Relentless Liberation: Serano Brothers Novel, Book1

by L. J. Fine

  However, it pleased her to discover she was a happy drunk. Happier still to be leaving with him, even if she could barely keep her eyes open and he was only going to drop her off at her apartment. She was just so undoubtedly with him that night and she couldn’t have been more proud or elated.

  They climbed into his car and the soft rumble of the engine as he fired it up purred through her body, relaxing her.

  “Thank you for tonight,” she said as she rested her head back against the soft leather of the seat, eyes drifting closed. “Daisy never let me do this kind of thing.” She yawned. “Said I was too backward to enjoy myself.”

  A rude snort sounded from the driver’s seat and Mina titled her head toward him and forced her eyes open into slits. “No offense, but this Daisy chick sounds like a twat.”

  Her brow furrowed in a frown as she stared out the window at the streetlights as they zipped by. “No, Daisy’s perfect. Everyone thinks so, even my parents.” She could feel the words slowly pouring out of her mouth but didn’t have the energy or the gumption to stop them. She knew she was rambling but at the moment couldn’t bring herself to care. “It was probably good I never went out with her anyway. I was invisible when she was around. I would have gotten wasted with no one to take care of me because no one would have noticed. She knew it and I knew it so she said I was better off staying home.”

  “Yeah like I said, she’s a twat if she was filling your head with bullshit like that.”

  Turning her head to look at his darkly handsome profile, she grinned. “But you can see me, can’t you?”

  Her eyelids were getting too heavy to lift and they slowly fluttered downward once more. Before they closed the whole way, she saw the muscle in his jaw tense and he muttered something that sounded like, “Hell yeah, I can.” But she wasn’t sure if that last part was reality or a dream as she dozed off in the warmth and comfort of his car.

  Vaguely, she was aware of the world slowing to a halt and the sound of a car door slamming before strong arms lifted her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled into his chest as he carried her up the steps of her apartment building.

  His sinfully deep voice rumbled in her ear. “Hey, Sleeping Beauty. What’s your apartment number?”

  “Four twenty-seven,” she managed to mumble.

  The sound of keys jingling in the hallway roused her again and she knew that they were at her apartment door. Then she felt the softness of her mattress beneath her and heard him shifting around her bed as he pulled the covers over her.

  The warmth of his body started to slip away and she blindly reached for him, her hand landing on his vein-roped forearm. He paused, and then let her pull him down toward her until his face was level with hers.

  “Happy birthday, Tyler,” she whispered against his ear before kissing him softly on the cheek.

  His low chuckle filled the silence of her room. “Best birthday ever, baby.”

  When he kissed her ever so lightly on the lips, she knew she must have been dreaming.

  Chapter Five

  Morning sunlight filtered through the window blinds, landing right over Mina’s closed eyes, rousing her. Screwing her eyes tighter, she burrowed farther into the pillow to escape the brightness. Why hadn’t she closed the curtains last night before she went to bed? Had she fallen asleep reading again?

  She stretched out her arm, blindly searching for the book that was sure to be sprawled out above her pillow. Hopefully she at least remembered to mark her page before she passed out. Patting around on her mattress, her hand came up empty. She frowned.

  Then she remembered.

  Eyes flying open, she sat bolt upright and immediately regretted it. The world tilted on its axis and her head started to pound. She groaned and covered her head with her hands and it was then that she became aware of the god-awful taste in her mouth. Why had she let Tyler give her so many shots?

  Oh God. Tyler. He’d been here last night. And he’d been the one to put her to bed. That was why her curtains were still open. Groaning again, she brought her knees to her chest and hugged herself. She must have seemed like such a lightweight moron last night. Distinctly she remembered prattling on and on about something in his car, but for the life of her she couldn’t recall what.

  But did it really matter? She just hoped that she hadn’t confessed her feelings for him. Even though she was pretty sure he was aware of them, it was one thing to subtly know something and quite another to actually hear it confirmed out loud.

  Getting to her feet, she steadied herself against her nightstand, and then made her way out into the hall to her bathroom. She took extra-special care of her teeth that morning, brushing and gargling until she completely obliterated that taste from her mouth.

  Finally starting to feel somewhat human again, she exited the bathroom and decided that coffee would get her all the way there. With this goal in mind, she ambled her way toward the kitchen but only got as far as her living room before shock forced her into immobility.

  Tyler’s big body sprawled out on her moderately sized couch, which wasn’t near long enough for his frame. He had propped one of her throw pillows up under his neck and his head was turned to face her but he was fast asleep. Despite what must have clearly been an uncomfortable sleeping position, he looked peaceful and completely relaxed. And downright adorable. How was that even fair?

  Well shit, now what was she supposed to do?

  Make yourself more presentable before he wakes up and sees you looking like a hot mess, that’s what, her subconscious roared at her.

  Turning on her heel to sprint back into her bedroom, she once again stopped cold when his gravelly voice reached her ears in a gruff “good morning”.

