Love to Hate You (Hope Valley #9) - Jessica Prince Page 0,66
from the corner of my eye as he stopped no more than five feet away and crossed his arms over his chest. “That the bitch he threw you over for?”
“Yep,” I muttered, still looking out at my quiet, tree-lined street.
“Shit’s gone south between the two of them.”
“I suspect your right. Fortunately for me, that’s not my problem.”
“Hate to be the one to break this to you, baby, but it’s about to become your problem.”
On that cryptic statement, I finally shifted my focus from the window to him. “What do you mean?”
He moved closer but still didn’t touch me. Instead, he stuffed his hands in the pockets of his slacks, and I got the feeling it was in an effort to keep from reaching for me. “Shit’s gone bad between them because she’s a bitch. Told you I’m good at reading people, and I know women like that. She’s a chameleon. She’s good at changin’ herself in order to attract men. But as soon as she’s got her claws sunk into the one she wants, the real her comes out. He’s seein’ that side now, and he isn’t liking it. But more, he’s regretting the hell out of his stupid-as-fuck decision to walk away from his wife and kid. So, like it or not, it’s about to become your problem, ’cause I’m guessin’ Sunday is when he plans to make his play.”
The skin between my brows creased with a deep frown. “Why are you telling me all this?”
“Because I need to know right now if there’s even the smallest part of you that would be willing to give him a second chance.”
Realization dawned in that moment. “Ah. I see,” I murmured.
“See what?”
“Why you aren’t touching me right now. You’re holding yourself back because you’re worried I might want my ex back.”
There was a part of me that was still expecting some smartass, arrogant response, but he didn’t give me that. “I don’t think it’s too much of a leap to have that concern, considering your mood sank the moment you walked away from him.”
I let out a heavy sigh and turned fully away from the window, closing the last few feet between us and placing my palms on his chest. “Honey, my mood sank because I had to say goodbye to my girl. This is the first time you’ve experienced it, but this is how I get every time he picks her up for one of his weekends. I’m not a big fan of handing her over.”
His expression remained hard, his eyes swimming with uncertainty. “You sure that’s all?”
“The saying ‘hindsight is twenty-twenty’ exists for a reason, Micah. Sometimes it’s hard for a person to see how bad their situation is when they’re deep in the middle of it. I’m not saying finding out my husband was fucking another woman while we still shared a bed didn’t hurt, because that shit would hurt anybody. But I can say with absolute certainty that I see how unfulfilling that relationship was, and there isn’t a single part of me, big or small, that would give that man another chance. I don’t love him anymore.”
His hands finally came out of his pockets and rested on my hips.
I arched a brow, deciding the mood needed to be lightened a bit, and teased, “So . . . you really like me, huh?”
His fingers pressed in hard enough to make marks on my skin as he bent to trace the column of my neck with his tongue. I let out a stuttered sigh and dropped my head back to give him better access. “Baby, you have no idea.”
I pressed closer, feeling the hard, defined ridge of his steel erection through his pants. “Then I suggest you take me to bed and show me.”
The last word barely passed my lips before he bent low and tossed me over his shoulder like he’d carried those two-by-fours the other day. Then he bolted up the stairs like he was in an Olympic race.
Chapter Twenty-One
Hayden
The sound that rattled from his chest and up his throat sent a new wave of arousal through me and pooled between my thighs. Lifting my eyes, I looked up, over his taut abdominals and rapidly rising chest, to see the cords strained and protruding as he clenched his jaw. His eyes were like green fire, pinned on me as I swirled my tongue around the fat crown of his cock.
I’d seen Micah in the throes of ecstasy, but I’d never had such an outstanding view of