Savage: A Bad Boy Next Door Romance Read online

  Savage

  Penelope Bloom

  Contents

  Mailing List

  1. Lindsey

  2. Chris

  3. Lindsey

  4. Chris

  5. Lindsey

  6. Chris

  7. Lindsey

  8. Chris

  9. Lindsey

  10. Chris

  11. Lindsey

  12. Chris

  13. Lindsey

  14. Chris

  15. Lindsey

  16. Chris

  17. Lindsey

  18. Chris

  19. Lindsey

  20. Chris

  21. Lindsey

  22. Epilogue - Lindsey

  23. Epilogue - Chris

  24. Bonus Book: Dark

  25. Julia

  26. Leo

  27. Julia

  28. Leo

  29. Julia

  30. Leo

  31. Julia

  32. Leo

  33. Julia

  34. Leo

  35. Julia

  36. Leo

  37. Julia

  38. Ted

  39. Leo

  40. Julia

  41. Leo

  42. Julia

  43. Leo

  44. Julia

  45. Leo

  46. Julia

  47. Leo

  48. Julia

  49. Julia

  50. Angelo

  51. Leo

  52. Julia

  53. Leo

  54. Julia

  55. Leo

  56. Julia

  57. Leo

  58. Julia

  59. Leo

  Epilogue

  60. Bonus Book: Country Fever

  Prologue

  61. Mila

  62. Lucas

  63. Mila

  64. Lucas

  65. Mila

  66. Lucas

  67. Mila

  68. Lucas

  69. Mila

  70. Lucas

  71. Mila

  72. Lucas

  73. Mila

  74. Lucas

  75. Mila

  76. Lucas

  Epilogue

  77. Sneak Peak - Knocked Up by the Dom

  78. Kylie

  79. Damian

  80. Kylie

  81. Damian

  Mailing List

  82. Join my Facebook Group!

  Also By Penelope Bloom

  Mailing List

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  **Please note** Savage ends around 32% because I’ve included two additional bonus novels. I hope you enjoy them!

  1

  Lindsey

  Chris Savage - The Aftermath

  The pop culture icon stunned the world last year when he stepped away from the global stage without a trace. He exploded onto the scene just three years ago with the book that was the most divisive and immensely popular in recent memory: You’re Fucking Wrong. Most of us have taken to just calling it The Sex Bible, or the Kama Sutra Volume 2. Whatever you call it, there’s no denying it took the world by storm, just like its author.

  Hate him or love him—and let’s face it, ladies, we hate to love him as much as men love to hate him—Chris Savage was a force of nature, a colossus, and of course, an unapologetic asshole. The combination of tattoos, piercings, sexy eyes, and an attitude that was a big metaphorical middle finger aimed at the rest of the world made him into an icon.

  But the storm that was Chris Savage passed just as suddenly as it came six months ago when the millionaire playboy turned recluse. Sources close to Chris are tight-lipped, and the author himself hasn't given a single interview since he turned his back on the spotlight. Speculation has run rampant in the months since his disappearance with theories ranging from a bad breakup to drug addiction. Hopeful fans are crossing their fingers that his disappearance is just setting the stage for his next big book. But what's left for Chris Savage to do? He couldn't possibly top the worldwide firestorm that was "You're Fucking Wrong," and he certainly can't need any more money. This writer thinks maybe Chris just decided he'd done it all and hung up his hat for good. Let's hope I'm wrong.

  Either way, it seems we’ll just have to keep speculating until Chris Savage comes out of hiding or releases a new book. Until then, the only thing we do know is that the world misses you, Chris, especially the female half of it (this writer included), so please come back. My editor wouldn’t let me leave my phone number for you in this article, but phone books still exist. Call me!

  I click out of the online article with a disgusted sigh, but not before stealing one last glance at the picture of Chris Savage at the bottom where he looks like an angry, wrathful god. I make my living writing reviews for all kinds of books on my blog, Book Whores Anonymous, and my followers have been begging me to review You’re Fucking Wrong by Chris Savage for so long that I finally decided to do it just to get them off my back. My usual process is to read the book first and then dig around the internet to find out everything I can about the author just in case it helps spark some ideas for my review.

  I have to admit I might have spent more time researching Chris Savage’s six-pack in paparazzi photos and magazine shoots than I did studying his past. It’s just eye candy though. It’s not like I’d ever, ever be interested in a guy like him on an emotional level. It only took a few minutes of reading to gather that he has probably slept with more women than any man in history. Yeah. I’ll give that a big, fat, no thanks. I’ve had my share of jerks, chief of which was the jerk I was dumb enough to get engaged to. Thankfully that all went up in a flaming pile of “nope” last year, but I’m still dealing with the emotional aftermath of that one.

