Make Me Melt (8 page)

“Vick?” 

She looked up at him
and saw the pain in his eyes. “I’m a better man than I used to be. I wish you
could see that.” 

“Michael.” Unable to
resist the urge, she lifted her hand and touched his cheek. Her palm brushed against
the dark stubble that decorated his jaw line. 

No longer was he the
boy she once knew. He’d grown into a man. He might look the same, but she could
see there was more than his outer shell. She only wished she could trust it
enough to drop the walls she hadn’t even realized she’d built around
herself. 

“I know you’re a good
man. I don’t doubt that.”

“Then what’s the
matter? Back at the park, the way you kissed me, I know I wasn’t imagining
that.” 

“It’s me, Michael.
I’m not ready to jump into anything. I’m sorry.” 

She took the mugs
from him and released his hold on her. Without stopping she walked up the
sidewalk to her mother’s front door and stepped up to the porch. She felt his
eyes on her, still watching. 

With shaky hands, she
fumbled with her key until the door unlocked and she was safely inside. She
slumped back against the door as soon as she closed it. She didn’t need to look
through the peephole to see if he still stood there. She could sense his
presence. 

Rubbing at the ache
in her chest, she breathed a sigh of relief that the big wooden door stood
between them. Unbelievably thirteen years, a marriage, and subsequent divorce,
and a whole other life didn’t change how easily she could sink into Michael’s
arms. 

Keeping her distance
from him needed to be a priority if she stood a chance of surviving this trip
home. Because she knew just as sure as the sun rose, that if she spent any more
time with Michael Barnett, she’d end up right back where she was thirteen years
ago. 

She’d run away from
Dove Creek then, and now as she pushed him away a second time, she didn’t want
to run anymore. 

Chapter Twelve

Michael stood outside
her house for a couple of minutes until he watched her bedroom light shut off.
As silly as it seemed, he had foolishly thought she might come running back out
and into his arms. 

Every part of him
wanted to take charge and peel away the layers of this new woman and find the
Vicky that he knew was lurking beneath her tough exterior. He knew she was
there. He could feel her when they touched, taste her when they kissed. 

Damn he wanted her.
Not just physically, but all of her. He wanted her back. In his life, in his
bed, in his arms. 

He’d crossed the city
park and approached his driveway when he heard footsteps behind him. He turned
suddenly, expecting to find a coyote tracking him or even a fox. Instead he
blinked to ensure his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. 

“Vicky?” 

She was running
toward him, stumbling through thicker parts of the snow as she closed the
distance between them. 

After only a few
seconds she stood before him. She was breathless and her eyes looked uncertain,
as if even she didn’t know what she was doing there. 

“What are you
doing?” 

“Kiss me.” 

He heard her request
and didn’t need her to make it twice. With firm, but gentle hands, he cupped
the sides of her face and pulled her in close to him. He crushed his lips
against hers and this time didn’t wait for an invitation to take what he
wanted. Eagerly he swept his tongue inside her mouth and began exploring the
heat of her mouth. 

Her kiss tasted so
sweet he could almost feel his knees buckling from the things he was feeling.
He ran his fingers through the thick curls of her hair and held her firmly in
place. He wasn’t going to let her go this time. He’d made that mistake once.
And he wouldn’t make it again. 

She pulled away. Her
chest heaved as she fought for air. “Michael.” 

“No.” He dropped his
forehead against hers and whispered to her. “Don’t push me away again. Please,
baby. I’ve missed you so much.” 

Now as he had her in
his arms, her a woman, and him a man, he had no trouble intention of letting
go. 

She looked over at
his parents’ garage and back at him. He didn’t have to ask what she was
thinking. He knew exactly what it was. 

The small room above
the garage had been their secret hideaway when they were young. The look in her
eyes, seeing the want that he understood all too well, it was all he needed to
know.

“Baby, if we go up
there…” He couldn’t even manage to form his thoughts. He was too overcome with
how much he wanted her. He knew that if he took her up there, he wouldn’t let
her leave. He didn’t just want her, he needed her, almost more than he needed
air to breathe. 

“Please, no words,”
she begged. “I just want to feel.”

He closed his eyes
and felt his heart clench. All he could muster was a nod. He may be a
thirty-one year old Marine who had survived three deployments to the Middle
East, but right in that moment, he was rendered speechless. 

With her hand in his,
Michael walked up the driveway and used the keypad to unlock the side door to
the garage. He opened the door and ushered her inside before him. They walked
quietly up the wooden stairs to the door. 

Despite the silence
he could hear the beat of his heart echoing inside his head. As they stepped
inside the musty old room, he looked around the darkness and realized that it
probably hadn’t been touched in years. Thick dust covered the small desk and
nightstand. Cobwebs decorated the corners of the room, making it look more like
a Halloween attraction than a lovers’ getaway. 

“I’m sorry.” 

She turned to him.
“Why?” 

“It’s filthy up
here.” 

“It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. You
deserve better than this,” he insisted.

“Michael, I don’t
care. I just want…” 

He hesitated again
and her voice trailed off. “What? Don’t do that. Tell me…what do you
want?” 

Looking up at him,
she answered, “You.” 

Fucking hell. That
one word response nearly did him in. He had no idea what he had done to deserve
this moment, but he was damn grateful for it. 

“Wait here. Don’t
move.” 

Michael raced out of
the room and back down the wooden steps. He fumbled through his dad’s old
workbench until he found what he was looking for and ran back up to where she
was. With a lantern in hand, he set it down on the desk and turned it on. The
batteries must have been old because it only offered a small flicker of
light. 

