Page 70 of Savage Outlaw

He ran a hand over her hip, learning by memory the curve and velvety feel of her skin. He could touch her this way forever and be satisfied. She had two dimples on her lower back he was infatuated with, framed right above the sweetest ass, and now it was all pressed up against him. Even through the thickness of the denim jeans he felt her heat burning his body. When he lowered his head, he inhaled the smell of almonds from her hair.

It was sensory overload.

Protect. Love. Shield. Fuck.

Like an injection, Roux was a drug and sometimes he didn’t know how to handle that. It felt like a lot of shit in their way from the beginning. But neither of them were unable to back off. To live without the other.

That spoke volumes.

She would have to face it eventually; she couldn’t sleep forever.

He’d be here waiting for her.

He’d always been waiting for his Roux in one way or another.

First to grow up.

Then to come to him.

It was on Butcher now to do the fighting and he wasn’t gonna lose.

NINETEEN

“Cookies don’t drown, but they do hiss and kick.” – Butcher

“Get out of bed, Cookie.”

Having tried to rouse her for ten minutes, he’d have better luck waking a zombie.

“Go away.” She only buried her head deeper into a pillow.

Butcher inhaled his patience and knew it was time for tough love.

His girl needed to eat and get out of this funk. He’d wanted her in his bed forever and now he just wanted to grab her by the ankles and yank her out of it.

“You’ve had twenty-four hours to be emotional. Now get out of that bed before I drag you out. You need to shower and eat.”

“Fuck off, I’m sleeping.”

He wrenched the blankets off her until she growled her anger. In that growl he still saw his vulnerable girl and his chest wall caved in to hide her away from everything but eventually she’d hate him for that kind of pandering.

Grabbing her by the ankles, he tugged until she was at the bottom of the bed. By this time, she’d turned into a hissing snake, cursing his name.

That was his girl.

He threw her over his shoulder, while she beat her hands on his back and carried her all the way to the bathroom.

He expected her to spit and claw at him when he dumped her under the hot spray of the shower. His wild thing didn’t disappoint. Hair soaked to her naked skin, animalistic in the eyes, she pushed against his chest as he stepped out. “You had no right waking me up. I was sleeping, asshole.”

Butcher grinned. He loved seeing her feral. It was better than the comatose version of Roux he’d fucking fretted over for a full day.

She wouldn’t eat and that was his finish.

“You’re sexy when you’re dripping. Get clean and come to the kitchen.” He winked at her and slid the shower door closed, leaving her cursing his name to the devil himself.

Chains dropped clothes off for her last night. Butcher left them on the bathroom counter for her then started on the food he’d force down her throat if need be.

The coffee brewed. Cheesy egg quiche Paige dropped off was heated, sliced and ready on the rectangle table in his kitchen. Toast popped out of the machine and the bacon crisped to perfection and his girl was still not out of the shower. He set eyes to the hallway, intent on dragging her out of there too when he spotted her shuffling along.