by J. S. Scott
“I already have a fund set up for that, Tessa. I’ve been saving from our profits. I got an estimate over the summer. It’s covered. I just need a slow period where we can get the work done.” He hesitated before he questioned, “Do you want to try again? You’ve been pretty adamant about not doing it. I thought you didn’t want to take the risk. To tell you the truth, I don’t know if I would, either, if I had been through all of the shit you have in the last six years.”
“I think I might,” she ventured hesitantly. “Sarah has a doctor friend in New York who’s one of the best in the country with the procedure. I’d like to at least see her when I’m in the city. What happened to me was rare. I can’t blow off the chance to at least find out all of the facts.”
Liam rose quickly to his feet and scooped her up and swung her around. As he set her on her feet again, he looked excited. “That’s my brave sister. I think it would be fantastic if you tried.”
She hugged him back. “I was scared, Liam. I’ve been scared for a long time of so many things.”
He took her by the shoulders. “And you’re not anymore?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” she answered drily. “But I won’t let my fears rule my life anymore. If I don’t try it, I’ll never know if I could have had my hearing back again.”
“You are brave, Tessa. Hell, you’re one of the gutsiest women I know. I may not be too sure about your choice in men, but you’ve always handled things better than I would have done.”
She put a hand on his shoulder, Liam’s support and the way he’d always been beside her bringing tears to her eyes. She wasn’t about to tell him about the times when she was weak, when her world was pitch-dark. He didn’t need to know, and she was over her past. Tessa wanted to move forward, and she wanted Liam to do the same.
She smiled through her tears. “You’re the best brother a woman could ever ask for. Everything I’ve gone through, you’ve suffered right along with me. It’s time for us to be happy, Liam, and it’s time to let go of any notion that you’re responsible for any of the tragedies that happened in the past.”
“But what if—”
She quickly covered his mouth with her hand. “No more what-ifs for either of us. Please. Our life is good. And I’ve suddenly become a millionaire.” She giggled as she removed her hand from his mouth. “Looking at my savings was like winning the lottery.”
“Did you really think you had to work those other jobs?”
She shrugged. “I guess I did, but only because I chose to believe it. Besides, I get bored when you won’t let me work here more.”
“Somebody would lose their job,” he warned her.
“I know. That’s why I find other things to do. Even now that I know I’m loaded, I’ll still do those jobs. But I’m not moving back home,” she warned him. “I’m too old to live with my brother. It’s not much different from still living with parents. I’m independent and able to function just fine on my own.”
She could buy her own place now, own property. The shock of finding out that she actually had a lot of money still had her head spinning.
“You’re always going to be my little sister,” Liam said, tugging her ponytail playfully.
Tessa laughed, knowing she could handle Liam being the protective older brother. What she couldn’t deal with was his guilt and over-the-top need to keep her safe.
“So I guess this means my brother is even a better catch than I thought,” Tessa said thoughtfully.
Liam frowned. “Don’t even try to set me up again.”
“But you have as much money as me, right?”
He smirked at her. “More. I told you that I developed some products early in my career. I sold some of them and I collect some fat and happy royalties. I also get paid very well for consulting. I am the best in my field.”
“So you’re rich?” Tessa asked bluntly as she gaped at her brother.
“Not Sinclair type of rich, but yeah, I’m not hurting for cash. Jesus, why didn’t you ask me before?” he asked, sounding frustrated.
“I don’t think I was ready to face reality,” she admitted. “I guess I was content just to work when I could and convince myself that I was okay the way I was.”
“You are okay,” Liam answered quickly. “More than okay.”
“No, I wasn’t. I was scared, but I was safe in my small little world where I couldn’t do much.” Where there were boundaries, there was security.
“So you aren’t going to be brokenhearted when you’re staring at the backside of Sinclair?”
She thought for a minute. “I will be sad. Maybe I’ll even fall apart for a while. But I wouldn’t trade meeting Micah for any reason. He’s the reason I’m skating, he’s the reason I’m trying. He’s the reason I want so much more than I’ve had before.”
“You’re in love with him,” Liam stated flatly.
She nodded as tears began to flood her cheeks.
Liam put his arms around her and pulled his little sister tightly against him, then kissed her on the top of her head. “If he hurts you, I’ll kill him.”
Tessa didn’t hear him; she just continued to cry.
Later that night, she awoke to Homer rolling against her body as the mattress beneath her compressed.
Tessa sprang out of bed and flipped on the bedside lamp. Her heart continued to race in surprise, but she couldn’t help but laugh.
Micah was sprawled on the bed facedown, Homer sitting next to him looking affronted and unhappy.
Tessa took her time admiring Micah’s nude body, his tight ass and ripped biceps flexing as he slowly rose on his hands and knees and flopped with his back against the headboard.
Man and dog glared at each other before Micah finally asked, “You let the dog sleep on my side of the bed?”
“Well, you weren’t here,” she answered logically. “And he likes the bed.”
“I like it, too,” Micah answered, looking disgruntled.
