Love to Hate You (Hope Valley #9) - Jessica Prince Page 0,86
want all of you.”
His arm around me squeezed tighter. “I know that now.”
“Good. Because I’m a whole lot tougher than people think.”
His voice was low and husky as he replied, “Believe me, Red, I know how tough you are. It’s one of the many reasons I fell in love with you.”
“All right. Then it’s settled. If you need to let something out, I can take it, so I want you to give it to me. No more secrets.”
He lifted his head off the pillows and bent his neck so he could reach my lips. “Deal. No more secrets.”
With that, the heavy stuff was done, and Micah let me know he was ready to move on to something much more fun by rolling me to my back and sliding his thick, hard cock into me slowly. He made love to me the same way, taking his time and savoring every second of it.
Once we finished, he cleaned me up and we tucked in for the night. Curled in Micah’s arms, I slept harder and deeper than I had in a week.
Micah
Walking into the bullpen Monday, my mood was considerably changed from the week prior. I felt so damn good it was a wonder I wasn’t whistling a damn tune.
Ivy had come home from her dad’s the night before, and the moment she walked into the house and saw me kicked back on the couch, she’d let out a shriek loud enough to pierce my eardrums.
“You’re back!” she’d screamed before throwing herself at me and wrapping her tiny arms around me as tightly as she could. As soon as mine closed around her little body, the last piece of my heart that had been missing for the past week clicked back into place, and just like that, I was whole again.
“I’m back, Monster,” I’d told her, pulling in her soft scent. It reminded me of sugar and fabric softener. It was warmth and comfort, and I hadn’t realized how badly I missed it until that moment. “And I promise I’ll never disappear on you again.”
She’d been so excited it had been a nightmare trying to get her to go to sleep later that night. I’d had to read her favorite book twice, then make up a story about a little diva rocker princess who loved glitter and playing in the dirt before she finally passed out.
“I’m guessin’ by the grin on your face your weekend was a vast improvement from the week before.”
I sat at my desk and kicked my feet up, looking across at Leo. “And you’d be right.”
He was still smiling, but I could tell by the look in his eyes he was dead serious as he asked, “You love this chick?”
I gave it to him straight. “Yep. Never expected it to happen. Before her, I never even wanted it. But yeah, I’m fuckin’ crazy about her, and I couldn’t be more fine with that.”
“Good. Happy for you, brother. Hayden’s a good one.”
He didn’t have to tell me. I was all too aware of how incredible she was. “Thanks, man. She actually mentioned last night havin’ you and Dani and your brood over for dinner, asked me to talk to you to set something up.”
At that, my partner busted out laughing. “Man, look at you, all domesticated and shit. This is a trip.”
I cut him a look, tossing a paperclip at his head that he managed to dodge. “All right, asshole. So can I tell her you’re in, or what?”
“Yeah, brother,” he said on a chuckle. Count us in.”
I couldn’t even be annoyed he was giving me shit, because I knew that Hayden would be over the moon that Leo had said yes, and making her happy was the only thing that mattered to me.
We got to work after that, the morning moving at a normal pace. I’d gotten comfortable enough to think that maybe I’d get through the day without any nasty surprises cropping up when everything suddenly turned to shit.
My cell rang and Dalton’s name flashed across the screen. “Hey man, how’s it goin’?”
“Tell me she’s with you.”
A chill worked its way down my spine. “What are you talking about? Who?”
“Charlotte,” he clipped, the man sounding more frantic than I’d ever heard him. “Is she with you? Have you heard from her at all?”
My gaze shot across the desks to Leo’s and I jerked my chin to the stairs that would take us out of the bullpen and to the back exit of the building.