Backstage (The Barter System Book 4)

by McClendon, Shayne

  Leaning forward, she kissed the skin over his heart. Settling back on her heels, she continued, “My junior year of college, I tried another serious relationship after two years of platonic dating. He was an actor, livid when I got a part in a production and he didn’t. He tried to fuck my sister and she made sure he limped away. He’d been a little better in bed but not by much.”

  Isaiah crossed his arms behind his head and it did beautiful things to his upper body. She traced the defined lines and zoned out for a moment. He smiled and she shook herself.

  “I met a starving artist when we moved here. You met that loser last night. He robbed us when we went back home to visit our parents. Yesterday was the first time I’d seen him in over a year.” Mikayla straddled his stomach and ran her fingertips over every single feature of his face before stroking through his damp hair.

  “The play is directly inspired by mine and my sister’s utterly failed attempts at relationships with men.” She leaned forward and traced his lush but firm lower lip with her tongue.

  “Then you show up, looking like a fallen angel and throw like a hundred orgasms on me, Isaiah. You fixed my block and cleared my mind completely for the first time in years. Not just about the play…about everything. Swept away all the self-doubt, the bitterness, and the loneliness I’ve carried with me for a long time. You wiped it all clean.”

  “I’m glad. I wanted to help you.”

  “You not only help me, you see me.”

  “Everyone sees you, Mikayla. You’re a lighthouse.”

  She shook her head. “No, Isaiah. People see who they think I am.”

  His palms stroked the tops of her thighs. “What do you want them to see?”

  “I’m in the play because Madeline needed me.”

  “That’s not your dream.”

  “No. I’m helping her with her dream to become a playwright with enough success to guarantee an audience for the books she’s written.”

  She’d surprised him. “Madeline writes books?”

  “It’s what she’s done all our lives. She loves it. Eventually, she’ll sit quietly and write, living a life very different than what people outside our family expect.” She stared into his dark brown eyes. “Her dream is extravagant compared to mine.”

  Pushing her back to sit on his thighs, Isaiah sat up to bring them eye to eye. Big, warm hands cupped her face and he didn’t push, he didn’t demand. He simply waited.

  His patience, his stillness, gave her the confidence to share information only a small group of people knew. She knew about him and his brother. There was no doubt that women probably chased both of them for their money and the lifestyle they could provide.

  She needed to make sure he understood that her reasons for being with him were very different.

  “Everyone in my family worked hard since we were little. My dad inherited his father’s ranch and it was our primary source of income for most of my childhood. Raising cattle is backbreaking, sweaty, and sometimes dangerous work. My mom worked at the bank in town their entire marriage so we’d all have health insurance.”

  Turning her hands over, she showed him the healed callouses and places where rope had cut into her skin over the years. “I rode almost every day. Never wore anything but Wranglers and Ropers. My hair stayed in a ponytail. Even then, I knew what I wanted for my future.”

  His fingertips traced the long-healed scars on her hands. She’d worked hard to soften them from what they’d been.

  “When I was fifteen, my parents won the lottery.” Isaiah stared at her in shock. “It was huge and they were the only winners. We drove together to claim it and didn’t tell a single soul outside our family. My mom, my dad, my four brothers, Madeline, and me.”

  “That’s unreal.”

  She nodded. “It was. Even after all the taxes, there was more money than any of us could spend in our lifetimes. They put away a big chunk for each of their kids and said it was to thank us for years of unpaid labor, callouses, and heat stroke. The rest they invested and it just grows and grows.”

  Stroking her fingers over his forehead, she brushed his shaggy hair back from his face. He leaned into the touch and it made her heart feel bigger.

  “My parents…they told each of us to keep the secret and go to college. That was the condition. Then they said they’d back any business or future we wanted. We had to have a degree in something we loved since they’d never had the chance to go. As each of our brothers graduated, we helped them start their businesses. Then it was our turn. Madeline got her degree in creative writing.”