She bit her lip to keep from laughing before asking, “Why are you here? I thought you were coming in the morning.”
He grinned at her. “I decided I needed to come now. I missed you. I knew I wasn’t going to sleep, so I decided to just fly back.”
Her body melted, and liquid heat flooded between her thighs. Micah was sitting on her bed, looking tired but gorgeous, and she wanted to touch him . . . right now.
She patted her bare thigh, and Homer immediately left the bed and jumped to the floor. Absently, she stroked his silky head, realizing she was wearing very little clothing herself. The nightshirt she wore ended at the tops of her thighs, and the matching panties didn’t exactly qualify as underwear. They were more like a thong, barely covering her pussy and leaving her ass bare.
Clambering back into the bed, Tessa put her arms around Micah’s neck, and his arms immediately wrapped around her. She laid her head on his chest, warmth flooding her soul as they stayed in that embrace, simply enjoying the feel of each other.
“Jesus, I’m glad I came back,” Micah told her as he pulled her head back so she could see him. “If I had to wait until tomorrow, I don’t think I would have been worth a shit.”
Her heart skipped a beat and then accelerated as she saw the covetous look in his eyes. “I missed you, too. How was your inspection?”
“There were a couple of minor issues or I would have been back yesterday. But I’m done.”
She licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. God, he was warm and inviting. Her body craved him, while her mind knew they needed sleep. “I’m sure you’re tired.”
“Not that tired,” he denied. “I was pissed off because all I wanted was to be with you.”
“I probably got more sleep than you, so move down and let me do the work.” He’d promised to give her control, and she planned on taking him up on that offer. “You did promise.”
“Baby, all I want is to be inside you as quickly as possible right now.” His face was dark with need.
“I’ll get you there.” Tessa wante
d the same thing, craved it.
He moved down so his head hit the pillow, never taking his eyes from her. “Now,” he demanded, running a hand down her belly and stroking her saturated pussy through the skimpy panties. “You’re already wet for me, sweet Tessa?”
She was beyond wet; she was desperate. “Yes.”
Anxious to feel his body skin-to-skin, she pulled the cotton nightshirt over her head and tossed it to the floor.
Homer moved as the nightie landed near his body. The canine promptly got up and scampered out of the bedroom, finding a safer place to lie in the living room.
Micah ran a frustrated hand through his hair as Tessa shimmied out of her barely-there panties. “I need this. I need you so damn much that I can’t think straight.”
The smoldering heat in his eyes caused her core to clench almost painfully as she straddled him, her moist heat connecting with his muscular abs.
“Oh, God. Me, too,” she confessed. “I’m glad you’re here.”
How did she explain that when he was there, she felt ravenous, her body and soul longing to crawl inside him and never come out?
Micah got to her like no other man ever had.
Unable to stop herself, she lowered her head and kissed him.
CHAPTER 19
Micah was doubtful that he was going to last very long. Hell, Tessa had haunted his dreams day and night. When he wasn’t fucking dreaming about being inside her, he was thinking about it.
Yeah, he’d worried about her while he was in New York, but more than that, he just wanted to see her again, touch her again.
He took little comfort in the fact that she had a new dog for company. He wanted to be at her side. He wanted to be with her. Shit, he was almost jealous of a damn dog that had shared her bed while he was gone!
He fisted her hair, pulling her mouth harder against his. The intimacy was satisfying, but after the torment of missing her for the last few days, it wasn’t enough. He could feel her liquid heat against his stomach, and he wanted to be inside her with an obsession he couldn’t control.
Pulling her hair just hard enough to break the embrace, he forewarned her, “If I’m not inside you in the next three seconds, I’m going to do it myself.”
Why in the hell did I promise to let her take control? Granted, she looks hot as hell on top of me, grinding her hips against me, her curly hair fanning out from her beautiful face with an expression so needy that it’s tearing me apart.
Taking a hand from her hair, he said demandingly, “One!” He held up one finger.
“You promised,” she said as she sat up and slid down his body slowly, leaving a trail of liquid heat on his lower abdomen.
His other hand fell from her silky locks and he immediately cupped one of her ample breasts, gritting his teeth as he noticed that her nipple was already peaked and hard.
“Two!” He held up another finger, letting it join the first.
“Wait! I’m not used to this. I’ve never done it before,” she said anxiously.
Jesus! She’s never ridden a guy to oblivion before?
Micah realized that he’d never given her a chance. He was always desperate for her, and he immediately took the lead, never giving her an opportunity to ride him. Obviously, her ex hadn’t let her have her way with him, either.
He tried to clear his mind of any other man touching Tessa. It made him too crazy.
The muscles in his jaw tightened as Tessa fumbled with his rock-hard cock.
“Two and a half!” He didn’t add another finger to the count.
Tessa looked flustered, and he knew he was going to have to wait, but the tutoring would be worth it.
He took both his hands and grasped her hips. “Guide me in, slowly lower yourself down,” he rasped desperately, pushing her hips down as he flexed his groin upward.
