Savage Instinct (6 page)

Her brow furrowed in thought.

How was she going to get him out without appearing too rude
or inconsiderate?  Or as Richard said…a bitch.

Even though she was nitpicky, she still didn’t want people
to take home the wrong impression of her.  She was aware of the flaws in her
personality and worked on curbing some of her traits as well as she could.

She couldn’t help that she’d been raised to be a stickler
about keeping a clean house and a cleaner person.  It came as second nature to
her now.  But at least she realized it bothered some people and made an effort
not to be so rigid.

That should count for something, in her book.

Aiden sipped on his lemonade.  “This is good.”

“Thanks!  Organic lemons and local honey.”  Nydia sat her
glass down on a coaster on the table.

“So who called you a bitch to your face?”

Nydia groaned.  “Richard.  I thought he might be Mr. Right
until yesterday.  We’ve been dating for a few months now and sometimes he could
be something of a jerk, but all of us have faults.  I thought I could get over
a lot of his issues if he could accept mine.  I can admit that I’m no picnic.  Then
he took me to the country to meet his family.” Nydia leaned forward and placed
her elbows on her knees.

“His family is just so sarcastic and nasty.  I know some
people are like that, but I didn’t expect for them to act that way towards me. 
I thought he was bringing me there so they could get to know me, but it just
seemed like I was a target for their ridicule.  I despise sarcasm.  If you have
something to say simply say it and be done.  Don’t beat around the bush and
hide how you feel behind nasty, snide remarks.  For that matter, I’d been on my
best behavior, but I had the feeling he’d been telling them my negative traits
from the get go.  Commiserating almost.”

“Sounds like it,” he said, nodding.

“I just had this feeling he’d been telling them about my
diet and that I was a germaphobe.  His sisters act like they’re better than the
rest of the world, although I couldn’t see why.” Nydia leaned back in her
chair.

“When I had had all I could stand of their sarcastic
remarks I tried to tell Richard about the problem and he told me that his
sisters were treating me the way I deserved to be treated.  He told me in no
uncertain terms the way they were acting was a direct result of my being an
uptight bitch.  I told him to go to Hell.  Basically.  Anyway, I’m through with
him.  I can’t change who I am.  Some things can be worked on, but I’ll never be
someone else.  I’m not willing to pretend to be something I’m not.”

Aiden watched her a long moment, making her feel fluttery
inside.  She shifted in her seat, trying to get comfortable, but the way he
looked at her, it was impossible.

“You don’t seem like a bitch to me.  Uptight, maybe, but
some of that relaxes once you’re in a relationship long enough.”

Nydia stood up and took her empty glass into the kitchen
and rinsed it at the sink then returned to her seat. “I suppose that there could
be some truth in what he is saying.  I can be neurotic when you get me on a bad
day.  I’m sorry the whole thing happened, and I do feel a little guilty for
having fought with him in front of his parent’s home.  I acted like I didn’t
have any raising.”  She shook her head, covering her face as if she could hide
her embarrassment.

“Lord, talking about it now, it sounds so stupid and
juvenile.  I probably overreacted like an idiot.”

“Sounds to me like you were standing up for yourself when
no one else would.  It’s admirable that you’d defend yourself instead of taking
it lying down.  That guy, Richard, is an asshole.  Obviously, you two shouldn’t
be together.  I wouldn’t let my family treat you, rather, a girlfriend like
that if we were serious.”

“You’re sweet.”

“Honey, sweet is the last thing I am.  Real men ain’t sweet
unless they’re trying to get into your pants.”

Chapter
Six

Nydia met his face and caught that strange look again that
made her feel hot and weak inside.  She didn’t consider herself a novice in the
bedroom or around men, but she’d never encountered a sensation like this around
one before.  Instant, undeniable, potent lust.  “Is that what you’re trying to
do?”

“Is that what you want me to do?  Try and seduce you so
you’ll let me stay?”

She lifted her chin in the air.  “I wouldn’t sleep with you
if you tried!”

“Oh really?”  He leaned forward, his eyes glittering.  “You
think you could resist me if I tried?”

“I can go a long time without needing my itches scratched,”
she said.

He laughed.  “I hear you.  Personally, I like getting my
back scratched once a day.”

“I’ll bet you do,” she muttered.

He pretended not to hear her.  “And honey, if I was aiming
to seduce you, you’d know it.  I’d practically beat you over the head with my charm,”
he said, cheesing at her with a dazzling grin.

Nydia wanted to knock
him
in the head.

