Once at his inner thighs, she twirled her fingers in small circles until she reached the object of her pursuit. She glinted her eyes at him as she wrapped her hand around his shaft and began rotating her hand up and down.
His hands flew to each side of the tub as he slowly let his head fall back in enjoyment. She looked down at the piece in her hand, loving how the tip disappeared when she reached the top. The muffled sounds coming from Micah’s mouth were giving her the encouragement she needed to move her hands faster, quicker, making sure she fondled his balls as she did.
“Lex,” he blew in a rushed breath as he tilted his head back up to look at her.
“Can you do me a favor?” she asked. Instead of responding he just nodded his head in agreement.
“Scoot up a little so you’re on the higher part of the tub.”
She really appreciated the different levels that offered seating in the whirlpool tub because she definitely needed him elevated for what she planned to do next. Once he was on the highest level, as she’d predicted, his lower half sprang above the water. She submerged him in her mouth, taking the tip first before pulling him in as deeply as she could.
He jerked at the contact, his eyes widening in awe as she relaxed her throat and deep throated him like she’d never done before.
“Another first,” she said in between sucks, wanting him to know she’d never taken another man in her mouth before. Not even her ex-husband.
“For real,” he wheezed in a forced voice. She didn’t have time to respond. Her mouth was too occupied and her mind was too fascinated by the way he felt sliding in and out of her throat.
“You should stop,” he said on the brink. “I’m coming.”
Duh, she thought. That’s exactly what I wanted to happen. So instead of slowing her movements, she went faster, water swishing around them and splashing on the floor. In one sudden spasm, he shuddered irrepressibly, giving Lex the pleasure of knowing she’d been the cause of his satisfaction.
Chapter 17
“Shh,” Micah said to Lex as they hid behind a large pine tree in the park, trying not to move as they heard the sound of snow crunching around them. From the anxious look on her face, he could tell that Lex had really enjoyed the different Snowlympics’ contests.
Micah felt like a new man after such an exhilarating night with Lex. They’d gotten more snow overnight, making for a perfect day of winter festivities. The morning had begun with the sledding competition that required teams to sled down the biggest hill in town six times. The fastest ten teams moved on to the next round. Lex had been great at that, developing a technique that caused her to fly down the hill past other contestants. Next, there was a snow-ice-cream eating challenge in which one of two team members had to finish an entire oversize bowl of ice cream made of snow. The top seven teams moved on to the next round and Micah had nailed it and finished in second place.
After that, teams competed to see who could build the most unique snowman and Lex had the idea to build a beach snowman laying in a reclining lawn chair wearing sunglasses, a large summer hat, a bikini and holding a beer in one twigged hand. The judges had loved their idea, landing them one of five spots in the final round...a snowball fight.
But this wasn’t just any snowball fight. Each team had a safe zone where they could reload on snowballs but other teams couldn’t hit them while there. Each snowball had a paintball inside, five colors for five teams, and both team members had to remain within the war zone or else that team would be eliminated. When they had originally begun putting on their winter snowball-fight gear, Lex had looked hesitant after sizing up the other groups competing.
“Are you ready?” he asked her quietly, making sure her helmet was secure before they left the tree they were hiding behind.
“I think so,” she said, taking a lipstick tube out her pocket to reapply a fresh pink coat.
“Are you serious right now,” Micah said in disbelief. “We’re in the middle of war and you’re putting on lipstick.”
“I’m nervous,” she said in a frustrated whisper as she rubbed the color across her lips. “Leave me alone.”
Her mouth opened and parted to make sure it was applied perfectly. The gesture reminded Micah of where her mouth had been placed the night before and how she’d used it to seduce him into submission. He looked down at his pants. Great...a hard-on in the middle of a war zone.
She then pulled out another tube of clear gloss to apply to her lips on top of the color.
“I wouldn’t put on that lip gloss if I were you,” he said firmly. “Unless you want me to take you on this tree and say to hell with winning.”
Her eyes grew big in surprise at his comment, but she ignored his warning and began applying the gloss extra slowly. Fine, have it your way, he thought, inching toward her. The move caught her off guard and she fumbled with her lip gloss, which eventually fell into the snow.
“Shiitake mushrooms,” Micah said, beating Lex to the punch while snapping his fingers for affect.
Lex shot him a harsh stare. “You must think you’re so cute,” she said with irritation before bending down to try and find her lip gloss.
Micah returned to the game as she searched. “We have to move from this tree,” he said after she’d located her lip gloss. She nodded her head and followed his movements as they left behind the large tree. From what he could tell, two other teams were still in this. He motioned for Lex to go left, while he went right. She obeyed and they went in opposite directions. Unlike some competitions, if one team member was out, the other could still participate and take the win. So even if Lex got taken out, he planned on winning Snowlympics.
He crept behind another tree and counted to three before he nailed an opposing team member. Moving with ease through the trees, he reached the partner, eliminating a complete team. Only one team left, he thought, creeping behind a large bush. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw movement and noticed it was Lex. Damn! What was she doing out in the open? He waved one arm to try and get her attention. No use.
