Relentless Liberation (18 page)

“What’s the matter, you sick son of a bitch? Can’t take what
you dish out?” Tyler wasn’t even breathing hard as he added more pressure to
Doug’s throat. Silent tears were streaming down his face, which was now turning
an interesting shade of purple.

“I should rip your fucking balls off for what you did to
her,” he growled, showing the first sign of emotion since he’d pulled Doug off
her.

Mina couldn’t help but gasp at his words, knowing full well
that Tyler was more than capable of carrying out the threat. But no matter how
satisfying it would be to see Doug hurt like that, God only knew what kind of
trouble Tyler would get into for following through. Doug wasn’t worth it.

Before she could voice her thoughts to try to stop him,
Tyler seemed to rein himself in. “I won’t do it because she’s in the room. But
if you ever come near her again, so help me God…” He let the threat trail off
but his meaning was clear. “You fucking understand me?”

Doug could only nod slightly in Tyler’s hold. “Good, you
goddamn piece of shit,” Tyler bit out before slamming the back of Doug’s head
against the wall hard enough to knock him out. As Tyler let go and stepped back,
Doug’s limp body slid to the floor in a heap.

Tyler didn’t spare Doug any more of his attention after
that. Spinning around, he moved toward Mina, taking her in his arms, cradling
her head against his chest. “You okay, baby?” His voice was hoarse, letting her
know that he’d been more affected than he’d let on.

She couldn’t speak. The moment he pulled her into the
security of his arms the floodgates opened and her body was racked with sobs.
He just held her tighter, letting her get it all out, stroking her hair and
murmuring soothing words.

Finally, when she’d calmed down enough, she pulled back to
gaze up at him, the man she loved more than the waking world. “I’m okay,” she
sniffed.

But he looked doubtful. “You sure?”

“Yes, I promise.” She looked down at Doug’s still body. “We’d
better get out of here before he wakes up.”

Tyler snorted. “He wakes up while I’m still in the room and
he’s gonna get his ass knocked out again, baby.”

As always, his gruffness made her smile. “Well, to prevent
permanent brain damage, we should probably leave and call the police.”

“His brain is already damaged but I see your point.” With
that he took her hand and led her out of the bathroom.

Hours later they were back at Tyler’s house, sitting on the
couch. She was in the only place in the world she wanted to be at that moment,
firmly snuggled into him with his arms wrapped around her.

What had started out as a celebration had turned into the
longest night of her life. Once they’d gotten the restaurant to call the police,
it was a case of waiting around until the police got there to arrest Doug and
take their statements. It seemed like it had taken forever and she was
exhausted, not only from the events of the evening, but from the tireless
questions.

And she would never forget the look of pure hatred Doug had
shot her as the police marched him out of the restaurant in cuffs. She shivered
at the memory but at least now he was finally out of her life.

“You cold?” Mina felt Tyler’s voice rumble from his chest as
his arms tightened around her.

“No, I’m good.” And for once in her life, that was a
completely true statement. “But I am curious about something. How did you know
that Doug had me trapped in the bathroom?” She’d thought that he would have
been oblivious to what was happening to her and would have remained that way
until it was over.

“When you got up to go to the bathroom, I was watching you
walk to the back of the restaurant and I noticed that I wasn’t the only one
with my eyes glued to you. I just thought it was some random guy checking you
out but after a few minutes he got up and followed you toward the bathrooms. At
first I thought he just had to piss, you know? But then you were taking too
long…” He shifted uncomfortably beneath her. “When you took so long to come
back out, I just knew who that bastard was.”

Never had Mina been more grateful for Tyler’s uncanny
observational skills. She didn’t know what kind of state she, or their
relationship, would be in if he hadn’t been hyperaware of her.

She could tell by the tension coursing through his body that
he was still fighting his anger from earlier. And when she looked up at him she
saw…regret? Lifting her head to look at him more closely she asked, “What’s
wrong?”

That tic started up again in his jaw and he wouldn’t look at
her.“Nothing. I just—” He shook his head. “I should have followed that
cocksucker the minute he left his chair to go after you. If I had, then he
wouldn’t have been able to touch you in the first place.”

