by J. S. Scott
It didn’t surprise her that he’d done thousands of jumps safely: solo, tandem, and group jumping and formation. Micah was the leader of one of the most elite jumping teams in the world.
This jump was probably nothing more than routine for him. But Tessa was more nervous than she’d been skating in the Olympics. Most figure skaters didn’t look death in the face performing their sport.
It’s safe. He told me about the safety record of skydiving. It’s rare to have a death among regular jumpers.
It all came down to the few words he’d written; it came down to trust. Did she trust him?
She tucked the note into a small zippered pocket of the protective jumpsuit she was wearing.
Then, she gave him a confident thumbs-up. The truth was, she did trust him, and the thoughtful note he’d scribbled before they’d gotten into the air just reinforced her bond with him. She’d take this leap with him, just like she’d taken several leaps in the past weeks with him. There was no one she’d rather be with, even if she was jumping out of a very nice plane.
Micah didn’t waste any time letting her know they were going as he once again gave her the “go” sign himself, and they both tumbled out the door of the plane.
Her heart lodged in her throat as they exited, her body attached to the front of him, both of them falling at what seemed like an alarming rate. She automatically put her arms out in the correct position once they cleared the plane, a silent scream in her head as she felt the air rushing by them. Their bodies continued to drop at a rate of speed she never could have imagined.
The free fall only lasted for a minute or so, but she finally embraced the rapid plummet toward Earth a few seconds after they’d started to descend. If she was going to die, there was nothing she could do about it, and she wanted to enjoy her last moments.
Right now, Micah was as deaf as she was, or so she’d been told. Not only were they wearing protective helmets, but when one was falling to the ground at over a hundred miles an hour, it was hard to hear anything but the wind rushing past the body. Micah had told her that a skydiver was unable to hear anything but the air during free fall.
Her heart was racing as she looked through a pair of protective goggles, feeling like she was flying, floating through the air like a bird. Seconds ticked by as the ground got closer and closer, Tessa soaking up the exhilaration of their tandem free fall. Never in her life had she felt so uninhibited, her body racing with adrenaline as their parachute deployed and Micah began to guide them to the best place to land.
Her wonder of the ride didn’t end as they started to glide, drifting at a height that she should find terrifying, but didn’t. She was still nestled against Micah as they grew closer and closer to the ground, and she felt . . . safe.
Moving her legs aside as they got ready to land, he ended up on his feet, coming to a gentle stop.
Working around the parachute, he was able to free them both in a very short amount of time. Tessa pulled her helmet off as she turned to face him, immediately noticing his enormous grin.
The entire jump had only lasted approximately five minutes, but the experience was right up there with some of the most amazing moments in her entire life.
“Oh, my God. That was fantastic,” she yelled at him, unable to hold back her emotions.
“Were you scared?” he asked by signing, then pulled off his own helmet and unzipped his jumpsuit to his waist.
“Terrified,” she answered. “But I was okay once we were out of the plane.”
“It’s normal to be scared the first time,” he replied.
“Can I learn to jump by myself?” she questioned excitedly.
“We’ll see,” he said, his smile starting to be replaced by a contemplative look. “I was pretty happy with that position myself.”
She smiled at his suggestive comment, watching as their pickup drove toward them, men exiting the truck and starting to collect the parachute that Micah had already slid off his back.
Tessa wanted to thank him, but how did she thank a man for literally giving her back her life? Micah had never treated her differently because she had lost her hearing. He pushed her buttons, pushed her limits, but he never saw her deafness as a handicap. It was the first time anybody had ever treated her quite the same way they had when she could hear.
As soon as he was free of his protective gear, she threw herself into his arms and hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her as though he understood every emotion she couldn’t voice as he held her closely, so tightly that she never wanted him to let go.
A few hours later, Tessa sighed as she let warm water flow over her body, happy that she finally didn’t stink. After a morning run, a workout at the arena, and then their skydiving escapade, she knew she smelled ripe. She’d hit the shower as soon as she and Micah had walked through the door of Randi’s old home. Lingering because the water felt so good, she squeaked as Micah opened the door of the enclosure and stepped in like he owned the place, which he actually did.
It was a small shower stall, but Tessa didn’t care. She stepped aside and let Micah wash, content to watch him and his perfectly sculpted body as he cleaned up. When he was done, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him, and she snaked her arms around his neck.
“I never get tired of seeing you naked,” she admitted, looking up at his handsome face as a droplet of water dripped from his wet hair.
He didn’t say a word as his mouth lowered to hers in a scorching kiss that made every tangible thought in her head vanish.
All she could do was feel the heat of Micah’s mouth and the need that fired in her soul as she connected with his raw desire.
“I can never touch you enough,” he answered as soon as he broke off his passionate embrace, his palms cupping her wet breasts.
“Then touch me,” she pleaded.
She tilted her head as his lips explored the slick skin of her neck, giving him as much access to her as he wanted to take.
