THE SEXUAL TENSION was a third passenger in the car as we pulled out of the lot. Short of going ninety miles an hour, I did everything I could to get us to the motel as quickly as possible. “Why aren’t we going home?” Micah asked as I turned into the neon-lit parking lot.
Shifting the car into Park, I looked over at him. “It’s best my father isn’t on the other side of the wall when I finally get inside you.” Based on the shocked look washing over his face, I could tell my answer threw him for a loop, but I was done tiptoeing around wanting him. As if the two blow jobs weren’t telling enough. “I’ll be right back.”
Five minutes later, I walked back out to the car with the key in my hand. Much to my surprise, Micah was in the driver seat with the car on and ready to go. Confused, I walked to the passenger side and slid into my seat. “Having second thoughts?” I joked, hoping like all hell he wasn’t about to renege on our bet.
“There’s no fucking way I’m spending the night with you in there.” I let the pain of his rejection wash over me as he grabbed the key from my hand. Without letting me say anything, he stepped out of the car and walked back to the front office. I was more than confused as he smiled at me when he got back into the car. “Here.” Handing me his phone, he explained, “There’s a real hotel not too far. Just tell me when to turn.” And just like that, relief settled in my chest as we drove away from the shitty motel.
“Turn left here,” I directed. Watching him drive, I couldn’t help but notice how calm and in control he seemed. Something changed in the last day. He was a different man, and I wasn’t going to waste the chance to find out what happened. “Two days ago, you were ready to leave,” I tossed my words out there. Needing to feel him, I reached over the center console, letting my fingers run up and down his thigh. “Now you’re asking about how long you can stay.” Surprisingly, he didn’t seem upset at my probing. Which was fucking fantastic, considering what I had planned once we got into that room.
“I’m tired of not taking what I want.”
“Turn right at the next block, and it’s about a half a mile away.” Giving directions allowed me a second to process what he’d just said before I gathered the courage to ask, “And you want me?”
“You’re the only one I’ve ever wanted.” Even though he kept his eyes trained on the road, he made a move I never expected, confirming everything he just said. With an easiness I definitely didn’t expect, he covered my hand with his metal fingers. His touch was cool, but when his fingers tightened around mine, holding my hand firmly, there was a warmth between us I’d never be able to explain in a million years.
Our fingers remained linked the rest of the way to the hotel, and when the lights of the parking lot welcomed us, Micah pulled my hand up to his lips, pressing a soft kiss against my suddenly overheated skin. “You okay walking in there together, or did you want me to go first?”
His fingers tightened on mine again, and just like he was ready to share that part of his life with me, I knew he was done hiding.
But am I?
“Everything I plan on doing in there involves you. That includes walking in.” He kissed my hand again and continued, “And walking out again tomorrow morning.” With a crooked smile pulling at his lips, he added, “Though I won’t mind if walking is a challenge tomorrow.”
His easy laughter was enough to convince me to walk in together. It was stupid of me to be nervous anyway. We were far enough away from the town where I taught for there to be an issue. Despite my burgeoning excitement at what was waiting for me on the other side of that hotel door, I despised myself for even being the tiniest bit worried about being “caught” with Micah. I knew full well my job was not dependent on who I had sex with, but it wasn’t a challenge I wanted to face.
The jets of air conditioning blasting us as we walked through the doors helped me push away those thoughts. We may have caught a few stares as we stood at the concierge, and as we rode up the elevator, but with each passing second, I had fewer fucks to give.
“This is us.” He held the card for the door in between his long fingers. Waving it back and forth in front of my face, he taunted me. “You ready?”
“Only one way to find out.” Swiping the key from his grip, I slid it into the lock and watched the light turn green. As the door clicked closed behind us, the only thing I could focus on was making Micah mine.
He clearly had the same idea because, without warning, he pulled me into his arms. His lips crashed into mine and remained there as he walked us to the armchair, linked together as if that was the way we’d always belonged. Between heated kisses, I managed to ask, “I thought I won the game. Doesn’t that mean I get to do whatever I want to you?”
“Want me to stop?” He bit my lip, sending a sharp jolt of pleasure mixed with pain coursing through my entire body.
When all I could give him back was a groan of approval, he smiled and pushed me down into the soft armchair. Reaching behind his head, he knotted his cotton T-shirt in his hand. Effortlessly, he lifted it over his head, making my mouth go instantly dry. In the heated rush of our last two encounters, I hadn’t had the chance to notice the scars cutting across his chest. I needed to kiss each one of them, to bring him pleasure where there’d only been pain.
He toed off his shoes before unbuttoning and lowering the zipper on his jeans. Snickering at my open mouth, he unzipped his jeans just enough to reveal the dark hair running beneath the waistband of his boxers. “You look like you’re ready to pounce on me,” he teased, running his hand over his chest.
“If you don’t take those fucking jeans off, I very well might,” I challenged, never once letting a smile come to my lips.
“So controlling,” he taunted, but there was something in his voice letting me know he was willing to be my puppet.
It only took him two seconds to get rid of the rest of his clothes. Standing naked before me, Micah was a work of art. Scars and all, he was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.
“Now what?” he asked, and I caught onto his game.
“Mine,” I ground out, clenching my jaw. My body was strung tighter than it ever had been and I was certain that if I so much as moved a muscle, I would shatter into a million pieces. “Now.”
He sank to his knees in front of me and swallowing became difficult. Using one hand, he made quick work of the fly on my jeans. Needing to be naked more than I needed my next breath, I lifted my hips and pushed the fabric over my legs, kicking my shoes off in the process. Within seconds, I was hard as a rock, waiting for his next move.
Except he wouldn’t make it without my say so.
Mimicking his move from minutes ago, I lifted my shirt over my head and added it to the pile of clothing on the floor. “Now we’re even,” I muttered as I leaned forward, pressing my lips into his neck. Trailing my fingers down his right arm, I stopped them only when they hit the top part of his prosthetic. “Should we take this off?”
He nodded, keeping his eyes trained on mine.
Remembering how the straps fit together from the other night, I unfastened everything. And even though he was already naked before me, removing that last piece of his exterior bared every single inch of who he was to me.
