I unfortunately spent damn near the entire time waiting for Mike thinking about that guy, to the point where when Mike’s car rolled up, it took me a few moments to realize he was sittingthere, waiting for me to get in. Eventually, I jerked back to reality and headed for the sleek, black vehicle, ducking inside the front passenger seat and giving my man a warm smile.
“Thank you for picking me up,” I said, leaning over the center console to kiss him. He turned his head slightly to catch my lips with his, and he let out a short hum of approval. When I sat back in my seat and buckle up, I couldn’t help but smile at him harder.
Mike, my big mountain of a man. The definition of a stoic bodyguard, one with the scars to prove his skill and his will to survive. His brown hair had gotten a bit shaggy; it used to be shorter, but I kind of liked it this length… it was the perfect hair to draw my fingers in and tug when we were doing things not appropriate for the public eye.
“I was thinking we could swing by my place so I can change and grab my bag, and then we can just go to your place?” I offered. “Get an early start on our date tomorrow.”
If there was anything Mike was, it was agreeable when he was told what to do. The man had been a subordinate all his life, and as strange as it was, that also transferred over to his bedroom habits. Oh, yeah, let’s just say I knew how to handle the big guy now.
“Okay,” he said, and he didn’t say a word else as he drove us to the rental house I shared with Kelly. He didn’t ask why I wanted to leave the club early. Whether or not he was curious was up for debate; the man was mysterious, even now.
Nothing happened between me and the stranger at the club, but still, I couldn’t get the man off my mind, and just the way the man had spoken to me made it sound like he would see me again somewhere.
I had to tell Mike and the others about him, but how to do it without sounding like I’d fallen in love at first sight with the guy?
Chapter Five – Mike
Laina changed into pink sweats and a baggy t-shirt before she grabbed her home bag and we got going. Something was off about her, something in the air. She was lost in her own thoughts—as she was often, I’d found out these last five months. The girl had spent two whole years locked up in a basement with no one else as company, so it wasn’t surprising she sometimes reverted inside herself.
I thought about asking her what was wrong, but in my experience, asking someone that question did not automatically mean they’d answer, let alone answer truthfully. She would talk about whatever it was when she was ready.
Of course, my thoughts did go somewhere after seeing her in that dress. A picture was one thing, but seeing how good she looked in that pink number was another thing entirely. It was possible some asshole had tried something with her in the club, and she didn’t like it.
Or maybe she did.
Laina knew what she liked, who she liked, and she wasn’t afraid to go after it. It’s how she got entangled with Fang, pretty much right after they met. And Kieran… don’t get me started on that one. I was still pissed at him for doing what he did, even if I did understand that if he didn’t do something back then, Tessa would have hired someone else to do the job—and they would have done it with no hesitations whatsoever.
And if that would’ve happened, Laina would be dead. Maybe she would’ve been tortured and raped before she was killed. In a city like this, you never knew.
It was the only reason I could stand to be in the same room as Kieran without strangling him. That, and because Laina loved him.
Never thought I’d be in a situation like my brother, but here I was, caught in a relationship between one girl and three guys. Hell, I never wanted to be in a situation like this, but Laina… I couldn’t walk away from her if I tried—and I had tried, in the beginning. Even before our relationship became official, I couldn’t leave her. That girl had me wrapped around her finger from day one.
The others? I didn’t know if I trusted them. She did, and I had to follow her lead when it came to them.
We got to my place, a smaller house not too far away from Lola’s and the Luciano’s abode. I used to share it with my brother, but he moved in with Lola, so it was just mine now. When Laina was done with school, or hell, even in the summer when she had no classes, I wouldn’t say no if she wanted to move in with me instead of going home to her dad.
Knowing her, it was a toss-up. She and her dad had been on good terms lately, after the whole thing with Tessa. I was happy for her when it came to that; I remembered how torn up she was when she used to think her dad was responsible for it all.
Once my car was parked in the garage and we were in the house, I asked her if she wanted anything to eat. Laina dropped her bag near the stairs heading up and meandered right to the living room, where she plopped down on the couch and got herself comfortable. I followed her, grabbed one of the folded blankets hanging off the back of the couch, and sat down with her, draping the blanket over us before pulling her to my lap.
I’d never get over how perfectly she fit on my lap. With my arms around her, she could go nowhere. Not that she would. She was the reason we were both here. If she hadn’t pushed me, if she hadn’t made it clear that she wasn’t going to stop wanting me, I couldn’t say that I would’ve crossed the line myself.
I meant it way back when I said she was temptation, and that I wasn’t a man who often gave in. Something about her, though,called out to me, and I honestly wouldn’t change a single thing. I might not particularly like the fact she had other boyfriends, but I’d never dare wish to change who she was.
Neither one of us went to turn on the television. We sat there in the semi-dark, with only the light from the hallway shining. She leaned her head back on my chest and gripped the arms encircling her, tracing absentminded shapes along my skin. Feeling her touch, having her on my lap… one was enough to drive me crazy, but both? I was fighting myself all the while.
“I thought going out with Kelly would be fun,” Laina finally spoke about her night out with her friend. “She’s been asking me to go out with her every weekend. I always have an excuse ready—of course I’d rather hang out with you, Kieran, or Fang.” She shrugged. “I don’t know. I just thought…”
I tightened my arms around her, knowing she’d continue without me prompting her.
“I met someone at the club.”
When she said that, I was suddenly on high alert. I couldn’t help but get possessive over this girl. Two other guys in the picture was bad enough; I didn’t want to invite another into our atypical relationship.
Then again, was it really so atypical? For this city, it almost felt like the norm. Lola had three boyfriends. Fang’s brother, the Beast, had a girl he shared with two of his men. Roman and Carter shared Zoey with some normie named Lake.
That prompted me to say, “Who?”