“No.” She sat up and crawled into his lap. Taking his face
in her hands she said, “How could you have known that was Doug? It’s not like
I’d ever told you what he looked like.” Which was something, in hindsight, she
realized she probably should have done.

“I still should have gone with my gut and gone after him,”
he said with a sullen expression, finally meeting her eyes. For the first time
since she’d met him, she saw real fear registered in the warm dark brown
depths. Fear of losing her?

Her suspicion was confirmed a moment later. “If anything had
happened to you, Mina, if he’d hurt you in any way…” He licked his lips and
swallowed hard. “I would have gone crazy, baby. Doug wouldn’t have been upright
and mobile, that’s for damn sure. If I would’ve left him alive at all.”

The fierce sincerity of his words had her heart pounding and
she didn’t know if she’d ever get used to having someone care so intensely for
her. Again she wondered how in the world she’d gotten so lucky as to have found
him. And to think she’d almost left him. Bile rose in her throat at the mere
thought.

“I know,” she said softly. “But you aren’t a possessively
paranoid boyfriend, Tyler. That’s one of the things I love about you. The
important thing is that you came when you did. You were there, baby.” She bent
forward to softly kiss his lips. “You saved me.” She kissed him again. “Thank
you.” Another kiss. “I love you.”

This time when she went to kiss him, he kissed her back.
Cradling the back of her head, he pulled her closer to him and dominated the
kiss. The way his lips moved across hers, the way his tongue penetrated and
explored her mouth, told her far more than his words ever could. He was so
passionate and intense. And he was all hers. Her man.

“I love you too, Mina,” he whispered when he pulled away.
“So much, baby. So goddamn much.”

Given the events of the evening, this conversation was way
too serious for her liking. They needed to lighten the oppressive mood and
reclaim the joy they’d felt before they’d gone to dinner. And Mina felt that
for once she could truly let go now that Doug was no longer a specter, lurking
at the back of her mind. He was finally gone.

So, in the spirit of breaking the tension, she leaned forward
to kiss him playfully. “Mmm.” She ground her hips into him, feeling his cock
stirring to life under her. “I can feel that you love me.” She kissed him
again. “The question is, how much?”

Pulling back, he narrowed his eyes on her but slowly that
sexy-as-hell impish smile curved his lips. “Is it now?” His hands traveled down
to her hips. “How can I prove to you how much?”

Biting her lip, she smiled when he pulled her closer and at
the same time thrust his hips up into her.

“Oh I think you should show me,” she panted, grinding down
on him for emphasis.

“Want me to show you?” His lips meandered down her throat
and he playfully bit her.

Nodding, she mumbled out an “uh-huh” and he growled against
her skin before pulling back to look her in the eyes. “I’ll show you, baby. For
the rest of my life I’ll show you how much I love you. Forever.”

Her heart expanded as she looked at him, not able to speak through
the lump in her throat but feeling the exact same way.

His lips split into a wolfish grin before he abruptly stood,
taking her with him. She yelped when he tossed her over his shoulder, but
couldn’t help laughing at his caveman maneuver. And as he carried her back to
his bedroom she couldn’t contain the giddiness she felt swelling up inside her
at the realization that she was finally free.

And she couldn’t wait to start on her forever with Tyler.

The End

L.J. Fine’s idea of the perfect life is to sit in her
pajamas all day sipping on a good cup of coffee while playing in her
imagination. Her mother instilled in her a love of reading (romance novels in
particular) at an early age and she turned that love into a passion for writing
her own love stories with a decidedly dirty-minded twist. Mom’s so proud! 

L.J. lives in Pennsylvania, where she is working on making
that dream of a perfect life into a reality.

L.J. welcomes comments from readers. You can find her email
address on her
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Relentless Liberation

ISBN 9781419942723

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Relentless Liberation Copyright © 2014 L.J. Fine

Edited by Julie Naughton

Cover design by Fiona Jayde

Cover photography by GeorgeMayer, SS1001/shutterstock.com

Electronic book publication March 2014

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