Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“You can stay in one of the guest rooms if that would make you more comfortable. We don’t have to decide anything about what’s happening between us right now, but you will be safe at my house, and I can get you anything you need.”
“What about Felix? Your place isn’t….”
“Felix is just as welcome as you are. if he scratches something, I’ll replace it. Your protection is my top priority, and you’re safest with me. Even if your family figures out where you are, they wouldn’t dare come at me directly. If they do, they won’t survive the encounter.”
I wasn’t going to turn him down. “Thank you. I….”
Miles shook my head. “You don’t have to say anything.”
“Okay.”
37
BEN
My mind spun as we drove. Jesse beating me up hadn’t been unexpected, but I was shocked at the thought of him setting fire to my apartment. I’d known he was cruel and probably somewhat crazy, but there were others who lived in my apartment complex, families, children, pets—and Felix had been our family cat until I’d taken him with me. How could he do that?
The most immediate problem was, where was I going to live? And how much, if anything, was I going to be able to salvage once I could get back into my apartment?
You can live with Miles, and he can take care of everything.
Could I though? Did I dare hope for that again?
“Pull over here.” Miles’s voice startled me from my thoughts.
I looked around. We were double-parked by a fast food place. “What are you doing?”
“Getting you a bacon cheeseburger.”
“Seriously? Looking like that?” I gestured at his soot-covered shirt and slacks.
“Yes. You said it was your favorite everyday meal, so I’m getting it for you.”
I smiled for the first time since I’d seen the flames. “You really are something else.”
“Damn right I am.”
Miles’s driver idled at the curb as traffic backed up behind us. Motorists laid on their horns as Miles calmly stepped out of the car and walked into the burger place.
When the car began to move forward, I started to protest.
The driver must have seen my distress in his mirror because he quickly assured me, “We’ll circle the block, sir, and then pick him up.”
“Oh. Of course.”
When Miles re-entered the car. He handed me a bag and set drinks in the holders in front of us.
I opened the bag and the scent of burgers and fries hit me. I was suddenly starving. “Are you even allowed to eat fast food in a car as fancy as this?”
“I’m allowed to do anything, remember?”
I frowned. “I should probably wait, though.”
“No, you need to eat something. You haven’t been eating well, and you didn’t have anything at Eudora’s.”
“How do you know I haven’t been eating? Are you still fucking spying on me?”
“I know because Ford told me, though as you saw, I did have a guard stationed by your building to make sure you’re safe.”
I wanted to be mad about that but….
“Ben, I care about you. That was never a game to me. I know I hid things from you, but how could I tell you?”
Just like I couldn’t tell him.
Miles laid a hand on my arm. “I’ve wanted you from the moment I saw you in the interview.”
I wanted to believe that so badly. “The interview was a game.”
“I suppose you could say that. I knew who you were. Did you really think I wouldn’t do a background check?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Mrrrow.” Felix yowled from his spot beside me, but I barely even heard him.
“It’s okay, Felix.” Miles said, his voice as gentle as I’d even heard it. “You’ll be out of the car soon.”
Miles extracted a burger from the bag and handed it to me, then he took one for himself. I grinned at him as he took a bite. “I didn’t think you’d eat fast food.”
“I can rough it as well as anyone.”
“I doubt that.” For the next several minutes, we both focused on eating. I was thankful for the food, not just because I was hungry, but because it gave me something to do with my hands and kept me from feeling like I needed to talk. Miles was a warm presence beside me. I wanted to snuggle against him, but I wasn’t sure exactly how I felt, and I didn’t want to let him hold me again until I did.
When we reached his building, Miles insisted on carrying Felix’s box. I still had fries to eat and part of my drink to finish, so I carried those. We were rather conspicuous with the screaming cat and Miles’s soot-covered clothes as we walked through the lobby of his posh building, but Miles wasn’t the least bit ruffled by it. He really did expect to get away with whatever he chose.
That had amazed, frightened, and angered me at various times, but right then I loved it. I looked around the lobby that had intimated me the first time I’d been here. Now all I saw was an open, airy space, decorated with marble and gold, nothing that should scare me. The only thing that mattered was whether Miles wanted me here.