friends couldn’t accuse her of being dull anymore, that’s for sure. In fact, they all probably thought she was still soaking in that boring bathtub back home. The image brought a quick smile to her lips.
Sighing, Tori walked out. But just as she was rounding the corner to go back into the main part of the eatery, she passed the area where the wait staff kept the cutlery. And that’s when she spied it—a nice, five-inch blade steak knife with a sturdy, brown wooden handle.
She paused and asked one of the young waiters who was passing by, “Excuse me? How much would you charge me if I wanted to buy that knife over there?”
“Ten bucks,” he replied without missing a beat, as if people bought steak knives from him all the time. But this was Vegas after all, so maybe they did.
Nodding, Tori reached into her purse and pulled out the bill. “I’ll take it.” She gave him the money and slipped the knife into her purse.
This was going to be her little insurance policy in case Mr. Savage Whatever-The-Hell-His-Name-Was tried anything fishy. Nana’s tingle may afford some protection but a steel blade afforded more.
Chapter 10
As Tori approached the booth again, she saw that Lynette had brought the coffees but had once again disappeared. Nana was seated at one end and Savage opposite her; and they seemed to be chatting about nothing in particular.
The biker seemed to have been on the lookout for her because he immediately got up, intending for her to return to her former seat beside him when she’d been boxed in between his large body and the window. In a pig’s eye, Tori thought, and instead, she scooted beside her grandmother. He threw her a husky laugh as he sat back in his place. Did he look a little disappointed? No, Tori thought, just humored.
“I was just trying to be a gentleman, Snow White,” he teased.
“Well, you have a long way to go, sir.”
He burst out laughing at that, a rich masculine sound that rumbled from deep within his chest, coming out of his full and sexy mouth. “But a gentleman isn’t really what you’re buying for the weekend, is it?”
“I guess not, no, but I’m also not buying a thug. I don’t approve of violence, Mr. Savage.”
One second he was laughing at her and the next he was frowning, his intense eyes burning into her. “Let’s get one thing straight. If I’m to be your bodyguard, then I guard—your—body. That’s my top priority and whatever I have to do to accomplish that, is what I’ll do.”
Tori’s entire body flushed underneath his raw, scrutinizing gaze and she would have bet money her cheeks were turning red too. Her pulse flickered wildly, leaping in her chest. She couldn’t logically understand why she was having such a primal reaction to his stare. But he seemed oblivious as he continued with his speech.
“This is my kind of town and these are my kind of people. Not yours. They don’t operate by the same rules you do back in Wonderland where you come from, so when we go down this rabbit hole together, you listen to me. If I tell you to move, you move. If I tell you to stop, you stop. And if I tell you to shut the fuck up, you shut the fuck up. My world, my rules. Got that?”
Tori glared daggers at him as he finished his speech. The heat that had begun as a physical primal reaction to him suddenly morphed into red, hot anger. How dare he speak to her like that? “Look here, you…” She was just about to tell him to go to hell when her grandmother interjected.
“Tori! You listen to him, understand? The man knows what he’s talking about.”
Tori’s brain sizzled as she turned to her Nana. “How can you condone the way he just spoke to me?”
“Because I want you safe and this man is promisin’ to keep you safe, but you gotta listen to him and do what he tells you to do, do I make myself clear?” Tori remained stubbornly silent and Nana continued. “Tell me you understand or we go back to Texas tonight.”
Tori gritted her
Sighing, Tori walked out. But just as she was rounding the corner to go back into the main part of the eatery, she passed the area where the wait staff kept the cutlery. And that’s when she spied it—a nice, five-inch blade steak knife with a sturdy, brown wooden handle.
She paused and asked one of the young waiters who was passing by, “Excuse me? How much would you charge me if I wanted to buy that knife over there?”
“Ten bucks,” he replied without missing a beat, as if people bought steak knives from him all the time. But this was Vegas after all, so maybe they did.
Nodding, Tori reached into her purse and pulled out the bill. “I’ll take it.” She gave him the money and slipped the knife into her purse.
This was going to be her little insurance policy in case Mr. Savage Whatever-The-Hell-His-Name-Was tried anything fishy. Nana’s tingle may afford some protection but a steel blade afforded more.
Chapter 10
As Tori approached the booth again, she saw that Lynette had brought the coffees but had once again disappeared. Nana was seated at one end and Savage opposite her; and they seemed to be chatting about nothing in particular.
The biker seemed to have been on the lookout for her because he immediately got up, intending for her to return to her former seat beside him when she’d been boxed in between his large body and the window. In a pig’s eye, Tori thought, and instead, she scooted beside her grandmother. He threw her a husky laugh as he sat back in his place. Did he look a little disappointed? No, Tori thought, just humored.
“I was just trying to be a gentleman, Snow White,” he teased.
“Well, you have a long way to go, sir.”
He burst out laughing at that, a rich masculine sound that rumbled from deep within his chest, coming out of his full and sexy mouth. “But a gentleman isn’t really what you’re buying for the weekend, is it?”
“I guess not, no, but I’m also not buying a thug. I don’t approve of violence, Mr. Savage.”
One second he was laughing at her and the next he was frowning, his intense eyes burning into her. “Let’s get one thing straight. If I’m to be your bodyguard, then I guard—your—body. That’s my top priority and whatever I have to do to accomplish that, is what I’ll do.”
Tori’s entire body flushed underneath his raw, scrutinizing gaze and she would have bet money her cheeks were turning red too. Her pulse flickered wildly, leaping in her chest. She couldn’t logically understand why she was having such a primal reaction to his stare. But he seemed oblivious as he continued with his speech.
“This is my kind of town and these are my kind of people. Not yours. They don’t operate by the same rules you do back in Wonderland where you come from, so when we go down this rabbit hole together, you listen to me. If I tell you to move, you move. If I tell you to stop, you stop. And if I tell you to shut the fuck up, you shut the fuck up. My world, my rules. Got that?”
Tori glared daggers at him as he finished his speech. The heat that had begun as a physical primal reaction to him suddenly morphed into red, hot anger. How dare he speak to her like that? “Look here, you…” She was just about to tell him to go to hell when her grandmother interjected.
“Tori! You listen to him, understand? The man knows what he’s talking about.”
Tori’s brain sizzled as she turned to her Nana. “How can you condone the way he just spoke to me?”
“Because I want you safe and this man is promisin’ to keep you safe, but you gotta listen to him and do what he tells you to do, do I make myself clear?” Tori remained stubbornly silent and Nana continued. “Tell me you understand or we go back to Texas tonight.”
Tori gritted her
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