Page 9

Miles

THEY’D SAID goodbye to his parents earlier, and though both had looked somewhat suspicious, they hadn’t questioned his and Kaz’s sudden friendship. Thank fuck for that because he had no explanation. None that didn’t involve the words, ‘He’s hot,’ and ‘Have you seen that ass?’

The Disciples were preparing to take off on a run, most of them already packed and on their bikes, waiting for Ares to finish his goodbye with Kaz.

“I’d ask you to be good,” Ares said, eyes narrowing on Kaz. “But I know you better than that, so… stay out of jail.”

Kaz snorted and shook his head, his hands twitching, and Miles knew he was stopping himself from flipping Ares off.

“I’ll do my best,” Kaz said.

Ares huffed, then turned his gaze on Miles.

There was something in that dark blue gaze that had Miles straightening as a spark of unease rushed through him.

Ares couldn’t know. They hadn’t exactly been careful, but he didn’t think anyone had heard or seen them.

He didn’t even know if Ares would be mad.

They were both adults, after all. Not that he cared to test that theory .

“You have my permission to kick his ass if he misbehaves,” Ares finally said.

“Dad,” Kaz snapped, eyes jumping to the bikers close enough to have heard.

Miles pressed his lips together but gave Ares a short nod.

He didn’t want to make it worse for Kaz which was fucking insane.

A day ago, he would’ve happily broken Kaz’s nose again, but now?

How the hell had Kaz made him care for him in less than twenty-four hours?

The only explanation he could come up with was that he had to be thinking with the wrong head.

Sex with Kaz was… holy fuck. It had never been as explosive as it was with Kaz.

Ares gave them both a stern look of warning before he turned and strode to his bike, grabbing his helmet off the seat. The second he was ready, he motioned for the Disciples to proceed.

Kaz threw an arm around Miles’s shoulders, and he slowly turned his head to glare at him. Kaz’s smug smile had him rolling his eyes.

Kaz leaned closer, his words low, and that husky voice sending delicious shivers through him.

“Keep looking at me like that and they’ll all find out exactly what we’ve been up to.”

His jaw clenched so fast and hard he heard a pop from the joint.

Kaz chuckled low.

He caught a look flashing across Kaz’s face. It was gone almost instantly, but it didn’t take a genius to decipher it.

“You weren’t allowed to go, were you?”

Kaz stared at the bikes as they disappeared down the road.

“My dad doesn’t want me too involved yet,” Kaz said. He turned his head, inquisitive gray eyes finding Miles’s gaze. “I don’t know how much you know about what we do…”

Miles flinched. He couldn’t help it.

He turned away from Kaz, running a hand through his hair, and exhaling shakily as he considered how much to tell Kaz.

“We were what the Kings call a level five,” he said, and though his voice was low, there was no way Kaz would miss the anguish in it. “My sister and I.”

A hand on his shoulder had him looking up and he damn near forgot how to breathe. Kaz was looking at him with understanding in his eyes. With compassion and warmth. Kaz was looking at him as if he wanted to wrap him in a hug and never let go again.

He’d never seen anything like that from Kaz before and fuck if it didn’t make him want him more. Especially because he knew the only reason he wasn’t in Kaz’s embrace yet was because Kaz understood and was letting him set the pace.

He stepped into Kaz’s arms and buried his face in his neck, the smell of leather and cologne filling his nose. Kaz held on tight, resting his head against Miles’s.

“I didn’t know,” Kaz whispered, sorrow seeping into his voice, and Miles knew… knew he’d forgiven every bad word, ev ery violent action there had ever been between them, right then and there.

“We don’t go by levels, but I know what the Kings’ mean,” Kaz said, squeezing tighter. “I’m so sorry.”

Miles lifted his head and leaned back, a small smile finding his lips when Kaz didn’t let go of him.

