Taking her face in his hands, he kissed her with such tenderness, it made her chest ache. His lips and tongue were gentle and soothing—in complete opposition to the harsh demands his body had made only minutes ago.
Not wanting to break the spell, she stood in the darkness while he put himself back together, enjoying sounds he made tucking his shirt in and zipping his pants. She would have given anything to see him, still flushed and sweaty and all out of order.
From outside the closet, voices and footsteps jolted her back to reality. “Well, this could be awkward,” she said.
“Not nearly as much as had they arrived a bit earlier.” He flipped the light switch and they both squinted. “Nothing awkward about it. We just stopped in to pick up clothes for tomorrow.” He studied her from head to toe, and a slow, seductive grin emerged. “Now that is how you should look all the time.”
She glanced down expecting to see her skirt caught in the waistband or something, but everything seemed to be in order. “How?”
He smoothed her hair and then lightly ran his fingertips over her still sensitive nipples through the silk of the dress, then put his lips against her ear. “Well fucked.”
And she was just that. In every sense of the word. As she looked into his eyes, she knew that she’d passed the point of no return. She was in love with Michael Anderson, and with that came the potential for the mother of all heartbreaks.
After straightening his tie, he removed her suitcase from the shelf. “What do you need to pull out to wear to breakfast? I assume Sue has your bridesmaid dress somewhere.”
She rolled the case on its side and unzipped it while he pulled some items out of his own suitcase. “Yes. I’m changing in her room tomorrow. She has an actual closet. Not a room the size of one.” She shot him a grin before pulling out a green sweater and a pair of black slacks and flats. She remembered the underwear this time. Purple. She threw her warm-ups and a T-shirt on top of the pile.
He set a pair of pants, socks, and black boxer briefs, of course, on the shelf, closed his suitcase, and then pulled a white dress shirt out of a zipper bag hanging on a hook. “And the warm-ups are for…?”
“Sleeping.”
He tossed her T-shirt and paint-splattered warm-ups back in her suitcase, zipped it, and slid it back on the shelf. Then took her hand and pulled her close enough for her to smell the familiar scent of starch and cologne, but this time, there was an overlay of sweat and sex. Delicious.
“Mia.” His voice was so quiet, she had to hold her breath to hear it. “There will be no clothes…or sleep. From here, we will go to the room and switch from French fries to steak and lobster.” He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. “I want to give you the attention you deserve—all night long. No more fast food this evening. I want a long, leisurely five course meal.”
And with that bit of news, he opened the door and greeted Sue and Kelli, who were watching Mark try to get Jason up the stairs.
Michael passed his stack of clothes off to Mia and wrapped Jason’s other arm around his shoulder, and with Mark on the other side, they half-dragged/half-carried him up the stairs to the second floor.
“Thanks, man,” Mark said, once they deposited Jason unceremoniously on the bed face down. “Hopefully he won’t puke and cost us the deposit.”
Kelli slipped into the room and threw some things from the bathroom into a pink suitcase on the window seat, then closed it up. “I’m going to sleep in Sue’s room tonight.”
Jason rolled to his side and started snoring immediately. Michael loosened Jason’s tie and slipped it off. “I doubt he’ll be in shape for the wedding tomorrow.”
“My dad is standing in,” Mark said. “Even if he’s sober enough by then, I’d rather he not be my best man.”
“It’s for his own safety, really,” Sue said with a wink. “I’d hate to be arrested for murder on my wedding day.” She gave Kelli a squeeze. “Come on, Kel. Let’s get some sleep.”
Kelli gave one last parting glance at Jason. “I really thought he liked me.” Then she stiffened. “I hope he likes being unemployed.”
“Thanks again,” Mark said once they’d turned off the light and closed Jason’s door. “I’m glad you’re here and didn’t listen to Jason, Mia.” He shook Michael’s hand. “You guys have a good night.”
The look Michael gave Mia after Mark disappeared down the stairs took her breath away. Holy crap. And here she’d thought the time in the closet with him had taken the edge off. Instead, it had made her want more. And his look promised a whole lot more. Maybe more than she could handle. Still clutching their clothes for the morning to her chest, she waited to see what he’d do.