Relentless Liberation (4 page)

She scoffed in disbelief. “You know what this is like? Have
you ever felt unworthy or unwanted a day in your life?”

“Hell yeah, I have. Mina, what do you think it was like to
grow up with three older brothers? And something
you
need to know and
understand is that I wasn’t always this gargantuan size, as you called it, and
intimidating.”

Actually, in her opinion it wasn’t even his size that was so
threatening. He was taller than most, around six foot three she was guessing,
and had to weigh close to two hundred pounds, all of it solid muscle. He wasn’t
bulky or hulked out. Lean, sinewy, sexy muscle was what covered his body. But
it was the way he carried himself, his outthrust of confidence and intensity
that was the intimidating part. And now that she knew him a little better, his
shrewd intelligence and quick wit made him all the more disarming.

“I didn’t grow up in the nicest of neighborhoods. I was kind
of a runt and where I come from if you can’t defend yourself… Well, let’s just
say it wasn’t all sunshine and roses. That was part of the reason for the constant
pounding I took from my brothers. In their own way, they were teaching me how
to fight, to protect myself.”

Suddenly he grinned. “Then eventually I got bigger. So yeah,
I understand where you’re coming from but here’s a better strategy. You need to
let go of your preconceived ideas and stop giving a shit about how other people
see you. They don’t matter, so who gives a flying fuck what they think?”

“But your opinion matters, doesn’t it?” she snapped.

Somberly, he shook his head. “Only to me. It only matters to
me.”

Before she could reply, Chloe and Brian returned to the
table, laughing and out of breath. The tension between Tyler and Mina was so
thick it was a wonder her two carefree friends didn’t choke on it.

By this time Tyler had finished his beer, so he mumbled
something about needing another one and left the table before either Chloe or
Brian could pick up on anything amiss. They sat down and Chloe animatedly
started in on a story involving one of the fighters and his unfortunate lack of
rhythm but Mina was only half listening. She kept replaying Tyler’s words in
her head.

Once again, he’d managed to completely surprise her and once
again she found herself realizing that the actual man was nothing like her
fantasy man. Grudgingly, she had to admit that the real man was so much better,
had so much more depth than she’d given him credit for and if at all possible
her admiration for him grew.

Inwardly she sighed. It didn’t matter how much she liked or
admired him. Now that they’d had their little spat—or whatever the hell that
was—she wouldn’t be surprised if he avoided her for the rest of the night. It
wasn’t like this was a date or anything.

Admitting that she’d adequately pushed him away, she forced
herself to focus on what Chloe was saying to her. In the end, it was probably
better this way anyway. She still didn’t have a clue what it was he’d wanted
from her in the first place, but keeping him at arm’s length was the wisest
choice.

And so it was that when she’d finally forced him out of her thoughts,
he came back to the table with a bottle of tequila and two shot glasses. Deftly
flipping them up on the table and filling them to the brim, he slid one to her.
“Drink up,” he ordered.

Craning her neck to gaze up at him, she could feel the
bemusement coming off her in waves. He felt it too, she knew, but it seemed he
didn’t care as he sat down next to her once again.

“Our conversation was getting too heavy. And you remember
what I said to you about you needing to loosen up?” He nudged the shot glass
closer to her.

“You were the one who got us on such a serious topic to
begin with.”

“I know and now I’m changing the subject. Do some shots with
me.” When she eyed the tequila dubiously, his stern expression turned playful.
“Do I need to play the birthday card? Because I’ll tell you right now that I
will. I have no shame.”

“That’s a fact.” Brian laughed, bringing Mina’s attention to
the fact that there were two other people sitting at the table with them. Chloe
was regarding her with a raised eyebrow, a knowing smile on her lips and a
challenge in her eyes.

Mina raised an eyebrow right back at her. Seemed like Chloe
and Tyler were on the same side after all. Then she thought
screw it
. It
had been too long and she was entitled to let loose and have a little fun every
now and again. Besides, she didn’t think she’d be able to persuade Team “Let’s
Corrupt Mina” into letting her be. So with a lift to her chin, she picked up
the glass and tossed the shot back.

It
had
been too long and immediately the taste had
her gagging. Tyler laughed and handed her his beer to chase it down. “That’s a
girl,” he said, downing his own shot before taking the beer bottle from her and
slinging some back.

While the potent alcohol burned a line down her throat and
into her stomach, making every corner of her body begin to feel languid and
fuzzy around the edges, she was distantly aware of the fact that she and her
uber-crush were sharing out of the same bottle. The thought of placing her
mouth where his had recently been made her giddy, like an adolescent girl.
Couple that with the tequila and it made her just this side of horny too. She
licked her lips and smiled to herself.

“If you’re going to get her wasted, then you can give her
drunk ass a ride home,” Chloe said to Tyler as she gave Mina a wink.

