Page 73 of Deceit
He abruptly stood, and in four long strides, he was by my side, perched onthe bed with my chin grasped between his thumb and finger.“Don’t dothat, Sofe. Don’t joke. You have no idea how fucking scared I was last night. I thought I was going to lose you.”
The pain in his eyes gutted me, and I reached out to cup his cheek.“I’msorry I put you throughthat. And I’m sorry for making light of it, Ijustdon’t want you to worry. I’m good, in fact, I feel better than ever.”
He pressed his forehead against mine, his dark orbs staring into my soul.“I told you last night, you're not the one who needs to apologize. I should never have treated you the way I have been. I'm so fucking sorry, Sofe. Can you forgive me?”
I cupped his cheek. “There's nothing to forgive, Miles.”
His eyes shuttered close as he nuzzled against my palm. When they opened again, they were filled with relief. “Promise me you’ll never hurt yourself again. Promisethatif things get toomuch, you’ll talk to me.”
“I promise,” I whispered, knowing that it was a promise I would never break.
For several tense beats, he didn’t move, but held my stare as if he wasreassuring himselfthathe could trust my promise. When a few more seconds passed, he brushed his lips against mine in a chaste kiss before pulling away.“Thank you.”
Much to my disappointment, Miles didn’t fuck me again. He returned to thecomputer, telling me he was determined to figure out a way past the security system his friend, Ash, had put in place, and get us the hell out of the bunker.
I occupied myself by making breakfast for us both out of the variety ofcanned foods stored in the kitchenette, which, surprisingly, didn’t turn out to be terrible. After, I tidied up, made the bed, and showered, all thewhile Miles continued to tap away at the computer, muttering curses and threatening to skin both Ash and Kai alive for their devious plan.
While I didn’t mind being locked in the bunker—after all, it had done whatKai had intended,evenif I had almost ended my life in the process—I was more than ready to go home. At leastthen, I’d have things to keep me occupied.
Hour after hour passed, and despite trying my hardest to not let my boredomshow, Miles picked up on it. He stood, his spine cracking when he stretched, and walked over to where I sat on the couch, attempting, but failing, to read a book on business managementthatI’d found lying around the bunker.
“You’re bored,”he stated, taking the book from my hand and chucking it onthe table in front of the couch.
“No, I’m fine.”
“Liar.”He raised a brow, staring at me until I broke into a smile.
“Okay, maybe I’m alittlebit bored. But I don’t want to disturb you fromwhat you’re doing.”
“I need a break. I don’t know what the fuck Ash has done, but I’m getting nowherewith bypassing his security.”He smirked at the blank expression no doubt written on my face. I knew how to work a computer, but opening a tab in incognito mode was as far as my tech knowledge went.“Do you want to play a game?”he added.
“A game?”
“Yeah, you know. Something two or more people do for fun.”
I threw the cushionthatwas next to me on the couch, which he caught withease.“I know what a game is, Ijustdidn’t expect you to sayyouwanted to play. What game did you have in mind, hide and seek?”
He snorted.“Funny. Know how to play chess?”
Before I could answer, he crossed the small space to a cupboard and pulledout a box. Bringing it over to the table, he placed it down and pulled the lid off to reveal a folded board and a bunch of chess pieces.
I couldn’t stop the giggle from breaking free.“Why on earth is there a chessboardin this bunker? I can’treallyimagine you and Kai hiding in here playing a game of chess while you’re under attack.”
Miles started pulling the pieces out and setting the board up.“Kai wouldn’thave the first clue how to play. It was Theo’s idea. He and Danny had to hide out in a safehouse a few years ago. They were stuck in there for a whole week, and they nearly killed each other out of boredom. When Theo got out, he vowed to make sure there was a chessboard in every one of our safehouses in case he ever got stuck in one again.”
My jaw hung open, and I questioned whether I’d imagined whathe’d said. He’d never spoken openly about Theo likethat, at least, not to me. Whenever his name was mentioned, Miles usually shut down.
As if catching himself, a flash of regret crept over his face before itdisappeared again. Deciding not to make a big deal out of it, I shuffled forward to lean over the table.
“I know how to play. But I should warn you, I happen to bereallygood atit.”
He sat down next to me. “Is that so?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Well, itjustso happens, I’m undefeated. How about we make itinteresting?”he said, his eyes darkening with wicked intent.
Butterflies flittered in my belly.“What did you have in mind?”
