Relentless Liberation (17 page)

“Baby.” He kissed her lips softly once, twice and then a
third time, making her giggle. “I’ve never been more sure about anything in my
entire life.” This time when he kissed her, his tongue pushed past her lips to
play with hers.

“Say yes.” His deep, cajoling voice rumbled against her, causing
a shiver to course along her nerve endings.

Seriously, how
was
she supposed to resist him?

“Okay, yes.” His mouth devoured hers once again before he
pulled back and gave her a blinding smile.

“Good.”

She thought so too. She had to admit that she’d feel a hell
of a lot safer if she went to live with Tyler than if she remained here in this
apartment by herself. And who knew? Maybe if Doug actually did stalk her for a
few days before he tried to make his move, he’d see her with Tyler and back
off. The something inside her that was sending off warning bells, though,
sincerely doubted it. But she’d be better off with Tyler than on her own.

“Stop.” Tyler broke her out of her reverie.

“What?” She frowned.

“Stop worrying. I won’t let him get near you, I promise.
I’ll take care of you.”

“I know,” she said, wrapping her arms tight around him. “I
believe you.” And she did. She really did.

“I have to say, though, I hope that cocksucker tries.” A
dark, violent storm was brewing behind her lover’s eyes. She didn’t envy the person
who would be on the receiving end of all that hostility and rage. “He gets
within one mile of you, Mina, and I’ll fucking murder him.”

She believed him. She really did. And that was what worried
her.

Tyler insisted on taking her out to dinner that night and
told her to invite Chloe and Brian. He said that it was a celebratory dinner in
honor of the fact that she wasn’t going anywhere. Mina could only roll her eyes,
but decided to humor him.

The way he constantly touched her, how he placed a
proprietary hand at the small of her back as they walked into the restaurant
and then draped his arm on the back of her chair as he sat beside her, had her
thinking that this dinner was to show off their new status as a legitimate couple
as well. Just the fact that he wanted to show her off blew her mind but she
wisely didn’t comment.

The four of them were enjoying their usual animated chatter
until the drinks were served and Tyler ceremoniously clinked the side of his
glass with his spoon. Once he gained their attention, he began.

“You two are probably wondering why we invited you out to
this swanky place on such short notice.” He spoke to Brian and Chloe, gesturing
at the fine Italian restaurant they were in. Mina could only stare at him in
mild shock. He’d told her the reason for this little celebration but she didn’t
think he was going to make a speech to let the rest of the world know.

But before she could quite register what he was doing, he
was speaking again. “I wanted to get together with you guys to inform you that
my beautiful Mina will be moving in with me.” Not only did he just come right
out and say it but he’d put the word
my
in front of her name, staking
his claim, just in case their two friends didn’t catch the drift. “So dinner’s
on me as a preemptive thank you for coming over tomorrow to help us move all
her stuff into my house.”

Brian, who had just taken a drink as Tyler began to speak,
choked on the liquid as it started to go down, while Chloe just sat across from
them completely still, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Mina was sure he was deliberately misinterpreting their
reactions as he said, “Don’t worry, my brothers have been drafted too—they just
don’t deserve to come out to dinner with us, pains in the ass that they are.
Besides, there’s really not that much, anyway, so it shouldn’t take us too
long.”

Chloe was the first to recover. Her mouth curled up into a
sly smile as her eyes narrowed in a knowing stare. “Oh my God, I didn’t think
you would ever admit it!”

It was Mina’s turn to stare at her friend in shock. “Admit
what?”

“How crazy in love you two are!” She rolled her eyes and
threw her hands up excitedly, beginning to draw the attention of the people at
the next table.

“Wait a second,” Brian said roughly after he’d stopped
coughing. “Calm down, Chloe. They never said anything about being in love with
each other. They’re just gonna share space.”

“Actually—” Tyler said, and once again Mina found herself
staring up at her lover like he had two heads. “We
are
crazy in love.” He
brought her hand to his lips as he said it, like it was the simplest thing in
the world.

So he was just going to lay it all out there, then. Not that
Mina minded. In fact, she was thrilled and couldn’t stop the way her heart
picked up speed at his admission. She’d just thought that he would want to keep
it on the down-low for a while until he could wrap his brain around their new
situation and adjust accordingly.

Apparently she’d been right all along. He was the most well-adjusted
person she knew.

Chloe squeaked happily and clapped like a two-year-old as
she bounced in her seat, drawing further attention from the people around them
and completely oblivious. Brian just stared at Tyler for a few minutes, like
he’d never seen him before. His expression was starting to make Mina nervous
when a huge grin broke out across his face.

