Exposed (MAC Security 2)

“You shouldn’t be out here alone,” he murmured.

I blew out a breath, not wanting to answer him.

He knew, they all knew and none of them had thought to tell me. I felt betrayed. Kitty had the opportunity to tell me several times, and now that I thought back to our conversations, I was sure that there was at least one time that she was going to.

“Kay?” I shook my head and pushed up off the grass, about to walk away. Seeing him lift up at the same time. “Come on-”

“No!” I stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest. “You knew-”

“Darlin’.” He reached out to me, stepping back another step, I refused to let him touch me. “Wasn’t my place, Kay.”

I looked away, watching the lights as they sparkled off the water, mesmerized by the way they twinkled and getting lost in my thoughts.

I’d never felt like this about anybody. Ty made things better, easier. He made me whole, but now I was broken in two. I desperately wanted to talk to him, but I couldn’t get the image of his face out of my head.

The way he looked at her like all of his dreams had just come true.

He never looked at me like that.

“Come on,” Luke said as he placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently. “Let’s get you home.”

“I don’t have a home,” I whispered.

Turning to face him, I looked up into his ice blue eyes. So much softer now than they had been the first time I’d met him. His blond hair was a mess of waves from him running his hands through it and his face was full of concern.

“Luke?”

“Yeah?” He frowned.

“What’s wrong with me?”

“Darlin’…” He lifted his hands to my face, his fingers curling into my hair. “Nothing is wrong with you.”

“Then why?” I hiccuped a sob. “Why is this happening?”

He shook his head, shuffled closer and whispered. “If I had someone like you, I’d never let them go.” His thumb swiped away a tear that trickled down my cheek, “Don’t cry darlin’.”

“I…I…just…”

“I know,” he said, pulling me into his chest. I burrowed closer as he wrapped his arms around me, letting the tears soak into his t-shirt.

It wasn’t the same as when Ty held me, but it still made me feel safe. Ty made the butterflies take flight and he had this one place, just in the crook of his chest, that seemed to fit my face perfectly, kind of like a jigsaw being put together.

Luke’s one hand rubbed up and down my back while his other hand gripped the back of my head. After several minutes, I finally got my sobs under control.

Pulling away, he placed a kiss on the top of my head and smiled down at me. “Let’s get you home and to bed, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I whispered, and smiled up at him.

“You better take your Motherfuckin’ hands off her!”

We both spun around, surprised.

“Boss-” Luke didn’t move an inch, still keeping me safely tucked under his arm.

“Get. Your. Hands. Off. Her.” Ty thundered, clenching his fists at his sides.

I noticed his unruly hair and his shirt that was no longer tucked into his dress pants. Those few feet that stood between us felt like miles, it was almost like I didn’t even know him.