“Sorry. I know it’s
not exactly candlelight and roses.” 

“It’s fine,” she assured
him. 

“Oh, wait.” 

He quickly turned to
her and opened the closet. In plastic bags were blankets and he pulled some
out, shaking them before laying them down on the small double bed. 

“At least it’s
something, right?” 

She stepped toward
him and placed her hands on his shoulders. “I don’t care. Tonight I don’t want
to think about anything.” 

He wasn’t sure what
to say. She had a determination in her eyes. One he wasn’t sure he’d ever seen
before. Normally so timid and willing to let him make the first move in every
aspect of their relationship, he had never known her to be so open about things. 

She hobbled a little
while holding on to his shoulders and kicking off her boots. He grabbed onto
the buttons of her coat, certain his hands would shake right off of his body if
he didn’t find something to keep them busy. 

He watched in awe as
she pulled her shirt over her head, exposing the swell of her breasts as they
spilled over what had to be the sexiest white cotton and lace bra he’d ever
seen. Her skin, normally so creamy and fair looked even more milky as the moon
shone through the single window and cast a light against the curves of her
hips. 

His cock swelled in
his jeans, pushing painfully against the zipper. He bit back a curse at how she
made him feel so good, but hurt so bad. 

“Are you going to
join me?” she asked, nodding her head toward him.

He looked down and it
dawned on him that he still wore his winter coat and every stitch of
clothes. 

“I’m sorry. You’re
so…beautiful. I can’t stop staring at you.” 

She blushed and
smiled. “I’m not like I used to be. I don’t have that little petite frame
you’re used to.” 

“You’re perfect,” he told
her while beginning to take off his coat. 

She unsnapped her
jeans and slid them down her thighs while he slowly undressed. Scared he might
miss something, he was afraid to take his eyes off of her for even a moment.
He’d been to many a strip bar in his days of serving in the Marines, but the
show Vicky was putting on for him then was the best he’d ever seen. 

His cock was thick
and hard. His need for her was driving him insane. He needed so desperately to
feel the inside of her. 

By the time he made a
pile of his clothes on the floor with nothing but his jeans remaining, she
stood before him wearing a yellow pair of cotton panties. They were the type of
panty that would look boring on any other woman, but on her, oh damn… She looked
magnificent. 

Her breasts hung full
and teasing in the dim light. Her nipples pointed out at him, inviting him to
reach out and suck on each of them until she squirmed. 

She hesitated for a
moment, but then slid her fingers inside the waistband and slid her panties down
her thighs until they pooled at her feet. 

He felt a punch to
the gut when he saw her standing there in nothing but her red toenail polish.
She looked more beautiful than he ever thought possible. He could think of nothing
more than sinking into her wet heat. 

She crossed the room
in front of him and went to lie down on the bed. As she got herself comfortable
she reached out to him. He walked toward her and with her delicate fingers she
began unfastening his jeans. 

He didn’t move and
allowed her to work the zipper down. She tugged at one of his belt loops trying
to pull his pants down when his own urgency insisted he give her a hand. With
both hands he pushed his briefs and jeans down his thighs until his cock sprang
free from its constraints. 

He wrapped her
fingers around his cock and began stroking it. He hissed out a breath and
closed his eyes. Already he could feel himself reaching the edge. 

He pulled away,
knowing full well if he didn’t he’d allow her to work him into orgasm. And he
wanted more. They both needed more. 

Pushing the jeans
further down his legs, Michael kicked them off and pushed them aside. Then he
turned to her and palmed his dick in his hands. 

“Do you see this?
Only you have ever been able to make me feel this way, so hard with nothing
more than a look. I want you so bad, baby.” 

She raised her arms
up above her head and gave him a look that he couldn’t ignore any more than he
could resist it. 

He climbed on the bed
and hovered himself directly over him. Carefully he set his arms down on either
side of her and dipped his head down to kiss her. She opened willingly, kissing
him like she wanted him as bad as he did her. 

He levered himself on
his side with his elbow and reached one hand below down to her pussy. Slipping
his middle finger between her lips he felt her liquid heat coat his
finger. 

“Fuck. You’re so wet,
Vick.” 

She didn’t answer,
but ground her hips into his hand and moaned. Her movements might have made him
want to drive into her, if he hadn’t been so mesmerized by the sounds she made.
He felt a new sense of greediness overcome him. He no longer cared about how he
felt. He wanted to see how far he could take her. 

He used his index
finger with the middle finger this time. Thrusting inside of her he worked his
fingers in and out, pushing deep inside while hitting the back of her
cervix. 

Her body bucked and
she whimpered his name while moaning. He looked down at her. Her face was flush
and her full and round tits bounced with every move she made. The taut peaks of
her nipples called out to him. It had been far too long since he laved one of
them with his tongue. 

Opening his mouth, he
latched on to one of her nipples and sucked it into his mouth. He kept up the
ministrations with his fingers. He could hear her breathing hitch and her voice
was beginning to become squeakier the more he worked his fingers deeper inside
her pussy. 

“Oh, Michael!”

She shouted to him
and he knew he was ready. Abruptly he pulled his fingers out and hovered over her.
In an instant he guided his cock to her entrance and slid past her slick
entrance with a primal thrust. 

He arched his back
and pushed himself far into her, hitting the same spot he had with his fingers
until she screamed his name once more.