“Well I’ll be damned, Tyler. Never thought I’d see the day.”
He shook his head, then clapped Tyler on the shoulder. “Congratulations, man.
You’ve finally found a woman who’ll put up with you.”

Tyler laughed and when he turned to look at her the
adulation and awe in his eyes floored her. “Thank God.” He kissed her softly
and tears began to form in her eyes.

Trying not to get all sappy, she pushed them back and turned
her attention back to her friends. After that, there were no more great
revelations and their conversation returned to normal. Well, semi-normal anyway,
as Chloe couldn’t quite contain her glee or the sly glances she shot Mina’s way
every now and again when she caught Tyler looking at her or touching her.

Mina couldn’t help but marvel at how lucky she’d gotten. Not
only had she met and fallen in love with the man of her dreams but she’d
somehow managed to gain a friend who would share in her jubilation. A friend
who was genuinely happy for her. This one moment in time made all the
considerable pain and heartache of her past seem worth it. It was because of
that pain that she was able to feel so deeply right now and was able to truly
appreciate the love and acceptance of these people around her.

Gazing up at Tyler as he joked and laughed with their
friends, she wouldn’t change a thing.

Dinner came and went and they were still sitting at the
table chatting and laughing when Mina excused herself to use the restroom. Her
hand slid through Tyler’s as she stood and walked away from the table. She
could feel his eyes on her as she made her way to the back of the restaurant and
it sent warm tingles all along her body. She smiled.

She was the only one in the restroom when she walked in, the
soft romantic lighting around the mirror glowing warmly against the salmon-colored
walls. Breathing in a deep breath, then exhaling on a happy and contented sigh,
she locked herself into a stall.

The toilet had just flushed behind her and she was opening
the stall door when a heavy weight hit her and, catching her by surprise,
pinned her against the wall of the stall. Before she could scream, a hand came
down over her mouth, cutting off any sounds she might make. Terrified, she
looked up at her attacker and found Doug’s angry dark eyes glaring back at her.
But then—when it seemed he’d gotten her right where he wanted her—an evil smile
split his lips and he chuckled.

“Why do you look so surprised, Mina? I’m the one who can’t
believe what I’m seeing.” She whimpered and his hand tightened over her mouth.
“You’re like a mirage, baby doll. I’ve been trying to catch up to you for so
long and now finally, like a dream before my eyes, you’re here.”

Not so surprisingly, the years had been kind to him. He
looked almost exactly as he had the last time she’d seen him. The same
immaculately styled blond hair and handsome features, the same devilishly
wicked brown eyes. The difference was back then, she’d thought that bad-boy
glint in his eyes had been mysterious and attractive. Now she recognized it for
what it was—dangerous arrogance and cruelty, with a touch of madness lurking in
the dark depths.

“We can finally finish what we started.” He repositioned
himself so that his lower body was pinning her to the wall and his knee slid
between her thighs, forcing them apart. The hand that had been holding on to
her waist moved up to cup her breast, his fingers kneading the soft tissue
painfully. “I know you want it just as much as I do, Mina.”

Suddenly his eyes grew hard and his jaw clenched. “But maybe
I should punish you first for making us wait so long.” Abruptly the fingers
kneading her breast twisted her nipple painfully, making her cry out—but the
sound was muffled by his hand.

The hand at her breast slowly released her to trail down her
stomach and rest at the waist of her pants. He dipped his head into her to
nuzzle her neck and breathe her in. Her first instinct was to flinch away and
she would have if he hadn’t been holding her down so hard she couldn’t move.

“I’ve missed you so much, Mina. You don’t even know. I love
the way you play the game, though. The way you always make me wait for it and
just when I get close enough to grab you, you dance out of my reach. And you’re
such a little cock tease too.” He lifted his head so that he could brush his
mouth against her cheek as he spoke. “But you always give in to me, don’t you,
baby doll? You’re giving it up right now just like you did back then. Just the
memory of this tight little virgin cunt wrapped around my dick keeps me up at
night.”

Oh God, he thought she’d stayed here on purpose so that he
could finally catch up to her. Like this was some sick, twisted game they were
playing. It was then that she realized he was even more unbalanced than she’d
thought. He was completely insane.

His left hand kept traveling down past her waistband until
he was cupping her sex through the denim. Shivering with revulsion, she tried
to squeeze her legs closed but his thigh between hers made it impossible.

