Page 45 of Stiletto Sins

The knowledge that an unknown person had saved me felt odd. Was it coincidental? Had they been trailing Blackhawk too? Or was it just a good Samaritan?

“Oh,” I finally said, playing with the cover. “Hmm, so.” Looking up at the guys, I noticed their faces reflected mine. “Yeah, I got nothing. Okay, so first Milo tells us where he was and how he found me, and then Cohen and I will see if we can find anything out from any cameras.”

“Already ahead of you there. They were turned off during that time frame. Which makes me think it was Blackhawk, at least. He’d know how to do that.”

My shoulders slumped, and I drew in a deep breath. “Right, fine, we’ll worry about that later. Milo?”

He smiled, shaking his head as his cheeks heated again. “You’re not going to let it go, are you?”

“Nope. Sorry, but it’s easier to focus on that than almost being kidnapped again.” That seemed to sober the guys and Milo nodded, exhaling.

“First, I, um, kind of graduated today.” He brushed his fingers through his hair in a nervous gesture, and I felt jealous of them.

“Wow, congratulations, man!” Asa cheered, slapping him on the back. And once again, my perfect boyfriend reminded me what the proper response was in this situation, and it wasn’t fixating on fingers.

“Congrats, Milo. Or, I guess, Dr. Milo. I’m so happy for you.” He smiled at me, some relief on his face.

“Yeah, well, it feels good to do something outside of my family. But when I looked around the crowd, I realized how well I’d done at pushing everyone away so they couldn’t take advantage of me. I was there, alone, with no one to take a picture with. And it just felt like it didn’t even matter. If no one witnesses your success, is it a success?”

“Of course it is. Don’t let them take this from you too. We should celebrate.”

“You’re right, and that’s how I ended up here. I knew who I wanted to celebrate with.” He ducked his head, his cheeks returning to that adorable shade of red.

“How did you know where I was, though?”

I conveniently ignored the other part that, out of all the people in the world, I was the one he wanted to celebrate his accomplishment with.

“Does it matter?” Asa asked. He looked at me, a serious look in his eyes. “He saved you. Without him,” he shuddered, stopping his words as thoughts flitted across his eyelids, “you might not be sitting here with us now. So, you two can talk about it later, but I’m glad he showed up when he did. And personally, I think that calls for some pizza and beer. How does that sound for a mini-celebration tonight?” he asked, turning to Milo.

It was killing me not knowing the answer, but I recognized what Asa was saying and doing. He was including Milo in our little circle, and I needed to honor what that meant. I could talk with Milo later, but maybe Asa was right about not needing to know as well.

Looking up, I found that Milo had been watching me. I gave him a soft smile, letting him know I wasn’t angry. It seemed to be what he needed as he turned to Asa, and they started to talk about pizza toppings. Cohen took the opportunity to pull me back to his chest.

Tilting my head, I looked at the man I was getting to know on a whole new level. “I never took you as a cuddle person.”

“Oh? Was it the stellar wit that keeps people at arm's length or the all-black attire that made you take that leap?” he asked, smirking at me.

Snuggling into his arms, I found him to be rather comfortable. “Hm, more of the ‘I’m too cool for school’ attitude.”

Cohen laughed, his breath making the top of my hair move. “Yeah, well, it’s probably a lot of things. I kept people at arm's length on purpose. But deep down, I’m a big softie who’s a physical person. I knew if I ever let myself get too close then, I wouldn’t be able to let you go, and for the longest time, I didn’t think you were an option.”

“I’m glad you didn’t run away,” I whispered, my eyes drawing heavy again as I listened to his heartbeat.

“Everywhere I ran, it always led me back to you. I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. I will cuddle your ass until you're old and gray.”

“That’s kind of sweet in a morbid way.” I yawned, shifting a little.

“Ssh, close your eyes. I’ll wake you when the food is here.”

He pressed his lips to my forehead, and I took his advice, letting myself fall back under. At least this time, I was safe and surrounded by three guys who would do whatever it took to protect me. Like Milo, I was learning that some things were better with people. And this was definitely one of them.

Seventeen

FINLEY

The smellof melted cheese and pepperoni tickled my nose, waking me. Cohen’s warm body still pressed into me, and I stayed still for a moment, enjoying the comfort of his embrace.

“Where should we eat it?” one of the guys asked quietly. “The table is only big enough for the box.”

---