The Scale (Martha's Way)

by Mika Jolie

  She dropped her head to meet his gaze. “Don’t.”

  A look of torment crossed his face. She continued to watch him and with a slight nod he withdrew, then plunged inside her again, this time with a force so fierce the bed rocked. The combination of pain and pleasure made her groan and clench her nails on his shoulder, pulling him closer. Jason moaned as he continued to thrust faster and harder. “Come for me again,” he growled

  She was ready and within seconds drifted into oblivion. Seconds later, she heard him swear before his body collapsed over her. Minka wrapped her arms over him, holding him close for a little while longer. They lay in silence, catching their breaths. She enjoyed having his weight on her. Soon reality would rear its ugly head, but for now she wanted to savor the moment.

  “I have to go clean up,” he spoke at last.

  He rolled over his strong arms trapped her to his chest. Their bodies molded together as the scent of sex filled the room. He buried his face into her curls and kissed her forehead before pulling away to gaze into her eyes. “You’re staying the night.”

  It wasn’t a question but a confirmation. Deep down, she knew it was best if she left now. But, she also wanted more of this feeling she was experiencing. She felt drugged.

  “Jason.”

  “Hmm…”

  “I want more.”

  In the dark, she heard him chuckle, a sound filled with promise.

  “The night is young, chérie.”

  Chapter Six

  “I woke at intervals until…the intervals of waking tipped the scales, and I was more often awake than not.”

  Annie Dillard

  Minka pressed her body closer to the hardness against her, nestling her back into the heat. It felt nice and warm. She didn’t want to wake up.

  Wait! Heat?

  While the images were fuzzy, the memory of the event came flooding back, hitting her like a brick. She had sex with Jason.

  Oh God, no. The realization of what had occurred sent a shudder through her. She shook her head, refusing to acknowledge the truth, not that it hadn’t been good. In fact, if she dared to admit, it had been too damn good and under normal circumstances, she’d want more. Except this was Blake’s best friend.

  A strange, fluttery feeling in her stomach reminded her he was sound asleep barely inches away.

  One Mississippi, two Mississippi.

  She squinted, adjusting to her surroundings. Nothing looked familiar. The room was large, painted in a dark shade of gray with heavy blinds blocking out the day. Over the footboard of the Victorian brass bed, she glanced at a natural pine-colored, six-drawer dresser filled with knots and natural imperfections. She found it beautiful and studied it a bit longer. Five books were stacked in order by size on the dresser against the wall. A green ceramic bowl with a thick silver bracelet dangled on the edge of the dresser. A man’s watch.

  Her gaze traveled to the right corner of the room where an ample-sized distressed cocoa-colored leather Baxter chair sat. A pair of jeans and a gray cotton T-shirt slung on the armchair.

  Yup. She had lost it. Her brain scrambled to find a logical excuse why she’d do something so careless, except her mind seemed to have gone on a long-term hiatus.

  She exhaled a noiseless breath and brought her body to a semi-seated position. He was still sleeping, good. Except for the lean, tanned arm draped over her, she could easily make a quick exit.

  Minka chewed her lower lip, her thoughts centering on the facts of the situation. Right next to her lay Jason Montgomery. His body, inked with random tattoos on his torso, was even more beautifully sculpted than she had imagined.

  Jason rolled over onto his back, shifting the weight on the bed. She leaned her back against the headboard, welcoming the cool touch against her neck. To her amazement, her neck and shoulders were sore.

  The memory of the evening jumbled in her mind. She closed her eyes in a desperate attempt to put the pieces together, but along with the soreness was a constant thumping in her head. She was hung over from a wild night of sex with Blake’s best man. It couldn’t get any better than this.

  After a couple of seconds passed, she refocused her attention on the man next to her and studied his chiseled face. His blond hair was slightly tousled. His beard much more prominent, making him even sexier. An ache to touch his strong jawbone underneath the dark blond hair almost overtook her senses, but she quickly brushed it aside.