  “Good morning,” she muttered as she turned back to face him. She watched in fascination as he stretched his arms above his head, the delicious muscles there flexing with the movement. His t-shirt rode up to expose his stomach and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from the happy trail that disappeared enticingly into his low-slung jeans. Then, rubbing his face, he sat up, swung his legs out and placed his feet on the floor. Tilting his head to either side, he cracked his neck, and then gazed up at her with a sleepy smile.

  She knew she was staring and that was probably the reason for his amused expression. But what was the proper etiquette when waking up with the mother of all hangovers only to find the man of your dreams had camped out on your couch? At a complete loss, she figured she should just stick with her original plan of the morning. Shaking herself out of her stupor, she made her way around the island that separated the kitchen from the living room.

  “Coffee?” There were about a hundred other questions she wanted to ask him in that moment but this one seemed the most practical. Plus it gave her some time to stall and get her wits together. And of course, of all the mornings to need to be able to think straight lest she make a total fool of herself, it would be this morning. The morning when jackhammers were going off inside her skull and she was fuzzy around the edges. And so not in the fun way.

  “Please.” He stood. “Mind if I use your bathroom?”

  “No, help yourself.” Yes, please leave the room for a minute so I can quietly freak out without you seeing, she thought.

  Busying herself with the coffee, she had just set out two mugs, cream and sugar when he reappeared and took a seat at one of the stools along the island. She filled a cup and slid it to him.

  “Thanks,” he mumbled before dumping about half the bowl of sugar into his coffee.

  “Want a little coffee with your sugar?” she asked, arching an eyebrow.

  He shrugged. “What can I say? I like sweet things.” The dark look he sent her over the rim of his cup made her fidget, so she put down her mug before she spilled scalding-hot coffee all over herself.

  Bracing her hip against the counter, she cleared her throat. “So, you spent the night?”

  Such a stupid question. Obviously he spent the night but this situation was so awkward she felt t
he need to state the obvious.

  “Yeah, you were pretty tanked. Do you remember much about anything after I brought you home?” He watched her carefully and she squirmed under the intensity in his dark eyes.

  “No, I just remember you carrying me up the stairs and into my bedroom. After that it’s a total blank. What happened?”

  “Damn, I can’t believe you don’t remember.” He looked at her again as if silently asking her to confirm. When she shook her head and shrugged, he scowled. “After I laid you down on your bed, you pulled me on top of you and started kissing and rubbing up against me.” He spoke slowly as though addressing a dimwitted child. “We had sex, Mina.”

  This time she felt it when her jaw hit the floor and he paused to take in her reaction. Then just to clarify, he said, “In fact, you fucked me so good last night I think I might’ve seen God.”

  When she still didn’t say anything, just stood there, stomach bottomed out and too stunned to speak, he shook his head. “Unbelievable. Best lay of my life and you don’t remember.”

  There were literal black spots dotting her vision as she choked. “W-we did what?” He didn’t say anything, just glared at her. Shocked and flabbergasted, she couldn’t even form a full sentence. “B-but I…and you…how did…what!”

  Before her mind could spin out into a thousand different directions and she hyperventilated, she forced herself to take a deep breath and then she caught his expression. That mischievous smirk curved his lips and his eyes glittered with barely suppressed laughter.

  After expelling that deep breath, she took stock of her body and found the only sore part was her head. If she knew anything at all, it was that if Tyler decided to seduce her—or be seduced by her, as it were—with the way he controlled his body, she would be sore in a hell of a lot more places than just her head. And then there was the little fact that he had woken up, fully clothed, on her couch.

  Narrowing her eyes on him, she folded her arms across her chest. “What really happened after you brought me home?”

  The smirk spread into a full-on grin. “You mean after the fictional hot monkey sex?”

  She nodded curtly.

  “I was about to leave when you bolted out of bed and made a beeline for the bathroom. Let’s just say you got sick. I held your hair and then I thought it’d be a good idea for me to hang around in case you needed something. Like an aspirin. Or a cold compress. Or a trip to the emergency room to deal with alcohol poisoning. It was so late by the time you settled down that I passed out on the couch.”

  Well, at least this story made much more sense. And in spite of his teasing lie, a wave of tenderness swept through her that he even bothered with her at all. Although she was surprised that he stuck around and took care of her like that. Good thing too because she had obviously not been able to do it herself. The adrenaline started to fade away from the shock he had given her and she deflated onto one of the barstools. “That’s a crappy way to spend your birthday. I’m sorry.”

  “Nah, that’s okay. It’s not even your fault. It’s mine, actually. I thought I cut you off in time but I misjudged. For that I’m sorry. But I don’t mind taking care of you.” He propped his elbow up on the counter and rested his chin in his hand as he shot her a lazy smile. “All in all, it was a good night.”

  She felt herself blush all the way down to her toes. “Would you like some breakfast? After last night, the least I can do is feed you.”

  “I’d love some breakfast.” He glanced down at the silver watch on his wrist and frowned. “But I can’t. We have a shipment coming into the bar in an hour, so I should get home and take a shower.”