  She kissed him deeply, exploring his mouth because touching him soothed her in a way nothing else ever had. As she pulled back, she said, “I’m telling you all of this because I know who you are, Isaiah. I’m aware of your family name and the fortune that goes with it, and I wanted you to understand that I don’t need or want your money. It’s important to me that you know that.”

  “I never thought you were after my money, Mikayla.”

  “Other people will. Someone like me from the middle of nowhere, Oklahoma. Fluffy little actress type who sets her sights on one of the Zelder brothers.” She shrugged. “A lot of people will think I’m a gold-digger or just trying to get famous. I don’t care what other people think but I wanted there to be no doubt in your mind.”

  Thick arms wrapped around her waist and held her tight. For a long time, he stared at her and she could see him thinking. “You don’t want to be famous and you don’t need my money.” She shook her head. “You are so beautiful in so many ways, Mikayla. I don’t understand why you’re here.”

  Swallowing hard, she confessed her unnatural obsession with a man she’d never met. “Within days of beginning rehearsals, I was fascinated by the way you came and went. You’d swoop in, make things perfect, and no one ever saw you. Sometimes, I’d overhear conversations about you between Ezra and your guys. His love and respect for you were obvious. You were an enigma.”

  “I’m sorry I avoided you. I think…now you may understand why I felt the need.”

  “Yes. I don’t know why I became so determined but I thought about it all the time and I couldn’t shake it. I didn’t tell anyone else because I knew I was being silly and juvenile.” Releasing a heavy sigh, she admitted, “I had a crush on someone I’d never met, never seen, never spoken to. It was bizarre.”

  “You’re quirky.” His grin told her he meant it as a compliment.

  “That’s putting it mildly.” Her fingers played with the hair at the nape of his neck. “Then one day, I arrived before the others and saw the village backdrop you’d created before the storage room was locked up. Madeline had only done a very rough outline and I asked who’d done the final. She said it was the stage manager but told me she hadn’t seen any of them yet.”

  He seemed confused. “You liked the painting?”

  “I loved it. It brought me to tears. It was the details you added that made me realize I needed to meet you, to talk to you.”

  “What details?”

  “There isn’t one child in the play until the end.” She gave him a gentle smile. “In the distance, you added children playing, with their families and dogs. So many beautiful, gentle details that weren’t in the rough sketch Madeline gave you. I knew you’d chosen to add them.”

  “You like children?”

  “Very much.”

  He was silent for a long time before asking quietly, “What degree did you get in college?”

  “Education and early childhood development.”

  Suddenly, she was turned and pressed to the bed with Isaiah between her legs. His arms wrapped around her and he watched her face but didn’t speak for several minutes. She returned his gaze steadily and soaked up his warmth.

  “You want to be a mother. That’s your dream.”

  It was impossible to hide the tears that threatened to overflow but she knew he wouldn’t judge her.

  “As the youngest, I’ve watched and helped all my siblings chase big
dreams. My dreams are so little in comparison. I want a relationship like the one my parents have. To be loved by a good man that wants the love I have to give. I want to run every morning and cook every night, to raise happy children, and be grateful every morning that I get to open my eyes.”

  “That’s beautiful.”

  “It’s old-fashioned and unpopular. I’ll stay in the play as long as Madeline wants me to but I don’t want to be the next big thing. I never did.” It was time to say the hardest part. “There is something about you, something I’m drawn to and have been before we met, Isaiah. I just…I don’t want you to think I’m crazy or…”

  Then he was kissing, touching, and holding her so tight that she didn’t care about words or how things looked or if he worried that she’d turn into some nut-job.

  Since she was little, she was unanimously considered the most aggressive of the Johannson siblings, the one who tolerated no foolishness, and fought faster than she talked some days.

  She wasn’t flighty, silly, or overly sentimental.

