He has pretty eyes: turquoise, kinda like his prized Harley, but Sawyer’s no beast. Not to me, anyway.
To the guys back at the Shady Skull? Sure. They deserved it. I’m just glad we got away when we did because that could’ve been a disaster. The way Sawyer handled it… that was hot.
Okay, not the bitch slap, that was kinda funny, and the dude immediately became enraged, but they underestimated Sawyer. He might look pretty, but that’s where the stereotypes have to end, because he is a bad ass.
He takes a second before rising from his seat and I don’t know what he’s doing.
“Saw?”
“I just need a second.”
“Why? What’s wrong? Did they hurt your hand?” I grab his fist to see if he’s hurt there. It’s a little pink, but nothing crazy. He doesn’t even wince when I touch him.
“No. I’m just mad. I should’ve done more to those guys.”
“More?” I mouth the words, surprised. “You beat their asses. That bitch slap, by the way, was pretty funny.”
He looks me dead in the eye. “Don’t ever do that to me again.”
My eyebrows raise. “I didn’t mean to?—”
He holds up a hand. “You never mean to, that’s the problem. You didn’t think. Do you know those girls well enough to be goin’ to some dive bar across town? What if someone had… What if they…” he trails off, unable to finish.
I know this is a touchy subject for him. I’m not aware of all the gruesome specifics, but I’ve overheard enough from the Rebels’ women whispering that Sawyer was trafficked as a teenager. It’s horrific, and he’s never talked about it with me. In fact, all of our banter is lighthearted and never really heavy. I think we both like it that way.
Although I haven’t suffered like he has, I experienced abuse. So I guess two broken souls are bound to find some common ground.
I rest a hand on his arm. “It didn’t. I know it was wrong, but they said they’d been there heaps of times.”
“You’re too trusting, Nova. You can’t believe everythin’ people say, you got me?” His eyes are blazing with intensity, and I don’t dare argue with him. I don’t like him telling me what to do, but I know it comes from a caring place.
“I’m not a child.”
“Really? Because that was pretty heavy back there. Do you think you would’ve stood a chance against those three guys?” He shakes his head in disgust.
He’s right. I don’t like to admit it, but he is. “It won’t happen again.” I give him my best Girl Scout salute, hoping to get a smile out of him.
“Promise me you won’t ever put yourself in a situation where you feel threatened like that. It isn’t safe, I need you to understand that.”
I want to tell him that some monsters can be in the places you thought were safe. They can be the person you love, or someone you live with. Not to mention home invasions… but I get where he’s going with it and being a smart ass won’t win me any favors.
I press a kiss against his cheek. “Don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you, I’m mad atthem,at the world,” he mutters.
I wrap my arms around his neck. “You’re cute when you’re angry.”
“Stop flirtin’.”
“How can I flirt when I caught sight of myself in the side mirror and know I resemble Fright Night?” I smile, hoping the frost around him will lessen. I like Sawyer happy, not mad at me.
“You do not.”
“Yes, I do.” I press a chaste kiss to his lips.
We do this sometimes, too. We kiss. Not make out. Not get all hot and heavy. Just kiss. It’s soft, warm and gentle. In fact, the first time I kissed him, he froze on the spot. That’s when I knew there was something different about Sawyer.
He later confessed it was the first time he’d kissed a woman. I didn’t understand at the time what he meant, because clearly he’s too beautiful to not have had that experience, but now I think I do. It’s the first time he’dconsented.That idea just makesmy stomach roll, but we both like being close to one another. He chases all the demons away.