Micah eased from behind the bush just in time to see an opposing member headed toward her with a snowball. Moving swiftly, he tossed his snowball toward the individual, making contact on his shoulder, getting him out.
“Lex, let’s go,” Micah yelled as he was almost near her. Suddenly, a snowball whipped in his direction, hitting him right in the chest.
“Son of a—” his voice trailed upon realization that he was out of the competition. Even worse, he’d lost sight of Lex. He wanted to try and find her, but a referee was already directing him to leave the war zone. As he was walking from the area, his steps faltered when he heard screams that he knew belonged to Lex even though he couldn’t see her. “Damn,” he grumbled aloud. Micah hated losing, and the only thing that irritated him more than losing was coming in second place.
* * *
“I’m so proud of you,” Micah told her for the fifth time since she’d come running from the war zone screaming in joy. Lex couldn’t believe that she had won the snowball fight after being scared out her mind most of the duration of the snowball fight. Once she’d seen Micah get hit, she knew there was only one other person in the competition along with her. And since the other person was a high school football player, the odds were against her.
Once the football player had finally cornered her, she’d done the only thing she could think about doing in an uncomfortable situation...run like crazy. But he’d been right on her tail and just when he’d chucked his snowball in her direction, she’d tripped over a large branch that had been buried in the snow. Thinking as quickly as she could on the ground, she turned on her back and swung her snowball in his direction and hit him right in the leg. When the ref announced that the football player was out, Lex had jumped off the ground and screamed at the top of her lungs in excitement.
Now they were i
n Madden Manor enjoying the Christmas party with all the guests at the B and B, who were discussing how great the winter festival was and congratulating her and Micah on winning Snowlympics. Dessert was being served soon, but Lex had gotten a text from Cyd asking if she and Micah could call them.
“Is this regarding more wedding plans?” Micah asked Lex when they arrived at the bedroom.
“Cyd didn’t say, but I think so,” she said as she dialed Cyd’s number. Cyd picked up on the third ring.
“Hey, guys,” Cyd said cheerfully. “Just so you know, the whole gang is together right now and we have you on speakerphone.”
After Lex and Micah exchanged hellos to the group, it was Imani who spoke next.
“Well, I know Cyd may have sent out the text to get you all here, but the news we wanted to share is actually about Daman and I.” The other line grew silent. “We’re having a baby,” Imani and Daman said in unison. “We wanted to wait until after the first trimester before we said anything,” Imani continued.
“Ahhhh,” Lex screamed in the phone as she jumped up and down. “We’re so happy for you guys.”
“Congrats,” Micah added after Lex. Imani and Daman thanked them both before Cyd got back on the phone.
“I wanted to make sure you heard the news,” Cyd said. “I suspected that’s what they had to share because I caught Daman swapping out the liquor in Imani’s cup for apple juice during the Friends-giving drinking game. And my parents have been way too happy lately.”
Lex laughed into the phone. “I bet! Thanks for calling, Cyd. We’ll see you all soon.”
“Wow,” Lex said, looking to Micah after ending the call. “The first baby in our generation. I can’t wait to spoil him or her.”
Her thoughts wandered as she imagined her and Micah walking down Lake Michigan in Chicago with her belly as big as a watermelon.
“What are you thinking about?” Micah asked.
“Nothing,” she said, pulling him by his arm. “Let’s rejoin the party.”
Once they reached the living room, Lex spotted a cozy seat right in front of the fireplace.
“Hey, Dad,” Micah said when Mr. Madden walked past them, just as Lex and Micah were sitting down. “Can I talk to you for a second?”
Mr. Madden stopped in his tracks and looked at his son in surprise. Lex glanced over at Mrs. Madden just in time to see her clutch her hand to her heart.
“Sure, son,” Mr. Madden finally said before the two walked into the kitchen.
Lex desperately wished she were a fly on the wall for their conversation. Micah had promised her he would have a conversation with his father before they went back to Chicago, but she hadn’t known when.
Mrs. Madden glanced over at Lex and angled her head toward the door as she stood from her seat and walked toward the kitchen. Mrs. Madden gently cracked the door so that her husband and son wouldn’t hear it creak.
“How do they sound?” Lex whispered when she reached Mrs. Madden.
Mrs. Madden smiled as she let the door softly close. “There voices don’t sound tense like they usually do when they talk. I don’t know what you said to my son, but my husband has been waiting years to have this conversation.”
Lex just smiled as she linked arms with Mrs. Madden and they returned to the guests who were diving into another lip-smacking holiday pie.
* * *
“Let me start by saying that I am truly sorry for everything I put you through when I was younger,” Micah said, taking a seat opposite his dad.
At his dad’s silence, he continued. “I never thought about how my actions would affect you and Mom and at the time. It was hard for me to discontinue relationships that I had in Little Rock.”
Mason creased an eyebrow before responding. “I wasn’t disappointed in the fact that you maintained unhealthy relationships with men I felt you should ignore. It was more the fact that you let that nonsense follow you to college. I never wanted any of my sons to go down the same path that I went down.”
