Chapter 16 #2
Neither of us talk for a while as we wander down the street, but I appreciate the comfortable silence to regroup.
I’m no stranger to rolling with the punches; getting all of your stuff shoved into a garbage bag and dropped in a new home in the middle of the night a few times really drives that lesson home.
But the last few days have been a lot, even by my standards.
The more I think about it, though, the less upset I am at all of the revelations.
If anything, I’m actually kind of… relieved.
There’s a legitimate reason I’ve never really fit in anywhere, no matter how hard I tried. Since moving here, though, it’s been as easy as breathing. Natural. Mercy Ridge feels like the home I’ve been searching for my entire life.
But is it the town, or the three men wearing my mark that live here?
A crash jolts me out of my thoughts, and Arson tugs me to a halt a couple shops down from the bookstore. We share a look. “Think someone’s robbing the place, or a bookshelf fell on them and they’re slowly bleeding out?” Arson asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Option C, they just got fired and rage flipped their desk,” I counter.
“Maybe if we’re lucky, they’ll torch the place next.”
“How does that make us lucky?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” He beams, pointing at himself. “You like arson, and we’ll have a front row seat!”
Snorting, I tug him into motion. “That was terrible. Come on, let’s go check it out.”
“Might’ve been terrible, but you’re still holding my hand,” he says smugly. “You want to keep me.”
I roll my eyes, hiding a small smile. Arson’s a breed of his own, I’ll give him that. But he certainly keeps things interesting.
He steps through the door first, using his body as a shield while I peek around him to find Myles sitting in a chair next to an overturned coffee table in some sort of lobby, surrounded by three strangers.
They haven’t seen us creep in yet, and one of the assholes looming over Myles says, “Heard she's your neighbor. Come on man, you must know something that can give us a leg up.”
Another chimes in, “It’s not like you’ve got a chance with her, and you know it. So help us out, we’ll make it worth your while. Here.” The blonde guy pulls out his wallet, tossing a couple of twenties on the floor between them.
These motherfucking assholes.
Arson vibrates with fury, but before he can launch himself across the room, I put a hand on his arm, silently asking him to back down.
I’ve dealt with enough bullies over the years to know that if Arson kicks their asses, they’ll just take out their embarrassment-fueled rage on Myles the next time they catch him alone to save face, and will make it ten times worse for him.
And even if Myles stands up to them now, it’s three on one.
So it looks like we’re going with plan C.
“Babe!” Striding across the room without sparing the jackasses a glance, I slide onto Myles's lap. Threading my fingers through his messy auburn hair, I capture his lips in a fierce kiss. I follow his sharp intake of breath with my tongue, encouraging him to play along. An electric thrill runs through my body as he tentatively kisses me back, the hand on my hip tightening while the other slides up my arm to cup my jaw. While it started as simply for show, he isn’t the only one breathless when I eventually put a hand to his chest, reluctantly pulling away and smiling at him.
“Did you finish early today after all? Ready to head home?”
The dazed look in his eyes as he stares at me, stunned, does fantastic things for my self-esteem.
“Y-yeah. I just need to lock up.” The telltale hard outline of his cock presses against the back of my thighs.
As in plural. As discreetly as I can, I squirm on his lap to make sure I’m not imagining things, but when it twitches, Myles tightens his grip with a pained hiss, forcing me to sit still and confirm my theory.
You’d think Myles would be far more confident since he’s apparently hung like a horse. If I had a dick that size, I’d be a menace.
Arson kicks off of the doorway he’s been leaning against. “I can help take care of that.” Without breaking a sweat, his shadows whip out around him, latching onto the three assholes and flinging them out onto the curb like yesterday’s trash.
“Store’s closed, later losers.” Flipping the lock, the deadbolt slides into place with an audible click that makes my heart skip a beat.
“So, angel.” Arson prowls toward me slowly, eyes locked on mine as he rests a hand on the back of Myles’s chair, caging me in between the two of them. “Who’s your friend?”
I cringe, guilt hitting me hard as I gesture between them. “Arson, meet Myles, my…” I trail off, not really sure where we stand. Potential mate? Neighbor? Guy whose face I just molested? “Myles, this is Arson. My-”
“Right hand man.” Arson’s eyes narrow on Myles’s face. “Bodyguard, boyfriend, someone to slit the throats of whoever touches her. Whatever she needs, it’s my job to take care of it.”
The blood drains from Myles’s face. “N-nice to meet you.” Realizing his hand is still on my hip, he yanks it off like I burned him, holding them both up in surrender. “I’m so sorry, I -”
Arson's eyes widen and he stares at him, lips parting in surprise. “Wait. Myles Evergreen?”
“Umm, yeah.” Myles fidgets with his glasses. “Not sure what you’ve heard about me, but I swear-”
A massive grin splits Arson’s face. “I finally found you!” In a flash, he scoops us both up out of the chair, swinging us around with a laugh.
Finally setting us back on our feet, Arson refuses to let go as he looks down at me with a raised eyebrow.
“Our first date and you kiss my brother?
I'm feeling a little jealous here, angel.”
Myles frowns. “What the heck are you talking about? I don’t have a brother.”
Arson stares down at them. “Your parents are Vaughn and Aria Evergreen, right? Bought you twenty-three years ago in a less-than-legal deal at Beelzebar, and passed you off as their own child to avoid the investigation that an adoption would bring?”
Eyes widening, his mouth parts. “How did you…?”
Arson’s lips twist in a wry smile. “Our parents told me about it right before I killed them.”