7. Heidi

CHAPTER 7

Heidi

I can't sleep. All I can think about is that twice in one day I could have lost my daughter. One was a stupid accident at school that could have been much worse, thank God.

The other? That's the one that truly terrifies me because I just don't know who it could be or why they did it. It makes no sense. I don't have any enemies here and the only person who really hates me is Josh but he's got no reason to come looking for me. He's got the house and almost all the money. I left with as little as possible because I didn't want to feel like I owed him. And he just didn't care that we left. Why the hell should he? He hated both of us.

I gently slip out from under Cassie and pile pillows up around her so that she shouldn't move. Then I pad to the door and open it softly, glancing back to see if she moves.

Nothing. Not one tiny little stir.

I slip out and close it softly, breathing a deep sigh of relief that I didn't wake her with my unease.

I slip down the hall and out to the open great room, smiling when I see that the fireplace is lit and crackling merrily. I feel like I haven't been warm for hours. Days maybe.

But when I come around to the front of the couch, I jump when a sleepy voice says, "couldn't sleep either?"

"Jesus!" I suck in a sharp breath and groan when I see a tousled, sleepy Micah sitting there looking like temptation personified. "What are you doing out here?"

He grunts and sits up, scratching his bare chest and groaning. "I can't get to sleep so I came out here hoping the fire would relax me."

"And did it?"

"Not exactly," he smirks and I glance down at where he's attempting to cover himself with a blanket but the tent he's pitching is having none of that.

I glance away quickly, clearing my throat. "Ummm. Do you…I mean does that happen to you a lot?"

He chuckles and the deep rasp of it skates along my nerve endings. "Only when you're around, sweetheart."

My head whips around and I know I'm gaping like a damn fish. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you fucking turn me on, sweetheart."

"You're kidding me."

He shakes his head, his mouth curving in a sly grin. "I think you must be the only one who doesn't know that. I've got a permanent tattoo on my dick since you started working at Wildwood."

I scoff. "I don't believe you."

He glances over at me and then he stands up, stalking over to me, the gray lounge pants he's wearing an insufficient barrier to the tent he's pitching. He glances down and the wry twist to his full, sexy lips has me gasping for air.

"Sweetheart. This doesn't happen with anybody but you. Why do you want to tell me that I don't know what's going on with my own damn body." His eyes sharpen and his big, tanned hand reaches out to touch my chin, tipping it up. "Somebody told you that you're not sexy? Some fucker couldn't get it up and he blamed it on you. Is that it, Heidi?"

I jerk my chin out of his hand, hating the loss of his warmth. "I-I don't know what you're talking about." My voice is shaky and breathy and he steps even closer until I can feel the heat of his body so close to me. He's burning me up in a wildfire of lust and desire.

That's all it is. That's all it can be.

"You're young." I wave my hand at him, up and down and he grins.

"Yeah. So?"

"So you've got extra testosterone or something and you get hard at the drop of a hat. That's all that is."

He glares at me and he moves closer. Every pace of his, I back up two steps until I'm plastered against a wall and he's still coming. His arms come up alongside my body and he leans into my face until I can see those damn gold glints in his green eyes.

"I don't know who fucked you up but I've got a pretty good idea. But I can tell you one thing, sweetheart. You're fucking sexy as hell and I have wanted you every second since I first saw you. I knew right then and there that you belong to me. You're mine, sweetheart and whether you believe me or not, doesn't change a damn thing. It's a fucking fact. I want you."

His blazing eyes run down my body and I shiver. I'm wearing a flannel shirt that I wore to work and my socks and panties and that's it. His eyes run down my legs and he groans, one of his hands coming down off the wall as he runs his fingers lightly down my waist, tangling in my shirt and dragging it up one breathless inch at a time.

His lips open on a huff. "Damn, you're fucking hot, sweetheart. I need to taste you so damn bad."

My eyes shift to his and he groans. "I need to taste you everywhere." His pillowy lips drop to my mouth and I suck in a sharp breath even as he growls under his breath. "Everywhere, dammit!"

His lips slam down on mine and my breath hitches so hard spots dance in front of my eyes, my chest aching from the pressure. His tongue dances along my lips until I open them and then like a conquering hero he charges forward, taking every damn bit of my soul with his kiss.

His head shifts and one hand comes up to tangle in my hair, wrapping the braid around his fist. "Fuck do I want to see that pretty hair of yours down and just wrap my whole body in it."

Panting, I shift closer, needing him like an addict needs their next fix. His rough, calloused hands drag on my skin and I shiver with desire.