  I shake my head at myself and laugh. Here I am mentally passing on a guy who would probably take a look at my knobby knees, flat chest, and plain features for a microsecond before wiping me from his memory.

  For the first time since I started doing my reviews, I open up a word document and start to write a bad review for a book out of spite. Maybe it’s because he’s such a big name and I know my review won’t even be a blip on his radar. It could even be that I’m acting out for feeling like my readers forced me into writing a review of his book. Hell if I know, but the truth would be too irritating to write. Yes, his book is actually compelling. On the surface, it is as advertised: a guide to having the perfect sexual experience. But if you read between the lines, it's also a guide to having better, more meaningful relationships and how that connection can also enhance the sexual experience. I can see why so many people have taken to calling it The Sex Bible. I initially thought they were just referencing the complete collection of all things sex in one place. After reading the book, I think many of them are probably talking more about the message between the lines that speak to a better way to be with a romantic partner, and not just in bed.

  It was refreshing and eye-opening, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since I read it. But, for some reason, I still can't put my finger on why, I just can't bring myself to write one of the millions of glowing reviews that are alrea
dy out there for the book.

  I've prided myself on always being honest with my audience. Always truthful, even if I have a friendship or professional relationship with the author, I don't pull punches. So maybe they can forgive me just this once. Only one dishonest review if for no other reason than it feels good to take a stab at the invincible Chris Savage, even if it'll be less than a pinprick to a man with an ego his size. Not that someone of his caliber is ever going to hear about a review from me, anyway.

  I grab a box of chardonnay from the fridge. Yes, I said a box. I know some bloggers are rolling in money, but I, unfortunately, fall into the other group, which barely makes enough to scrape by. Drinking the cheapest of the cheap wine is just one of many sacrifices I make. It seems like nothing compared to living with my sisters and trying to pay my lion's share of the bills with an unsteady, unstable, and very uncertain income source like blogging. My older sister, Brooke, was never a good enough student to give college a serious thought, even if she could've afforded it. So she waits tables at one of the few small restaurants in town. My little sister, Amelia, is a freelance hairdresser who does house calls. We live in a small enough town that she gets a decent amount of work just from word of mouth. Unfortunately, my dad's medical bills make it all seem like pennies. His insurance covers the brunt of it, but he still requires full-time professional care from a nurse and lives in a nursing home. We tried to get him to stay with us, but his insurance didn't cover hospice, so the only way we could even begin to afford his care was to have him live in the nursing home, no matter how much that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. We go to visit as much as we can, but he hardly talks anymore, so it's getting harder to see him when all we can do is squeeze his hand and tell him we love him. Still, we all do what we can, but the weight of fear never really goes completely away, except when I'm deep into a good ole box of wine, that is.

  I dump the water out of a little blue mug someone left out in the sink and splash a hefty serving of wine into it before heading back to the privacy of my room and my computer. I open a word document and take a long look at the blank page while I try to decide if I can live with myself for writing a fake review just to spite a man I've never met and in all likelihood will never meet.

  Yes. The answer is yes.

  I take a big gulp of wine, barely noticing how bad it tastes and start my review.

  You’re Fucking Wrong by Chris Savage is Fucking Garbage

  Okay, maybe that’s a little too harsh. I hold the delete key down for a little and try again.

  You’re Fucking Wrong. Yes, you are, Chris Savage.

  I tap my chin a few times and decide it’ll do for now. I’ll give it a once-over before I hit submit and let creativity have another shot at striking. With the title out of the way, I start my review:

  I said it. I didn't like the book. I should probably board up my windows and take some self-defense classes before the crowds of Chris Savage fangirls come with pitchforks and torches, but I think I'll just make myself a tidy little bonfire with my copy of his book and keep warm instead.

  Seriously, people? It's the twenty-first century, and we're making a book about sex the cultural phenomenon of the decade? Am I alone in wishing we could go back to somewhat more noble things, like exploring the moon or—

  A knock at my door steals my focus.

  “You’re disrupting my creative genius!” I shout with a heavy tone of warning.

  The door opens anyway, letting me know it's my little sister, Amelia. If it were Brooke, she wouldn't have even bothered knocking. Amelia though? She's too adorable for her own good, and no one ever has it in their heart to get mad at her. The result is a twenty-one-year-old girl with no real concept of boundaries.