He nodded. “Don’t worry. I got her.” He rested his arm along
the back of her chair. She felt the warmth of his proximity like millions of
warm little electrical pulses along her spine.

“You know,
she
is an adult and
she
is sitting
right here,” she grouched to cover up that tingling feeling. “I can control
myself, thank you very much.”

“And that’s the problem right there.” Tyler frowned as he
poured more alcohol into their shot glasses. “You need to let go of some of
that control. And aren’t you lucky that me and Jose here are willing to help
you with that?” That wicked smile was back in place as he slid her another
shot.

“
So
lucky.” Her tone was laced with sarcasm but part
of her did feel lucky. She really didn’t know why or in what way but he was
genuinely interested in her.

Deciding right then and there not to worry or overthink it
anymore, she raised her shot glass and toasted him before she downed the
contents. The burn went down easier this time but she still had to grab his
beer for a chaser.

He slammed down his shot glass and abruptly stood, pulling
her up with him. Without uttering a single word, he grabbed her hand and
started leading her toward the dance floor. In her hazy state it took her a few
minutes to react, but when she finally could, she did so by digging her heels
in and yanking on her imprisoned hand.

“Oh no, I don’t think so,” she said in a near panic. “I
don’t wanna dance. One drastically new thing at a time, Tyler.”

“I think you should be loose enough to dance with me. Or do
we need to do another shot?”

While she weighed the pros and cons, Chloe wasted no time at
all jumping to her feet and grabbing Mina’s other hand to help Tyler tug her
out onto the dance floor. “Come on, Mina. We’re gonna have fun. Just let go.”

Taking a deep breath, she looked at them and thought
what
the hell?
Tonight apparently was a night of self-liberation and soon she
was out on the floor with her friends, feeling good and moving to the music.

They were only on the floor a few seconds when Tyler was
waylaid by a group of women he obviously knew. Mina scowled the moment his hand
slipped from hers but Chloe pulled her focus back to dancing, rolling her eyes
at his groupies and making her laugh.

As one song morphed into two and the alcohol ran its course
through Mina’s veins, a nice fluffy cloud of laughter and rhythm settled over
her. Why had she never done this before? The feeling was euphoric.

Unbidden, she remembered that Daisy used to go to clubs all
the time. She’d always discouraged Mina from going with her, saying that she
wouldn’t fit in, and persuaded her that it wasn’t her scene. So she’d always
stayed at home reading a book while her faux best friend went out and had a
good time without her.

Suddenly a spike of anger shot through her at the memories.
Why the hell had she taken Daisy’s words as gospel? She should have gone anyway
to find out for herself. God, she’d been such a puppet back then! What had she
been so afraid of? Now she found herself wondering anew what Daisy’s motives
had been in holding her back. Going over all of the same conversations and
events again as she had so many times before, only this time with the righteous
indignation of a slightly inebriated mind.

But before the thoughts could fully form in her mind, a
strong arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her back into a hard body. The
beat had changed into a sultry rhythm and his hips rolled into hers with
perfect timing. She knew without having to turn around that it was Tyler behind
her. Even without the satisfied smile that sprang to Chloe’s face when he
appeared she would have known.

It was in the way he smelled, clean and crisp like a fresh
fall breeze, the way he moved with confidence and purpose. His sheer presence
alone was already familiar and burned into her senses. And to her surprise,
they fit together flawlessly as they rocked back and forth.

She should have known he’d be a good dancer. The man seemed
to know exactly what he was doing with his body at all times. The thought made
her shiver.

He spun her around to face him, pulling her close as his
knee slid between hers. Their fingers linked together and a slow sensual smile
tugged at his lips when he trapped her hands behind her at the small of her back.

“You feeling loose enough yet?”

Words failed her. All she could do was stare at his mouth
and nod. He laughed, the sound tingling down her already sensitized nerve
endings.

“Good.” He twirled her out then back into him, startling her
into a giggle.

All too quickly, the song ended and he released her. Chloe
linked her hand with Mina’s as Tyler murmured that he would be back and went to
mingle with various people in the crowd. She tracked his movements through the
bar throughout the night. Watched as he laughed and accepted birthday wishes
and marveled that he always came back to her.

Alternating between doing more shots with Tyler and going
back out onto the dance floor, her night flew by and she couldn’t remember a
single other time when she’d had so much fun. Or when she’d drunk so much.

By the end of the night she was definitely feeling the
effects of the alcohol. Tyler, seasoned drinker that he was, was handling his
liquor much better. Even though he’d cut them both off at the same point during
the night, by the time they left he was sober while she was still dangerously
tipsy.

But she was pleased 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. “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.” She
knew she was rambling but at the moment she didn’t really care.

“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 the softness of her
mattress was beneath her and she 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, 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.