Page 48 of Mine to Love
This was not his bed. Or his bedroom.
Liberty’s body was sprawled out next to him with her hair pooled over his chest. It was still dark, so maybe it wasn’t morning yet. He reached for his phone.
Fuck. It was five.
“Liberty,” he whispered, shaking her shoulder. “We fucked up.”
“What?” She brushed her hair from her face and blinked. “Oh, no. What are you still doing here?”
“No time to get into that discussion. Just go see if Gabriel is awake. If he’s not, I’ll sneak out as fast as I can.” He jumped from the bed and hiked up his jeans. “I’m sorry.”
“You should be.” She fumbled out of bed and snagged her robe.
“Hey. You fell asleep too.”
“Maybe. But you were the one… never mind. I’ll be right back.” She ducked out of the bedroom.
Miles couldn’t remember a time when he slept past four. It was like he had a fucking internal clock and his eyes automatically opened at that time. He would always try to sleepat least one more hour and sometimes he’d be able to doze off here and there. But not always.
Last night, he’d slept like a fucking baby.
Never happened when he shared a bed with a lady.
He liked his space and inevitably, a woman always invaded it, reminding him he wasn’t alone. And Liberty was right. He always had one foot out the door long before anything got too complicated. He wouldn’t dare call Liberty a complication. Far from it. If anything, her presence helped him make sense of his life. As if all the pieces of a puzzle fell into place. Only, last night, when his emotions got the better of him, he got scared.
More frightened than he’d ever been, even when he’d been with Trixi and that relationship had freaked him the fuck out.
Liberty tiptoed back into her room. “He’s not up yet. Now go.” She gave him a good shove.
“Okey dokey. But not before this.” He cupped her face and planted a wet one on her lips.
“Stop that.” She pushed him away.
He cocked his head.
“Not because I don’t like it.” She pointed toward the door with a sleepy smile.
“Fair enough.” Miles tossed his shirt over his shoulder and snagged his boots. He raced out of the bedroom and through the front door, skidding to a stop at the top of the steps. All the air in his lungs flew out like a jet taking flight. What started out as a semi-fantastic morning turned to shit at the sight of Charlie and his fucking stupid Porsche.
Miles dropped his boots to the wood floor and leaned against the railing while he watched Charlie slip from the driver’s seat. A million and one things floated through his mind, including punching the asshole in the nose.
But his mother hated it when it was his fist that went flying first.
For now, he’d see what this jerk-off had to say before reaching for the phone and letting the family full of cops and lawyers deal with the situation. Hopefully, Gabriel and Liberty would stay tucked inside.
“Isn’t this an interesting surprise,” Charlie said.
“The sun isn’t even up yet. Not to mention you’re not supposed to anywhere near Liberty.” Miles raked his fingers through his hair. The way his blood boiled, he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep his cool. Time to call in the cavalry, only when he went to pull his cell from his back pocket, it wasn’t there.
Fuck. He’d left it in the bedroom.
“I’m not here to see her.” Charlie inched closer. “I came for Gabriel.”
“That’s not happening either. Kindly leave.”
“Sorry. The only person who’s going to tell me to take a hike is Gabriel. Not some stupid-ass grease money Liberty’s made her pet project.” Charlie laughed. “So typical of that woman.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
