Mica (Rebel Wayfarers MC) (11 page)

Knowing distraction was always a valid strategy, he launched into a version of his own story. “I’m from Wisconsin myself, near Milwaukee, a born and bred Midwestern boy. My family was in manufacturing for three generations, but I’ve moved that to transportation. I come by my love of hockey honestly; Dad always dragged me and my two brothers to the pond tournaments every year. There’s nothing else like freezing your bal— um, ass off, sitting on a plastic bucket on top of a frozen lake, and watching grown men play a game with sticks.” He laughed lightly at himself. When Jason snickered from across the table, he realized he had a larger audience than he thought.

Pulling his hand back slowly, he asked, “There, is that better, Mica?” He watched as her head came up, her eyes seeking him through the curtain of her hair, and he felt their connection moving apart. He was helpless to hold onto those brief, intimate moments, where his hand had been stroking her bare skin slowly, sensually, lessening the stress she felt with every movement. Those moments moved past him, and then they were gone.

Her eyes opened wide as she realized she’d been talking freely earlier about things she’d clearly rather not discuss, and he knew he saw her defenses going back up. “I think I need to go home, Jess,” she said softly, looking at Daniel. “I’m tired, and I’d like to go home. Would you tell Mason?”

“You stayed lots longer than I expected, Mica. Brandy will be here soon. She can take you home then, you think?” In an aside to Jason she said, “Brandy is my girlfriend, so I hope you weren’t trying too hard, Mr. