She shook her head quickly then stepped to his side and turned to face him. “I’m sorry. I overreacted. I guess you’ve got a close family?”
Micah took a deep breath. Olivia’s scent carried guilt but he didn’t know why. Instead of asking any more questions about her family, he let her shift the focus to him. “We grew up close, but we’re fairly scattered now. I have a large family, that’s for sure.”
“How large?” She moved to sit at the table again and he followed slowly.
“I have my mother, eight siblings and at last count-twenty nieces and nephews. My father died when I was a teenager, but my paternal grandfather helped rear us.”
She simply stared at him. He wasn’t sure if it was in awe or utter shock. “You have thirty people in your immediate family?”
“At last count. I’m sure there are more nieces or nephews by now or on the way. My siblings seem to enjoy large families. Only two of us aren’t married and procreating just yet.”
“I see. Well, thank you for answering my questions and for the stew. I really should go transcribe these notes so I don’t wonder what I chicken-scratched later.”
She stood up, stretching as she did. Micah watched her lean form move under the shirt. Her breasts. His hands ached from not being able to touch her. Still, he had to wait for that first move. Her ass swayed delectably as she exited the room.
Micah cleared the table, glad the seeming crisis had been averted but determined to find out more about Olivia’s childhood. If in fact she didn’t know she was a shifter, if that was why she didn’t acknowledge that he was, it might be interesting to introduce her to their shared world. But it was going to be hell on his hormones if he couldn’t act on his need for that sexy she-wolf.
Olivia headed back to her room full of information but she really needed to process her own reaction to her dreamy host. When he’d reached out to stroke her hair, she’d had to fight leaning into him. It just seemed like the right thing to do but there was no way she could do that.
If she let him know how much she wanted him, she knew he would respond favorably. There was no mistaking the interest in his eyes. Olivia closed her eyes as she shut her door behind her. Sagging against the wood, she released a gust of air.
“Olivia. You know why you can not have sex with that man.” Scolding herself did not help. She sat down to type out her notes, but opened up a second document on her computer to journal a bit about her reaction to him. As the first man in a while who had seriously made her want to get naked, Micah Keeps Vigil would have to be processed.
As she wrote about him, the words turned from clinical to personal to sexual. Soon she typed out an erotic fantasy where she was on her hands and knees with him pounding his cock into her as he called out her name.
“Olivia?
This time he knocked too. Olivia jumped as she realized the knock and her name were real. Slamming the laptop closed, she shoved back from the desk. Where had the time gone? Her clock showed two hours later.
“Olivia?” Micah’s voice carried through the wood. “I thought you might like to take an afternoon walk with me. I have to check some of the property and you might see a different variety of wildlife at this time of day. Would you like to go?”
He stood with one hand on the doorframe, filling the space when she opened the door. Ducking his head, he stepped across the threshold when she waved him in.
“I’d love to, Micah. Let me grab a sweater and then we can layer up for the outside.”
His approving chuckle made her belly feel toasty and warm. Once they were rewrapped for the weather, Olivia followed Micah out again in the afternoon for another walk on the snowshoes. She’d gotten the hang of them though she wasn’t quite as graceful on them as she’d hoped she’d be. But now that she was focused less on her face not being planted in the snow, she had to acknowledge the frisson she felt around this man.
As they walked up to a lake, she imagined she would feel little arcs of electricity when he would stop to point out various animal burrows, squirrel nests and the mistletoe in the tops of some of the trees. She allowed herself a moment to daydream about him holding a sprig of mistletoe over her head as he lowered his mouth down to hers for a deep, seeking kiss.
Micah didn’t just show her the animals. He told her about them. It was as if he knew them intimately-almost as if he understood their very nature. Olivia paid close attention to his words and to the man himself. She watched the fluidity of his walk, even on the ungainly snowshoes. He was definitely the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her life.
Her hands itched to roam all over his tall body. The thought of tracing his muscles had her biting the inside of her cheek. Not good to moan while hiking behind the man. She figured he had to weigh well over two hundred pounds, but she’d wager that not an ounce of it was fat.