Tessa knew she was getting addicted to Micah, but it was an intoxicating feeling that she refused to give up. She let her palms slide down his muscular torso, not stopping her descent until she could finally grasp his engorged cock. “I want this,” she insisted, dropping slowly to her knees in the cramped shower.
He usually protested whenever she wanted to taste him, nudging her away so he could bury himself inside her. This time, her heart accelerated as his hands speared through her hair, letting her do what she’d wanted to do for a long time: take his cock into her mouth and savor his essence.
She tasted and sucked, swirled her tongue over the sensitive head with a desperate abandon, an aching need to show him how much pleasure he’d given her in the last few days.
Micah’s hands fisted her hair tightly, almost painfully. Glancing up, she could see that his head was back, resting against the shower stall. He looked like he was barely hanging on to his control.
She sped up her pace, sucking harder, using her hand to increase the friction and make this even more pleasurable for him.
Closing her eyes, more than ready to make him come for the first time with her mouth, Tessa was startled when Micah pulled her away from him by her hair, pulling her head back far enough that she could look up at his face.
“Up!” She could see the command on his lips as he grasped her upper arms tightly and hauled her to her feet.
She was panting, warm water flooding across her back as she looked at him anxiously. “What happened? I thought you liked—”
“I love it too damn much,” he answered, opening the door to the cubicle with one hand. “I can’t take any more of having my dick in that beautiful mouth of yours.”
He motioned her to get out, and she reluctantly stepped onto the fluffy rug in front of the shower. She began to reach for the towel she’d left out for herself, but Micah stepped behind her and wrapped his powerful arms around her waist before she could scoop it up.
Her gaze lifted until she could see his face clearly in the lar
ge mirror over the counter, her core flooding with liquid heat as she caught his expression. His eyes were dark and filled with a desperate need that echoed in her soul. For a moment, their gazes caught and held in the reflective glass, both of them communicating without words.
Finally, Micah seemed to snap, and he moved forward, urged her legs apart with his feet, then pushed urgently on her back. His feral longing was contagious, and Tessa leaned forward and placed her palms on the bathroom vanity, her only thought getting him inside her.
Her head dropped and her back arched as she felt his fingers delving between her thighs. “Please. Don’t wait,” she panted, knowing she couldn’t take his teasing right now.
She lifted her head as he tugged on her wet hair, knowing instinctively that he wanted to say something.
“This is exactly what I wanted to do since the moment I saw you in that bathroom in the guesthouse. I wanted to bend you over and fuck you right there in the bathroom until the ache to have you went away.” Her sheath contracted as she read his words in his voice, a low, husky sound that she could imagine in her mind.
It was hard to believe that somebody like Micah had felt instant lust when she’d been nothing more than the cleaning lady at the Sinclair guest homes. She’d been dressed in her oldest clothing, and she’d come there from a snowstorm. That couldn’t have been an enticing sight, but she believed him. Even then, she’d wanted him, too. But she’d also been staring at his nude body straight from the shower. Her attraction made sense. His . . . not so much.
“Do it now, then,” Tessa begged as she met his hungry eyes. “Do it.”
“I plan on it,” he said, the muscle in his jaw ticking with restraint. “It’s like living out a fantasy I’ve had for a long time.”
His fingers teased her clit, then moved through her slick heat like he owned it. She moaned and let her head drop back down again, unable to speak even if she wanted to, as she felt the head of his cock finally probing the entrance to her channel.
She pushed her hips back eagerly as Micah surged forward, then she whimpered in ecstasy as he seated himself to the root.
“Yes,” she cried out, her entire body quivering in anticipation.
He grasped her hips, hammering into her as she quickly caught his frenzied pace and pushed back to meet every thrust.
Micah fucked just like he lived his life: fast, furious, and like a force of nature that couldn’t be stopped.
Not that Tessa wanted him to stop. She loved it when Micah reacted to her like this, as though she was the only thing in the world he wanted, needed. It was that very intensity that made being with him so raw, so incredibly carnal that she lost herself to the ferociously erotic reaction her body had to Micah’s merciless pursuit of her orgasm.
Her climax didn’t do a slow approach. It steamrolled over her as Micah sought and found her clit, fingering boldly as he pummeled into her again and again.
“Oh, God. Micah!” she screamed as her muscles clenched around his cock.
He grasped her hips harder, surging hard a few more times before he stopped, spilling his warm release deep inside her.
Her body still trembling, Tessa lifted her head to watch him. His head was tilted slightly back, the big muscles in his neck flexing, his expression ravaged as he opened his mouth in what she knew was a silent roar of triumph.
In that moment, she wished that she could hear him as he came, but she satisfied herself with watching his big, glorious body shudder, knowing that he’d had the same mind-blowing sensations that she’d experienced.
She was in his arms within moments, her exhausted, limp, and spent body being supported by Micah’s strength as he lifted her ass onto the counter and cradled her head against his shoulder. Tessa sighed as his hand slid up and down her naked back, and she found a resting place for her arms around his neck.
Her mind and body relaxed, feeling Micah’s chest rise and fall against her, the pace steadily decreasing as they both caught their breath.
