Relentless Liberation (15 page)

“Believe me, I was just as surprised as you are. But I’ve
had a lot of time to think about this and my best guess is that he’s still
pissed off at me for avoiding him like I did. The thing to understand about
Doug is that his ego is way bigger than it deserves to be and he’s obviously
unbalanced.”

“Yeah, that might be an understatement. So you think he
feels like he has unfinished business with you?”

“I do.” She shrugged. “I think it bothers him that I wanted
to get away from him. He’s never actually shown up, though. I haven’t seen him
since that night, thank God. But he started calling me and leaving me these
weird messages and then, once he found my address, he’d start sending me
flowers and little notes. It would only take a few days of this before I’d get
scared enough to pack up again and move. Ever since then he’s always managed to
find me, no matter where I go.”

Dawning comprehension registered on his face as he leveled a
look at her. “When we saw Daisy the other day, you think she told him where you
are?”

“I know she did. He’s already started.” She gestured to the
bright flowers peeking out of the trash can.

A low growl rumbled out of Tyler’s chest as he exhaled
heavily. “So you were just gonna take off without telling me any of this? Or
even saying goodbye?”

Okay, now he was back to being angry with her? Considering
the basis of their relationship and after all the things that had happened in
the last few days she was supposed to what? Be a mind reader?

“I was going to tell you about this stuff after the fight,
but then I saw you with that girl and figured you didn’t want to be bothered.
And I do believe I did tell you goodbye earlier.” She folded her arms across
her chest.

That perfect mouth twisted down into a grim line. “That’s
such bullshit, Mina. You were just afraid of getting too close to me so you
used her as an excuse to run.” He ran a punishing hand through his hair. “And I
still
cannot
believe you’d think anything happened with me and that
girl. Like I could ever treat you the way those assholes did.”

Though she didn’t want to admit it, she knew he was right.
She’d been so afraid for so long to let anyone get close to her, and when she
found herself trusting Tyler, actually wanting to let him in, it had scared her
shitless. That last arrow of his hit the mark and it pissed her off. So she
turned it around on him.

“You were the one who didn’t want to get close to me, if I
remember correctly, Tyler. Something about how you just couldn’t do hearts and
flowers, wasn’t it? How the hell was I supposed to know you didn’t want to take
Pinky home?”

His full lips twitched at the corners and she knew he was
trying to suppress a smile. “Pinky?”

“Yes,” she hissed through her teeth, not about to be
sidetracked by his adorable expression. “I dubbed her Pinky because I don’t
know her name. That girl looked like a goddamn frosted strawberry fucking
cupcake with her too-tight, all-pink outfit and all that fucking lip gloss
coating her lips.”

It was at this point that she realized she’d been spending
far too much time in Tyler’s presence. His foul mouth was starting to rub off
on her. Or maybe she was just that angry.

Obviously, he wasn’t taking heed of her murderous glare
because he barked out a laugh. “Pinky. I like it,” he reached out and twirled a
piece of her hair around his finger. “Mostly because I can’t remember her name
either. She was not that important to me, Mina.”

Against her will, she found herself softening toward his
gentle touch and tender expression. Taking a deep breath, she tried again. “I’m
going to bring this conversation around full circle. I opened up to you about
what my issues were.” She cocked an eyebrow. “Quid pro quo, Mr. Serano.”

“How do you always do that?” he asked, eyes narrowed on her.

“Do what?”

“Argue me into a corner until I have no choice but to
concede your point.”

“It’s a gift,” she said with a shrug and a self-satisfied
smile.

Sitting back into the couch he pinned her with a glare.
“Fine, but after your story this is gonna sound kinda lame.”

She cut him no sympathy. “I’m waiting with bated breath.”

He rolled his eyes but then with a sigh started talking.
“When I was a kid, my parents fought a lot. They could barely stand to be in
the same room with each other without one of them picking at the other for
whatever reason. It made for a pretty oppressive atmosphere but that was just
life in the Serano household.” He shrugged.

