Primal Instincts_ Volume 2(30)
Author: Nicole Edwards

 

Oh, if the man only fucking knew who my fathers were. Not only did the rich and famous have teams of lawyers, they had fixers on retainer, people who were willing to do what was necessary to bury their client’s misdeeds.

 

“First on my list is for you to hand over the Reflect project.”

 

“What?” I frowned. “I can’t do that.”

 

“Sure you can. Come up with some excuse why you don’t feel comfortable working on it.”

 

“Cheryl will never buy that.”

 

“She will if you sell it to her the right way.”

 

Clearly, he wasn’t giving up on this.

 

I stared at him. “You’ll have to give me a day or so to come up with a reason.”

 

His grin split his face wide. “And he said you wouldn’t see it my way.”

 

“Who’s he?”

 

Wayne ignored me. “I won’t wait long.”

 

When he headed toward the elevator, I went right for the stairs.

 

When I got back to my parents’ house, I was mentally wrung out from putting on a brave face. My mom picked up on it instantly when I talked to her on the phone. Thankfully, she understood that I wasn’t in the mood to hash it out, but she insisted we discuss it more when she was home. I told her I’d think about it.

 

And to keep with the non-confrontational theme of the day, I didn’t answer my phone when Creed called.

 

Nor did I answer his texts.

 

I also ignored the text I received from Hawk. I knew Creed was either putting him up to it, or he’d taken his phone. Regardless, I wasn’t falling for his shit.

 

But the worst part was … Garrison never called. He never texted. Not a word from him since he snuck out in the middle of the night.

 

I told myself I cried into the pillow because I hated Wayne and the tears were merely that rage leaking out because it was more than I could contain.

 

It didn’t make me feel any better, but it went a long way in convincing myself that I would make it through this. Maybe not unscathed, but I would make it through. I had to.

 

 

 

 

 

15

 

 

 

 

 

Creed

 

 

She wasn’t answering the fucking phone.

 

She wasn’t responding to my fucking texts.

 

To add insult to injury, Garrison had disappeared. According to Nick, he was still around, but the man wasn’t answering his fucking phone, either. It had me thinking the worst.

 

I tried to remind myself that my interactions with Journey had been minimal at best, and yes, I’d pulled a few stunts that I shouldn’t have, which had likely put her off. She owed me nothing. Certainly not a minute of her time, but acknowledging that didn’t help my mood.

 

Nor did having Hawk around. Not because I was angry with him. I was angry in general, and the last thing I wanted to do was to take it out on him. Unfortunately, he was a hot button for me, regardless of my mood. I brought him along because he drew attention, and I needed to distract the employees in order to dig deeper into the problems that had been choking the life out of one of our biggest gyms. They were having employee issues, and it only took me one day to figure out who the culprit was. Then it took another two days to dig deeper. Tonight, I fired the manager and promoted one of the assistants, which pleased nearly everyone involved.

 

With that checked off my to-do list, we had time to get back to California at a reasonably decent hour, but I decided to stay because Journey told me not to come back early. While it wouldn’t have been for her—not solely, anyway—I didn’t want her to think I was trying to ride to the fucking rescue. There’d be plenty of time for her to despise me for my high-handed behavior in the future. After all, it was who I was at my core.

 

“Unless you need me for something, I’m going to bed,” Hawk said, standing in the doorway of his bedroom.

 

From my spot on the sofa in the living room, I could see into his room perfectly, provided he kept the door open. I was hoping he wouldn’t because he was a temptation I couldn’t afford right now. I was well aware of the line between right and wrong, and taking what I wanted from him tonight would be so far past that line I wouldn’t be able to see it anymore. Nothing had changed about my feelings for Hawk. I wasn’t looking for anything permanent. Not with anyone. I wasn’t programmed that way, and while he had accused me of holding back, he was wrong. I’d been honest from the beginning that the only thing I wanted was the physical and mental relief that came from dominating him in every way. But his ultimatum eliminated even that release, which was the reason I’d done my fucking best to keep my hands off him.

 

Yeah, I screwed up last weekend when I used him the way I did. I was entirely to blame for my actions, but at the time, I’d used Journey as my excuse. Her reaction to me when I had restrained her for those brief few seconds in the bathroom of Austere had triggered my baser instinct.

 

Hawk ended up paying the price for that.

 

“If you need a physical release, I’m here,” he added, his voice softer.

 

A lot of people would think that was a sexual invitation, but from Hawk, it wasn’t. A physical release for me didn’t always result in a sexual release, and it certainly didn’t always involve intercourse. At the same time, it was also not about inflicting pain. My cravings were more profound than that. It was the thrill that came with chasing down my prey that got my blood pumping and made my dick hard. Restraining him was so much better when I had to work for what I wanted. Giving him pleasure through pain was a high that only came from being the aggressor, proving I was stronger and faster. It made his submission that much sweeter.

 

It would’ve been easy to accept his offer, except it would’ve given the impression that he was right, that I did want more from him. I couldn’t do that to him. Or to myself.

 

“Go,” I told him. “We’ve got an early flight.”

 

His eyes lingered for a few heartbeats before he nodded and turned around.

 

I stared into his room, watching as he stripped off his shorts, then flipped off the light. My dick swelled as it always did when I saw him naked. I didn’t know what it was about him that turned me on, but he did. I had felt it the first time I met him when he was a cocky twenty-two-year-old who’d thought his shit didn’t stink. He’d been on top of the world, his UFC career taking off. I’d wanted to dominate him then the same as I wanted to dominate him now.