  No one ever suspected that Mikayla firmly and whole-heartedly believed in love at first sight.

  Epilogue

  Isaiah crawled over Mikayla’s body, his need to mark her in every way riding him fast and hot.

  Born into wealth few people understood, he’d always been guarded with women. They flocked to him as a young man for his money or his ability to launch their careers.

  At the time, his sexual prowess, looks, and personality had been nothing more than a bonus.

  Mikayla Johannson was going to be his woman, he was going to be her man, and he would give her the dream she wanted so desperately because it had been his dream to find a woman just like her before a falling truss had changed everything.

  Their dreams were old-fashioned.

  Few women of her age and talent would consider being a wife and mother an admirable goal. Even before being scarred so badly, he’d known how difficult it would be to find a woman who felt that raising the next generation of Zelders was worth her energy and effort.

  He’d hoped that the woman he eventually married would consider his love, loyalty, and appreciation a sufficient trade-off for the lack of a high-powered career.

  Drawn to Mikayla from the beginning like a moth to flame, he no longer questioned emotions that had blind-sided and confused him.

  “Isaiah…”

  She sighed his name into the quiet room and he released a taut nipple to reclaim her lips. All of her wrapped around him, holding him to her, as she worked her folds up and down the length of his cock.

  Breaking the kiss, he watched her until her green eyes fluttered open and tried to focus. Without looking away, he adjusted his hips and slipped the head just inside the wet heat of her body. Shallow strokes showed him the paradise to be had but he needed to be certain of her complete trust.

  He needed her to understand the man he was and the commitment he’d already made.

  With her lower lip between her teeth, she nodded and tightened her legs around his low back. Heart pounding, he sank to the root of his dick and went still. Holding himself up on his forearms, he let her feel all of him as he absorbed the sensation of the only bare pussy he’d ever feel.

  Raising her hands, she traced the lines of his face and this time, the tears in her eyes slipped past her control.

  “I feel like I’ve been looking for you all my life.”

  Smiling, he began to move. “Thank you for bringing me back into the light.”

  Then he made love to the woman he was going to make his wife as soon as humanly possible. The future mother of his children. The person who’d seen his scar and looked past it…

  Seeing nothing more than the man she’d been intended to love.

  He took her up and over the edge of climax several times, denying himself release to make sure she understood how intensely he wanted everything…who she was, what she wanted for herself, and the future he knew they could build together.

  As she reclined limply in his arms, breathing deeply and staring into his eyes, she whispered, “I can’t say it yet. It’s already there whether it’s fashionable or not.”

  Kissing her until she whimpered into his mouth, he carried her to the shower to wash their bodies. Then he took her downstairs and sat her on the counter of a kitchen that had churned out food for two hundred people when he was a child.

  With a quirk of her brow, she said, “It’s not very sanitary to have my bare ass on your counter, Isaiah.”

  He stepped between her legs and rested his palms on either side of her thighs. “I’ve had my mouth all over you, Mikayla. Licked your fluids from your body and added some of my own. I think we’ll be okay.”

  Another kiss and he started pulling cheese, crackers, and fruit from his fridge. He went back for roast beef and chicken. While she watched, he rinsed, cut, and plated food for both of them.

  “I’m impressed.”

  “A million years ago, my uncle started a catering company. Our family had a rule that whatever business we started, the younger set had to try it for long enough to understand what the day-to-day staff experienced so we never took them for granted.” He shrugged. “I liked it. Theodora, Ezra, and I worked an entire summer together and picked up a lot of information. Theodora retained it.”

  Her eyes widened. “How long have you known her? She looks so young… not that you don’t. Shit.”

  He laughed loudly and tweaked her nose. “She’s our cousin and she’s a year older than you. Don’t tell her I told you. She’ll get around to it but she doesn’t like people to think she has the position as our caterer out of pity.”

  “Pity? If you hired anyone else, I’d cry…so would my stomach. That woman is a genius with food.”

