by C. J. Lake
Cady's breath came in soft gasps as she struggled for words. The dark look he was giving her was one of raw masculine need, and it nearly sent her over the edge. She bit her lip, as waves of lust rippled through her, exciting her on a level she'd never experienced. The hot pulse pounding between her legs throbbed urgently now. Swallowing hard, she coasted her eyes down toward Mick's chest, to the open vee of his shirt; she'd only popped three buttons open so far. Definitely need to do the rest, she thought foggily, eager to peel his shirt off, impatient to have him naked.
Just then Mick leaned in to press his forehead against hers. She stilled her fingers on his fourth button, as he dove one hand into her hair. The other stayed on her thigh, tucked arousingly under the hem of her dress. “Has anyone ever told you, you’re fucking gorgeous?” he rasped.
“Only right now,” Cady whispered with a weak smile, her breath still shaky as she scored her hand down the row of his shirt buttons, carelessly popping them all open. One or two might have fallen onto the carpet, that was how over-eager and clumsy she was, but Mick didn't even notice. Instead, he tightened his hold on her hair, just enough to tug her closer and kiss her again—while Cady pried apart his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders.
As they kissed, Mick multi-tasked—hastily shucking his shirt off the rest of the way, tossing it wherever, dragging up the hem of her dress and reaching for the zipper of her dress. “It—it's on the side,” Cady gasped, as she grappled with his belt buckle.
In seconds, Cady's dress was unzipped and dropping to the floor, leaving her exposed and vulnerable in only her bra and panties. Instead of feeling vulnerable, though, she felt achingly impatient, almost agitated as she ran her palm over his crotch, which was swelling huge and hard through the fabric of his pants. Before she could unzip him, Mick slid his hands over her ass, which was barely covered by her panties, and with a rough groan, brought her lower body flush up against his in one powerful, almost warning motion.
Then, with what appeared to be a labored effort, he paused and sucked in a breath. One of his hands stayed on her ass, but the other slid to her neck, and then into her hair. She felt possessed but treasured at the same time. Mick's voice was hoarse with desire as he said, “How far do you want to take this?”
At first Cady was still too dazed and breathless to answer. Though her mind's instant response was: All the way.
Or, was that her body?
She knew she wanted to be here with Mick and when she'd decided to come to his room tonight it was with the mental epiphany that she wanted to give in to this attraction. That she would shed her inhibitions in the hallway, before entering Mick's room and shutting the door behind her.
It was true what she'd said—that seeing their parents so happy, after obviously rejecting every ounce of caution and good sense, had factored into this epiphany. More than just that, though, a phone conversation she'd had with Torie when she left the reception had also cemented this decision.
But back to the question at hand: How far to take this?
She understood why Mick was asking. Clearly he didn't want Cady to have any regrets, especially since they would be in each other's lives after this. Even though they'd both agreed they weren't looking for a relationship, Mick was probably still concerned that Cady would get upset if they went all the way and then he didn't want to pursue anything afterward.
The problem was, she really wanted to have sex with Mick tonight. She was already flushed and burning up, already wet and aching. Yet at the same time...she wasn't sure if she was able to have sex with Mick and not get emotional about him. Fool around, maybe. But all the way?
Ugh, there she went again—over thinking.
She had to stop, to dial her chattering mind back. The only way to silence her doubts was to answer Mick with a kiss. She placed a soft, lingering kiss on his lips that melted into a slow, sensual one, eliciting a low, aroused sound from his throat. When their tongues finally stopped caressing and their lips broke apart, Cady's voice barely found the strength to reply, “I'll just tell you if I want to stop, okay?”
“Okay,” he said, kissing her again. Fluidly, he ran his hand between her legs and she shuddered. Soon he was rubbing her through her panties with the heel of his hand. The hard burn of what he was doing created a scorching kind of friction, it made Mick groan thickly as Cady choked out gasps of pleasure. It went on for only a few more moments before it was too much.
