“Mm,” she murmured quietly, pliant as Jell-O, with barely a trace of breath left in her body. Despite their awkward location on the floor, she had no interest in moving a muscle.
“If I had any idea we’d end up like this, I would have vacuumed,” he laughed as he shifted his arm to prop up his head.
Lacey grinned lazily. “You don’t hear me complaining.”
Mick traced the line of her jaw with the top of his hand. “God, you are beautiful.”
“I’d return the compliment, but I don’t think I could adequately come up with one word to describe your body,” she said, stroking the curved muscles in his shoulders and arms appreciatively.
He smiled, cupping her chin in his hand. “No. I mean you are beautiful in every way.” He kissed her gently. “Your body, yes.” Another kiss. “But also your face.” A kiss. “Your smile.” Another.
His kisses moved slowly from her mouth to her shoulders, making a seductive path along her collarbone, as he continued to list every attribute he could think of. Lacey was surprised by how many he could name.
“There’s the way you care about your friends and family. Also beautiful.” He kissed her again.
“Your laugh,” he continued with the light touch of his lips now moving toward her breasts. Her back arched. He smiled at the way her body reacted so automatically. “The way you look in those stilettos.”
Their bodies pressed together, she felt him harden at the image. Lacey’s eyes widened. “Already? I didn’t know that was even possible.”
He ignored her comment, silencing her with his lips. “The way you make my body respond. Beautiful…”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
A beam of light peeked through the drawn curtains and passed across Lacey’s closed eyes. She awoke confused by her surroundings, half melted into an unfamiliar bed, her body still humming from a night of lovemaking.
Remembering, she smiled with what little energy she could muster and reached over to the still warm part of the bed where Mick had left his impression. And what an impression.
Wishing he was still there, she rose to search for something to wear. Granted, Mick had familiarized himself with every square inch of her body the night before, but she didn’t have the confidence to display it so easily in the unforgiving morning light.
She gave the room around her a quick appraisal, something she hadn’t had a moment to do while Mick was stealing her full attention all night. Neat as a pin except for the unmade bed, but stark. Some pins and medals were left on top of the dresser, as well as two hardcover books that seemed to be about naval battles of some sort, from what she could gather from the titles.
There was no excess here. He was a man who could move across the country in the blink of an eye without looking back.
Her smiled faded at the thought of time wasted, as she peered out the window to the Academy’s parade ground. Touching the glass, she felt an unseasonable warmth that seemed more fitting for September than for late November. But she knew it would not last. Annapolis’s weather was a constant tease, and the harsh chill of winter was around the corner.
Why had she wasted an entire season fighting her feelings for Mick? She felt foolish for all the times she had longed to be held in his arms, but had pulled herself back, thinking that her career would somehow blossom if she deprived herself of any pleasant distraction.
Time passed too quickly, and Mick would eagerly leave Annapolis given the right opportunity with the Navy. She had to enjoy each moment with him while she could.
Daring herself to venture into his drawers, she discovered a neatly folded stack of his familiar PT gear. She pulled on a t-shirt and cinched his shorts so that they hung low on her waist. She jumped at the sound of her cell phone, and dug for it in the pocket of yesterday’s jacket. “Morning, Maeve.”
“Hey, Lacey. On your way to the airport?”
“Well, not really. I flew standby yesterday and came home early.”
“You’re upstairs? God, I didn’t even hear you come in. Get your lazy butt down here. Bess made coffeecake.”
“I’m not in my room.”
Pause. “Okay. Well, where are you?”
“At Mick’s.”
“Oh my God!” Maeve shouted into the phone and then called out to Bess, “They finally did it, Bess!”
Lacey heard Bess’s unmistakable “Woohoo!” in the background.
“Oh, come on, guys. You’re acting like you’re in high school,” Lacey admonished.
“Shut up. We need to have some fun over here. So how was he?”
Lacey exhaled, low and slow, trying to come up with the right words.