The patio lighting is giving her skin a delicate glow and I can’t look away from her when she offers a small smile. “It’s good you had the chance to hear him say that he was proud of you.”
“Is it?” I’m starting to realize Allie’s affection has no boundaries. Even as I tell her my demons, she smiles in the face of them. “His pride didn’t make me feel better, it made me feel worse.”
“Why?”
“Because I realized that I became the man I couldn’t even conjure a single feeling for.” There’s so much gentleness radiating from Allie that I think, for this second, she can erase the coolness in my soul. “So, to answer your question, the reason why I organized Holt’s Day is because children don’t see me as a businessman. They don’t see me as a threat. They want nothing from me except my time. They have an untouched happiness that I once saw in my mother.” I pause, then tell Allie a truth I haven’t told anyone before. “Holding the event reminds me of her and reminds me of the way she used to look at me.”
Silence.
I bow my head, unable to look at the heavy emotion filling Allie’s face, realizing my heart is banging against the walls of my chest and my fingers are in fists. I expect her to walk away. For her sake, she should. What I did to my father must disgust her. The man I’ve become must repulse her. I’m bare to her, in a way I haven’t been to anyone in a long time, and she’s seeing past all my defenses, as she seems to do so very easily.
“You know what I think?” she whispers.
Her soft, sweet voice soothes the tightness of my muscles. I lift my head and find her soulful eyes staring right through me. “What do you think?”
“I think that you’re more than what your father tried to make you.”
I have a second to absorb the shock of her statement, wondering how she can possibly see me in such a positive light, before her lips are on mine, throwing me off completely. It’s not her kiss making me struggle; it’s the power behind her lips pressing tightly against mine. It’s the magic in the offer she’s giving me now to take her in any way I want and need.
My legendary discipline collapses, shattering to pieces. I give all of myself to her through the kiss, unable to deny her. Each soft swipe of her lips pours a single truth between us. Allie, with a soul beaming with light, wants to heal the darkness in me that I showed her at Holt’s Day and that I’m admitting to now. Maybe she even thinks she can rid me of my demons.
Truth be told, right now, right here, I want her to.
Chapter 8
Allie
I can’t recall how we got into the bedroom. I’m not sure how much time has passed since my lips met Micah’s. I’m not even sure what made me kiss him or what made me decide not to stop. All I know is his strong body pressing against mine as he’s lowering me to my feet after being held in his arms. His tight grip eases around my waist; his mouth expertly moving across mine with long, sensual swirls of his tongue, while he tangles his fingers into my hair, tugging my head to where he wants it. He kisses in ways I don’t know and have never experienced. It’s unhurried and intent and powerful, and I’m melting under the way he feels against my skin. My body burns when he groans, low and deep, making me wet. His kiss turns raw, primal, and now I know a new Micah. A man who isn’t holding back or being careful with me.
He wants me.
He’s taking me.
And I’m going to let him.
His fiery touch cements my decision to stop fighting against something that I knew from day one was a losing battle. There’s something here, something special, something so damn undeniable I can no longer pretend I don’t want it. I can’t refuse the way my heart reaches for him. I also can’t ignore the desire and electricity between us.
He makes me feel like I’m his for this night.
I want this. I want him.
A needy sound I don’t recognize rushes from my mouth, and his soft masculine growl echoes my noises. Both of his hands tighten on my hips before they are sliding up my body, where he gathers my hair, pulling the strands over my shoulder. I feel the tug on the zipper of my dress and I’m shivering when he pulls the fabric from my shoulders, leaving me in my black bra and panties. I open my eyes, looking into his, finding them smoldering as he flicks the clasp on my bra and slowly eases the straps off my shoulders.
His eyes…Dear God, they’re nothing I’ve ever seen before, and I’m trembling now, both nervousness and excitement running through me. He’s a mix of immense power and complete focus, and is exactly as I imagined he’d be once I said yes, only I couldn’t have anticipated what this would do to me. Goosebumps prickle my flesh when he glances at my breasts, stares for a good few seconds before he leans down and kisses the top of each, almost as a thank-you for letting him touch me. It’s oddly sensual and sweet, all the same.
When he takes my nipples between his fingers and thumbs, pulling slightly, he looks me in the eye. I moan in surprise, as it appears those rough tugs are directly connected to my hot sex and each pull ignites a deep throb inside of me.
“You’re so damn beautiful,” he murmurs, giving two more hard pulls, leaving me wiggling with sensation. His smile becomes heated as he tilts his head down, cupping my breast, sucking my nipple to the roof of his mouth. My eyes flutter shut as he releases the taut bud, moving on to the other nipple, using the same wicked swirls of his tongue.
I feel the void of his wet mouth when he leans away, sliding his lips off my breast. I’m breathless now, watching him lower to one knee before me, and my teeth clench when he hooks his fingers into the sides of my panties and pulls them down.
“So fucking pretty,” he murmurs, tossing my panties aside, staring boldly at my shaved sex.
My cheeks are flushing with arousal, not embarrassment, as he reaches for the buttons of his shirt, slowly flicking each one open. He continues examining every inch of my skin, licking his lips. I feel myself trembling, anticipating him touching me. His gaze travels up my stomach to my breasts, and the side of his mouth arches when he lingers on the pucker of my nipples. I lock my knees, feeling weak when he tosses his shirt aside, but then surprise overwhelms me.
He chuckles. “Not what you expected?”
“No, not at all,” I tell him.