She accepted Savage for who he was. She was drawn to the danger in him. She needed that from him. If she was honest with herself, she craved that bite of pain sexually. She needed it or she wasn’t aroused. Savage shocked her, showing her just how completely he could dominate her body. Not just her body—he possessed her. He took her over. She’d lost count of how many orgasms she’d had, or maybe it was one long, continuous one that went on and on forever.
She both loved and hated that whip he’d used. She craved more. At the same time, she wanted to run and hide from the truth of what that said about her. Savage had known all along. Deep down, she’d known too. She didn’t want more though. She had to put the brakes on. What if it got beyond her ability to tolerate the pain and she said stop and Savage didn’t? He got off on seeing those stripes on her body. She knew he wanted more of them. Welts. He hadn’t really marked her, not the way he wanted. Not the way she wanted. Could she take it?
Her Bluetooth came to life, announcing Savage with “Wrong Side of Heaven” by Five Finger Death Punch. “You’re driving erratically, Seychelle. What’s wrong?”
“I don’t drive erratically. I’m a great driver.” She was highly insulted.
“You’ve crossed into the other lane several times. Doesn’t matter if no one else is on the road, baby. And you’re speeding. Slow down.”
She glared into the rearview mirror at the motorcycle following her. “Fine. I thought you had some kind of meeting. Go meet.”
“Behave yourself.” He disconnected.
Seychelle counted to ten and then slowed, pulling her car to the side of the road, letting it roll forward for a bit before it came to a full stop. When it was at a stop, she got out and rounded the hood as if she was going to look at the engine. The engine was sideways in the car, between the two front tires. Still, she took her time and went back to look through the back seat as if she might find a rag.
“What’s wrong?” Hyde asked. “The car just got out of the shop. Mechanic went through it personally. It should be golden.”
Seychelle smiled at him. “The car is golden. The problem isn’t the car, Hyde. The problem is the informer riding behind me. If you insist on telling Savage every little detail, that’s just fine. But don’t include your opinions on my driving skills, because opinions don’t count when you’re snitching. Stick to actual facts.”
Hyde grinned at her. “Touchy little thing, aren’t you? The actual fact is you were driving all over the place. You clearly weren’t thinking about your driving.”
“Just for that, I’m going to go to ten shops, all of them for lingerie. Then the Floating Hat. Hopefully, Sabelia will be there. I’ll ask for a little conference with her about hexes. The men of Torpedo Ink are getting out of hand.” She stomped back to the driver’s door, slid behind the wheel and glared at him again. “Keep up.”
There weren’t ten stores in Sea Haven that carried lingerie, and if Hyde was anything like Savage, he couldn’t care less if he was in a store where there were bras and panties. He’d most likely enjoy himself.
She went to the pharmacy first and got everything on her list. She was a very efficient shopper, ignoring Hyde as she marched past him, her chin in the air. He just grinned at her, his thumb flying on his phone, clearly checking in with Savage, reporting one store down. She was supposed to be checking in, but really, why should he get reports from both of them?
The boutique was next, a store she tried to stay out of because she really was a believer in a minimum amount of clothing. She didn’t go to that many places. She didn’t need a closetful, but she did love beautiful dresses and nice underwear, and the boutique had all her favorite brands. She couldn’t help indulging in a few very sexy sets of underwear as well as lingerie.
There were two super-cute dresses she couldn’t resist. One she thought Savage might like; the other was strictly for her. It was purple and blue, the purple handkerchief hems falling short and the blue ones a little longer. Both dresses were sleeveless. She always wore the sweaters her mother had knitted for her, so she didn’t worry too much about being cold, even on the coast.
Hyde took her packages from her and stowed them in the back seat of her car. To her dismay, as she made her way up the sidewalk toward the Floating Hat, the last stop she had, Brandon Campbell stepped in front of her, purposely stopping her. He wasn’t alone. Shari was there as well. Shari from the bar. Shari, who had had her mouth all over Savage’s cock. Just great.
“Seychelle,” Brandon greeted. He looked around her as if expecting to see her with someone. “You alone?”
She looked around as well. “Looks like it, Brandon.” She didn’t point out Hyde, who was leaning casually against the storefront not six feet away from them. He didn’t appear to be paying them any attention, but he had his phone out, which was bad news for her. “How have you been?” The two were blocking the sidewalk, impossible to get around unless she went into the street.
“Just fine. You look good. Have you met Shari Albright? She’s a good friend of one of your male friends.” He looked smug.
“I have so many, that really doesn’t tell me much. Hi, Shari. We did meet at the bar last week. It was a little crazy. Nice to see you again. Brandon, how nice that you and Shari know one another.”
Shari gave a little indignant sniff. “Don’t think for one minute, Brandon, that I don’t know that you’ve been chasing after her …”
Brandon turned toward her. “Enough, Shari. Don’t say another word.”
Seychelle found the pitch in his voice amazing. It seemed to hit just the right note with Shari. She blushed and stepped back, ducking her head.
Brandon leaned down, his head over Seychelle, mouth close to her ear. She tried not to pull back, but his cologne seemed overpowering. “Shari has something she needs to tell you. It’s important, Seychelle, so it would be good if you could just take a couple of minutes and hear her out. This isn’t easy for her.”
Seychelle couldn’t imagine what Brandon and Shari had cooked up between them, but she definitely wanted to find out. She gave another quick glance toward Hyde just to reassure herself he was close. He was in the same exact spot, looking bored, staring at his phone.
“Of course.”
“Just give me a minute. She needs a little courage.” Brandon took Shari’s arm and walked her a few feet from Seychelle, not noticing she glided a few steps after him.
“You’re a beautiful, sexy woman, and you know every man wants you, especially Savage. You know that, Shari. You feel sad for this woman, and upset that she just doesn’t understand that he’s using her. She doesn’t hold a candle to you. But you can never talk to me like that again, you understand? I’m the only man that can help you get what you want.”
“I’m sorry, Brandon. I really am.”
“Go to her now and talk to her. Say exactly what we talked about last night and make her understand the truth.”
Shari nodded. Brandon smiled down at her benevolently. Seychelle backpedaled quickly so that she was standing beside Hyde, looking into the window of the store three doors down from the Floating Hat. Shari and Brandon came right up to her.