Mated to the Rogue *DISCONTINUED*

F O U R T E E N

"Yes, Tae-Tae, you go. Don't let anyone steal your man!" Uncle Mike shouted, his eyes trained unblinkingly on the tv.

"Who's Tae-Tae?" I asked uncertainly from my place curled up beside Liam.

"That diva woman. Doesn't she look like a Tae-Tae to you?" He asked but didn't wait for a reply as he continued talking. "Pass the popcorn, please."

Liam reached over with the arm that wasn't wrapped around my waist and handed the red plastic bowl to Uncle Mike.

"Thanks, Em," he said, shoving a handful of the slightly buttered goodness. I really hate popcorn that's all soggy with melted butter.

"You're welcome, Uncle Mike," I replied, even though I hadn't moved from my comfortable position leaning against Liam's chest.

"What the- you didn't even do anything," Liam said while furrowing his eyebrows. "Why do you get a thank you?"

"Because my awesomeness deserves to be appreciated."

"Wha-" he started, only to be cut off when I pressed my index finger to his lips.

"Shh. Don't talk, just bask in my glory."

"Hell," he said, chuckling. "If I knew-"

He was interrupted again, this time by Uncle Mike.

"No cussing, boy!" Mike scolded, throwing a few kernels of popcorn at Liam to make his point. "Why can't you be more like Emilia? She's such a sweet girl, so nice."

"Yeah, has Wise Man Mike taught you nothing?" I asked in a teasingly condescending voice, tilting my chin up to look Liam in the eye.

"You two are insufferable," he said drily but I could tell from the slight pursing of his mouth and the crinkles starting to form around the edge of his eyes that he was fighting a smile.

"It's just part of the charm," Mike said with a little shrug.

I lay my head back on Liam's firm chest and felt the vibrations of his amused sigh. He rested his cheek on the top of my head and tightened his hold on me as I felt a content tranquility wash over me.

~*~

Mrs. Ming stared at us with her hands on her hips, her mouth turned down in a disapproving scowl. She watched with a cocked eyebrow as I got off Liam's motorcycle and handed the helmet to him, running a hand through my hair to attempt to tame it. I still shut my eyes as hard as I could and counted down the minutes until it was over but the ride wasn't that bad, I guess.

Liam and I gazed at each other for a few seconds that might have been minutes. When I'm with him, time seems to lose all of its importance.

He reached for my hand and took a deep breath as if steeling his nerves. "Lia-"

"Emilia Hadley Mathews! Get inside this instant!"

Yep, Claire's mom often also acted as my own. She didn't differentiate between the two of us and treated me as her daughter, which was my favorite thing about Mrs. Ming. Until today, that is.

I let out a regretful sigh. "Thrid time today," I said, pulling away from him. "You better contact me, mister."

"You better count on it," he said with a playful wink.