So here he was. Waiting. Hoping she wouldn’t walk through the door just to tell him to go to hell. Well, he would have news for her. As far as he was concerned, he was already there. Going without a woman for two years hadn’t been a picnic, but he hadn’t wanted anyone except her and had denied himself because of it. It was unbelievable how a man’s desire for one woman could rule his life, dictate his urges and serve as a thermostat for his constant craving. He was feeling the heat. It was flooding his insides and taking control of every part of his being.
Over the past several days, he’d thought about knocking on Kalina’s door but had always talked himself out of it. He wouldn’t have been so bold as to ask her to meet him on the staircase tonight if he hadn’t seen that particular look in her eyes. He knew that look in a woman’s eyes well enough: heated lust. He’d seen it in Kalina’s eyes many times.
He turned when he heard footsteps. It was late. Most normal people were asleep. He should be asleep. Instead, he was up, wide awake, horny as hell and lusting after a woman. But not just any woman. He wanted Kalina. She still hadn’t told him whether she’d made a decision about going home with him, and he hoped that no news was good news.
He heard the sound of the knob turning and his gaze stayed glued to the door. Most people used the elevator. He preferred the stairs when jogging, for the additional workout. He drew in a deep breath. Was it her? Had she really come after two years of separation and the misunderstanding that still existed between them?
The door slowly opened, and he gradually released his breath. It was Kalina, and at that moment, as his gaze held tight to hers, he couldn’t stop looking at her. The more he looked at her, the more he wanted her. The more he needed to be with her.
Had to be with her.
But he needed her to want to be with him just as much. Deciding not to take her appearance here for granted, he slowly moved toward her, his steps unhurried yet precise. His breathing was coming out just as hard as the erection he felt pressing against his shorts.
Micah reached her and lifted his hand to push a lock of hair from her face. Knowing what she thought was the truth about him, he understood that it had taken a lot for her to come to him. He intended to make sure she didn’t regret it.
He opened his mouth to say something, but she placed a finger to his lips. “Please don’t say anything, Micah. Just do it. Take me now and take me hard.”
Her words fired his blood, and his immediate thought was that, given the degree of his need, he would have no problem doing that. He tightened his hand on hers. “Come on, let’s go up to my room.”
She pulled back and shook her head. “No. Do it here. Now.”
He met her gaze, stared deep into her eyes. “I wouldn’t suggest that if I were you,” he warned. “You just might get what you ask for.”
“I’m hoping.”
He heard the quiver in her voice and saw the degree of urgency in her expression. There was a momentous need within her that was hitting him right in the gut and stirring his own need. He drew in a deep breath. There was no doubt in his mind that he was about to lose focus, but he also knew he was about to gain something more rewarding.
He then thought of something. Damn, damn and triple damn. “I don’t have a condom on me.”
His words didn’t seem to faze her. She merely nodded and said, “I’m still on the pill and still in good health.”
“I’m still in good health, as well,” he said and thought there was no need to admit that he hadn’t made love to another woman since her.
“Then do it, Micah.”
He heard the urgency and need in her voice. “Whatever you want, baby.”
Reaching behind her, he locked the entry door before lifting her off her feet to place her back against the wall. Raising her skirt, he spread her legs so they could wrap around him. His shaft began twitching, hardening even more as he lowered his zipper to release it. He skimmed his hands between Kalina’s legs and smiled when he saw there were no panties he needed to dispense with. She was hot, and ready.
So was he.
He lowered his head to take her mouth, and at the same moment he aimed his erection straight for her center and began sliding in. Her hands on his shoulders were used to draw him closer into the fit of her.
She took in several deep breaths as he became more entrenched in her body. She felt tight, and her inner muscles clenched him. He broke off the kiss, closed his eyes and threw his head back as he clutched her hips and bottom in his hands and went deeper and deeper. There was nothing like having your manhood gripped, pulled and squeezed by feminine muscles intent on milking you dry.
His lips returned to hers in a deep, openmouthed kiss as he began thrusting hard inside her, tilting her body so he could hit her G-spot. He wanted to drive her wild, over the edge.
“Micah. Oh, Micah, don’t stop. Please don’t stop. I missed this.”
She wasn’t alone. He had missed this, as well. At that moment, something fierce and overpowering tore through him and like a jackhammer out of control, he thrust inside her hard, quick and deep. Being inside her this way was driving him over the edge, sending fire through his veins and rushing blood to all parts of his body, especially the part connected to her.
“Micah!”
Her orgasm triggered his as hard and hot desire raged through him. He plunged deeper into her body. The explosion mingled their juices as his release shot straight to her womb as if that’s where it wanted to be, where it belonged. She shuddered uncontrollably, going over the edge. He followed her there.
Unable to resist, he used his free hand to push aside her blouse and bra and then latched his mouth to her nipple, sucking hard. At the same time, his body erupted into yet another orgasm and a second explosion rocketed him to heights he hadn’t scaled in two years.