"Soft. So soft. Perfect." He's just babbling in a rough, husky voice that has my nerves tingling all the way down to my toes. Then his mouth shifts and his tongue glides down my throat, his teeth nipping at my skin.

"Oh god," I hiss, wondering what the hell is going on. I've never felt like this. Wild and out of control. Raging with a lust that's got my body vibrating with it.

His long, thick fingers tug at the buttons on my shirt and he growls under his breath when they don't cooperate. One button snaps off as he rips at it and then his bare chest is pressed against me and my mind is reeling, a red haze painting my eyes.

His mouth catches one of my breasts and his fingers pull at the other one like he doesn't want one to feel left out. My hand comes up, tangling in the thick softness of his hair. He growls against my skin and I can't breathe, can't even think. He switches sides and his teeth nip at my breast through the plain white cotton of my bra, his nose bumping against my nipple until his lips find it and he grunts, taking it between his teeth. Hard. I squeak and close my eyes, tugging at his head painfully. He grunts but it doesn't stop him. He nips and sucks all the way down my body and then he grasps the side of my panties in his hand, twisting and ripping it right off my body.

I gasp and he glances up at me, his eyes burning with a feverish need that I can't help but match.

"Fuck, I need you, sweetheart. Tell me you need me. Tell me you want me to lick this pretty pussy. Let me make you come like the queen you are, sweetheart."

I jerk my head up and down but he grunts. "I need the words."

"Please, Micah. Please, touch me. Taste me."

He bends closer and I see his nose running up my thigh. "So damn pretty. You smell so damn good. I bet you're gonna taste just as good."

The first thing I feel is his tongue tapping at my smooth lips and I pant, my head falling back to hit the wall. My eyes close and I don't see it but I feel his mouth closing over my pussy, suctioning hard until stars dance behind my eyes and my hips push forward into his face. I've never felt anything like this in my life. This is fucking ecstasy. I swear angels sing all around us.

His mouth moves and then his finger comes up to trace a trail of my juices dripping down my thigh until he catches it and lifts his finger to his mouth. "Delicious. So damn spicy and sweet. Just like you."

My eyes open and lock on him as he licks my honey off his fingers. He eats it like it's the finest dessert.

Then he falls face forward into my hips, his teeth, tongue and mouth fucking tearing me apart until I can't breathe, my body is tight, quivering, my belly so tight that I feel like I'm about to come apart at the seams.

"Wh-what?" I gasp and shudder, my body on fire with desire. I can't see straight and Micah hitches my thigh up on his shoulder, digging in with his tongue until he's fucking me with it as his thumb grinds down on my clit.

The spiraling need that's building explodes into shimmering sparks falling all around me and I clamp my lips shut on the scream straining to shatter the quiet of the night. He doesn't stop. Just keeps eating me out until another shuddering coil of ecstasy rolls over me and my body sags to the ground and he's the only thing holding me up. His fingers are jammed in my pussy and he grunts as he laps up every last drop of my release. I pant, straining, my body so wrung out that it feels like I've run a fucking marathon. My heart pounds in my chest and I grit my teeth when he pulls his fingers out and picks me up to carry me to the couch.

"You're gonna hurt yourself, Micah," I pant.

He shakes his head. "I really hate that you think that. You're a feather on the wind, baby. You won't hurt me. I could bench press you for an hour and I'd still be ready for more."

He sets me down and then he sits down and yanks me over onto his lap. He winces when I brush his erection which is standing straight up. I reach out and touch it tentatively.

He laughs. "He's not gonna bite you, sweetheart. Trust me, he likes you."

I flush and bite my lip. "You really want me?"

His eyes close and then he sighs. "Heidi, I cannot tell you how much I want you. It's like a constant ache. My dick is so damn hard that it feels like that baseball bat I was carrying earlier."

"That has to hurt."

He grunts on a laugh. "Ummm. Yeah. It does. But it hurts worse that you don't realize how damn beautiful you are. How fucking sexy. I've never met a woman that I wanted as much as you."

"Maybe that's just because you're young and you haven't had a lot of experience."

He snorts and holds my gaze. "Heidi. I'm not a monk. I've had women before. I'm not gonna lie to you and say I haven't. But none of them made me feel like you do just by walking past me."

I reach out to touch his chest, feeling him shiver and close his eyes. "Maybe you're really serious." And then I lean forward and touch my tongue to his nipple, feeling his whole body go rock-hard under me.

"Don't start something you can't finish, Heidi," he grits out between his clenched teeth.

"I think I can finish this just fine," I smile and wrap my mouth around the little beaded nipple on his muscular chest, scraping it with my tongue.