He’d fought in a war.
He’d lost a limb.
He’d come back home, back to me, looking for something.
I doubted he’d find it in the bottom of that glass, but there was no way I was going to judge him for needing a little time away from his demons.
“Hey there, boys,” a soft voice crooned from over my shoulder, pulling me away from the imagined visions of Micah at war—here and abroad. “Care to join us again?”
“Well, who am I to say no to that?” Brandon’s response was sly and filled with the promise of something wicked. He did nothing to hide it from her, or from us.
“What about your friend?” the woman asked, tipping her head to Micah. “She’s out there waiting for you.” Across the dance floor, her friend was swaying back and forth, smiling, waiting for the three of them to join her once again.
After a quick look my way, Micah lifted his glass to his lips. His tongue slipped out of his hot mouth a split second before the cool glass pressed there, making my head swirl with visions so erotic even I couldn’t put them to words. “I think I’ll sit this one out,” he rejected politely.
“Suit yourself.” Brandon smiled as he wrapped his arm around the woman’s narrow waist. “More for me,” he whispered over his shoulder as he walked away from us.
When they were both out of earshot, and the music had started thumping once again, I asked, “Didn’t want another go with her?” I did my best to swallow the bitterness of my words with the swig of beer I’d just taken. But rather than hovering above us, a yellow cloud of anger, so thick you could barely see, the words sat like a ball of disgust, twisting my gut into a knot I wasn’t sure I’d be able to unwind.
He glanced out at the trio dancing as if he actually cared what they were doing. “Eh, she’s just not my type,” he said, his voice taking on a playful lilt.
“Oh yeah?” I laughed at his explanation. “How’s that?”
Bracing himself against the table with one arm, he leaned forward, his lips pulling into a wide grin. “Too much tits,” he said. And then he pitched his voice lower to add, “And not enough cock.”
His words caught me off guard so much I nearly spat my beer across the table. He’d struck me speechless, and he knew it, the ass. Leaning back against the bench, he looked over at me, his eyes alive and playful.
While I was caught up in staring at him, he downed his bourbon. A drop raced down his stubble-covered chin. As he lifted his arm to wipe it across his face, his hair fell into his eyes. It was long enough to be pulled back, but he left it free. Always keeping mine as short as was reasonable, I wondered how the hell he dealt with it. But when he said, “By the way,” before raising his beer to his lips, I decided the topic of his hair length wasn’t all that important.
Whatever the fuck he wanted to talk about was what I wanted to talk about.
After placing his beer back down on the table, he continued, “Speaking of cock.” His voiced slurred with the alcohol taking its effect. “Mine is feeling pretty fucking good right now.” Toying with the bottle, we both watched it as it swayed back and forth between his fingers. “How’s yours?” It was a simple question. Only two words, said so coolly, so casually, he could have been asking about my grandma, but he sure as fuck wasn’t. And the subject of his current inquisition twitched behind my zipper as if jumping at the opportunity to answer Micah’s question.
“Since when is my dick a topic of concern to you?” I asked around the rim of my beer.
“Since mine was in your mouth no more than an hour ago, I figured the least I could do was ask how you were holding up.” He smiled so fucking big I was sure he’d light up the entire room. I had no clue who was sitting in front of me, but I knew one thing for certain: this was not the same Micah who was at my house earlier.
Gone was the stressed, angry, and pained man who over-examined every word, every move. In his place was a calm and relaxed version of the same person, who wasn’t the least bit the same at all. Not knowing how long this would last, I figured I would ride the high for a while, and collect as much information as I possibly could while his lips were loose.
“Okay then.” I stretched my legs out under the table, letting them brush up against his. “Since you asked and all,” I continued, keeping my voice as even as I possibly could. “He’s feeling a little short-changed.”
“That’s too bad.”
My curiosity piqued, I leaned forward, asking, “Yeah? How’s that?”
“If yourfriend,” he spat out the word as if it left a foul taste in his mouth, “hadn’t shown up, I would have been all over that.”
Intrigue and desire ran so deep in my veins, my dick twitched behind my fly. “Well, just ’cause we’re here now doesn’t mean we have to stay.”
Keeping me pinned in his gaze, he lifted his beer, swallowed the last of the brew, and slid from the bench. “After you,” he said, gesturing his arm to the side.
Wordlessly, I vacated my seat, my pulse raging with excitement. My pride kept me from looking behind me as we made our way out of the bar. That and I didn’t need to see Brandon and have him chasing after us. Besides, I was fairly certain he was still so busy out on the dance floor that he’d barely notice our absence.
It wasn’t until we were out in the thick air of the parking lot that I had the courage to turn around.
I should have known better to see anything other than what I did.
Within seconds, my night took a very unexpected, and certainly unwelcomed, turn of events.
