Free Adored: A Masters and Mercenaries Novella (1001 Dark Nights) by Lexi Blake

high and he was looking to get higher. Laurel startled him and he shot at her through the glass in the reception area.”
    “Oh my god. Why wasn’t I told?”
    Lila chuckled. “Uhm, because you tend to lose your cool, big brother. Thank you, Randy. I think we’ve got everything under control. Dr. Daley was a bit upset, but he’s calmed down now and he’s not going to cause any more trouble with the lawyer who’ll probably sue the hell out of him and the hospital we work at.”
    Mitch turned. Lila was talking to a security guard who looked deeply unhappy he’d been pulled from his nap or something.
    “Mitch isn’t going to sue us,” Will replied.
    “No, but if I ever get the chance to punch you, I’ll take it.”
    “Was I right?” Lila asked.
    Mitch was totally happy he’d drawn the middle Daley sister. Lisa was an imp who didn’t seem to take anything seriously and Lila kind of scared him. And he didn’t scare easy. Laurel was stubborn, but she didn’t have Lila’s grim determination. “About what happened? Yeah. She pushed the hell out of me and things exploded and I was a little freaked out afterward.”
    “You didn’t think you two should talk about it beyond asking briefly if she was on birth control?” Will was right back to pissed off.
    Maybe Randy the guard shouldn’t have shuffled off so quickly. “She left me, Will. I wanted to talk, but she walked out and she didn’t walk back in. I gave her space. Hell, I needed space. I called her on Saturday and again on Sunday. She didn’t answer. I walked back in Monday morning like a fucking idiot with flowers and shit and she quit with an e-mail. An e-mail.”
    She’d decided he was a bad bet and he couldn’t blame her.
    Was she scared that she’d be stuck with him for the rest of her life?
    And so much for going to his grave with the flowers secret. His mouth wouldn’t stop.
    “Good. Then you and Laurel can work this out.” Lila gave him a nod. “I suggest you do that thing you two seem obsessed with doing or she’ll walk all over you.”
    “What thing?” Mitch asked.
    Lila gave him a mysterious smile and disappeared into the room.
    “She’s telling you to top Laurel.” Will scrubbed a hand through his hair. “She’s probably right. Laurel isn’t reasonable when she feels like she’s in a corner. You’ve convinced her you don’t want her.”
    “I never said I don’t want her. I simply want better for her.” She deserved better than he could give her.
    Will stepped in front of him. “You’re all she’s got now. So man up and be better for her because you’ve got one shot at this. I get that you’ve always thought we’re so different. You come from money and I don’t, but we both had shitty parents who did nothing to get us ready for kids of our own. I had to grow up a long time ago. It’s your turn. It’s your turn to shove all that shit aside and be more. She needs you to be more.”
    “I didn’t mean to hurt her.” And he hadn’t really come from money. Sure his father had been wealthy and he’d been given a trust fund on his eighteenth birthday, but his mother had made her money the hard way—by marrying it over and over and over again.
    “I know. Why did you lie to me? You said nothing happened.”
    “I was trying to protect us both, I guess.” God, he was going to miss Will. “I didn’t want to lose your friendship and I knew Laurel wouldn’t want you to know about it. She said everything was fine.”
    “Lesson number one. When she says she’s fine, you’re in trouble. There’s no such thing as fine. It’s like Southern chicks saying bless your heart. What they actually mean is you’re an idiot. Fine means something like the same thing except it carries connotations that violence could happen if you don’t figure out what’s wrong. How bad was it?”
    “The sex? It was fantastic.” It had been the absolute best sex of his life.
    Will groaned. “No, asshole. Never, ever tell me that. Ever.