Holding Mia

by Terri Anne Browning

  “I’m clean. I just had a full checkup at the doctor a few weeks ago. I haven’t been with anyone since before that.” He eased his middle finger into my opening, playing with me, making me breathless all over again. “Will you let me take you without a condom, baby? I don’t want anything coming between us. Ever.”

  “D-do you do that a lot?” I asked, jealousy eating at me even as I melted on his fingers. “Not wear a condom?”

  “No. I’ve never not worn one, but the idea of putting something between us kills me.” He kissed the corner of my mouth, and I tasted myself on him. “But I will if it bothers you. Whatever you want. Just say the word.”

  “I don’t want anything between us either,” I confessed, my hips arching up into his touch. “I want you so much, Barrick. Please put your cock in me now.”

  “Right now?” he teased, his thumb circling my clit and making me dizzy with need. “You want me to take you on the floor? Drive my cock so deep inside you, we don’t know where you end and I begin?”

  “Oh gods,” I whimpered. “Please.”

  “You beg so prettily, firecracker. It makes my cock throb.”

  “Fuck me,” I commanded, tired of his teasing, and listening to his dirty talk only made me ache so badly I thought I was going to combust on the spot.

  “Goddamn,” he groaned, kicking off his sweats. “I love the begging, but when you get all bossy like that, I can’t resist you.”

  Pulling my pajama top over my head, I lay back, watching him get naked for me. He was absolute male perfection. I happily could have lain there for a lifetime just looking at him. All those muscles and sharp ridges that made my mouth water from wanting to lick every inch of his rock-hard body.

  Then his cock sprang forward from his sweat pants, and I gasped. I knew it was big from having him press it against me, but his sweats must have been hiding more than I thought, because there was no way that thing was fitting inside me without splitting me in half.

  “Scared?” he asked with a wicked grin.

  “Terrified,” I agreed, gulping. But just looking at the angry red tip dripping stickiness made my sex clench in anticipation.

  “Don’t worry, baby. We’ll fit.” Lowering himself over me, he kissed his way up my body until his lips were only a breath away. “We were made for this, Mia.”

  His mouth crashed down on mine, ravishing me with his tongue and teeth, stealing my breath and all rational thought from my head. Then his head snapped up, and I whined at the loss.

  “Wh-what’s wrong?”

  “Not taking you the first time on the fucking floor,” he muttered. Standing, he scooped me up and placed me carefully in the middle of his bed.

  As he stood there looking down at me, I felt beautiful and sexy. His dark eyes skimmed over me like a physical caress, heating my body as if he were blanketing me. I held out my hand, he took it, and I tugged him down to me.

  Cradling his body between my legs, I pulled out what was left in his ponytail and stabbed my fingers through his hair. But our kiss wasn’t out of control this time. It was slow and savory, but no less powerful. I felt worshiped by his hands and mouth as we made love for the first time.

  There was just the two of us, and when he eased his massive cock into me, we were no longer Barrick and Mia. We were one, and I finally felt like I’d found where I truly belonged for the first time since hurting my knee again.

  Chapter 11

  Mia

  “Hey, yo!” Braxton yelled from the living room the next afternoon. “Your computer is getting a Skype call.”

  Grabbing my mug of tea, I dashed out of the kitchen so I could answer. Nevaeh was supposed to help us with the first English paper of the semester, so I couldn’t afford to miss her call.

  Braxton was sitting on the couch, Sasha’s head in his lap while he petted her lovingly. Sitting on the edge beside him, I hit connect and waited for my cousin’s gorgeous face to appear on the screen.

  “Ugh, get out, Arella!” she was shouting, followed by a door slamming before she moved into view.

  Rich, dark hair was pulled into a sloppy bun on top of her head. Her huge glasses that took up half her face gave her beautiful blue-gray eyes an owlish kind of look while she sucked her plump bottom lip between her teeth out of habit. She had her mother’s slightly honey-kissed complexion, and there was no mistaking that Nevaeh Stevenson was one of the most beautiful chicks I’d ever set eyes on.

