Reign A Romance Anthology - Nina Levine Page 0,136

club. No wonder you like my Harley.”

“Yeah, being around them kinda gave me a new appreciation. Plus, watching a guy riding one is so…”

“Hot?” He finishes my sentence for me.

I slap him on the chest. “Do you wanna go to the concert or not?”

King laughs, bringing his hand up, swiping my hair behind my ear. “Savvy, I would love to go to a concert with you.”

Inhaling deeply, I stare into those mesmerizing eyes. I could get lost in them forever. Even though they’re calming the storm raging inside of me right now, I have no idea if they will calm the hurricane waiting for me when I return to Houston.

King

The Weekend

I’m not the boy I was when I first knew Savvy. This much is true. I’ve fallen, grown, made myself into a man I want to be. Someone better. I hope she can see that too. On the drive down to Houston, I plan to tell her everything and hope she won’t look at me differently.

Pulling up at her home, she’s waiting out front with her overnight bag. I smile, reaching across my truck, then opening the passenger door for her. I wanted to ride more than anything. To have her holding me on the back of my bike would have been fucking perfect, but we can’t take overnight bags with us on my Harley. So my pickup will have to suffice.

As she jumps into the truck, her father stands in the doorway of the house, staring at me like he’s ready to slice my throat open. François always scared me, and that includes the fateful last time we saw each other.

Savanah leans over, planting a gentle kiss on my cheek.

I waggle my brows. “Ready to ditch this joint, Thelma?”

She laughs. “So, you want me to call you Louise from now on?”

“Will it turn you on?” I narrow my eyes on her.

She shoves my side. “Just drive, idiot.”

I chuckle, turning to face her father. I give him a curt wave, then take off before he has me shot at close range.

Making our way toward our destination of Houston, not being apprehensive about staying at a biker clubhouse, would be a lie. But if Savvy trusts them—hell, if Jovie of all people is living with them—then they must be okay.

We drive for a while with Savanah’s playlist cranking through the sound system. The way her body slowly rocks to the tunes, her gorgeous face bright and happy, I really wish I could watch her, not the road. But there is something I want to do, and it’s taken me over two hours to build up the courage.

“Savvy, can you turn that down for a sec?”

“Sure… everything okay?”

My chest tightens, my fingers grip the steering wheel with such force they’re turning white. “While I have you alone, there’s stuff I want to talk to you about, and I wanna do it here while we’re driving so you can’t get out and run.”

She faces me, a serious expression causing wrinkles to form in her forehead. “King, you’re scaring me. What the hell?”

Exhaling, I swallow hard. “I need to tell you everything about me, and you’re not going to look at me the same.”

She hesitates as anxiety floods my very core. “When we were together, when we were young, you know how I used to hang around the jocks a lot… especially Zack Miller?”

“I remember.”

“Well, Zack and his friends were heavily into drugs. I kept it from you. I didn’t want it tarnishing you or getting back to your father.”

“I’m not following, King.”

“Zack got me addicted to crack, Savvy. You were just too innocent to see it. Your dad did, though. He sent me off to rehab, told me to get clean, and that I wasn’t worthy of you.” If only she knew the truth. The whole truth. If she ever found out what I’ve done, about who I worked for back then, she’d never talk to me again.

“He what?” she yells, spinning her entire body to face me.

“Savvy, take that all in. Don’t be angry at your father, be angry at me. I got addicted. I left then chose not to come back. He helped me by taking me to rehab. I don’t think I’d be alive today if it weren’t for your dad. Even if he scared the shit out of me.”

Her eyes flood with tears as she sinks back into her seat. “You left because you had a drug problem?” I nod. “Not because of me?”

I reach out, grabbing her hand.