She breathed deeply, the bite of the winter air causing her to cough. Micah glanced back at her, his concern fading to amusement. Olivia shook her head on a short laugh. “How cold do you think it is right now?”
“Now? Probably less than ten degrees. With the wind chill though, it’s probably eighteen or twenty below. Are you warm enough?”
“Well, my nose is getting numb, but the rest of me is warm enough.” She couldn’t stop the feeling of pure feminine pleasure that swept over her as Micah’s gaze moved from the top of her red hat to her booted feet. Her belly heated up even as her head reminded her that she could never indulge in that reality.
He tilted his head back toward the lodge and they started moving down the path. Olivia looked over to the side and stopped dead in her tracks.
“Micah,” she whispered.
He stopped, turning to look at her. Moving very slowly, Olivia gestured with one hand toward the side of the path. Micah moved back to her, staring into the woods. “Something moved. I think it was a wolf. There! Do you see him?”
“Yes.” His voice matched the quiet in hers.
Olivia stood mesmerized. She watched the edge of the woods where a wolf stood. Beside her, Micah was perfectly still. The wolf stood in profile to them, looking at them over his left shoulder for a long moment then turned and disappeared into the undergrowth.
Olivia took a deep breath then turned to face the man beside her. “Just how many wolves are there in these woods?”
“What do you mean?”
She noted that his voice sounded funny, but she plugged on. “Last night I saw the biggest gray wolf I’ve ever seen in my life in the clearing around the lodge and now this white wolf in the woods. Are there more of them around?”
“Sometimes. Depends on the time of the month-I mean year.” He shrugged. “Let’s get you back to the lodge.” She noted that his voice sounded normal again.
He led the way in silence and they reached the lodge without seeing any other wildlife. Olivia shook her hair free of the woolen hat, laughing a little at the static, and hung the hat up on a peg just inside the door.
They toed off their boots, pulled off gloves and then Micah reached out to help her with her jacket. For just a moment, she thought about doing the same to him just so she could wrap her arms around his massive chest.
She wanted to nuzzle into his neck, smell his skin and feel his arms around her. She really wanted to rip his shirt off and see if his body followed through on the promise it seemed to be making. No! No ripping. No biting or clawing either. Remember Jackson? You could do to Micah what you did to Jackson.
Visions of the flashing lights and sirens from that awful night filled her mind. Shaking her head at her own wayward thoughts, Olivia went back toward the kitchen. Micah followed her on silent feet.
Scooping up her notepad, Olivia turned to find Micah leaning against the counter. His gaze lasered straight into her core, threatening another meltdown. She faltered. “I…I think I’ll just go upstairs and put some more of these notes into my computer.”
“You should take a warm shower just to make sure you don’t get a chill. Or you could join me in the sauna.” The lazy sensuality of his voice only added to the lava forming in her stomach. But she couldn’t let him know that.
“Maybe I will. Just not right now. I really need to get these images down on paper.”
Smiling, Olivia moved past him to the staircase. She could feel Micah’s gaze on her as she went quickly up to the hallway. When she gained the privacy of her room, she leaned against the closed door for a moment, trying to catch her breath.
“Sauna? Puh-lease! If I saw him naked in the sauna I’d definitely have to jump his bones.” Olivia laughed, pushing away from the door. “And that would be such a bad move.”
Her laughter faded as Jackson ’s face floated up in her memory. Her first lover, the man she would have married if she’d been able to keep herself from going wild at his touch.
Olivia swept a stray lock of hair behind her ear. They’d kissed before-even fooled around a bit and when he’d taken her to bed the first time, she’d been sure he was the man for her. She’d even accepted his marriage proposal. Then, one night, everything had changed. They’d been having sex and she’d gone crazy on him.