“Our parents were murdered in front of us. I made sure Emma saw as little as possible but…”

Kaz nodded, his Adam’s apple moving as he swallowed and drawing Miles’s attention to it.

He let his gaze move further down to the leather cut, looking over the diamond patch with 1% inside it, the club’s name below it, and that dread he always felt when he looked at his father’s cut and remembered the danger that came with it never surfaced.

“The ones who did it…” Kaz’s voice was rough, his gaze blazing.

“Dead. He came after us while we were under the Kings’ protection. He couldn’t hurt us anymore, but neither of us felt safe, so they sent us back to the only person who’d made us feel safe.”

Kaz’s brows jumped, then scrunched together for a moment before he seemed to have figured it out.

“Zayne?”

Miles nodded. “He took us home to Nash, and we never left.”

A soft smile spread on Kaz’s lips.

“Ares and Jace had to drag me kicking and screaming,” he said, an amused look in his eyes .

Miles chuckled and, with a shake of his head, he said, “I can just imagine that.”

“I kept running away, too.”

He slid his hands up Kaz’s chest, relishing the warmth the man exuded.

“What made you stop running?”

Kaz raised a hand, cupping Miles’s cheek. Miles felt a pang of lust rush through him when Kaz rubbed his thumb across his bottom lip, the look in the man’s eyes dark and sensual.

“Guess I found a reason to stay,” Kaz said and pressed their lips together.

Miles groaned, hands sliding up under Kaz’s cut. Hands on the small of his back pressed him closer against Kaz’s body, and he soaked up the heat. Kaz tasted like wicked promises, his tongue sliding against Miles’s in a languid exploration that had his pulse picking up fast.

He knew they shouldn’t be kissing out in the courtyard for anyone to see, but he found that he didn’t care. Most of the bikers had left with Kaz’s dad, so they were largely alone at the clubhouse. He still startled and pulled away when a car horn sounded in the distance.

He gave Kaz a sheepish look, and Kaz was trying not to smile, though the dimple that appeared in his cheek made that a wasted effort. Something pulled inside his chest, and he knew he was blushing from the heat spreading in his cheeks, and it was solely because of that damned dimple.

Kaz took his hand and tugged him toward the front door. He led them through the clubhouse and out the patio doors to the little enclosed backyard.

They were alone out there, and when Kaz sat down on the little outdoor couch, he felt comfortable enough to sit right next to him. Warmth spread through him when Kaz leaned back and put a hand on his thigh.

“I…” He met Kaz’s gaze and held it. “I know you were at the shelter, but how did you…?”

“End up there?”

He was fully prepared for Kaz to not tell him a single thing about it and wholly unprepared for his next words.

“I was living on the streets. Got caught up in some bad shit just to stay alive. My parents were… deadbeat is too kind a word. Fucking pieces of shit are what they were. Pretty sure they hated me.”

Miles sucked in a breath, his heart hurting for Kaz. He couldn’t imagine that. His parents had loved him and his sister more than anything. The second they’d known they were about to die, they’d done everything to keep their kids safe.

He cupped Kaz’s face in his hands, making sure Kaz met his gaze as he said, “You’re right, then. Fucking pieces of shit.”

Fingers wrapped around his left wrist, and Kaz’s lips quirked up.

“I think you like me, Miley,” Kaz teased, a gleam in his eyes that Miles knew too well.

He had Kaz under him on the couch the next second, Kaz’s thighs on either side of him, the man’s hands trapped against the couch cushion above his head .

“And I think you like pissing me off.”

That infuriating smirk was back on Kaz’s face, and where it had made him want to slam a fist into it before, it only made him hard now.

“It gets your hands on me,” Kaz said and wrapped a leg around Miles’s waist, lifting up to roll his hips, something decidedly hard rubbing against him.

He cursed under his breath and pushed his hips forward.

“We’re so going to get into trouble, aren’t we?”

Kaz’s eyes shone with a light he hadn’t seen the likes of from him before. “Worth it.”