  She does a little jumping skip-step before plopping down on my bed cross-legged with a grin that dimples one of her cheeks.

  I raise my eyebrows, my annoyance already fading because she's Amelia, and somehow that earns her an endless supply of patience and forgiveness. I stopped trying to figure out why a long time ago. All I know is trying to stay mad or even get mad at her is about as hard as being angry at a puppy. She has reddish blonde hair, the heart-shaped face of a pixie with a pointed chin, a cute upturned nose, and big blue eyes. I'm only four years older than her, and Brooke is just a year and a half older than me, but we both had to step in to help raise Amelia. Our dad never had time between working two jobs and trying to keep our old house from falling apart. So I often waver between seeing her as my little sister and more like a daughter, especially after our dad got hurt a few years back and had to retire.

  It was an unspoken thing between Brooke and me, but we somehow knew it was essential to keep Amelia protected from it all. She never really understood the financial stress or the burdens on all of us. We shouldered it, and I think we all took a strange kind of solace in being the barrier between her and the ugly side of the world. So even now when I see her carefree smile and dimpled cheek, a warm happiness spreads through my whole body that makes it impossible to be annoyed with her for barging in.

  “Yes?” I ask with a smirk.

  “I have a request,” she says, holding up her thumb and forefinger and squinting to make sure she has the size of her request right. “Just a tiny one though. Promise!”

  “I’m listening…”

  “Okay well, there’s this salon training school thing. It’s called Evo, like Evolution? Get it?”

  I try not to roll my eyes, nodding while a growing sense of dread builds in the pit of my stomach. I can practically see dollar signs floating around my little sister like an aura because if there's one thing that stretches our finances more than anything, it's how we spoil her.

  "Well, they have this one year program where you can get fully trained to be a hairdresser in a fancy salon. The whole deal. If I just did it for a year, I'd be able to work in a hair salon and take on more clients. More tips. All the good stuff. I'd be able to help with the bills more," she adds hopefully.

  I work my lips to the side, thinking. On the one hand, I hate saying no to her. On the other, it would be a big help if she could pay her full share of the rent and bills. "You haven't mentioned how much it costs, Meels. That scares me."

  “Twenty thousand?” she squeaks, fingers digging into the bedsheets as she winces to hear my response.

  My heart falls because no matter how much I love my little sister or how bad I may want to, it's an amount of money we can't swing. "That's… That's a lot of money,” I say slowly.

  "I know, but maybe if we just used the credit cards, we could pay them off when I finish."

  I shake my head. I don't want to go into the details with her because I don't want her to know how tight things really are. I can't tell her that we're already five thousand in debt and our credit is shot from years of struggling. I definitely can't tell her we usually have about a hundred dollars left every month after the essentials, and most of that gets eaten up by any unexpected expenses--there are always unexpected expenses. "I'll take a look at the budget," I say finally, because I'm too chicken to see the hurt on Amelia's face if I tell her the truth. Telling her I'll take a look at the budget is my fallback when there's no right answer, but it always seems to do the trick.

  Amelia's eyes light up, and she bites her lip. "You will?" she asks.

  “I’ll look,” I say carefully. “No promises.”

  She squeals and jumps off the bed to hug me tightly, blasting me with the flowery smell of her shampoo. I can’t help smiling a little as I hug her back and remind her to close the door on her way out.

  I look back at my blog post once she’s gone and sigh. My heart isn’t in it right now. Writing a post like this is a money grab. It’s controversial and more likely to get shares because it will piss some of my readers off and they’ll disagree. They’ll want to talk about it with their friends and team up to tell me how wrong I am. It’s not the kind of blogger I wanted to be when I started out, but money is tight, and I have to do whatever it takes to bring mo
re traffic to the blog. Even sacrificing my integrity.

  I sigh, minimizing the word document and check my email. I see a newsletter from T.S. Barnes, who skyrocketed to the top of my favorite author list when I read her debut novel last week. It is technically a romance book, but it doesn’t follow the standard rules of romance. After reading hundreds, and probably thousands of romances, it was breathtaking to see what she did with a genre I thought I knew. On a sudden whim, driven by the desire to do something genuine instead of the farce I’m creating for my blog, I click reply on the newsletter and start typing out an email to T.S. Barnes. That she probably won’t ever read, but I need to do something good to distract myself from the sound of my life crumbling down around me.