Savage: Iron Dragons MC by Olivia Stephens Page A

clippings about the gangs in the area. “Freedom only goes so far.”
     
    Keith smiled peaceably, trying to calm her down. “I just wanted to give Kristina a message,” he said.
     
    “I can give it to her,” Marie said.
     
    “I’d rather tell her myself if it’s all the same to you,” Keith said. “If she’s not going to be long, I think I’ll wait.”
     
    “You’ll wait?” Marie asked, raising her eyebrows.
     
    “Don’t worry,” Keith said with a shrug. “I can wait out here. Feel free to slam the door in my face.”
     
    Marie stood there and stared at him for a moment. She looked as though she were trying to figure out what to do. “Maybe you should just come another time,” she suggested finally.
     
    “I have a little free time now,” Keith said pleasantly. “I can wait.”
     
    Marie stuck her head out and looked back and forth down the hall. A few students milled about. “Oh, all right, come in then,” she snapped. “I don’t want people thinking…. things.”
     
    “What things?” Keith asked, amused by her reactions.
     
    “Just… things,” Marie said evasively, as she avoided his eyes.
     
    “Do you spend a lot of time worrying about what people think?” Keith asked conversationally, as he sunk onto Kristina’s bed without invitation.
     
    “No… I… normal people usually do,” Marie said huffily, as she sat at her desk and turned her back to him.
     
    “Sounds like a waste of time in my opinion,” Keith told her.
     
    “You would think so.”
     
    “You talk as though you know me,” Keith said calmly. “You don’t.”
     
    “Oh, I’ve known plenty of guys like you,” Marie countered. “You’re all made from the same mold.”
     
    “That’s rather a stereotypical view to take,” Keith said. “I would expect more from an educated young woman like yourself.”
     
    “Don’t patronize me,” Marie said, as she swirled around to face him. “Kristina is my best friend, and we have always had each other’s backs. She’s a good person, and she doesn’t deserve to be hurt.”
     
    “I don’t intend to hurt her,” Keith said quietly.
     
    “That might not be your intention,” Marie said. “But it might be an inevitability. She was brought up in a different world with different values. She’s not capable of handling the kind of world you live in or the kind of lifestyle you have. She’s going through something of a… graduation crisis if you will, and that’s made her want to… experiment a little. But this is just a phase that will pass. You’d better not think for a moment that she actually has any real feelings for you.”
     
    Keith kept his expression neutral and unconcerned as he regarded Marie, but there was a small part of him that hoped she was wrong and feared she was right. “I told you before, I’m just a friend of Kristina’s. There are no feelings involved.”
     
    “Didn’t you two sleep together?”
     
    “She told you about that?”
     
    “She tells me everything,” Marie replied haughtily.
     
    “Yes, well… sex and love don’t always keep the same company do they?” Keith said with a wink. He had the satisfaction of seeing Marie’s face scrunch up in distaste before she turned from him again.
     
    “You’re a pig,” she snapped.
     
    Keith laughed. “Kristina is a big girl. She’s capable of making her own decisions…and she chose to fuck me that night without any expectations or any hope of a relationship. It was just about being free and satisfied and leaving behind the baggage. You know, you should really try it. Casual sex might loosen you up a bit.”
     
    “I have plenty,” Marie said defensively. “This is not about me .”
     
    “Then what is it about?” Keith asked.
     
    “It’s about the fact that you’re not good enough for Kristina,” Marie said harshly.
     
    Keith fell silent for a moment. He knew immediately that she was right about that. Kristina was too good for him, but somehow he