  The man was sleeping, for Christ’s sake.

  Inquisitive eyes moved to his lips, which only brought vivid images of the kiss they shared against the women’s bathroom door at Vapor, their kiss in the lounge. Their hungry bodies against one another flashed through her mind. His kisses, the way he lowered his head to suck on her breasts and her inner thighs.

  The familiar ache thrust its ugly head again.

  Pushing the images aside, she continued her inspection of the rest of his exposed body. His chest was lean with tight washboard abs. On the left side was a tattoo of what looked like a fallen male angel. The ink that caught her curiosity the night before at Vapor was a picture of an eagle covering his left shoulder to bicep. She yearned to touch the daunting black symbol.

  She stared as his chest rose and fell in a slow breathing rhythm.

  She had not dreamed last night. Jason Montgomery was real. And, oh God, he was beautiful. Even sleeping, there was something dangerously sexy about him. She continued to inspect his various works of art. Bold dark Chinese letters inked down his left ribs. She wondered what the calligraphy translated to as her eyes lingered on the area slightly below where the cover rested on his waist, light traces of blond hair led to a path down below his waist. Minka swallowed back, grateful for the cotton blanket wrapped around his midsection, obstructing her view.

  She suddenly became aware of her own nudity.

  Panic swept over her.

  She needed to escape before he woke up. The thought of this man opening his beautiful eyes to see her naked next to him as he gently tried to calm her worries or make empty promises to call her ran through her mind. She didn’t want to deal with any discomfort or regrets.

  Been there, done that, thank you very much.

  Closing her eyes, she let out a long sigh and wished that once she opened them again, she would find herself alone in her bedroom. One sheep, two sheep, three sheep, she counted and gave herself an extra second for the beloved character Scotty from Star Trek to beam her back to her hotel room.

  Slowly she opened her eyes in hope of a Ta-da moment. Maybe Scotty beamed him away. She could live with that. She always liked Scotty.

  Please, please, please make him disappear.

  She turned her attention back to the space next to her.

  Nope, he was still there. On his back sleeping. And once again, the sheer male beauty he possessed struck her.

  For a moment, Minka simply sat there, pondering her next move. If she got up, she might wake him up. And if she woke him up, there was a good chance he might have a good laugh over the absurdity of the situation.

  She also couldn’t stay there completely naked next to someone she barely knew and risk seeing the revulsion in his beautiful eyes. The humiliation never stopped.

  Vivid pictures of them laughing in the night. Jason teasing her with his kisses, his touch. She groaned. Last night, she had cast away her inhibitions and enjoyed the moment. He had made her feel attractive, wanted, and she had enjoyed every second they spent together. But, she knew better than to kid herself. Whatever they shared last night was to be tucked away and looked back upon with fondness.

  She turned her attention back to the naked body beside her and noticed a small red bite mark on his chest. She groaned miserably. It was becoming more and more apparent there was a side to her even she didn’t know. At twenty-seven and even with her limited experience, this was the first time she could ever remember leaving love bites on a man.

  Her gaze traveled lower to the trail of dark blond hair again, she stopped and swallowed bef
ore curiosity got the best of her. As gently as she could, Minka leaned in, lifted the cover from his waist, and peeked. All the while sending a silent plea to God to let him sleep through the experiment.

  Rock hard, even in a sleeping state.

  Yup! He was what she remembered, absolutely beautiful. The need to touch him overtook her once more, just to make sure he was real, of course. She paused and frowned, mulling over whether she should give in to the temptation.

  “Go ahead.”

  Horrified, she jumped with embarrassment and dropped the cover back over his erection. She looked at the man lying next to her. He had that familiar disarming smile again even as his eyes came to rest on her full breasts, reminding her once again she was naked.

  Very naked.

  She pulled the cotton cover as high as it could possibly go, up to her chin. In reality, she wanted to bury her entire body under the covers, head included. But instead, she looked and tried with all her might to focus her attention on the immaculate room.

