Sweet Surrender(49)
“Hey, baby doll, what’s going on?” he asked as she approached. His brow was creased in concern.
She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward Gray’s door. “I’ll tell you when we get inside his apartment.”
“Oooh, breaking and entering. You know how to have fun, girl.”
She laughed. The nut. She held up the key when they got to the door. “It’s not breaking and entering if you have a key.”
“Sneaky. Even better.”
She hauled her purse strap over her shoulder as she inserted the key into the lock. Seconds later, she and Micah slipped into the darkened interior, and Micah closed and locked the door behind them.
“Okay, doll face, we’re in. Now are you going to tell me what I’m risking a jail cell for?”
She swallowed nervously and fidgeted with her purse strap. “I want you to…tie me to Gray’s bed. Naked.” She tensed, waiting for Micah’s response. She didn’t have to wait long.
His mouth fell open. “Whoa. Wait a second. You want me to do what?”
“You heard me,” she mumbled.
“Hoo boy.” He shoved his hand through the hair at his forehead and pushed back until his fingers were thrust deep into his unruly mop. “Faith, honey, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
She checked her watch as panic edged up her spine. “Look, Micah, can you play armchair shrink while you’re tying me to the bed? I’m running out of time. He’s going to be home soon, and I’d rather he not find you here.”
“That makes two of us,” Micah muttered. He sighed. “Lead on.”
She headed down the hallway and paused at the open door to his bedroom. As she glanced inside, she was relieved that the bed was the same model as hers. She’d been banking on the hope that Pop had similarly furnished all the apartments. If Gray hadn’t had bedposts, she would’ve had to have done some major improvising.
She motioned Micah in and turned around to face him. “I know this is awkward, but I couldn’t ask Nathan. He’s too much like a brother, you know, like Connor. But you…you at least look at me like I’m a woman and not some kid sister.”
He arched one brow.
She gave him an oh please look. “I see you checking out my ass,” she said. “Nice to know at least one of my guy friends finds me, or least my ass, attractive.”
He laughed. “Well, I guess the reward of this venture is getting to see you naked. I can mark at least one fantasy off my list.”
She chuckled as she pulled her purse off her shoulder and dug for the rope she’d purchased the night before. She thrust it at Micah, and he uncoiled it as she started to slip her clothing off.
“You know,” he said. “If you’re wanting to get this guy’s attention, which I’m assuming is the reason behind all this, I can think of less drastic measures than tying yourself to his bed.”
Her hands paused as she reached around for the clasp of her bra.
“Here, let me,” he offered.
His fingers brushed across her back as he unclasped the hooks, and she held the cups over her breasts with her arm. She walked over to the bed, still clad in her underwear.
“Tell me something, Micah. If you walked into your bedroom and found a naked woman tied to your bed, what would you think?”
“That I’d been a very good boy in a past life?”
She shook her head. “My point is, a woman bound, naked, offering herself to a man—it’s a clear signal. She is his to do with as he wants. He’s in control.”
Their eyes connected for a long moment, and she saw a kernel of arousal, a spark of pure, primitive male. Yeah, he understood what she was talking about.
“What happened at The House, Faith?” he asked softly. “What did you go there looking for?”
She shivered at the intensity of his gaze. Then she climbed onto the bed, letting her bra fall to the floor. She felt him staring at her, and she felt awkward and vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, she reached for her panties and slid them down her legs.
She glanced up to see Micah standing over her, the rope in his hands. There was an odd fire in his eyes, like he was seeing her for the first time.
“What happened at The House?” he repeated.
The command was strong in his voice. It evoked a heady sensation, and awareness prickled over her skin.
“I went looking for something,” she whispered. “Something I wanted. I found Gray.”
Micah took one of her hands and pulled her arm above her head. He looped the rope around her wrist and tied it to the headboard.
“And what is it you want?”
His voice, buttery smooth, glided over her body, removing the awkward vulnerability and leaving vague arousal in its stead.