that aren’t interlocking…except for the man standing next to me.
He is the glue holding me together at this moment.
This man. This parolee.
This ex-con who claims he’s innocent.
And now?
He faces another manslaughter charge…
Because of me.
Because I couldn’t be professional enough to keep him at arm’s length.
Because I breached my ethics as his parole officer.
Because I’m a member of the Bianchi family.
Because I have a rival family who’s out not just for my body but for my blood.
Because…
He sits down next to me, jarring the mattress so I roll toward him. He brushes my hair off my forehead.
“I’m sorry if tonight was too much for you.”
I shake my head slightly.
“I should have seen that you weren’t ready for company.”
“Don’t,” I say.
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t make excuses for me or for yourself. You needed to reconnect with Leif as a friend. That’s what tonight was. It was meeting his wife, getting to know her. All that…”
I trail off, words refusing to come.
“Savannah,” he says, his voice dark and commanding, “don’t give me any excuses. I don’t deserve them. I am who I am, and while my circumstances had a lot to do with that, in the end I control me. Not prison. Not my background. I do.”
“But—”
“Enough.” The word is soft, yet it sounds like a roar.
I nod. I don’t have the strength to fight him on it. Maybe tomorrow. But not tonight. I’m done for today. I need to clock out.
He kisses my forehead in a loving and chaste way, the way my mother used to when I was a child and needed consoling.
It’s sweet and endearing…but it’s not what I need from him right now.
I need to escape from the many thoughts plaguing my mind.
I need to feel something larger than myself.
I need…
I need Savage.
I want pleasure. I want pain.
I want anything that takes away these thoughts that continue to torment me.
I turn away from him, lie face down, my ass in the air. “Spank me, Falcon.”
He doesn’t reply.
“Please.”
“Savannah, look at me.”
I don’t turn. “Please.”
“Look at me, Vannah. I’ll do what you ask, but first we need to talk.”
“No. I don’t want to talk, Falcon. I want to feel something other than orgasms. I’d love it, and it would bring me relief. But not enough. Not enough.”
“Savannah, if you want me to hurt you—”
“Yes, Falcon. God, yes. I want you to hurt me. I want you to give me what I deserve.”
“I won’t strike you in punishment, Vannah. I won’t.”
“But it’s what I want. Please.”
“Spanking can be arousing,” he says. “It can be part of the sexual experience. If that were what you were asking for, I’d do it in a heartbeat, and we’d both enjoy it. But that’s not what you want, Savannah. You want to be punished, and it’s not my place to punish you.”
“But—”
“Stop it!” This time his roar isn’t subtle at all. “I will never hurt you for the sake of hurting you. I’ve been forced to do that too often in my life and I certainly won’t do it to someone I—”
He stops abruptly.
“To someone you…what?” I ask.
He blinks. “Nothing. I won’t. If you need me to hold you, I’ll hold you. If you need me to fuck you, I’ll fuck you. But I won’t spank you to make you feel worse than you already do.”
I open my mouth to protest, but he stops me with a gesture.
“Listen to me, and answer this question. Have you ever been spanked before as a part of sex?”
I sniffle. “No.”
“Then we won’t start this way. I’ve spanked a woman sexually before, and it’s amazing for both partners. But I’ve never done it when a woman is under duress, under stress. It’s not right, and I won’t do it, Savannah. Not even for you.”
I twist my lips. “What do you mean, not even for me?”
He pauses a moment, until, “Nothing. I just mean I won’t do it.”
I haven’t known Falcon long, but I instinctively know when to stop pushing.