“But dad, sometimes you have to learn lessons the hard way.”
“I know that,” Mason interjected, “but no matter what I said to you, you never seemed to listen.”
“You were a great father. But not once did we have a conversation about your past and the things you went through growing up in Little Rock.”
Mason shook his head. “That’s because I knew you were my spontaneous son. The one who would push his limit just like I did. I didn’t want to give you any ideas.”
“Letting me know that you understood what I was going through at the time would have worked better than pushing me off for Mom and Uncle Barry to deal with.”
“You only listened to the two of them, Micah. You never listened to what I told you.”
“Only because I didn’t know you were speaking from experience. It always came across as judgment and disappointment that I couldn’t be more like Malik.”
Mason squinted his eyes before clasping his hands together on the table. “I never wanted you to be more like Malik or any of your brothers and I’m sorry if I didn’t make that clear. What I should have told you back then was that I knew that out of all my sons, you were a force to be reckoned with. All my sons are amazing men, but you had that extra something... You still do. I’ve always been proud of you, and now that you’ve started your security company with Shawn, you seem to have truly found your purpose, I couldn’t be prouder.”
Micah let out a breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding as he stared at a man he felt like he was meeting for the first time. He’s proud of me. He’d heard his dad tell his brothers that, but the words had never been directed at him. A man and his pride was something Micah knew all too well, and it seemed his dad had written the book on it. He leaned back in his chair and dragged his fingers over his face.
“To think of all the years we wasted avoiding this conversation,” Micah said, annoyed at himself for not telling his dad how he felt sooner. And frustrated at his dad for never understanding that of all the people in his life, he was the one person he needed approval from. Finally having that approval was slowly filling a void he had in his heart.
“Hold on to Lex,” his dad said, breaking his thoughts.
“That came out of nowhere,” Micah said with a laugh. Mason joined in the laughter before his face grew serious.
“You and I are a lot alike, and men like us could search our entire lives to find a woman who truly understands us. When I found your mother, I honestly had no idea what she saw in me, but through her love, I was able to find my way and truly become a man. She saw in me what I was trying to see in myself and she didn’t care that I didn’t have a penny to my name or that our dinner the first few months of our marriage consisted of canned beans and bread. She loved me anyway because she saw the man I was growing to be. She knew we had all this in our future,” he added, waving his hands around. “You found your path in life a lot quicker than I did, Micah, but that doesn’t mean you don’t need a woman who gets you now, accepts where you came from and sees where you’re headed in the future.”
“I agree,” Micah said as he looked at his dad through a new set of eyes. “I haven’t told her how I feel yet, but I plan to tell her soon. Even though she’s her own woman, the way she understands me reminds me so much of Mom.” Micah studied the worry lines permanently etched on his dad’s face. Mason was still a healthy and handsome man, but in that moment, Micah realized how much time they’d lost on nonsense.
“So,” Micah said, smiling at his dad in a way he couldn’t remember smiling in years, “according to mom, you were a troublemaker back in the day. What did you do?”
Mason laughed and shook his head. “What didn’t I do,” he said as he proceeded to tell Micah stories about the antics he had caused when he was younger.
Chapter 18
Lex looked around her apartment for the tenth time trying to make sure everything was perfect. Although she’d shared many nights with Micah in Cranberry Heights, it was their fourth night being together in Chicago, but the first night they were having dinner at her place instead of his.
She grinned as she lit scented candles throughout her home and thought about the way Micah had acted when they had arrived back in Chicago. The plane had barely landed before he was hightailing it out of O’Hare airport, grabbing their bags and telling the cab to go directly to his condo. They had agreed on a committed relationship before they had left Arkansas, although Micah had admitted he hadn’t dated or had sex with anyone since he met her in the lingerie boutique. Lex hadn’t either, concluding that they had been acting like an exclusive couple anyway.
She heard a firm knock on the door and checked her clock. Right on time. Giving herself another once-over in the mirror, she smoothed out her navy blue cotton dress, fluffed her curls and reapplied a quick coat of Burberry lipstick. She briefly contemplated sliding on some slippers, but she opted to show off her freshly pedicured toes.
The moment she opened the door, her breath caught and her lips parted. When he’d asked her how he should dress, she’d told him to dress comfortably, and she figured she would surprise him and wear a cute dress in hopes of catching him off guard. Standing in the doorway with him in his heather-gray jogging outfit, white tee, basketball shoes and baseball cap, she was the one who was caught off guard by how sexy he looked. She couldn’t recall ever seeing him look this casual and it was causing her insides to twist and turn wildly.
“Are you going to invite me in?” Micah asked.
“Sorry,” she said, stepping aside. The minute she shut the door, Micah pulled her to him for an explosive kiss, giving her a chance to get reacquainted with his addicting taste. His mouth consumed hers in such an erotic way; she felt it all the way to the tips of her toes. She moaned into his mouth when his hands found their way to her behind and gripped her dress, sliding the material up past her waist.
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