“Looking back on it now, I know that my mom just wasn’t a
happy woman. Wasn’t the warmest or most affectionate person either. There was
rarely a soft touch or a kind word and she’d never once told me that she loved
me. If she wasn’t picking an argument with my dad, she was griping about
something that my brothers and I either did or didn’t do. There was no winning
with her.

“I should have known something was up the morning she left.”
He gave a wry twist of his lips. “When I got out of bed for school, she was all
sunshine and smiles. She was even humming as she packed my lunch, which was
completely unprecedented. Humming or packing my lunch. My dad always took care
of that kind of stuff. I thought it was odd but it was definitely something to
see and I thought that maybe something had changed. Maybe things would get
better between them.

“She made a big production of sending my brothers and me out
the door that morning, kissing and hugging each one of us as we left.” He smiled
sadly, his eyes taking on a distant quality. “I remember being so excited all
day. I couldn’t wait to get home to see if her mood had changed or if she’d
somehow done a one-eighty to become the perfect cookie-cutter mom.”

Taking a deep breath he blinked and looked back at her. “But
of course, when I got home that day she was already gone. No goodbye or go to
hell, just all her clothes out of the closet and her car missing from the
driveway. When my dad got home from work…” He shook his head. “I’d never seen
him so panicked or angry. He grilled us for at least an hour to find out if
we’d known anything about her leaving.”

“How old were you?” she asked softly.

“I was six, the twins were ten and Brandon was thirteen.”

Mina couldn’t even begin to imagine what that must have been
like. Her parents were definitely no picnic but at least they’d stuck it out
with her.
Well
, she thought with a frown,
for a while anyway
.

“That night I got up in the middle of the night to use the
bathroom and I could hear my dad sobbing in his room. After that day, he never
spoke about her or what happened ever again but he was never the same. She’d
left him a broken man with four rowdy boys to raise on his own.”

“I’m so sorry. That must have been terrible.”

He shrugged. “Yeah. Eventually the old man put it past him
and moved on with his life. He did the best he could.”

She shook her head. “No, I meant that must have been
horrible for you. You were probably so young you didn’t even fully understand
what was going on.” She felt herself scowl. “I just can’t comprehend how a
mother could abandon her own children, much less be gleeful about it.”

Her heart broke for the little boy he’d once been. To never
have known the gentleness of a mother’s loving embrace and then to be raised by
a weathered and withdrawn father. It was a wonder he’d grown into the tender,
playful man she knew him to be.

Seemed that they’d both been damaged and rejected from the
start. It amazed her how well he carried it, how he rose above it and became
his own man no matter what anyone else said or did.

“It is what it is and we dealt with it.” His eyes softened
as he regarded her for a moment before they turned anxious and wary. “But this
brings me back to you. Or more like my motives for keeping things between us
casual.”

Oh no
. She had an idea where he was going with this
but she remained silent and just let him get it out.

“My whole life, I’ve never taken any of my relationships
with women seriously. They’ve either just been my friends or random hookups. I
never let myself get close to any of them. Never felt the desire. And to be
frank, I’ve just never trusted any of them. But you—” He pressed his lips
together and shook his head. “You’re different. I could tell from our very
first conversation. You’re not artificial like most of the women I’ve known and
there’s just something about you, Mina.” He shook his head again. “But I
thought keeping you at arm’s length was the right move because that’s what I’ve
always done. It’s all I know.”

He gave her that impish smile and her insides melted to the
rapid beat of her heart. “It took sitting through your determined little speech
yesterday to realize what total bullshit that was. So I guess we were both
lying to ourselves about what it was we were doing together.”

She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right over the blood pounding
in her ears. So just to clarify she asked, “And what is it you think we’re
doing together, Tyler?”

That smile broadened. “You’re gonna make me say it, aren’t
you?”