He’d forgiven her. Of course he’d also broken up with her. His words spoken with kindness but tinged with fear still rang in her ears. Olivia, I think maybe you need to see someone about this. It’s not normal to be so violent in the bedroom. I love you but I can’t deal with your aggression.
She’d had to agree when faced with the stitches on his cheek that mirrored the ones on his chest. And she’d had her acrylic nails removed and vowed never to wear them again. If only she’d known that uninhibited sex did that to her. Her therapist had suggested past sexual abuse that she’d buried, but Olivia knew that wasn’t it.
It was tied to the monster inside her. The one who had killed her parents. Enough! Slamming the door on those painful memories, she moved purposely toward the desk and her laptop, opening it and striking a few keys to wake it up. She paged through her notes from earlier then pulled up a blank document and started writing her article. She forced herself not to return to her earlier erotic journaling.
As usual, she lost track of time as she wrote. The light tapping on her door pulled her out of the story taking shape in front of her and back to the present.
“Yes?”
“I just wondered if you were ready for dinner.” Micah’s voice carried through the closed door.
“Dinner?” Olivia glanced at the clock on her laptop, shook her head and moved toward the door. “I’m sorry, I completely lost track of time.”
She also lost her ability to speak as she pulled the door open. Micah stood in front of her door in a blue denim shirt and jeans that hugged his hips and thighs. His hair fell loose around his shoulders and her mouth went dry as she let her gaze roam freely from the top of his head to his moccasins with a long pause at the hidden treasure behind his zipper. She finally raised her eyes to meet his gaze.
“Are you hungry?”
“Starving.” And for more than just food. Olivia knew at that moment she wanted desperately to make love to this man. The breakup with Jackson had been eight years ago. Surely she could control herself now? Lust surged up and overrode every piece of good sense she had.
The attraction raged between them. She could feel his arousal. She could definitely see his interest-hell, she could almost smell it. Smell it? That’s ridiculous, Olivia Marie. Get a hold of yourself. First you think the man smells like cookies and now you think you can smell his arousal? What is wrong with you?
She jerked her attention back to Micah with a faint smile. “I think I’ll take a quick shower, that is, if I have time?”
“Take as much time as you need. I’ll be in the kitchen.” He turned, somewhat reluctantly, she thought, then paused at the top of the stairs to look back at her. “Would you like wine with dinner?”
“That would be lovely.” She smiled at him, saw his mouth curve slightly in response, then moved to the doorway watching as he went down the stairs. Honestly, how can a man as massive as he is move so gracefully?
Olivia slowly closed the door and walked over to the armoire where she’d stowed her clothes. For some reason, she wanted to dress up a bit. Though Micah wore jeans and a denim shirt, she wanted to be a “typical” female and impress him. Knowing men were more visual than women, she’d definitely “dress to impress” tonight.
Pulling her favorite silk shirt out of the armoire, Olivia dug through her clothes until she found the slim black skirt she’d bought recently. She tossed them on the bed then dug through her lingerie until she had the pieces she wanted.
Taking the lacy bits into the bathroom with her, she raced through her shower, washing her hair and body quickly then smoothing her favorite lotion into her still-damp skin.
She made quick use of the hair dryer and diffuser, scrunching her curls and then swiping her mouth with her cherry lip gloss. She used a small amount of mascara on her lashes then pulled on the black lace thong and matching push-up bra.
Silently she thanked her best friend for talking her into buying the bra because tonight she wanted to make the most of what she had. Rolling thigh-high hose on, she smoothed her hands up her legs. Olivia studied her reflection in the full-length mirror, knowing what she’d see. A woman bent on seduction.
She ruthlessly shut down the memories of ambulances. This time would be different. This time she would control that savage thing that lurked inside her. She just hoped Micah appreciated the trouble she was going to.
Olivia stepped into her skirt, zipped it up then checked the appearance of the slit in the side as she took a step forward. Perfect. Just enough leg. She hummed her satisfaction, stopping when she realized it sounded more like a low growl. Get it together, Olivia, or you will have only yourself to blame-and you’ll have to satisfy yourself…again.