  “I need my clothes.” Her voice was surprisingly calm. The fact that her heart was racing with so many feelings she didn’t dare try to decipher was another matter.

  “Where are you going?” His voice was slightly hoarse from sleep, but still held that teasing hint from last night. He shifted his weight to one side to face her. “Looking at my bedroom will not make me vanish.”

  Minka bit her lower lip as she continued to look around the room.

  Please make him go away, please make him go away.

  “Look at me.” Although his tone was amiable, it carried a level of authority. She tried her best to ignore the order but aware of his scrutiny, she gradually turned to meet his gaze.

  Yup, he was gorgeous.

  Through lowered lashes, she watched him use one arm to support his head. He smiled at her; his gorgeous eyes sparkled with mischief.

  “Where are you going?” he repeated the question. Softer, gentler. “What’s the rush?” His free hand ran along her arm, sending sparks of electricity through her.

  She brushed his hand away.

  “I have to meet Keely.” It was true. She’d agreed to spend the day ahead with Keely.

  “I want another round.”

  “I don’t,” she said firmly.

  She was officially a liar.

  If she was trying to bruise his ego, she failed miserably because he chuckled before leaning forward to place light butterfly kisses on her exposed arms. His lips felt so good against her skin. Oh, she wanted more, but of course she couldn’t allow herself to admit or act upon that feeling.

  “Liar,” he said with a grin, calling her on her lie.

  “I don’t lie,” she retorted, but not quite in a convincing tone. She blamed the soft, wonderful kisses he was placing on her arm for her inability to resist or think. He chuckled at her words, obviously seeing through her most blatant lie yet.

  “Hmm, then admit it.” He reached over to place a hand between her legs. She wanted to fight him, she really did. Yet, she found her legs parting for him, allowing him full access to her core. He gave her a victorious smile.

  “I’m really good at morning sex,” he whispered in her ear, his fingers gently massaging her folds.

  Minka sucked in a deep breath. That quickly, her body had betrayed her. To a complete stranger, no less. A little voice called reason reminded her technically he was no longer in the complete stranger category but she brushed that thought aside. Besides, she was busy toying with the idea of actually having one last tryst with him.

  “Listen, I have to go.” Still, she made no attempt to move.

  “What time do you have to meet?” he asked, slipping a finger inside her.

  Wow, that feels good.

  “I’m late.” She was really finding it hard to talk with his fingers between her legs. Inside her.

  “Then cancel.”

  He sat up, leaned forward and took one full breast into his mouth, then sucked gently on her nipple. “One more time, then I’ll let you go,” he said against her breast, his breath warm against her skin.

  She let out a deep breath. Her body was screaming yes, she wanted him, wanted whatever he was offering but she also knew she couldn’t ignore her plans with Keely. Even if she wasn’t looking forward to endless hours of her sister’s chatter about her wedding plans.

  “I have to go. I need my clothes.”

  He must have heard the regret in her voice because he pulled himself slowly away from her, leaving Minka feeling surprisingly empty.

  “You don’t have a boyfriend or fiancé back home, do you?”

  She almost laughed at the absurdity of the question. But when she glanced at his face, there was not one hint of amusement.

  “What difference does it make?”

  “I don’t sleep with taken women.”

  Slept, she thought. What they did was the past. She had no intention to ever repeat such madness again.

  Nonetheless, she didn’t correct him.

  Minka rolled her eyes. “I find that hard to believe. Based on last night’s display you seem to be the man-about-town.”

  He chuckled. “My reputation exaggerates.”

  Yeah, she didn’t believe him for a second. In any case, Minka was in no mood to spend one more second disputing her dating status with Jason. “Well, you’re in luck. I fall in the neither category.”

  She jumped off the bed, yanking the sheet along with her, shielding her body from his view but only to expose every inch of him. Lean, well- defined muscles everywhere.