Mick's voice was ragged. “You're so fucking hot,” he muttered, frustrated, and abruptly lifted Cady up, straddling her legs around him. Her high heels dropped to the floor one after the other, as Mick carried her. The next thing she knew, she was lying on his bed.
Stripped down to his boxer-briefs, Mick raked his eyes over her body with blatant desire before he climbed on top of her. She'd barely had a chance to gaze lustfully at his chest and arms before they were crushed together—and her eyes were sliding shut again while Mick's hot open mouth dragged down her throat, and his fingers peeled off her bra. “I’ve missed you,” he murmured, his lips against her breast.
“Mick...” she breathed and clung to him, her hands in his hair again.
“Jesus, Cady,” he uttered, running his palm down her side, making her shiver. “I’ve been missing you since that first night.”
Then Mick pulled back, lifting his head to look into her eyes, which were dreamily coming open again. Stroking his hair, Cady gazed warmly at him, feeling any shred of her inhibitions slip away. There was more than desire in the way he was looking at her now, there was also affection, a boyish kind of sincerity. It turned her heart over, made her want to be completely real with him.
“I've tried so hard to forget about that first night,” she admitted. “But I couldn't.”
Mick's mouth curved into a grin, before he lowered his head to kiss her breast again. “What do you remember?” he asked.
“I remember...that you’re surprisingly a cuddler,” she blurted with a soft laugh. He lifted his head again to look at her and cocked his brow at that.
“Why surprisingly?”
“Also, you let me steal the covers,” she went on.
“Really,” he mumbled dryly. “Anything else?”
“Hmm, let's see...”
“That's all you remember about that night?” he said a bit impatiently.
Obviously he was waiting for something more intimate, so she stopped teasing him. “No, I remember a few other things,” Cady told him, tugging on his hair to urge him up closer. When he brought his face to hers, she kissed him tenderly, first on the lips, then his cheek, working her way over until her mouth was grazing his ear and she whispered, “I remember how you taste.”
She barely got the words out before Mick grunted roughly and crushed his mouth on hers again.
After a long, consuming kiss that nearly had her whimpering, he started moving lower again—and this time, didn't stop at her breasts. Instead, he trailed his mouth all the way down her belly, while his hands were skillfully slipping off her panties. As his lips went lower, she realized—
“What are you doing?” she whispered stupidly, because she knew what he was doing, but she suddenly felt a shade of self-consciousness. Though she'd heard from other girls about how good it could be when a guy went down, she had no experience with it because Wes had never made the attempt.
With a low chuckle, Mick replied, “I can take a hint.”
“Oh, no, I wasn't—”
“Soon I'll know how you taste.”
And then, before she could respond, his tongue was on her, running over her opening and sliding inside her. Helplessly, Cady moaned and rocked her body, wanting more. “Oh my God...” she whispered brokenly, unable to keep it in. The drugging pleasure of what Mick was doing was almost unbearable. Especially when he started using his hand, too. He seemed so determined, so intent on working her into a frenzy, and so incredibly good at it!
In seconds, he had her twisting restlessly, achingly—begging, whispering, she didn't ev
en know what she was saying—as he stroked her with his fingers and his tongue, and then sucked her most sensitive spot, until finally she broke and a shattering climax tore through her.
For those blissful, mind-numbing seconds, the rush felt endless.
She was still panting and dazed when Mick rose up and settled on top of her again, bringing their faces only an inch apart. He was breathing hard and fast, obviously as worked up as she was; his rock-hard erection pressed powerfully against her naked, still-trembling body. The only thing between them was the thin fabric of his boxer-briefs. “Do you want to stop?” he asked hoarsely.
“No, no,” she whispered, feeling almost frantic, “please, I want you...”
Then they were kissing again and she was clawing at his briefs, trying to shove them off, and he was rolling off of her to grab a condom out of the wallet in his pants. After tossing both the wallet and pants back on the floor, he hastily tore the wrapper and rolled on the condom. As Mick settled himself back on top of her, his cock straining against the condom and pushing into her, Cady bit her lip, waiting.
