Page 15 of Savage Daddies
Chapter Seven
Iawake as the truckrolls to a stop. Nash still has his arm wrapped around me, and I can’t help but smile up at him when he gives me an affectionate look. My pulse skitters and all the heat from earlier resumes pulsing between my thighs. What is happening? I shouldn’t feel an attraction to any of my captors, but there are moments when I simply can’t help it.
Sometimes, it’s easy to forget they took me.
Sometimes, it feels as if I’m meant to be theirs.
I remind myself of my utter loneliness in Emerald. Out here in the wildlands, with Nash and Axel by my side, I’m not alone anymore. They want me so much they kidnapped me and even chased after me once I escaped. It’s messed up, but knowing they want me enough to chase me down fills me with warmth and longing.
“Where are we?” I blink out into the darkness. There’s a log cabin with a large front porch that’s lit up with hanging solar lights. It’s so old-fashioned–looking that I feel as though I’ve stepped into one of the old books.
“Lamberts’ Inn,” Axel replies from the front seat. “We’ll spend the night here.”
“An inn?” I ask, astonished. “Like-like a hotel, sort of?” There is one hotel in each techno-city, reserved for those who must occasionally travel between cities, like Diplomats or Engineers.
“Yes, sort of like that,” Nash says, unbuckling my seatbelt. When he reaches over me, his nearness sends a whirl of excitement through me. “We’ll all be able to bathe and put on some fresh, clean clothes, plus the Lamberts’ mate is an excellent cook. I always look forward to staying here.”
The Lamberts’ mate. I take that to mean more than one savage man lives here, and my suspicions are soon confirmed when three huge men appear on the front porch. What an odd world I’ve stepped into, where the women are few and the men are plenty. Though I’ve only been away from Emerald for two full days now, it feels as if I’ve traversed a thousand miles and been away for weeks on end.
Axel opens my door and reaches for my hand, guiding me out into the dark night. The night insects screech and sing from the thickness of the trees surrounding the inn. The stars sparkle above and the half-moon shines bright.
A dog emerges from between the men standing on the porch and starts barking. My heart leaps at the sight. I’ve never seen a dog in real life. Only in VR stories. Dogs, cats, horses, and many other creatures that were once domesticated have no place in the techno-cities. But I’ve read plenty of old books where the characters had pets and I stare at the large brown dog in fascination, wondering what it might be like to own a dog or a cat.
“Axel and Nash,” the tallest of the Lambert brothers calls out, walking down the porch steps. “Welcome. It’s good to see you. I trust all went well at Emerald?”
The dog barks again and follows his master. When the furry creature approaches me and sniffs my hand, I’m absolutely delighted. I reach my fingers out and stroke the dog behind its ears. He licks my hand and wags his tail. A giggle erupts from my throat. Sure, I’ve touched plenty of animals, including dogs, in VR stories, but never in real life. This feels different. It feels... as if I’m connecting with another creature for the first time in my life.
“All went well in Emerald,” Nash says, putting his arm around me and bending down to pet the dog himself. The animal’s tail wags faster.
“As you can see,” Axel says as he shakes the tall man’s hand, “we found the female we were looking for.”
“From a tour group? Or did you have to sneak into the techno-city?”
My head snaps up at this. Sneak into the techno-city? Is it really possible for savages to sneak inside? For the sake of the friends I’ve left behind, including Sheena, I certainly hope not.
“Tour group,” Nash answered, “though we were prepared to sneak in if one hadn’t come along when it did. Lucky for us, this little girl here decided to straggle behind from the others and made catching her much easier than we expected.” His voice is filled with warmth as he looks down at me. An odd burning begins in my throat, but I don’t understand how I could become emotional over Nash’s simple explanation of how they discovered me. Perhaps it’s because of his tone. He sounds happy to have found me. But given how scarce females are in the wildlands, of course he would be.
I glance away from Nash and remind myself that he would have taken Sheena or any of the other females in our tour group over me if one of them had strayed behind.