She pulled her blouse on and buttoned it with hands that shook slightly. She’d never allowed herself to even consider this-not since that night she’d terrified herself and her boyfriend. Micah-something about Micah made her crazy. That afternoon’s self-exploration hadn’t taken the edge off this attraction.
If anything, it had only added to it. Still, she’d have to keep her wild side in check. He didn’t look like the type to scare easily, but you just never knew. At least he was big enough to defend himself if she did get out of hand. Olivia glanced at the ever-present medicine bottle.
“No, no and no. I am not going to dull myself with that junk. Tonight I can handle this. I will not turn into some crazy monster woman.”
One last look in the mirror and she stepped into the heels that had cost her one and a half freelance articles. Sylvie, her best friend, called them CFM shoes. Olivia had only asked her once what that stood for, but once had been enough. “Come fuck me” indeed. She dabbed a small bit of perfume on her wrists, the base of her throat and between her breasts.
One hand on the railing gave her confidence on the sky-high heels as she descended. Mouthwatering aromas rose to greet her. She inhaled deeply and smiled. If she didn’t know better, she could swear that in all the many smells coming from the kitchen, Micah’s wove in and out. She shook her head. No way could she smell the man. She really needed to get that out of her head.
Olivia pushed her plate back with a sigh. “You’d better be right about me burning these calories off during the day or I’ll never fit into my clothes again!” She smiled at her dinner companion.
He leaned away from the table, rocking his chair back on two legs. A slow smile curved across his face as he nodded. “Shall we have coffee on the couch? I’ll throw a few logs on the fire if you don’t mind getting it? I take mine black.”
It felt natural to clear the dishes as Micah moved to the wood hopper to build the fire up again. Olivia rolled her neck then set the plates on the counter. She poured the coffee and turned back to find Micah right there.
“You move so fast and so silently. You nearly wore this coffee.” She looked at his hand now holding one of the cups. He’d grabbed it in self-protection. “I didn’t even know you were there.”
“Didn’t you?” His soft voice held a note of question. Olivia just shook her head and laughed at him. His eyes shifted color again. She didn’t know how he did that. She’d never met anyone with changing eyes. They seemed to catch the firelight, throwing it back at her. His eyes narrowed as his nostrils flared slightly. He leaned toward her. Instinct had her backing up until she hit the counter.
Micah slid forward, putting his arms on either side of her. She heard the clink of his coffee cup landing on the counter behind her. She should feel trapped-instead she felt the heat of his gaze burning her. Olivia tilted her head up as her tongue darted out over her lips. His eyes tracked the movement and she knew a kiss had to be next.
Instead, Micah drew soft knuckles down her cheek. “Come to the couch, Olivia. Let’s talk.”
She followed him to the sofa, drinking in the way his shoulders moved. And his ass. Olivia heard her own small sigh. The man had the nicest rear she’d ever seen. Everything about him seemed sculpted and perfect. Her nipples tightened. What would he feel like naked under her hands?
“Olivia?” Micah turned back to her. His eyes seemed to melt when he looked at her. She turned her head to the side, embarrassed by her own thoughts.
“Sorry.” She offered him a smile. “I got caught up in thinking about my article.”
He folded himself down to the couch, patting a cushion beside him. “Sit and tell me what you’re writing. I’m fascinated to hear what you have so far.”
Olivia launched into her article. She spoke for some time until the crackling of the fire distracted her. “I’m sorry. You must be bored stiff.” She smiled at Micah.
“On the contrary, I think you’re incredible. To take what we did and turn it into that is amazing to me. I can’t do that. You are a natural-born storyteller.”
Olivia felt her skin warm at the praise. “Thank you, Daddy always said…” her voice trailed off.
“Olivia?” Micah reached out to stroke her hair.
“I’m sorry. That’s so unusual for me to remember my birth father. I just had this clear memory of him laughing at me and telling me I was born to tell tales like my Babushka.”
“Babushka? Isn’t that Russian?”
