"Mmm," Smith finished off his own beer and raised his hand to order them another round. "No wonder you were so fired up over this guy this morning."
"Yeah," Sylar agreed, recalling how he'd felt when he saw Miles' picture.
"Did you tell her he rides with the Reapers?"
Sylar shook his head. "Brea doesn't even know that I'm with the Blood Pact. If I tell her about her boyfriend being with the Highway Reapers, it opens up a whole can of worms that I don't really want to get into."
"But if you told her she'd end it with him, right? It's too dangerous to let them carry on being together."
"I know, I know." But if Brea knew the truth about Miles she'd also be learning the truth about Sylar. She'd find out all the things he'd done for the Reapers, all the blood that was on his hands. He risked not only Miles losing his sister, but also himself. He wasn't even fully convinced that it would scare her off of Miles, but it was sure to hit a sore spot with his relationship with his sister.
"So say you withhold the truth," Smith leaned forward, lowering his voice. He loved a good conspiracy.
"You don't tell Brea he's with the Reapers. You've still got the break them up."
"Yeah," Sylar agreed, draining the last of his warm beer.
"You can't let her stay with him."
"I know," Sylar's voice became strained as two fresh bottles of beer arrived at their table, courtesy of a buxom waitress. Smith leaned back in his chair to thank her and give her a suggestive wink. She giggled coyly, batting her eyelashes and then walking off with an extra swing in her step.
"It's just that she seems really keen on him and I fear that breaking them up … " he sighed and reached for his fresh beer.
"Breaking them up means breaking her heart," he concluded sadly.
"It's a risk you've got to take," Smith replied fiercely. "Either you break her heart or the Highway Reapers break every bone in her pretty little body. As her brother, which would you rather?"
"Neither." Sylar felt helpless. Either way, Brea was going to get hurt. As her brother he'd failed to protect her, failed to shield her from the darkness of his world.
"The heart is a mighty resilient muscle," Smith tilted his new beer towards his friend and gave a knowing smile. "It can bounce back from all sorts of things. And the scars you wear down there," he placed a hand against his chest, "no one can see them. But the other scars," now his hand raised slowly to his cheek where the skin was mottled and tight. "You wear them forever," he concluded sagely.
Chapter 54
Brea pulled Miles into her apartment as soon as she opened the door, showering him with kisses. They'd only been apart for a few days, but she felt like she'd missed him so much she could burst. He wrapped his strong arms around her slim waist and kissed her passionately. She could feel the hunger in his kisses, the longing.
They didn't utter a single word as they staggered together towards the bedroom. They could just sense what the other wanted. As she stepped towards the bed, Brea hurriedly shed the dress she'd been wearing. Only an hour earlier she'd carefully picked it out as she liked the way it made her legs look long and slender. She imagined sitting across from Miles at dinner and flirtatiously lowering the neckline a fraction while chewing her lip. But the moment she'd seen him she'd lost her appetite for food and hungered for something more carnal.
Once they were both naked, they tumbled together onto the bed, a collection of knotted limbs. They were still kissing. Brea loved how Miles tasted. She wanted to kiss him until her lips were numb. As they kissed, his hands navigated the curves of her bare body. She trembled with desire as his fingertips grazed her inner thigh.
"God, I missed you," she uttered breathlessly as he carefully eased his fingers inside her. She was already so wet she thought she might climax any second.
"I missed you too," Miles growled the words in her ear. Brea shuddered deliciously. She loved the deep resonance of his voice, each word sounding like it had been delivered from the pit of his stomach.
He kept easing his fingers in and out of her as they writhed together on the bed. Brea could feel the flush spreading over her face, felt the tingle down in her pussy. Curling her toes, she gasped in delight as she came. Miles grinned as he turned her over so that she was on all fours.
"You're so sexy," he declared as he reached for her hips and guided her body into position.
The sex was hard and fast but extremely satisfying. Breathing heavily they finally parted, falling onto their backs and lying side by side on Brea's bed, gazing up at the ceiling.
"We might have missed our reservation," Miles noted with a sprinkle of good humor.
"Ha, yeah," Brea agreed. She gently reached across the bed for his hand and interlinked it with her own.
"We could order take out or something," he suggested.
"Sounds good." At the suggestion of food Brea's stomach growled in yearning. "Seems that I'm pretty hungry," she laughed.
"Did you have fun staying with your brother?" Miles asked, his gaze held on the ceiling above them which was covered with cracked paint.
"Yeah," a smile pulled at Brea's lips as she remembered playing Candy Land with Sylar. It had been fun, like a pleasant trip down memory lane. But then he'd been strange about Miles. She sensed that he was trying to goad her into scaring him away but why? Her smile fell and she turned on her side to face Miles.
The fresh ink of the tattoo she'd done on his chest stood out against his pale skin. The red soreness beneath it was gone so it just looked clear and impressive. Brea traced the line of some of his scars with her fingertip. He had so many. They ran like a dark map over his torso. Many looked as if they'd been made from deep, dangerous wounds.
"I told him about us," Brea stated softly. Her finger was floating over a particularly large scar which ran down from Miles' left shoulder towards his new tattoo. It was pinker in color than most of the others, suggesting that it wasn't that old.
"You did?" Miles turned to face her, denying her access to the scar as he rolled onto his side.
"Yeah," Brea shyly tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She instantly regretted having bought up talking to Sylar about their relationship since her brother had ultimately not seemed pleased about it.
"What's wrong?" Miles wondered softly, reading her troubled expression. "Was he not happy about us?"
"No. I mean, yes. No." Brea sighed heavily and sat up, drawing her knees up to her chest. "I thought he was happy about us, but then he got kind of … weird."
"Weird how?" Miles also sat up and looped an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him, relieved by his support.
"I don't know," shaking her head she wished she could decipher what exactly was going on with Sylar. He was definitely behaving strangely. "I got the feeling he was hoping we'd break up soon."
"He was probably just being protective," Miles reasoned. "You said that you two have always been close."
"Yeah," Brea wanted to shake the veil of sadness which she now wore. She was reunited with Miles, everything should be great. But she kept thinking about Sylar. She'd wanted him to be happy for her, it was important to her that he get along with Miles.
"I guess I just wanted him to react to the news like a brother," she sighed. "Rather than a parent."
"I don't think any brother worth his salt, would ever be okay about his baby sister dating someone."
"You think?" Brea shot Miles a hopeful glance. Growing up Sylar had kept her so sheltered from other people that she'd lost some of her grip on normalcy.
"Yeah," Miles gave her shoulders a squeeze. "He just cares about you, Brea. I'm sure he'll come round."
"Will you meet him?" She felt Miles tense beside her. Her heart began to flip flop in her chest. She'd pushed too hard, she was scaring him away just as Sylar had intended. She wanted to smack her own head for being so foolish.
"Of course," but when Miles spoke, his words didn't match his actions. It was almost like his initial flinch had just been a knee-jerk reaction. Had he met many brothers? Many parents. Jealousy burned bright in Brea's eyes when she suddenly considered how little she actually knew about Miles. Had he had many girlfriends? Many sexual partners? He was her first on both counts and that was special to her. She swallowed uneasily.