  “She was born with albinism. She’s legally blind and unable to handle the sun for more than a few minutes safely. One day, she could lose her sight completely. We keep her close to protect her.”

  Fingers going to her lips, he watched as tears slipped over Mikayla’s cheeks. “Is she in pain?”

  “No, sweetheart. She’s dealing with a lot these days but staying busy helps her feel less dependent.” He stroked strands of her hair over her shoulder. “She adores you and your sister.”

  “We just love her.” Her arms went around his shoulders and she kissed him slow and deep. “I won’t tell her I know you’re related or that you told me about her condition but I’ll watch her back.”

  “You already do.” She used her legs to pull him closer. “You need to eat. Play time later.” He placed a berry against her lips and she took it.

  “Play time is what you make it, Isaiah.” She set her hands behind her. “I’m only going to eat what you feed me, what you deem is appropriate for me to have in my mouth.”

  “Mm. The possibilities.”

  Mikayla parted her lips and he fed her a piece of roast beef. She caught his finger for an instant between her teeth. Next, he gave her sliced apple and she ran her tongue over his thumb.

  Feeding him a little roll of roast beef, cheese, and chicken that she created, she watched as he took one small bite at a time, drawing out her attention on him.

  They took turns feeding one another until both had enough and he dragged her closer to the edge of the counter. His mouth trailed over her jaw and down her neck. “Everything about you is so pleasurable, Kayla. Sexually, physically, emotionally…I’m focused on every movement you make. I’ve been without any kind of affection for so long, I feel like I’m overdosing.”

  “Talking to you makes me happy and I love having your skin against mine.”

  “I’ve never received so much physical attention, even before my accident. I don’t think I ever realized how much it mattered until now.”

  Her fingers massaged him. “I come from a family that laughs and hugs on each other all the time. My mama told me that with four loud older brothers and a sister who looked just like me, I wanted to be sure she was listening when I talked.” She ran her hands
up his arms and over his shoulders. “Touching you is purely selfish.”

  Distantly, a country song ringtone began to play. “That’s Linn! I’ll be right back!”

  Mikayla bounced from the counter to the floor, raced across the first floor, and took the stairs. He watched her go and his dick came to full attention.

  Thirty seconds later, she ran gracefully – and still naked – down the stairs, coming to a stop at the bottom with her thumbnail between her teeth. “No, I haven’t seen them. Let me check.”

  Isaiah watched as she opened the front door, saw the newspaper two feet away, darted forward, picked it up, and ran back in the house. Her eyes went wide and she whispered, “I didn’t notice the elderly man across the street until after. I forgot I was naked.”

  He walked forward, scooped her up, and headed into the family room at the back of the house. The furniture was more comfortable, the space one of his favorites in the sprawling old home. Sitting in an oversized chair and settling her on his lap, he took the paper, discarding the sections they didn’t need.

  Kayla twirled a lock of her hair as she relaxed against his chest. “I have so much to tell you. Hold on, Isaiah is flipping through to find them.”

  Spotting the play name, he folded it over and handed it to her with a grin. Her eyes were enormous. “Oh my god! Madeline! You’re a hit!” Then the sisters were crying. “I love you, too. I’ll see you later and we’ll make plans. Uh huh. No way! I expect full details. You got it. See ya.”

  He moved her hair out of the way to kiss her jaw. He read their fantastic reviews with the paper in one hand, holding Kayla tight in the other.

  When he was done, he grinned. “I’m so proud of you, Mikayla. So proud of Madeline, good for her.”

  Isaiah looked down when she didn’t respond and realized she was asleep on his chest. She looked so beautiful, so peaceful, and he felt everything inside him move around to accept her as part of his life.

  He suspected there would be many such moments in his future with Mikayla.

  He held her while she slept, loving the feel of her. One day soon, she was going to be his wife. Until this morning, he’d never believed something like love at first sight would happen to him.