When she just bit her lip and nodded, he chuckled and took
her hand in his. “Look, all I know is when I’m with you I get so lost in you.
It doesn’t matter what any other woman in my life has said or done, they
weren’t you.” He broke eye contact and stared down at their entwined fingers,
then softly said, “You’re my everything and I don’t wanna lose you.”

Her breath caught as he looked up at her. She could get lost
in the dark, warm depths of his eyes, could stare at him forever. “I don’t want
space. All this ‘safe distance’ between us. I don’t want anything if I can’t
have you.”

Holy shit
. When she’d woken up yesterday morning, a
hundred different scenarios went through her mind as to how the next few days
would go. Some involved getting out of there in time. Some included the
terrifying possibility that Doug would find her before she could once again
evade him. Some even included going to Chloe for help. But all of them featured
her leaving this town and never coming back. Mourning the loss of Tyler and all
they could have had together.

Never in a million years would she have pictured it ending
up like this, with her heart swelling in her chest and tears springing to her
eyes, not from sadness but from unfettered joy. She wasn’t at all used to this
feeling.

“What are you saying then, Tyler? I don’t want any
miscommunication between us, not about this.”

Bringing her hand up to his mouth, he held her gaze as his
eyes darkened. He placed a sweet kiss along her knuckles. “I’m saying that I
don’t want you to run from me. I want to give this thing between us a chance, I
want it to grow. So I’m saying stay with me and let me love you.”

Love?
She sat stunned. That was definitely not a word
she’d ever expected to hear coming out of Tyler’s mouth. To be honest, she’d
never expected to hear something like that directed toward her coming out of
anyone’s mouth—but from him?
Surreal. Absolutely surreal.

Looking up at him now, she could see the anxiousness in his
expression and realized that she was taking too long to respond. Feeling
emboldened by his declaration, she once again rose to her knees, then swung her
leg over his lap so that she was straddling him. He settled her onto him, with
his hands on her hips as she pushed her fingers into his hair to tilt his head
back. “You don’t know how much I want that too.” She studied his beautiful dark
eyes for a tension-filled moment. “I’m saying yes.”

The light that flashed behind his eyes at her words was
almost eclipsed by the slow, blindingly beautiful, full-on smile he gave her
then. It was breathtaking. “Kiss me then, baby. Make it official.” That happy
glow that backlit his eyes was now dancing with mirth and maybe even giddiness.
Crazy to know that she affected him like this. The exact same way he affected
her.

How could she possibly resist that? Closing the distance
between them, she covered his mouth with hers. Once again he let her control
the kiss, lips soft, pliable and responsive, letting her explore him at her
leisure. Not having had too many opportunities like this she delved deeper,
cradling his head in her hands, loving the way he tasted, the way his tongue
flicked against hers. He groaned deep in his throat as she played with him and
when she pulled away they were both breathless.

Gazing at her through hooded eyes, he licked his lips and
gave her another lazy, satisfied smile.

“Why do I feel like I just made a deal with the devil?” She
eyed him warily with her eyebrow arched.

A low chuckle rumbled from his chest as he grabbed her hips,
pulling her into him and leaned forward, tipping her off balance in his lap.
“Probably because you just did.”

Before she could reply with some smart-ass comment, his
mouth came down on hers in a purely dominating kiss. His warm hands slipped
under her camisole and skimmed up her sides, leaving goose bumps in their wake.

Sucking her bottom lip into his mouth, those callused palms
cupped her naked breasts, thumbs finding her nipples at the same moment he
gently slid his teeth over her lip. She shivered.

“Mmm, I like waking you up in the middle of the night. Fewer
barriers in my way.” He pinched her nipples between his thumbs and forefingers.

“Ah…” Her head fell back as she arched her body into his
touch.

Slowly, he worked her top over her head and tossed it onto
the couch. “You’re so unbelievably beautiful,” he whispered before he sucked
her left nipple into the wet heat of his mouth. Groaning, she rocked her hips
into him as his erection strained inside his jeans.

Pulling away, he blew on the wet peak he’d lavished so much
attention on and the cool contrast had her nipple hardening even more for him.