A powerful groan left his mouth as he felt her muscles tightening around him. He went deeper . . . and then deeper still.
“Three!” he said with immense relief and intense satisfaction as her slick muscles engulfed him completely, and he was buried inside her to the root of his dick, exactly where he needed to be.
He was already damp with sweat, his control on a hair trigger. “Ride me, baby,” he commanded. “Now!”
“How?” she asked uncertainly as she ground down with her hips experimentally. “God, you feel so deep like this.”
Micah fucking loved that, going deep, and he did feel completely consumed. “Any way you want to. Just move.”
He was starting to sweat bullets as he ached for release. But he wasn’t coming before she did. Ladies always came first.
“Are you my horse?” she asked with a sultry smile. “I’m starting to feel like a cowgirl.”
“I’m whatever the hell you want me to be,” he confessed hoarsely as he held her hips tightly and withdrew, then thrust back up.
“Oh,” she murmured, her head falling back as a sexy moan escaped from her mouth.
“I’ve never ridden a horse,” she admitted as she panted, her hands moving to her breasts, tweaking her nipples as she lifted her hips and slammed back down onto his cock.
“Yeah, sweetheart. Take your pleasure,” Micah encouraged, even though he knew she couldn’t see his words. He was caught up in the moment, watching the sensual creature on top of him with a combination of awe and carnal lust.
She moved gracefully, her body catching the motion of his upward thrusts, meeting his over and over until she fell into a furious rhythm that was driving him to the point of madness. His balls tightened, his body clamoring for release, but he held back as much as he could, watching completely enthralled as Tessa’s hands pleasured her breasts, moaning with every collision of their groins, looking lost in her own desires.
“So good, Micah. It feels so good.” Her head fell forward again, her long curls covering her face as she finally stopped torturing her nipples and rested her hands on his shoulders. “I need to come so bad.”
Micah’s heart and hand responded to her desire. Without stopped his punishing strokes upward, he pressed a hand between their bodies and found her clit, stroking over the slick nub with the force he knew she wanted right now.
“Oh, God. Yes. Please,” she whimpered.
He felt her body begin to tighten, her muscles starting to wrap around his cock like a well-fitting glove.
He swiped the hair from her face, flipping it carelessly backward so he could see her.
Her expression was the mixture of agony and ecstasy that was always present when she was on the verge of climax, and her scream of pleasure was his undoing.
“Micah!”
The sound of his name on her lips as she crested sent him over the edge. He thrust up hard, letting her milk him of his own orgasm, and he groaned helplessly as his hands went to her ass. He gripped it hard as he exploded inside her with a force that rocked his entire world.
She collapsed on top of him, completely spent, and he savored the contact of their damp bodies skin-to-skin. He stroked her hair as she panted and laid her head on his still-heaving chest.
Mine! This woman is my other half, the part of me that’s always been missing.
Maybe he’d thought Beatrice was more than a little bit crazy, but of all the women in the world, she had figured out the one who fit him just right, found the woman who would make him whole.
It just so happened that Micah had that very woman sprawled across his body right now, and there was no place he’d rather be than beneath her, cradling her body against his. His mind, soul, and body were completely at peace.
Tessa stirred and started to separate them. “I’m heavy,” she murmured.
He turned her face to his as he said, “Stay and kiss me.”
She frowned at him, but she didn’t move. “Still bossy? I thought I was the boss right now.”
Tessa had no idea that she was his Achilles’ heel, his greatest weakness, yet still his greatest source of strength. It was an uncomfortable position to be in, but he was ge
tting used to it. Hell, he’d give her anything she wanted if she’d just fucking kiss him. “Do it,” he said huskily.
She smiled at him as she lowered her head a little. “Okay. But only because I want to.”
Micah closed his eyes as he felt the warmth of her breath on his lips, and his heart began to pound against the wall of his chest as she gave him the sweetest kiss he’d ever had.
“Okay?” she asked as she pulled back.
“Yeah.” He nodded, pulling her back against him.
What am I going to do with her? What’s going to happen if I can’t convince her that we can make this work forever?
He listened to her breathing slow as she fell asleep, his eyes closing as his arms tightened around her body protectively.
As he drifted into sleep, Micah realized there were no “ifs” for him, no pondering failure. He needed Tessa like he needed his next breath. Failure wasn’t an option.
For the first time in his life, he’d found the woman he couldn’t live without, and he had no intention of letting her go.
Micah fell into a dreamless sleep, not even stirring when Homer came back into the room, hopped up on the bed, and took an available space next to the two of them with a happy doggie sigh.
“I found out I’m rich,” Tessa told Micah excitedly the next morning as they sat at the breakfast table.
Micah looked up from his food, surprised. “What? I thought you just said you’re rich.”
She smiled at him. “Okay, I’m not rich like you are, but I have money.”
He listened closely as Tessa told him how much money she’d discovered in her bank account, and about her talk with Liam the day before.
“I’ve decided to try the implants again, Micah,” she told him softly. “I know for sure I have the funds now, I’m dealing with reality, and I have no reason not to try.”