When he slid inside her, they both groaned at the relief of it. The pleasure was intense, the desire between them was palpable. Cady gasped as Mick slid deeper, and clung to him when he thrust a little harder. And it was only just beginning.
The harder they pushed against each other, the sharper her breaths—especially when Mick grunted and grabbed her thighs. When Cady arched her back and moaned for more.
Her legs gripped him tightly and he buried his face in her neck and drove into her with total possession, setting all her nerve endings on fire, making her twist and writhe beneath him. Suddenly she felt another climax mounting. Breathlessly, she begged him, “Don't stop...” and dug her nails into his shoulders as her back arched sharply off the bed. Then she was mindless, lost, her body quaking.
“Christ, Cady,” Mick muttered hoarsely, gritting out the words, “I can't hold it anymore.”
“Yes, yes...” she urged him, her voice trembling, as he pounded his body harder against hers.
Soon he shuddered, groaning roughly as he came—which sent one more hot burst of pleasure through her.
Chapter Thirty-three
So, how had she gotten here? As Mick lay sleeping beside her, Cady thought back to her earlier conversation with Torie. Cady had called her as she was heading toward the elevator, after leaving the reception. Their talk was short but impactful and had gone something like this:
“Hey—what's wrong?”
“It's Mick,” Cady stated glumly.
With supportive concern, Torie said: “Oh my God, what did that A-hole do to you?”
“A-hole?” Cady echoed, surprised. “I thought you liked him.”
“Sure, but only if you do,” Torie explained simply. “So what happened?”
“Nothing, just that we talked and danced and...during the dance it seemed like...” She didn't know why she couldn't finish a sentence or give a better, more coherent recap right now. Her heart was still beating erratically, her stomach still in knots. Basically, she was a mess over him now. “The bottom line is that he doesn't want us to be friends.”
“Oh.” Delicately, Torie paused before questioning, “But you don't really want to be just friends either, right?”
Ruefully, Cady said, “No, of course that's not what I want.”
“So he's just being honest about it,” Torie pointed out. “You can't really be mad at him for that.”
Speaking of being honest, was there really any point in lying to her best friend? She made a full confession. “The truth is I can't stand this. All I really want to do is go to his room. I know that I can't, though.”
“You can't because?”
“C'mon it's obvious. Our parents are married now. Which makes things complicated—besides, he's going to Italy this summer. He'll be gone for almost a year! I mean, where could this even go? And it's not like—”
“Okay, stop,” Torie cut her off, “because you're just piling on way too much right now and no offense, but I'm supposed to meet Ember and I'm already late. So let me just ask you this: what were you going to do tonight?”
“What do you mean?”
“Forget about Mick for a second. Just tell me, what were you planning to do?”
Cady pinched her brow. “You mean after the reception?”
“Yeah. Right now.”
“Um, got to my hotel room. See what's on TV, I suppose, then go to sleep.”
Torie challenged her, “Now wasn't it only a month ago that you were railing against a certain fortune teller who predicted a 'dull life' for you?” Mademoiselle Gigi, Cady thought sourly, recalling the night she and Torie had gone to Salem to enter her den of disappointment. “Well, I'm sorry, but it doesn't get much duller than what you just described.”
Her friend's words hit hard. Mademoiselle Gigi hadn't only predicted a dull life, but a life of solitude, as well. There was no more deliberation to be had, really. Cady could either retreat to Room 307, where she would find Dull Solitude waiting for her like an old, miserable friend. Or she could venture to Room 321, and drop her fears at the door.
And now here she lay, after making love to Mick, only twenty minutes ago, wide awake as he snoozed beside her and she couldn't help her smile, even if there was still apprehension belying it.
Mick stirred and Cady glanced over at him. A smile still touching her lips, she heard him say, “Hey...you asleep?” Somehow his deep voice was gravelly and gentle at the same time.