  “Fuck,” Braxton groaned behind me, and I turned to see if he was okay.

  But his eyes were locked on the screen of my laptop, and I had to fight a grin. That punched-in-the-gut reaction was how most guys behaved when they met Nev. And then she opened her mouth, and that giant brain of hers scared them off. Her IQ tended to intimidate the male population of all ages, so I wasn’t expecting him to stay stunned for too long.

  A yell in the distance had Nevaeh releasing her lip and screeching in the direction of her closed bedroom door. “I said I’m busy, you little brat. Leave me alone, or I’m telling Mom!”

  “Fine!” her younger sister shouted. “But I’ll be back in two hours.”

  Blowing out a frustrated breath, Nevaeh narrowed her eyes on me when I laughed. “As you can see, nothing has changed since you abandoned me for the wild East Coast.”

  “You could always join me here,” I suggested, not for the first time. Even though she had yet to turn sixteen, Neveah had already graduated high school. She was scary smart, but she didn’t know what she wanted to study in college. So instead, she had been taking independent classes to test the waters of what was the best fit for her.

  “Thinking about it,” she muttered, but whether it was to me or herself, I didn’t know. Then something behind me caught her attention, and her entire face turned blood red. “You didn’t tell me you had company!” she cried accusingly.

  “Yes, I did. I told you my friend from English was going to be joining us so you can help us both,” I reminded her.

  “Yeah, but you didn’t say it was a he, or that he was a fucking piece of Greek god perfection.” Two seconds after the words left her mouth, she realized what she’d just blurted out and covered her face in embarrassment. “Shit. I didn’t just say that out loud. Way to go, Nev. Maybe work on your filter, dumbass.”

  Braxton’s soft snicker had me shooting him a look that told him to hush. This was why I was so protective of my little cousin. She had zero filter and was always embarrassing herself because of it. Everyone in our family thought it was adorable and we never made her feel bad about it, but those who didn’t know her little quirk could easily hurt her feelings without even meaning to.

  His amusement dried up and he neutralized his features, but he couldn’t keep his eyes from eating up her image on the screen.

  “This is where I need to remind you she’s not even sixteen yet,” I whispered, and his face lost all color.

  “Christ,” he gritted out savagely, and Sasha lifted her head with a whine.

  Inhaling deeply, Nevaeh finally dropped her hands. “Yeah, okay. I’m good now,” she said to herself before focusing on me once more. Her cheeks were no longer stained red, and I knew she’d already put the whole “Greek god” comment behind her. “What do you need help with?”

  For the next half an hour, she walked us through writing an English paper step by step, giving us suggestions and even advice on how to outline everything to keep ourselves on track. She made it seem so simple, but honestly, before she’d dumbed it down for me, I was lost.

  “Are you sure you won’t come to school out here?” I batted my lashes and pouted my bottom lip at her. “Pretty, pretty please?”

  “I’ll think about it,” she said evasively. “But I do have to come to the East Coast in a few weeks. PopPop volunteered me for something I can’t get out of now, so I have to go to New York. Want to come up and spend the weekend with me?”

  “Hell yes!” I laughed. “I’ll see if Lyla wants to come too.
”

  “Great. PopPop as a chaperone is basically no chaperone at all. So we can do whatever we want.” She propped her head on her hand, looking bored. “By the way, what do you want for your birthday?”

  “That’s still a while away,” I reminded her.

  “Not as far in the future as you think. Besides, I’ve got to get a head start on this present thing. You know I suck at it. So, help me out and just give me a few suggestions on what to get you.”

  “Earrings are fine.” I brushed it off. “You know I’m not picky. Besides, I’d rather spend time with you than get presents.”

  “Holy shit!” she cried, her eyes growing huge.

  Startled by her sudden reaction, I glanced around her background, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. But her eyes were glued to something behind me. As I turned my head, my mouth went dry when I spotted Barrick walking into the living room with a towel wrapped around his waist.