She crossed her arms over her chest.  Men had to be led
around by their noses sometimes.  Why couldn’t any of them take initiative when
the time was right?  And why did they have to be so obnoxious when they thought
you wanted them?  “No.  I’ve got no interest in screwing around with you or
anyone else right now.”

A sound came from his chest.  Amusement at her denial?  She
wasn’t sure.

His jaw hardened.  “Sounds find to me.  Besides, I’m just
trying to survive.”

His off the wall response made her want to scratch her
head.

“You think I could borrow your phone?  I know you’d like me
out of your hair.  I’ve got some friends that can help me if I can get a hold
of them.”

She nodded, feeling confused and annoyed as she walked to
her bedroom to retrieve her phone from the charger.  She came back and handed
it to him.  He took the phone and dialed a number, listening for a response. 
Frowning, he pulled it away from his ear and dialed a few more times.

“Dammit,” he said, handing the phone back to her.

She took it, raising her eyebrows.  “What?”

He sighed.  “I’m slipping.  It’s been so long since I’ve
had to actually remember a number myself, I can’t remember anyone’s cell
phone.  I left mine at my house, but I can’t go back there right now.”

“Because your meth head attacker is waiting on you?” 
Sarcasm dripped from her voice.

He looked up at her, something hidden in his eyes. 
“Something like that.  Hell if I know, but I don’t want to find out until I’m
feeling better and got my friends at my back.”

She sighed in exasperation.  The guy’s reasoning left
plenty of room for her to doubt, but she didn’t relish the idea of going to the
cops and letting them know she struck him with her car.  He wasn’t the only one
that didn’t trust police.  Until he was better, she was at his mercy.  Just the
thought of being taken to jail gave her the shivers.  She could at least wait
until any evidence of hitting him with her car disappeared so he couldn’t use
that against her.  What she needed was to see how big the bruising on his legs
were, but other than fucking him, she didn’t know how she’d get him to take his
pants off.

“Speaking of which, I need to check your wound,” she said, tapping
her forefinger on her bottom lip.

He looked slightly alarmed at that.  “Help me to the
bathroom?  My legs are tired.”

She huffed, feeling resentful of his attitude and her own
lingering guilt.  Guilt and empathy only went so far.  She yanked him to his
feet and stood under his arm, valiantly ignore the heat radiating from his
muscular torso as she walked him to the bathroom.

“Give me just a minute to relieve myself, okay?” he said,
leaning against the door for support and breathing heavily.

“All right.  But let’s get this done,” she said, not
sparing him her ire.

It didn’t take long before she heard water flowing and then
he opened the door for her.  He sat on the toilet lid while she examined the
bandage.  The tape wasn’t sticking very well to his chest at the top anymore,
probably because he’d gotten it wet the night before taking a shower.

“Yeah, we need to replace this,” she said, giving her hands
a quick wash.  She opened the medicine cabinet and saw the giant dildo again. 
Nydia tried to shut the cabinet, but Aiden saw the monstrosity before she could
hide it.

“Guess you don’t need a boyfriend with something like that
around,” he said, a smirk curling the corners of his mouth.

Nydia huffed.  “It’s a gag gift from a friend.  I’ve never
even used it!”

“Yeah, right.”  He waved his hands.  “It’s okay if you like
your toys.  I’m not one to judge.  They make things interesting.  Not every man
is as secure as I am though.”

Nydia felt her skin flush with heat.  “I’ll have you to
know I’ve never had need of anything extra in the bedroom.”

Aiden snorted.  “Your nose is growing.”

She planted her hands on her hips.  Okay, so that one was a
lie.  Richard had been horrible in bed and needed a cock ring just to keep
going long enough for her to come on a semi-regular basis.  But that wasn’t any
of his damned business.  “Sex isn’t everything in a relationship.”

“Yeah, well, it’s the funnest part of one.”  He raises his
hands as if surrendering.  “I told you, stuff like that doesn’t bother me,” he
said with a chuckle that infuriated her as much as his knowing little grin.

Nydia opened the cabinet again and slammed the dildo on the
counter then pulled out her supplies.  She faced him and caught him peeking
inside the bandage and grimacing.

“You going to be a baby again?” she asked as she ripped the
tape off.

He hollered.  “You just took hair off my chest!”

She shrugged.  “Some men like getting manscaped.  I do it
for a living.”

“What, torture people?” he said, groaning.

“I make people feel good.  I’m a spa technician.”

“I can’t believe people pay you to hurt them.”

“Believe it.  I do well for myself.”  She noticed his hands
clenched into fists.  The knuckles turned white from the pressure.  “You’re
such a baby!” she said, laughing.