He now knew without a doubt what had been missing in his life. Kalina. Now more than ever he intended to make sure she never left him again.
Seven
Kalina slowly opened her eyes. Immediately, she knew that although she was in her room at the villa, she was not in bed alone. Her backside was spooned against hard masculine muscles with an engorged erection against the center of her back.
She drew in a deep breath as memories of the night before consumed her. Micah had a way of making her feel feminine and womanly each and every time he kissed her, touched her or made love to her. And he had made love to her several times during the night. It was as if they were both trying to make up for the two years they’d been apart.
Considering the unfinished business between them, she wasn’t sure their insatiable passion had been a good thing. But last night she hadn’t cared. Her needs had overridden her common sense. Instead of concentrating on what he had done to betray her, she had been focused on what he could do to her body. What he had done last night had taken the edge off, and she had needed it as much as she’d needed to breathe. He had gone above and beyond the call of duty and had satisfied her more than she had imagined possible. Now all she wanted to do was stay in bed, be lazy and luxuriate in the afterglow.
“Hey, babe. You awake?” Micah asked while sliding a bare leg over her naked body.
If she hadn’t been awake, she was now, she thought when the feel of his erection on her back stiffened even more. She drew in a deep breath, not sure she was ready to converse with him yet. With the sensation of him pressing against her, however, she had a feeling conversation was the last thing on Micah’s mind.
“Kal?”
Knowing she had to answer him sometime, she slowly turned onto her back. “Yes, I’m awake.”
He lifted up on his elbow to loom over her and smiled. “Good morning.”
She opened her mouth to give him the same greeting, but that was as far as she got. He slid a hand up her hip just seconds before his lips swooped down and captured hers. The second his tongue entered her mouth she was a pathetic goner. No man kissed like Micah. He put everything he was into the kiss, and she could feel all kin
ds of sensations overtaking her and wrapping her in a sensual cocoon.
A part of her felt that maybe she should pull back. She didn’t want to give him the wrong message, but another part of her was in a quandary as to what the wrong message could be, in light of what they’d shared the night before.
And as he kissed her, she remembered every moment of what they’d shared.
She recalled them making love on the stairwell twice before he’d carried her back to her room. Once inside, they had stripped off their clothes and showered together. They’d made out beneath the heated spray of water before lathering each other clean. He had dried her off, only to lick her all over and make her wet again.
Then they had made love in her bed several times. She had ridden him, and he had ridden her. Then they had ridden each other. The last thing she remembered was falling asleep totally exhausted in his arms.
It was Micah who finally pulled his mouth away, but not before using his tongue to lick her lips from corner to corner.
“You need to stop that,” she said in a voice that lacked any real conviction.
“I will, when I’m finished with you,” he said, nibbling at the corners of her mouth.
She knew that could very well be never. “You need to go to your room so I can get dressed for work, and you need to get dressed, too.”
“Later.”
And then he was kissing her again, more passionately than before. She tried to ignore the pleasure overtaking her, but she couldn’t. So she became a willing recipient and took everything he was giving her. His kiss was so strong and potent that when he finally pulled his mouth away, she actually felt light-headed.
“I missed that,” he murmured, close to her ear. “And I missed this, as well.” He moved to slide his body over hers, lifted her hips and entered her in one smooth thrust.
He looked down at her and held her gaze in a breathless moment before moving his body in and out of her. “Being inside you feels so incredibly good, Kal,” he whispered, and she thought a woman could get spoiled by this. She certainly had been spoiled during their time in Sydney. So much so that she had suffered through withdrawal for months afterward.
“Oh, baby, you’re killing me,” Micah growled out, increasing the intensity of his strokes. Kalina begged to differ. He was the one killing her. Her body was the one getting the workout of a lifetime. Blood was rushing through all parts of her, sending shock waves that escalated and touched her everywhere. Never had she been made love to so completely.
All further thought was forced from her mind when he hollered her name just seconds before his body bucked in a powerful orgasm. She felt the essence of his release shoot straight to her womb. The feel of it triggered a riot of sensations, which burst loose within her.
“Micah!”
“I’m here, baby. Let it go. Give yourself to me completely. Don’t hold anything back.”
She heard his words and tried closing her mind to them but found that she couldn’t. She couldn’t hold anything back, even if she tried. The strength of her need for him stunned her, but whether she wanted to admit it or not, she knew that what she and Micah were sharing was special. She wanted to believe it was meant just for them.
He continued to hold her, even when he eventually shifted his body off hers. He’d gotten quiet, and she wondered what he was thinking. As if he’d read her thoughts, he reached out and cupped her chin in his hand then tilted her head so she could look at him and he could look at her.
She felt the heat of his gaze in every part of her body. He brushed a kiss across her lips. “Have dinner with me tonight.”
She quickly recalled that dinner after a night of passion was how their last affair had begun. They had slept together one night after work and the next evening he’d taken her out to eat. After dinner, they’d gone back to her place and had been intimately involved for two glorious months.