“No.”
“Me, either.” He rolled closer with a grunt, slinging his arm around her waist to pull her snugly against him. “Just don't go all Cady on me now,” he added. His tone was teasing but she sensed he meant it.
“'Go all Cady'?” she asked.
“Yes,” Mick said, bringing his lips closer to hers, his voice husky, instantly stoking her attraction to him. “I don't want you running out the door.”
Cady felt a sudden quiver in her throat. Something in the affectionate way Mick held her and gazed at her, fiercely grabbed her heart. “I wasn't going to go anywhere,” she said and brought her palm to his face, lightly stroking his cheek. Even though he still appeared clean-shaven, his cheek and jaw were already beginning to feel rough. Unsurprisingly, that turned her on, too. She seriously needed an off-switch where Mick was concerned.
“Listen, sorry that was kind of fast,” he said, surprising her.
“It wasn't too fast,” Cady assured him.
“When I felt you coming, I just lost it.” God, even his explanation was sexy. She was already turned on and wanting him again. “But I can do much better than that,” he mentioned.
She couldn't help but give a laugh at that, though it was a bit shaky. “Better?” she echoed. Locking eyes with him, she ran her hand up his bare, muscled shoulder. “I don't think I can take that.”
Then Mick rolled on top of her, bringing his hands to the underside of her jaw, cradling her there as his dark eyes burned into her. “Trust me,” he murmured thickly, “you can take it.”
Before she could catch her breath, he took her mouth with his.
As his tongue slid against hers, she felt him swell harder. Instinctively she rubbed her body beneath his, trying to grind against him at the perfect angle. “Cady...” he groaned, deepening the kiss, sending hot shivers of desire through her.
And words got stuck in her throat. Even though she wanted to tell him how amazing it had been, how she'd never experienced anything like that before, how making love to him was better than she had imagined and that yes, she, had imagined it many times—fantasized about Mick, even though she hadn't had the courage to call or to text—and she wished that she could also mention that while this thing between them might be just physical, it really didn't feel that way...
But how could she say all that without a suit of armor for her shyness?
Without risking scaring him off?
Without being one of those girl-clichés who confuses
sex with love, and fun with a relationship?
She couldn't.
Instead, she allowed her mind to power-down. Sensuously, blissfully, she kissed Mick back and let the passion between them swallow her words.
Chapter Thirty-four
Damn, what a night. Crazy fucking amazing. When Mick had blinked awake, seen the shaft of sunlight slicing through the gap in the hotel drapes and realized it was morning—and that Cady was lying beside him—the hazy depths of sleep cleared and he was back on a high.
Cady was still asleep, her mouth curved open a little in this angelic kind of expression, almost like she was about to ask a question or maybe she was asking a question in a dream. Her dark hair spread across her pillow and spilled down her bare shoulder. Though she was covered up, tucked under the sheet now, Mick had inevitably memorized every intimate inch of her naked body. As soon as he gazed at her, vivid memories of their steamy, sex-filled night poured through his mind.
He was still absorbing that the whole awesome encounter had really happened. It seemed like they were at it more than they'd slept—constantly touching, spooning, finding and rubbing up on each other. He'd crush up against her, snuggle her, kiss her shoulder, she'd turn her head to kiss him on the lips, and then they were rolling around again.
Even now...his eyes trailed down her sheet-clad body, and he felt the hot pull of attraction.
Suddenly his phone blared.
It shattered the calm in the hotel room as Cady jerked awake, practically jumping up in a confused panic. “It's okay,” Mick assured her, his voice raspy from sleep, “just my phone.”
It took her another moment to wake up fully and in that time, Mick reached down and found his cell on the floor, where it had fallen out of his pants.
“Sorry,” he said, after shutting the alarm, then flopped on his back for a second and sighed. “I forgot I set my alarm. You know, so I wouldn't sleep through that breakfast—”