  “Hey, Mia. I’m seriously going to think about your suggestion to come to school out there if every damn guy is as yummy as that one and Braxton…” She clamped her mouth shut before she cursed under her breath. “I need to go before I say anything else that makes your friends think I’m a total weirdo.”

  “Wait,” I called, but she was already disconnecting. Sighing, I leaned back against the couch beside Braxton. “She’s not a weirdo,” I defended. “She just has no filter because there’s so much other crap in her brain.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Braxton said, holding up his hands in surrender.

  “I know, but I just needed you to understand. Nev is the sweetest, most pure-hearted person you will ever meet.” My gaze lifted to Barrick, who didn’t seem to have noticed Nevaeh had even been on my laptop only seconds before. “You just gave my cousin a small stroke.”

  Grinning, he put his forearms on the back of the couch and leaned down to kiss me. “Sorry?”

  “Did you enjoy your run?” I asked, straightening up the notes I’d taken during Nevaeh’s call.

  “It kept me occupied while you were busy,” he said with a shrug. “What about you two? Get everything taken care of?”

  “Something like that,” Braxton muttered, getting to his feet. Sasha jumped down, following him as he picked up his books. “I need a time-out.”

  “You okay?” Barrick asked, his brows lifted.

  “Not even a little bit,” I thought the younger cousin muttered, but I couldn’t be sure.

  “Brax—”

  “Relax. I’ll be fine. Just need to decompress.”

  Barrick snapped his mouth shut until Braxton slammed his bedroom door shut behind him. Then he looked down at me with wide eyes. “What happened while I was gone?”

  “Nothing. He was fine…” I trailed off and glanced at my laptop. “Until Nev’s call.”

  He frowned, but he shook his head after a minute. “I’m sure he’s fine. It’s probably just been a long week for him.”

  Standing, I picked up my laptop and bag. “I need to head back to the dorm. Lyla got back yesterday, and I feel bad for leaving her alone all weekend.” But I was kind of dreading leaving. I’d gotten comfortable at their house, and now it felt a lot like home to me. Not to mention, just thinking of spending the night away from Barrick made my heart ache.

  How did I get so attached in so short a time?

  “I don’t want you to go.”

  Something in his voice had me pausing in the process of putting my laptop in my bag. I looked over at him, only to quickly look away. Whatever he was thinking was all over his face, which rarely happened, I’d learned over the last few days. Barrick didn’t give his emotions away easily. Sometimes I had to work to figure out what he was feeling.

  But right then, I saw it perfectly.

  And it matched everything that was swirling around inside me like a tornado. He didn’t want me to leave. He was going to miss me.

  “If I stay, you’ll get sick of having me under your feet,” I tried to joke, but it was seriously my biggest fear. That he would get tired of having me around. Whatever was going on between us, it was white-hot and powerful. But emotions that strong had a tendency to burn out quickly.

  He made an angry noise in the back of his throat and came around the couch. Wrapping his arms around my middle, he pressed his nose into my neck and inhaled deeply. “That’s the thing, firecracker,” he whispered against my ear. “I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of you being around. Right now, my chest is one big ache, just thinking of you leaving.”

  “S-Sounds like a serious medical condition,” I teased breathlessly.

  “Oh, it is, baby.” He sank his teeth into my shoulder, making me moan helplessly. “And it only has one cure.” He turned me in his arms, pressing himself against me.

  My body began to throb. I’d lost count of the times we’d had sex the day before, as well as that morning before he’d finally let me out of bed to give me a little time to recover and study. I’d hated leaving his bed, but he’d been right that I needed a little break. My body ached in ways I didn’t know were possible, but that didn’t stop me from wanting him to the point of madness.

  “What’s that?” I husked, barely an inch separating our lips.

  “You never leaving me.”

  I expected his voice to be full of the same need as my own. It was, but there was something else in it too. There was a seriousness to it that had my green eyes locking with his and my breath catching in my chest at the emotions I saw in their dark depths.