The hand that had been covering her mouth got a fistful of
her hair and yanked her head back painfully, forcing her to look at him, making
her cry out. The look in his eyes was hard and angry once more.

“What’s wrong, bitch? I know you want it, like the good
little slut you are.”

All the pain that he and Daisy had caused her over the years—the
way they made her feel pathetic and unworthy of anything but disdain—began
bubbling under the surface of her skin.

Then she thought of Tyler. He was the complete antithesis of
these cruel, evil people and he loved her. Suddenly, things became clear. They
were the ones who were pathetic and severely lacking. Otherwise, why would they
still be doing this to her after all these years? Why would she even be in this
horrible situation right now?

All this time she’d thought that she was the one who
couldn’t get over what happened to her, what they did to her. But the reality
was that
they
couldn’t get over her. And this all-important realization
gave her courage.

“I never wanted you, you delusional asshole! You’re so far
below where I am that I can’t even fucking see you.” Her body shook with rage
and adrenaline as she threw the words in his face.

On a snarl, Doug moved the hand that had been fisted in her
hair to seize her throat, banging her head back against the stall. “Don’t say
that,” he hissed through tightly clenched teeth. “You don’t even mean it. How
could you?” He shook his head frantically and she got the distinct impression
that he was no longer speaking to her. He was trying to reassure himself. “Not
even possible.”

“The truth has never been more clear, Doug. You’re nothing
to me,” she managed to bite out. He was squeezing her throat but not enough to
cut off her air. That was until she hurled that last bit at him. Then his hand
tightened on her throat as he deliberately slammed her head harder into the
wall behind her.

Black spots dotted her vision and she prayed to God that she
didn’t black out. Who knew what he’d do to her then?

“You think I don’t know what you’re doing, you little bitch?
I’ve been watching you for days, Mina. I saw you. Just like I saw you tonight
with that dumb fucking asshole you’ve been leading around on a leash. I saw
you, just like you wanted me to see you. You’re just trying to make me jealous.
I know, baby doll. I know.” He ripped open her jeans and roughly shoved his
hand inside her panties. “You want me, not him. I know.”

His breath was coming out in harsh, shaky pants against her
skin as he touched her. Tears sprang to her eyes as her stomach churned.
Despite of the revelations of only a moment before, bleak despair took the
place of all that courage. She was trapped beneath him, helpless to fight him off
her, even though she struggled. She couldn’t believe that this was happening
again. After all this time, after all the vows she’d made to herself. She’d
just gotten to a happy place in her life but true to life’s patterns, it was
all coming crashing down.

Tyler couldn’t even save her. All she could think was that
her strong, capable, fiercely protective man was just a room away but he didn’t
know what was happening to her. She couldn’t scream out for him.

The sound of a zipper brought her back to the horrific here
and now and she saw that Doug was pushing his pants down out of the way. “I’ll
give you what you want,” he was chanting over and over. Mina just felt numb.
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, so that even if she had to feel him, she at
least wouldn’t have to see it.

Bracing herself against the wall, she waited for the
inevitable. And that’s when it happened.

The pressure pushing her up against the wall was suddenly
gone and she could breathe. Almost afraid of what she’d find when she opened
her eyes, she hesitantly cracked her lids to take in the scene before her.

Tyler had grabbed Doug by the scruff of his neck and ripped
him off her, dragging him away until he slammed Doug’s back up against the
wall.

“You can’t fucking touch her anymore.” Tyler’s voice was
deadly quiet and deceptively calm as he wrapped his hand around Doug’s throat, pinning
him to the wall. Doug’s eyes widened as Tyler got up in his face, leaning his
weight into him to add pressure to the hand wrapped around his throat. He tried
to twist out of Tyler’s hold but Tyler was stronger.

“How do you like this? Does it feel good?” Doug’s face was
turning red, the veins in his forehead and around his temples popping as he
strained against Tyler’s hold. “No?” Tyler asked. “What about this?”

The swift, hard jab to Doug’s liver would have had him
doubling over if Tyler hadn’t been pressing his throat to the wall. Doug let
out a strangled groan as his whole body shook. “What about that? Do you fucking
like the way that feels?” Tyler punched him in that exact spot twice more
before Doug could even garble out any semblance of a response.

Then, to Mina’s utter shock, Tyler reached between Doug’s
legs to twist his balls up into a vise-like fist. The high-pitched shriek
emanating from Doug couldn’t be completely cut off by the air constriction caused
by Tyler’s hand wrapped around his throat.