“We’ve done that already, Micah.”
At his confused look, she added. “Dinner and all that goes with it. Remember Sydney? Different place. Same technique.”
He frowned. “Are you trying to say I’m boring you?”
She couldn’t help smiling. “Do I look bored? Have I acted bored?”
He laughed. “No to both.”
“All right, then. All I meant was that I recall a casual dinner was how things started between us the last time.”
“You have to eat.”
“Yes, but you don’t have to be the one who’s always there to feed me. I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.”
“Okay, then,” he said, leaning in close to run the tip of his tongue around her earlobe. “What do you want from me?”
She chuckled. “What I got last night and this morning was pretty darn good. I have no complaints.”
He lifted his head and frowned down at her. “Shouldn’t you want more?”
“Are you prepared to give me more?” she countered.
He seemed to sober with her question. He held her gaze a moment then said, “I want you to get to know the real me, Kal. You never did decide if you’re willing to go home with me or not.”
Mainly because she’d tried putting the invitation out of her mind. She hadn’t wanted to talk about it or even think about it. “I need more time.”
“You have only two days left,” he reminded her.
Yes, she knew. And she wasn’t any closer to making a decision than she had been a week ago. Sleeping together had only complicated things. But she had no regrets. She had needed a sexual release.
She had needed him.
* * *
“Well, that’s it,” Micah told Kalina and Theo several hours later, at the end of the workday. “There haven’t been any more reported deaths, and with the case of the few survivors, the Indian government won’t let us get close enough to do an examination since we have no proof it’s linked and the people did survive.”
“The initial symptoms were the same. They could have survived for a number of reasons,” Kalina said in frustration.
The only way to assure the U.S. military had a preventative mechanism in place if the virus popped up again was to come up with a vaccine. Micah and his team hadn’t been able to do that. The chemicals that had been used were not traceable in the human body after death. And the only sign of abnormality they’d been able to find was the enlargement of the tongue. Other than that, all they had was an unexplained virus that presented as death by natural causes.
She, Theo and Micah knew there was nothing natural about it, but there was nothing they could do in this instance except report their findings to Washington and hope this type of “mysterious illness” didn’t pop up again. Before the Indian government had pulled the plug on any further examinations of the survivors, Kalina had managed to obtain blood samples, which she had shipped off to Washington for further study.
“I’m flying out tonight,” Theo said, standing. “I’m meeting Renee in Paris for one of her shows. Where are you two headed now?”
“I’m headed home to Denver,” Micah said. He then glanced over at Kalina expectantly.
Without looking at Micah, she said. “I’m not sure where I’m going yet.”
“Well, you two take care of yourselves. I’m going up to my room to pack. It’s been a lot of fun, but I’m ready to leave.”
Micah was ready to leave as well and looked forward to going home to chill for a while. He glanced over at Kalina, deciding he wouldn’t ask her about her decision again. He’d made it pretty clear he wanted her to spend her time off with him.
He glanced over at her while she stood to gather up her belongings. He couldn’t stop his gaze from warming with pleasure as he watched her. Kalina Daniels had the ability to turn him on without even trying. His response to her had set off warning bells inside his head in Sydney, and those same bells were going off now. He hadn’t taken heed then, and he wouldn’t be taking heed now.
He wanted her. Yes, she had hurt him by believing the worst, but he was willing
to overlook that hurt because he had been partially to blame. He hadn’t given her the opportunity to really get to know him. Now, he was offering her that chance, but it was something she had to want to do. So far, she didn’t appear to know if she wanted to make that effort.
“I’m glad I was able to draw that blood and have it shipped to Washington before the Indian government stepped in,” he heard her say.
He nodded as he stood. “I’m glad, as well. Hopefully, they’ll be able to find something we couldn’t.”
“I hope so.”
He studied her for a moment. “So, what are your plans for the evening?” Because of what she’d said that morning, he didn’t want to ask specifically about dinner.
She drew in a deep breath. “Not sure. I just might decide to stay in with a good book.”
“All right.”
He fought back the desire to suggest they stay in together. Regardless of what they’d shared last night and this morning, Kalina would have to invite him to share any more time with her. The decision had to be hers…but there was nothing wrong with making sure she made the right one.
“I’m renting a car and going for a drive later,” he offered.
She glanced over at him. “Really? Where?”
“No place in particular. I just need to get away from the villa for a while.” He felt that they both did. Although they would be leaving India in a couple of days, they had pretty much stayed on the premises during the entire investigation. “You’re invited to come with me if you’d like.”
He could tell by her expression that she wanted to but was hesitant to accept his invitation. He wouldn’t push. “Well, I’ll see you later.”
He had almost made it to the door, when she called after him. “Micah, if you’re sure you don’t mind having company, I’ll tag alone.”
Inwardly, he released a sigh of relief. He slowly turned to her. “No, I wouldn’t mind. I would love having you with me. And there’s a club I plan to check out, so put on your dancing shoes.” Then without saying anything else, he walked out of the room.
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