Free You Are My Air: Breathless Book 1 by Samantha Wolfe

like him anyway," he added as his smile turned wry again.
    "You've never liked anyone I've dated."
    "True, but Lucas is a tool," he said with disdain. "You deserve a real man, not a pussy like that."
    "Ford!" I blurted out in disbelief, eying him with shock. "Just because a guy is really nice, doesn't make him a pussy."
    "It does if he has no backbone," he disagreed. "That guy is a total doormat. I threatened him once to see what he would do."
    "You what?" I asked in sudden anger.
    "I tried to piss him off to see how he'd react," he continued ignoring my growing anger. "I told him he wasn't good enough for you, and that you could do better. You know what he did?"
    "What?" I asked in disbelief as my curiosity eclipsed my ire.
    "He fucking apologized and said he'd try harder to be good enough for you, when he should have gotten pissed and told me to fuck off," he growled out with a sneer.
    I stared at him incredulously, thinking I should still be angry with Ford for sticking his nose into my love life. However, now that things were over with Lucas; I could see the truth in his words. I did not want a man who couldn't stick up for himself. How could you trust someone like that to fight for you? I didn't know what to say as silence stretched out between us.
    "Are you mad at me, Natie?" Ford asked after several minutes, his voice apologetic. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done it, but I want you to be with someone who'll fight for you, not roll over like a beaten dog."
    "I'm not mad, Ford." I sighed. "I'm glad someone is looking out for me. You should have told me sooner."
    "Oh, no," he said with a vehement shake of his head. "If I had told you while you were still with him, you would have been livid and kicked my ass. I knew you'd figure it out for yourself. You're no dummy."
    "I feel like a dummy for staying with him for six months."
    "I said you weren't a dummy, I never said you were a genius," he said with a laugh.
    "Ha, ha." I glared at him, which only earned me a bigger smile from him. Ford was always there for me and always would be. We fell into comfortable silent again.
    I stopped at the pharmacy the hospital had called his pain medication into, and picked up his pills in the drive-thru. Then I drove him home. Ford lived in an apartment above his tattoo shop, Apex Ink . It was convenient for him to get to work, but today I had to get my brother up the stairs to his apartment without him falling down them.
    "How the hell am I supposed to get you up the stairs?" I asked him with trepidation as I parked behind the two-story red building next to the door that led up to his apartment upstairs.
    "You aren't doing anything of the sort," he told me with a stern expression. "I'll get myself up the stairs. All you have to do is open the doors for me."
    "Alright," I said unconvincingly.
    "Don't worry, Natie," he reassured me. "I'm tougher than I look."
    "Nobody is that tough." I laughed as I gave his rough exterior a once over.
    He snorted out a laugh. "I'll be fine."
    He was fine, just like he said. It took a few minutes, but he managed the stairs without too much trouble. He was exhausted and breathing heavily afterwords though, and I could tell his pain was back by the hard set of his mouth and eyes. I got him settled on the couch, and got him a glass of water for his pills. I watched him swallow them down gratefully then I went to his room and grabbed a few pillows off his bed. I helped him elevate his foot with the pillows then handed him his TV remote.
    "Are you good now?" I asked. "Are you sure you don't want me to stay?"
    "No, I'm good." He smiled. "I wouldn't want to keep you from a hot date or anything," he added sarcastically. I ended up blushing though, since I really did have a date tonight, and I was pretty sure it was going to be red hot.
    He gasped as his eyes lit up in realization. "Oh my God. You really do have a date tonight."
    I nodded wordlessly in admission.
    "Please tell me this guy isn't a complete douche."
    "I