“I think so. My birth name was Volksson.”
Micah jerked. “I know some Volkssons but they live in upstate New York above Buffalo.”
“Really? I tried to find family once. I was sixteen and found my adoption papers. I mean I knew I was adopted but I thought maybe I could find someone who would know.” She stopped herself. “Sorry, it was just a girl’s dream of wanting to belong to someone.”
Micah wrapped a long arm around her shoulders. Olivia let herself lean into him. “I’ve always wanted to belong to someone, you know? I had family with the Decaturs until I kill…until they died.”
Micah’s soft voice rasped in her ear. “Killed them? Olivia, you told me they died in a car wreck.”
A shudder racked her as she took a deep breath. “Micah, I was thirteen. We were driving home from a band concert. My mother and I were arguing about whether or not I could go to the Harvest Dance. I remember it all so very clearly. The moon looked like some giant spotlight and I thought if I didn’t get to go to that dance, I might as well die.
“Then I don’t know what happened. Something must have run out in the road. When I came to, I was standing by this oak tree. My clothes were ripped and torn. They were hanging off me. I saw the car. Oh god, the car.” She stuffed a hand over her mouth as tears filled her eyes.
“Sweetheart, you don’t have to talk about this. It was an accident. You didn’t do anything.”
She felt him drop a soft kiss on her head. “No, I want to tell you this. It’s important. My therapist tells me to let these things out. So I saw the car. It was upside down and there was smoke pouring out. I ran to it. I still don’t know how I did this but I got the door open and I pulled my dad out. He was…he was already gone.
“Then I got Mom out. She was still alive. But when she saw me, oh Micah. When she saw me,” Olivia curled in closer to his warmth, “she screamed at me to get away from her. She called me a monster. I knew then that I’d done something. I’d caused the wreck. She died screaming at me, Micah.” Olivia turned tear-filled eyes up to him. “And I don’t know why.”
Micah didn’t say a word. He just wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her into his lap. He cradled her head against his chest as she wept. She felt his chest rumble as he murmured soothing sounds while his hand swept across her hair and down her back. Olivia couldn’t stop the tears even though she hated the feeling of weakness. Somehow, being in Micah’s arms made it safe to fall apart.
She wept for her parents and for herself. Nothing had ever been the same after their deaths. She’d continued to have those blackouts at least once a month. Her therapist told her that the full moon probably triggered them because of the accident happening on the full moon. Olivia slid her arms around Micah, holding on for dear life. She didn’t even know when she cried herself to sleep.
Micah stood carefully, balancing her slight weight in his arms. Olivia’s head lolled against his shoulder as he carried her out of the living room and up the stairs to her room. He wanted to take her to his apartment, lay her down on his bed and simply hold her through the night. How she had to have suffered all this time.
Thinking she’d killed her adoptive parents, never knowing that her ability to shift didn’t make her a monster. If she’d been thirteen at the time of the wreck, obviously she’d gone through her first shift in the backseat of that car. Most shifters had their first experience with the change at puberty. Strong emotions, rampant teenage hormones and the full moon, all of those things contributed to the first shift.
Seeing a wolf in the backseat of a car where your daughter had just been would have been enough to cause anyone to lose control of a car. Anyone who wasn’t aware that their child-adoptive child-was a shifter, that is. Olivia’s mother had been wrong to call her a monster, but now he knew why she hadn’t responded to any of the verbal and nonverbal cues he’d tossed her way. Olivia had reached adulthood not knowing what she was, what they both were.
He put her down on the bed, lifting her body to pull the duvet and blankets out from under her. She looked so beautiful, almost ethereal there among the dark bedclothes. His hands trembled slightly as he removed her shoes. Those shoes…every male fantasy come to life, a beautiful woman dressed in silk wearing those shoes.
Hesitating slightly, he set the shoes down beside the bed. He wanted to carefully undress her, strip himself and crawl into the bed with her, giving her his warmth, the comfort of his body, the peace gained from sleeping with someone there to watch over you, but he knew she wouldn’t see it that way. She’d be horrified in the morning to wake naked beside him.
