I’m so damn confused, and him being here right now is doing nothing to help me think.
I seriously would’ve died if Alexander decided to look into my room to find Micah on top of me when he walked by to go downstairs.
“Yeah,” he says stiffly, while walking over to wipe my stomach clean with his shirt. “I think that’s best.” He looks at me for a moment, the struggle of leaving obvious in his body language, before he turns around and exits the room.
The moment I’m alone I quickly get dressed and try like hell to convince myself that I’m okay with kicking Micah out of my room.
But the knot in my stomach and the emptiness that takes over now that he’s back downstairs tells me otherwise.
I don’t want Micah to leave and I don’t want just one or two ‘anything goes’ nights with no strings attached.
I’m falling for Micah Beck and I’m not sure how long I can hide the way I truly feel . . .
I’M FURIOUS WITH MYSELF OVER the fact that I wasn’t able to stop myself from fucking Tegan, even with the thought of my best friend possibly catching us. He would’ve beat my ass for touching his sister after he warned me not to.
Stopping wasn’t an option for me at the time, because after seeing Parker place his lips where mine had just been, all I could think about was being inside her again.
I wanted her to feel me; wanted to be able to make her feel something that son of a bitch couldn’t tonight.
She might’ve told me that she planned on stopping him from kissing her, but I couldn’t give her the time she needed for that earlier, because the moment I saw his lips on hers, I saw red.
Who the hell was he to kiss her not even five minutes after my lips tasted and owned hers?
He didn’t know . . .
“Shit, I need to think rationally.”
I angrily toss my dirty shirt into the bathroom and sit on the edge of my bed, my head reeling.
I’ve never been overprotective and territorial over a woman before. Not to mention that I’ve never wanted to be with a woman more than once.
One night has always been my limit, because anything more and things get complicated. Feelings grow and attachments form and I just went and did that with Tegan.
It pisses me off that things have changed for the one person I was never supposed to touch in the first place.
My hands grip my hair as I try to figure out where to go from here. Do I pack up all my shit and leave before I’m able to fuck things up even more?
If I do that then Alexander will know I’m leaving for a reason, and I can’t have him angry with both of us.
It’s my fault that we’re in this situation to begin with.
I’m screwing with family by letting my heart win over my damn head, but . . . I’m addicted.
To her.
To her taste.
To the way she wants to get to know me.
To the way she feels beneath my body.
I’m completely fucking strung.
Get some air. You just need some air, Micah.
I stand and walk over to the dresser, pulling out a pair of shorts to run in.
I can’t sit here knowing that she’s upstairs alone in her bed, covered with my scent.
Hell, I didn’t even use a condom. I’m everywhere on her.
Once I hit the beach I run for hours.
I run until my muscles and chest aches.
It doesn’t even matter that I’m supposed to be at Vortex in less than six hours. I know I won’t be getting any sleep tonight.
I managed to go the entire day yesterday keeping my distance from Tegan. It makes me feel like shit that I have to run away from her every time we have sex. I hate the space.
But it’s the only way I can stop it from happening again.
It’s the best thing for both of us, because every time we see each other we end up more drawn to each other than before.
After my shift at Vortex I left and came straight here to Express to work on putting together the tables that came in yesterday morning.
I was only able to afford six tables for now, but it’s a start.
I’m in the middle of piecing together the third one when Sebastian walks through the door sporting an annoying grin.
“Hey, big guy. I figured you’d be here when I didn’t find you at Vortex.” He takes a seat at one of the finished tables. “You’re always at one or the other. Shit, your life makes me sad. All work and no play. Well, outside of the bedroom at least. I’ve seen the girls you’ve left Vortex with and damn . . .”
I grunt and look over at him when his words trail off. “What the hell do you want? If you’re not here to help then you can see your way out. I’m not in the mood for any shit today, and trust me, seeing your grinning face is almost enough to make me snap already.”
I flip the finished table up to its legs, before moving on to the next table.
“You’ve been extra pissy and demanding lately. Have anything to do with that chick Tegan who told me you weren’t at Vortex about twenty minutes ago? She was fucking slamming hot. Too bad she was with that pretty boy. What’s his name again . . . shit . . .”
“Parker,” I say stiffly.
He snaps his fingers. “Yes. That’s the dude’s name.”
His words have me gripping the table in front of me. She’s at Vortex right now with that fucker?
Why does it piss me off that not only is she there with Parker, but also that she decided to wait until I left to go there?
It shouldn’t, but it does.
“I don’t know what the hell makes you think it has anything to do with a girl,” I bite out, trying my hardest not to look as if I’m ready to kill someone. When I look up he’s still grinning like he can see right through me. I’m not going to entertain how I’m feeling right now. “Alright, what do you really want? I’ve got work to do and you’re slowing me down.”
“My parents are back.” The smile on his face is no longer present. “They’ve been sauced since the moment they stepped through the door last night and my dad is extremely angry at life like usual. Mind if I stay at your place tonight and maybe even tomorrow?”
I shake my head and release a frustrated breath. I can’t even begin to deal with his parents right now; not when all I can think about is getting to Tegan. “I don’t mind.” I reach into my pocket and toss him the key to my apartment. “Keep the door unlocked for me.”
He stands and holds up the key. “Got it, Man. I’ve gotta go meet my friends.”
“Don’t let any of those little assholes into my apartment, got it?”
“I know the rules,” he mutters. “You don’t have to remind me every time. I’m not going to forget, shit.”
“Hey, I’ve gotta make sure, because I don’t want to have to kick the shit out of some underage kid’s ass for stealing my shit or touching something that doesn’t belong to them. Just keep your friends out and we’re good.”
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you later. They’re waiting on me.”
Once he leaves I spend the next thirty minutes finishing up the tables, before locking up and heading out.
I get into my truck with my mind set on going to my apartment and calling it a night, but I find myself pulling up at Vortex instead.
It’s the last place I should be, but I can’t help wondering if Tegan is still here. From the looks of the parking lot Parker is already gone, but that doesn’t mean she is too.
It’s a Thursday so it’s pretty quiet, which would make it ideal for her to work on her book out back without too many interruptions.
I walk inside and Gavin nods at me from behind the bar. “What are you doing back, Boss?”
Ignoring him, I make my way around him and pour myself a shot, slamming it back. “I needed a drink and I don’t have my place stocked up yet. Where’s Alexander?”
He nods toward the stairs. “In his office with some chick. They’ve been up there for a while. Might want to knock first if you’re headed up.”
“I’m not.” I reach into the cooler for two beers and pop the tops off. “Colby still out back?”
“Yes, sir . . . shit. I didn’t mean to call you sir.”
“Relax, Gavin.” I grip his shoulder. “You act like I’m going to rip your head off or some shit. Just don’t call me sir again and all is good.”
He nods. “Okay, Micah. Thanks.”
Apparently, I really scared the shit out of this kid when he first arrived, because he’s been tense around me ever since.
I’m sure he’ll be happy to know that soon enough someone like Parker will be his boss instead of an asshole like me.
When I step out back, I see Colby hanging around Tegan’s table, but as soon as he sees me watching him he says something to her and walks over to join me.
“So . . . Parker came in a little while ago for some training and his face was all fucked up.” He smirks. “Know anything about that?”
I take a swig of beer. “Is that what you heard?”
He laughs and steps behind the bar. “Nope. He said he got into a drunken fight the other night with some guy he didn’t know.”
“Is that right?” I look straight ahead, keeping my gaze on Tegan as she types away on her computer. “Weird. He must’ve touched something that didn’t belong to him,” I say stiffly.
Tegan looks up from her computer, her eyes locking on mine from across the patio.