It’s like the calm after a storm.
Tessa had come to realize that, although she’d been surviving, she hadn’t been living until she’d met Micah, until she’d had him to challenge her to reach higher. She’d been coasting through life, but she’d never really been happy for most of her entire adult life. Maybe when she’d been younger and skating, her ambitions had consumed her. But somewhere along the way, she’d lost who she was and what she’d wanted from life. Yeah, her life had changed irrevocably, but she’d let herself and other people set some pretty tame limits on what she could and couldn’t do because she was deaf.
Now, she understood that she had very few limits unless she wanted them. Of course, there were always going to be things she couldn’t do, but that was probably true for most people for one reason or another.
Hadn’t her unexpected battle with meningitis taught her that life was fleeting and so very short to put things off because of fear? Maybe it hadn’t back then, but she could see so much more clearly now.
She hugged Micah tighter, knowing the day would come when she’d have to let go, but she wasn’t going to regret what had happened between them. Ever. The pain of letting go would never outweigh the experience of being with him, even if it only lasted a little while.
When they finally disentangled themselves, she saw a sudden worried thought pass over his expression.
“What?” she asked, reaching out to catch his arm.
“Tessa, I didn’t use a condom. I didn’t use a fucking condom!” Micah raked his hand through his wet hair.
Her heart dropped as she realized they’d both been so caught up in the moment that the thought of using protection hadn’t even crossed their minds. Micah was upset with himself, and understandably so, but at least she could rid him of his concerns.
Tightening her hand on his arm, she said, “I was checked after I was with Rick. I’m clean of any type of disease, and right before I got sick, I got a ten-year IUD put in. I thought I was going to get married, and I wasn’t planning a family anytime soon.” Actually, now that she thought about it, she wasn’t even sure Rick had even wanted kids. The long-term birth control had been his idea. “I didn’t have it removed. I won’t get pregnant. Trust me. I won’t let you fall,” she said softly, hoping he’d lighten up.
Micah took her by the shoulders and stared down at her. “You think I was worried about that? I want—” He stopped and started again. “I need for you to trust me, Tessa. I’ve never not used a condom, and you know it’s been a while for me, but I don’t do that shit. I don’t forget to use a damn condom. It was a fucking stupid thing for me to do. I’m clean, but what if I wasn’t? Jesus, Tessa! Don’t ever trust a guy who is panting after you to not wear a condom.”
Her mind finally cleared, understanding what he was trying to say in his convoluted explanation. She smiled as she tightened her arms around his neck. “So are you saying I shouldn’t trust you? You’re the only man I’m sleeping with right now.”
“No. That’s not what I’m saying. I was speaking generally.”
She rubbed her breasts against his chest. “I’m speaking specifically,” she replied. “If I’m only sleeping with you, we’re both clean, and I’m on birth control, can I trust you?”
“Hell, yes, you can trust me. Do you think my dick is really going to get hard for anybody else right now? It’s fucking fixated on you.”
“Then trust me and try it again. I’d kind of like to finish what I started in the shower.”
Her heart raced as she watched his anguished expression. She understood what he meant, that he never wanted her to trust another guy to always tell her the truth. His heavy breath wafted across her cheek as she moved closer to him and she asked, “Do you trust me?”
“You I trust. Other men . . . no, I damn well don’t.”
“I’m not with any other men right now.”
“Thank fuck! And you never will be, so this discussion is unnecessary anyway.”
His mouth crashed down o
n hers so fast that she never did get to ask him what he meant, and it was quickly forgotten as Micah’s sensual assault to her senses made her forget that anything else but him existed.
CHAPTER 12
Later that evening, Julian ducked into Shamrock’s Pub more out of necessity than because he wanted a beer. Quickly taking a rickety seat by one of the windows, he opened the threadbare curtain and looked out at Main Street, hoping to hell he’d lost his group of adoring fans.
Slumping back in the chair when he didn’t see anybody coming, he pulled off his baseball cap and sunglasses, dropping them onto the table.
“Running from the police?” he heard a sarcastically sweet voice ask from the bar.
He looked up and saw Kristin minding the tavern . . . again. Was anybody else ever here except her? She already had a full-time job in Sarah’s office. Why was she always here?
“Not lately. But you never know,” he shot back halfheartedly, not feeling like arguing with the sharp-tongued redhead tonight.
I’d rather fuck her until she stops talking and starts screaming.
His dick was already at attention just from looking at her. Kristin embodied every physical asset that turned him on. Unlike most guys in Hollywood, the last thing he wanted was a skinny model. He liked women who enjoyed food, and he was a large man. He wanted a curvy female with some flesh on her bones and an ass that he could actually grasp while he was pummeling into her body.
Unfortunately, the woman who haunted his wet dreams obviously hated him. Maybe that was why he wanted her so badly. Not only was Kristin beautiful, but she wasn’t about to drop at his feet and submit. More likely, she’d knee him in the balls and walk away. Maybe he was a masochist, but he kind of liked that about her.
“What are you looking for?” she asked curiously.