“Andi?” Decker’s raised voice stopped me in my tracks. I spun around to see him rushing towards me with a confused expression on his face. Behind him came Miles. I took a small step back which caused Decker to slow down and look over his shoulder. With nothing but concern in his eyes, he reached for my hand. I felt immediately safer, stronger.
“What are you doing here?” I demanded of Miles as he cautiously approached us. I thought Bradley had been keeping tabs on Miles since he was more than aware I never wanted to see Mr. Creeper again. Then, of course, there was the small matter of a restraining order.
“I live here. What are you doing here?” he demanded with equal outrage.
“Who the fuck is this?” Decker growled. Miles blanched as he took in Decker, only noticing him for the first time now. Unlike Decker who rocked the grizzly, wild, earthly look, Miles was clean shaven, his blonde hair cropped short around the back and sides, slightly longer on top. He wasn’t as tall as Decker, nor was he as wide, but he still had a strong, fit physique. Miles might have presented a clean, professional package, but he had a darkness within him that created a sludge like aura that physically repulsed me. I was delusional to have ever dated Miles Harrison. He had been a friend of Bradley’s, so I had taken a chance and gone out to dinner with him. He had been charming, sweet, a true gentleman. But, as we spent more time together, his true color of dark and dank began to ooze through all that false charisma. He became jealous and possessive and his bedroom kinks began to disturb me. I wasted six months on this demon in disguise before I realized what a mistake I was making. Miles didn’t take no for an answer; instead, he handcuffed me to his kitchen table for four hours while he went to work.
“This is an old acquaintance of Bradley’s,” I spat. Miles raised a brow, his too thin lips stretching into a nasty smirk.
“What, you don’t want your current boyfriend to know about a past one?”
“No, not you. You were nothing but a big, nasty, vile mistake that I sure as hell won’t make again and I sure as hell wouldn’t waste a minute of my day discussing you with anyone.” He seemed genuinely taken aback by the venom in my voice. I couldn’t believe he couldn’t understand how much I detested him. He had handcuffed me, to a freakin’ table!
“This is him, isn’t it?” Decker said in a low, deadly voice that had my attention swinging back to him. His eyes were on Miles, but the hand gently wrapped around my wrist squeezed, letting me know the he knew who Miles was.
“I’m not sure what she told you, but she has a reputation for being a pathological liar,” Miles said with a snarl.
I gasped in outrage, but before I could utter a single word in my defense, Decker had dropped my wrist, turned, and punched Miles square in the face. Miles stumbled backwards, squealing as loud as a frenzied pig that caused a spluttered laugh escape my lips. Blood seeped from Miles fingers as he attempted to staunch the flow pouring from his nose.
“I hear you like bondage,” Decker snarled. Miles cast him a wary glance. “If you even breathe in Andi’s direction ever again, I will have you bound, gagged, and handcuffed naked in the middle of Times Square. Then I will broadcast that shit over every TV station on the face on the earth. Your name and face aren’t worth shit now, but after that, you won’t be able to take a step without someone gawking at you.” Miles eyes widened. “And if you had half a fucking clue as to who I am, you would know that’s a promise, not a threat.” Decker turned around and took my hand, leading me away from a bewildered Miles. It was at least two blocks before I could talk and before Decker had settled down enough to resume walking at a normal pace that I didn’t have to jog to keep up with.
“You hit him?” I said, a little in awe.
“Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. I could see how upset he was making you, and as soon as I realized he was the creeper who hurt you, I saw red.”
“Nobody’s ever hit someone for me. I mean Bradley had someone rough him up, but that’s nothing like what you just did.”
“Bradley should have come home and taken care of it himself,” Decker snapped.
“Hey, chill out, Rocky. Bradley isn’t the type of guy to get his hands dirty. Not like you anyway. Strangely enough I think I like a man who doesn’t mind getting his hands dirty.” I grinned as I recalled the moment Decker’s fist had plowed into Miles’ face.
Decker’s surprised eyes caught mine. “You liked that?” he purred.