* * *
Mikah awakened with a warm, soft Piper in his arms and the faint hint of lemon in his nostrils. His body hardened. Damn. The afternoon before she’d arrived, he’d squeezed lemon into his tea for five minutes before he came back to himself. He was becoming fixated. He needed to shift onto her or off her. He laid his palm on her creamy thigh and rubbed. How pissed was she at him for last night?
Kiernan was going to pay. All assists were going to any player but him. If Mikah even had a one percent chance at taking the shot at the net, and Kiernan was wide open, he was leaving him hanging. Even if it cost them the game against the Yotes.
Whoa, was this how a woman messed up a man’s game?
“Mmm.” Piper rolled to face him, blinking her green eyes open. She checked the alarm clock and stretched. “Checkout time? Guess I shouldn’t have tried for such a quick trip.”
“Stay longer, I’ll take the fine.” What the hell was he saying?
Piper grinned but shook her head. “I’m saving to move out.”
“I’ll pay the airline change fee.” Damn, he sounded needy, and he could not lift his hand from her thigh. This had been perfect, restricted time with limited expectations, but now the window on their get-together had slammed shut.
“No thanks.” Piper didn’t explain why not. “What about this weekend when you get back?” Her voice was morning soft and alluring.
That could work. Still a distinct length of time before the holiday season when he had to juggle his family, and she understood that they’d only be together for a weekend, a long, hot weekend. Mikah gave her his slow, approving grin. “Same page here. I’ll book a hotel downtown.”
Piper scrunched her pillow up so she was higher on the bed. “Is there a reason we can’t go to your place? I don’t want to pay for a hotel in the city where I live.”
Did she think he was cheap? Fair play after last night. Jackass Kiernan and his sense of humor. “I’ll pay for the hotel. Somewhere good.”
“In Austin?” Suspicion tinted her lovely voice, and she wore a distinct frown. Not a full-on horror show expression like last night, but a clear mood shift. “Is there a reason we can’t go to your place?”
Women asking the exact same question twice in a row usually meant they wanted an answer.
CHAPTER 24
And the answer was, Mikah didn’t want her setting up house and showing up in his foyer later toting baked good and expectations. She was looking to move out; he must seem like an easy option. Mikah sat up against the headboard. “I don’t bring women to my place. I don’t want to imply we’re playing house… Just something my dad taught me. A woman he was with before Mom took photos of his place to sell to a magazine, another stole his stuff. Just a rule.”
“I don’t want your stuff. I’ve been around you a while now. If I wanted to sell photos of you, I would have already done it. Which I haven’t. Because I wouldn’t. But also because my confidentiality agreement forbids it.” Her speech got more rapid as she went along.
Piper was cute when she was pissed. Mikah shrugged. “See. It’s an awkward conversation. You look put out.”
Piper shoved the covers off. “Doesn’t make me feel special.”
Special. His heart beat harder. Trap. He swallowed. “I’m being honest. That’s more important.”
She stilled, her expressive face waffled as if it was and it wasn’t.
“Where’d you go?”
“Nowhere. I’m thinking about what you said.” Piper sighed and shrugged one shoulder, making her shirt shift across her bra-less breasts. “Warren made me feel special, but it was an illusion, and I didn’t want him the way I want you. I guess honesty is better.”
Warren was an idiot. Piper wanting Mikah was wonderful. Mikah rubbed his temple at the feminine puzzle in those loaded sentences. He wanted his hands on her breasts, her back on those sheets, and her panties on the floor. Stating his needs seemed like a poor idea. He did what Dad had taught him, he stayed silent.
“Right, I guess we’ll meet up after one of your home games. We’ll split the hotel, keep it under two hundred dollars.” Piper pinched her lips together. “Practical, budget-friendly, all the things great romances are made of.” She grabbed her bag, went to the bathroom, and shut the door behind her with a definite click.
* * *
Mikah got his backpack. They still had a couple of hours, he could save this. He’d pay for extended checkout, feed her, bring her back to these soft hotel sheets, and make her forget the name Warren. That would mean he got today and next weekend, a bonus. He dug through his front pocket, looking for the condoms to put on the nightstand, that would turn her on.
The sleek small box popped open under the pressure of his big hand. He frowned. The package had come sealed in plastic. He never used condoms without the safety seal present, rule number one. His gaze flew to the closed door and an accusation rose in his throat. No, Piper wouldn’t have messed with them, but someone had. He undid the end and upended the box to have a look. One extra thick condom fell to the mattress. One.
His teammates were douchebags, taking away the good condoms and leaving the thick one. Tension tightened his spine, he breathed in and out.
Piper emerged in shorts and a tank top, clipping her hair up. She stared at the condom. “Is that a joke?”