Shifters often shared space when sleeping. It wasn’t sexual, it was simply Pack behavior. He’d shared a bed with three of his brothers before leaving the reservation to join the Army.
Instead of following those instincts, he slowly pulled her shirt out of the waistband of her skirt. His intent had been to make her more comfortable, but the sight of the creamy skin at her waist set off warning signals in his brain. An overloaded libido could only take so much and the sight of Olivia in such a vulnerable position was all he could handle. Pulling the covers up to her shoulders, Micah moved across the room.
He rebuilt the fire in her fireplace, glancing over his shoulder from time to time just to ensure she slept soundly. Settling himself in one of the chairs by the fireplace, he decided to wait and watch her through the night.
Olivia shoved the covers off her upper body. She felt incredibly warm and unsure how she’d managed to make it up to her room. The last thing she remembered… Sitting straight up, Olivia felt her breath catch. The last thing she remembered was Micah pulling her into his arms, stroking her hair and back as she cried all over him. She’d told him things last night she had never mentioned to anyone other than her therapist.
She realized she was in her room and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Well, at least this time she hadn’t awakened naked. No, she woke fully clothed except for her shoes. No wonder she’d felt uncomfortable. Her skirt had become twisted around her waist, her bra cutting into her chest. Only when she’d started toward the bathroom did she hear the soft sound of someone else’s breathing.
Olivia froze, trying to calm herself. Turning toward the fireplace, she saw a definite shadow that didn’t belong. Stepping cautiously toward it, she exhaled when she realized the lump in the chair was Micah. His long legs were stretched out in front of him, his arms crossed at his chest and his head resting on the back of the chair.
He didn’t look very comfortable, but he did look incredibly inviting. She truly wanted to curl up in his arms again, only this time with both of them awake and her not crying all over him.
Olivia had never thought of herself as a risk-taker. She’d never thought of herself as particularly daring or brave, but she decided now would be the perfect time to start. Micah had shown that he had a tender side by carrying her upstairs and putting her to bed. Now she wanted to see a wilder side to him.
She knew the attraction she felt for him wasn’t one-sided. Considering her options, Olivia took a deep breath and unzipped her skirt. Pulling it off, she stood before him in the lacy thong, her push-up bra and silk blouse. Unbuttoning the top two buttons on her blouse, Olivia stepped closer to the sleeping Micah.
With one hand she reached out and touched his face. Those incredible brown eyes opened slowly, sleep clouding them. Awareness came sooner than she’d expected, but he didn’t move other than to blink at her. Olivia smiled as she moved closer. Raising both hands to her blouse, she unbuttoned it the rest of the way.
Micah sat up, his eyes gleaming as they followed her motions. Still, he didn’t reach for her, didn’t try to take over. It almost felt as though he knew how important this was to her, knew she had to do this herself. Almost as though he knew she had to take this chance, this opportunity for her own peace of mind.
Moving so that she straddled his legs, Olivia shrugged out of her shirt, letting it fall behind her as she placed her knees on either side of Micah’s legs in the chair.
Putting her hands behind his head, she tugged at the end of his braid until she could unravel his hair. She combed her hands through those silky locks and watched him tilt his head back, his eyes closing in pleasure. Leaning forward, she took advantage of his position to kiss him. Light, teasing kisses along his jaw and cheeks.
Olivia felt his hands lightly touching her shoulders, felt the warmth of his body as he pulled her closer, felt the heat in his gaze as he opened his eyes to stare at her. “Liv.” His voice came out sleep-roughened and deep.
No one else had ever shortened her name, but Olivia wanted to hear him say that again. With nothing more being said between them, she leaned forward and kissed him. Micah responded immediately, pulling her even closer, but not taking over.
