“I don’t know what you’re runnin’ from, but it sure as hell ain’t me,” Miles said in a growl of a voice.
Miles’s face didn’t look angry. He looked deeply concerned. Tears rushed down Letty’s face as she faced Miles for the first time in almost two decades. Fear and panic, mortification and relief all rushed through her body at once.
“You might not love me. You might hate my guts… but Letty, I have never stopped loving you.”
Not allowing her to get a word in, Miles’s mouth rushed Letty’s, pressing her up firmly against her car. His tongue licked the tip of Letty’s own and as she clenched his white t-shirt, the faintest of growls ripped from his throat.
It is the most thrilling experience of my life thus far. It is a wicked combination of want and need, give and take. Our spearmint scented exchange is enough to send my sanity over the brink.
“Miles…” Letty whispered.
“You wanna leave, leave. But I will never stop loving you,” Miles said as he let go of Letty.
Now it was his turn to turn his back on Letty. Before she could say another word, Miles had vanished through the tree line, heading back to the Capadonno compound, leaving Letty in a state of shock.
CHAPTER TEN
MILES’S THOUGHTS RAN a mile a minute as he processed what had just happened.
I’ll never forget the look on Letty’s face for as long as I live. She is even more beautiful than I remembered. Letty isn’t the doe-eyed teenager I left behind. Letty had filled out into a gorgeous, voluptuous woman. She is so much more than I expected. But as she gazes out at me from her soft caramel eyes, I can’t tell what she is thinking.
For the first time in Miles’s life, he felt vulnerable. He felt at risk. He was wide open for attack from the one woman he loved. As the glasses dropped from her hands and crashed to the floor, it occurred to him… Letty looked scared.
Her glare, which is laced with fear, pain and uncertainty, cuts me like a machete. The thought that Letty is frightened of me now, shatters me to the very core of the man I am. I’m a man of principle… a man with values and integrity. I keep up an image because of the machine that I have to fight against. The tats, the beard, the “If you look at me, I’ll fuck you up” stare? They ward off ninety percent of the bullshit I would dealt with in the can. It seemed to be helping out here, too. But if she is afraid of me looking like this, I’d shave. I’d drop the act. I’d also have a lot more guys on my ass, trying to show me who’s top dog. With Letty, what you see is not always what you get. She’s good at masking what she is feeling. Letty had always been a kind and loving girl, but she wasn’t someone who was in touch with her sensitive side. In my experience, when Letty is hit with a case of the feels, her brain goes haywire and she freaks out. It’s like a switch is flipped and she doesn’t know what to do. I knew I would have to be the one to make a move. I would make her see that my time at Franklin didn’t break me. My wrongful incarceration strengthened me. It made me more determined than ever to right the wrongs of the past. To make up for the sins of my family.
Miles needed to remind Letty that although he looked different, he was no stranger to her heart. His kiss was an unavoidable reminder of the past that anchored them and the future that lay ahead. Letty was still his guiding light who had led Miles from the darkness more times than he would ever admit.
I would continue to be her great defender, whether she asked me to or not. I was not about to let her leave without showing her that despite the time and distance between us, the spark that we had long ago still exists. Fuck, it had exploded like a powder keg igniting a full blown wild fire. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let her burn it out.
Standing beyond the tree line, Miles watched as Letty recovered from his ambush. Her cheeks flushed as her eyes tried to find him among the trees. Her soft eyes had thawed as she looked for Miles.
I see my Letty staring back at me.
Falling back against the cherry red car, Letty brought her right hand to her lips as a delicious smile grew across her face. As the pain and worry and sadness melted from her face, Miles knew without a doubt, Letty’s heart still beat for him, even after all these years. Raising his eyebrows as a look of deep satisfaction crossed his face, Miles turned away and disappeared in the shadow of the trees.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
FALLING AGAINST THE HOOD of her car, Letty released a breath of relief as she recovered from a kiss that only Miles could deliver. Her face felt hot as she watched Miles climb the front steps of the Capadonno residence.
How could everything change in just a second? Did he not know me at all? He thought I was leaving for good? Or maybe he knew me too well and I played right into his hand. Whatever the case is, I have a feeling that Miles won’t be too far away.
Climbing into her car, Letty started the engine as Bruce Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart” began to play.