  “Barrick…”

  “Don’t go,” he commanded. “Stay tonight. And tomorrow, and the next night. And the next. Stay forever, Mia.” He pressed his forehead into mine, his hands holding on to me like he was afraid I would bolt if he didn’t.

  “But Lyla,” I said weakly.

  “She’s at her brother’s most of the time anyway.”

  “I…I would need to get a few more changes of clothes.”

  “I already picked up some more for you while I was on my run.”

  A soft laugh escaped me. “You were so sure of me?”

  “No,” he admitted. “I just really hoped I could talk you into staying. I called Lyla while I was out, and she let me in your dorm. I packed as much as I could fit into your suitcase.”

  “Wait.” Stepping back, I held up my hands up in a time-out. “Barrick, I can’t just move in with you.”

  “Why not?” he demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “Because we only met a week ago. Hell, not even that long yet. We barely know each other.” I started pacing, frustrated.

  This was crazy. Even thinking about moving in with him this soon was mental. Yes, I liked him. I even cared about him—a lot. But living under the same roof day after day, playing house? I wasn’t ready for something like that. The whole reason I even went to college so far from home was to find myself. Living with a guy I barely knew wasn’t what I envisioned for myself.

  But I’d never felt what Barrick made me feel either. This ache in my chest at the thought of going back to the dorm without him wasn’t lessening with my freak-out. It only intensified. I didn’t want to go. Hell, I was pretty sure I wanted to move in with him then and there.

  Yet it wasn’t smart.

  And I’d promised my mom I would make smart decisions.

  “Mia, calm down.” Barrick’s voice was urgent as he caught my elbow and turned me to face him, stopping my pacing. His eyes held a wild quality I’d only seen in them when he was in the cage during his fight. “I’m sorry I freaked you out. I didn’t mean to. I…just…” Inhaling deeply, he slowly released it, trying to calm himself. “Let’s not put a name to this. Stay here with me, but don’t label it. You’re just sleeping over…indefinitely.”

  Breathing heavily, I gave it some consideration, but Barrick didn’t like my silence. He cupped my face in his hands, his eyes pleading. “Don’t go.”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

&n
bsp; “Yeah?” The wildness slowly started to fade.

  I nodded. “Yes. I’ll stay. I…I don’t want to leave you any more than you want me to. I’m just trying to be smart about this. My mom would freak if she knew I was even thinking of moving in with a guy I just met.”

  Which was an understatement, but I didn’t want to scare him off by how far Momma would go. She would have him fully investigated through the private security firm she’d used her entire career. Charles Seller would find every last piece of dirt on Barrick and his family, and if Momma didn’t like it, she would use whatever she found to keep him out of my life.

  And that would destroy me.

  Which meant I couldn’t tell her about this. At least, not yet.

  Chapter 12

  Mia

  The next few weeks, I was able to set a routine in all aspects of my new life. Classes got easier to deal with, especially with Barrick in my econ class and Braxton in my English.

  Outside of school was fun. Whether we were going out to Jameson’s, dinner, the Underground—or my favorite, just staying home and watching TV together on the couch—I enjoyed every minute with Barrick, Braxton, and Lyla. Even though I’d been sleeping over with Barrick “indefinitely,” as we were calling this, Lyla and I were still close and met for lunch or got ready to go out together all the time. We were becoming closer than I could have hoped, and I didn’t know how I ever would have survived being away from my family without her to keep me steady.

  It was even easier to fall into a routine at work. My littles made that so simple, and I fell in love with teaching them. It made me excited to start my own school later on. And while my adult class was my least favorite, I still enjoyed it.

  “Great job, princesses,” I praised the girls as I went around helping some of them stretch correctly.

  Stopping behind Josie, I frowned as I watched her. Normally, she was my top student, and I used her for examples to show the others who were struggling with the correct way to do something. Tonight, she seemed sluggish, like she didn’t feel well. She moved stiffly, like every muscle ached, and each time I looked her way, I thought I caught her fighting tears.