  With all of her willpower, she tried desperately not to look. He was obviously on the arrogant side and looking would only satisfy his already overblown ego. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

  She looked.

  Damn! Not only did she look, she gawked and took in all of his glory.

  She heard him chuckle and realized she was still staring, possibly drooling at the sight of his nakedness.

  “You sure you want to miss out on all of this?”

  The man was a conceited, pompous ass! “I’m sure.”

  He chuckled again, obviously not buying her answer.

  She turned on her heels and pulled the sheet tightly over her. “I need my clothes.”

  “They’re in the closet.”

  “You put my clothes in the closet?” She was somewhat surprised that he found the time and energy to do that.

  “Where else was I supposed to put them?”

  She stared blankly at him.

  “You seemed the neat type.”

  Great, she was already classified. Minka opened the door to the large closet and escaped. She needed a few minutes to think.

  Jason was still smiling when she reentered the room, fully dressed, but without her bra. All of her belongings had been neatly placed in the closet with the exception of her bra.

  “Can you put some clothes on?”

  “I’m comfortable.”

  “I’m not.”

  “Why?”

  “What?”

  “Why aren’t you comfortable with my nudity?”

  It’s not just your nudity that I’m not comfortable with.

  As a distraction to hide the unsettling feeling inside, she sucked in a deep breath and walked across the room to retrieve what appeared to be her bra.

  “I like your name. Minka,” he said from the bed. “It’s different.”

  “I’ll be sure to pass the compliment on to my parents. Please put some clothes on.”

  Jason laughed off her obvious discomfort. “Come back to bed, darling. I can call Blake and let him know you’ll be late.”

  She stood there watching him. Her lips drawn, her eyes narrowed.

  “And Minka, did you like the sex?” He waved a long finger in the air. “Ah, don’t lie.”

  “I was drunk. You took advantage. Please put some clothes on.”

  “I never take advantage of a woman. And you weren’t drunk.” He patted the empty space on the bed next to him. “So h
ow did we compare to your college make-out session?”

  The man was impossibly conceited. Did he really need to hear that was the best sex she’s ever had? Walking past the bed, she murmured, “I have to go.”

  But damn it, he was coming to his feet, off the bed, in all his glory. Don’t look! Once again, she failed. She looked at his wide shoulders, his tattoos, his flat abdomen, and… Seriously, she needed to stop gawking as if she had never seen a beautiful naked body before. Well, she hadn’t but she didn’t have to make it so obvious.

  Minka caught her breath as he came to stand very close to her, leaving only inches between them. Out of desperation, she tried to increase the space between them by taking a step back. To her surprise, he turned on his heels and walked toward the dresser, giving Minka a full view of his flawless ass.

  He pulled out a pair of black boxer briefs and lazily slid long, toned, tanned legs into them as if he was very aware she was examining his every move. She hated to give him that satisfaction, but her eyes were glued to him, even when he turned to face her, in the sexiest pair of boxer briefs she had ever seen on a man.

  He took two long strides to close the space between them. Minka automatically took several steps back until her back was pressed against the wall. Toned arms came to rest on the wall, his eyes locked into hers, holding her prisoner.

  “Don’t go yet, Minka.”

  Really, did her name have to sound like silk coming out of his mouth?

  “I must go,” she heard herself say in a whisper. Minka wondered who she was trying to convince. At this point, she wasn’t so sure.

  “I want to see you again.”

  Were her ears deceiving her?

  A gorgeous hunk of a man wanted to see her again after a night of sex. This couldn’t be. She wouldn’t allow herself to entertain the idea. He was too beautiful. He belonged with someone just as beautiful, someone like Keely. At that thought, her heart sank. But it was better she protected herself from any more humiliation.

  “I have a boyfriend,” she said out of desperation.

  A soft laugh escaped his throat. “You just told me you were single.” As he spoke the words, he drew his face closer to hers, his lips inches away from hers.