  Unbidden, an image of his naked body standing underneath the hot spray of the shower popped into her mind, causing her salivary glands to kick into overdrive. She shook her head and cleared her throat before he noticed her drooling all over herself.

  “Okay. I would say maybe next time but hopefully this isn’t an experience that repeats itself.”

  “No more tequila for you, then?” He chuckled. When she adamantly shook her head his smile broadened. “How are you feeling, anyway?”

  “Okay.” She shrugged. “My head’s kind of pounding but other than that I’m all right.”

  Nodding, he stood and went to her coffee table to retrieve his keys, phone and wallet. He pulled on his shoes and came back over to her. “Do you have any bananas?”

  “I think I do, actually. Why, do you want one for the road?”

  “No. Apparently they’re good for hangovers. Must be a potassium thing.”

  “Apparently?” She raised an eyebrow. “You don’t know from personal experience?”

  That lopsided smile graced his face again, sending her stomach into a fit of flutters. “Nah, I don’t get hangovers and I never black out. Dunno why. Alcohol must not affect me the way it does everyone else.”

  If at all possible, that pedestal he had been sitting on just got a little taller. So if alcohol didn’t make him forget his actions, then he couldn’t use it as an excuse. She would have to file that information away for future reference.

  Wait, what was she doing? She knew he wasn’t like that. He had already more than proven that to her. Bad experiences reaped a paranoia she would do much better without in this case. She didn’t know when but somewhere along the line in their brief acquaintance she had grown to trust him.

  He smiled warmly as if he could read her thoughts, and the feeling of security he gave her intensified.

  “Well, I better go.” He moved toward the door and opened it. “Thanks for letting me crash on your couch,” he tossed playfully over his shoulder.

  She snorted then laughed. “Anytime, Tyler, anytime.”

  Chapter Six

  “Did I just see you get out of Tyler’s car?” Chloe dive-bombed Mina as soon as she walked into the bookstore to start her shift.

  Startled by the abrupt question, Mina arched a brow as she began making her way to the break room to clock in, Chloe in tow. “Hello to you, too. And yes, you did. I had to take my car to the shop this morning and Tyler offered to follow me out and give me a ride to work. Why?”

  “Oh no reason. But the two of you have been spending a lot of time together lately.” Instead of the excitement that would have normally followed such a statement, Chloe looked worried.

  They had been spending a lot of time together, though. Ever since that fateful night he had given her a ride home from the gym, she had either seen or spoken to him at least once every day. He came in regularly to have coffee with her on the occasions she didn’t work the same shift that he was working at the bar. If she didn’t see him, he would either call or text her.

  In fact, she had gotten so used to him in the last month or so that if she didn’t hear from him in some form during the day she got antsy.

  “Yeah, we have. So what? Why are you acting so weird?” She gave Chloe a sideways look while she put her purse in her locker. “I thought you’d be happy about it.”

  “Before now I would’ve been happy about it. It’s just—” She shook her head. “Never mind. It’s none of my business.” She turned to walk out of the break room and back onto the sales floor.

  Well that wasn’t odd or anything. Mina followed her out of the room. “Just the fact that you’re telling me it’s none of your business has me worried. What’s wrong, Chloe? What aren’t you telling me?”

  Chloe sighed as she turned to face Mina and leaned against the cash register. “Honestly, it’s nothing to be worried about. Tyler’s a great guy and I’m really glad you two hit it off so well and became such good friends.”

  “Why do I feel like there’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere?”

  “But…I think that’s all you’ll ever be with him, Mina. Just friends.” Chloe bit her lip.

  Mina’s brow furrowed but before she could get anything out of her mouth Chloe continued. “So I may have pumped Brian for some information where Tyler’s feelings for you are concerned.”

  Oh God.
She swallowed hard, not sure she wanted to hear this. But now that Chloe had brought it up and she got the gist of what was coming, she would obsess about it if she didn’t find out. “And?”

  “He said that Tyler talks about you all the time. To the point where he thought Tyler had a thing for you but was just taking his time, you know? So in the way that guys do, and maybe with a little prodding from me, Brian flat-out asked him what his intentions, so to speak, toward you were.”

  Groaning, Mina propped her elbows on the counter and buried her face in her hands.

  “And what did he say?” The sound of her voice came out muffled through her hands. She felt as if she were back in middle school listening to Daisy tell her the latest thing she’d heard about Mina’s crush. The news had never been good back then either.

  “He said that he couldn’t believe how close the two of you had gotten in such a short period of time. But when Brian asked him how he felt about you, he said that you were like the sister he never had.”

  Yup, it was official. She really didn’t want to know that.

  Everything had been going so well between them. He was always so attentive to her, always sought out her company. As they had gotten to know each other, she found that when it came to her, he was a total sweetheart. That feeling of security she had known around him had only grown. She felt like she could tell him just about anything and she just about did.

  Her only sin of omission had been to lay off the details of that one night all those years ago, something she wouldn’t tell anyone. Ever. In the retelling was the reliving and she just didn’t think she would ever be ready to go there. But Tyler could make her forget that pain, make her laugh like no other and put her at ease. She trusted him, which was no small feat.