He glared at her.  “I resent that.  Look at that tape.  I
swear there’s skin on it.  Let me take some of your hide off and see how you
feel once I’m done.”

“Wouldn’t bother me.  I wax everything on a regular basis,”
she said.  His wound was bleeding again and looked as fresh as it had the night
before.  She’d thought it would be scabbed over by now.

“Everything?” he asked on a strangled breath.

Nydia didn’t bother to dignify that with an answer.  “You
must be low on iron or vitamin deficient.  Unless you’ve been picking at this?”

He shook his head, his lips turning white as she patted it
with alcohol and reapplied gauze and tape.  “Dammit,” she said, coming to the
end of the roll of tape.  “I’ll have to go and get more.”

“Batteries too, right?” he asked, a smile hovering on his
mouth.

Nydia glared at him.  “You’re all fixed up,” she muttered
and narrowed her eyes.  “Don’t mess with it.  I’ll help you back to the couch
and get some lunch on.”

They walked back to the living room as they’d left it.  Aiden
collapsed on the couch and covered his head with his forearm.  He groaned.

His ordeal had been entertaining for her.  Maybe she was a
bit of a sadist and was only just finding out about it now?

Nydia headed for the kitchen. She got out her stock pot and
began to set fresh vegetables on the counter.  She laid out carrots, celery,
bell peppers, some broccoli, and boxed Italian tomatoes.  As she busied herself
making some vegetable soup for lunch, Aiden watched her from the couch.

Nydia caramelized her onions and garlic, then sautéed the
other vegetables a few minutes, filling the house with the delicious scent of
cooking.  That stage done, she poured vegetable stock in the pot along with the
larger vegetables she had cut up.  She added some thyme, black pepper. Then she
crushed a freshly dried bay leaf into the mix for added flavor.  When all of
this came close to being done she would grate a small amount of nutmeg and
ginger into the broth to give it a flavorful flare.

“What are you cooking?  It smells complicated.  You don’t
have to go through a lot of trouble.  A ham sandwich would be fine with me.  I
would even settle for salami or roast beef.  I couldn’t find where you had it
hidden in your fridge.”

“I’m making vegetable soup.  I don’t keep lunch meat in my
house.  Don’t you know that stuff is horrible for you?  It’s full of nitrates.”
 Nydia drained a can of beans and rinsed them before adding them to her soup.

“What?” Aiden replied, his voice strangling.

Nydia peered at him from the kitchen.  “Something wrong?  I
thought I told you I’m a vegetarian.”  With his face crumpled in a frown, he
looked like a puppy dog who’d just been kicked.  And she’d done the kicking.

Aiden choked.  “How on earth can you live without eating
meat?  I’m going to die here.”  Aiden propped up on his elbow.

“Are you a caveman or something?  You’re living in the dark
ages if you think the only way you can get protein is through meat.”

“Well, it’s the tastiest way to get it,” he grumbled.

“Rice and beans make a complete protein with no animal fat
involved whatsoever.  It’s so much healthier for you and your cholesterol
levels.”

He pointed his finger at her.  “Ah hah!  I knew you were
some new age weirdo.”

Nydia walked to the edge of the kitchen.  “Now you sound
like Richard.  He hated my diet also.  I’ll have you to know that I lost my
father to heart disease and high blood pressure.  You can’t live life eating
garbage.”

“I’m sorry about your father,” Aiden said, sounding
contrite.

“You might be able to exist eating curds and whey, but I on
the other hand need meat.  I need it to help fuel my recovery.  Man cannot live
by grass and rabbit food alone.  I’ll lose my muscles.”

She snorted.  “Do I look like
I’m
starving?”  She
looked at his skin gloriously stretched over muscles like a carved statue.  He
didn’t look like he had an ounce of extra fat anywhere on his body.

He raked his gaze over her body, making her feel warm in
all the right places.  Especially since she couldn’t seem to stop examining his
… assets.

“That’s different.  You’re not a man.”

“I expect any minute for you to come in here and hit me on
the head with a club and drag me off by my hair.  Caveman.”

“Ug ug,” he muttered, his dark brows low over his eyes and
his chin jutted forward.

“You won’t starve without meat.  You will not dry up and
blow away.  You are simply acting like a child and refusing to try something
new.”  Nydia was becoming infuriated with him.  He was a guest in her home and
he was acting like he was the boss.

“Maybe I am a caveman, but I like meat and I would never
give it up.  You don’t know what you’re missing.  You’re just going to have to
go to the market and buy me some meat.  I need it, I want it, and you owe me
that much consideration,” Aiden retorted, crossing his arms and emphasizing his
hairy, muscled chest.