She’d expected him to take control, the fact that he hadn’t told her she made the right move. His hands felt like fire though, molding her shoulders, smoothing down to her waist then to her hips as he urged her even closer. Olivia leaned back slightly, breaking their kiss and pulling his head toward her neck. She didn’t need to say anything, didn’t need to tell him what she wanted, it felt as though he could read her mind.
His hands molded to her butt, cupping and squeezing as he moved his mouth over her neck and shoulders. Olivia leaned farther away, knowing he wouldn’t let her fall. Micah licked across the top of her breasts, then between them, burying his face in the cleavage provided by her bra.
She’d never been so thankful for her friend’s insistence on that particular purchase. His hands slid up her back to the catch of the bra and Olivia let go of his shoulders long enough to slip her arms out of the straps. Micah groaned deep in this throat, the sound causing her body to tighten then respond wildly. His mouth burned a path to her breast. His hands now held her against his body as he nipped and licked his way around her breast.
“Micah, please.” She guided his head right where she wanted him, lifting her breast to his mouth, showing him where she needed him and he was more than up to the task. Taking her nipple between his teeth, biting gently then sucking her strongly. Olivia barely held in a scream. It felt so good, it felt so right. She needed this, needed him, wanted him more than she’d ever wanted another man.
Micah surged out of the chair, holding her body tightly against his as he took three giant strides to the bed. He lowered them to the soft bed without ever letting go of her, still tugging at her breast. His hair fell around them and Olivia grabbed his head, fingers tunneling through the thick strands and hanging on. Micah released her long enough to yank his shirt off and she had just a moment to see that she’d been right.
His upper body was extremely muscular and there wasn’t any hair to impede her view. She caught a glimpse of some tattoos but couldn’t tell and didn’t really care what they were at this point. He lowered his body back on top of hers, letting her feel his warmth, his strength, but not crushing her into the bed. The tips of her breasts brushed against his chest and they both groaned as he kissed her again.
Time slowed, everything faded around her as Olivia concentrated on this man, this moment. Running her hands over his shoulders and between them to touch his skin, feel his hard nipples under her fingernails, Olivia exulted in just touching him. He liked it too.
Gasping, he lifted away from her to watch her hands moving over his chest. Suddenly he rolled onto his back, pulling her so that she straddled him. Olivia sat up, running her hands from his shoulders to his waist, watching his eyes glow golden in the faint light from the fireplace.
He reached up to pull her back down then froze under her. Olivia sat back, staring at him, wondering why he’d stopped. With a deep sigh, Micah sat up with her, kissed her hard then put his forehead against hers. “I’m sorry, Liv. Someone just drove up.”
“What?”
“A car just drove up, sweetheart. I have to go downstairs.”
The reluctance clear in his eyes, Micah set her gently off to the side as he got out of the bed and grabbed his shirt off the floor. Olivia grabbed her robe off the foot of the bed and thrust into it. She turned her back to him as she tied the robe shut. Micah’s arms came around her and he pulled her back against his body. “You don’t know how much I regret this interruption.”
“Oh, I think I have an idea.” She was annoyed to hear her voice quavering. He heard it too, if the arms tightening around her were any indication.
“Liv, we will finish this. Just give me a few minutes to settle whoever this is and I’ll be back. Or, you could always go upstairs to my apartment and wait for me there?”
“Just do what you need to do, Micah. This is totally out of character for me, anyway. I think it must have been the wine and the emotional baggage I unloaded on you. I’m-”
He spun her around and kissed her. Hard. “Do not say you’re sorry. Don’t you dare, because I’m not. I want you, Olivia Volksson Decatur. I want you in my bed, or yours, it doesn’t matter which. I want to make love to you, with you.”
Micah kissed her again, gently this time. “Just wait for me, sweetheart, I’ll be right back.”
He hit the door with enough force to cause it to bang back into the hallway. The noise didn’t soothe his irritation at the uninvited interruption at all. He truly felt that he had never been this close to murder before in his life. Growling under his breath, he reached the front door to hit the porch light. All rage faded when he saw who stood on his porch.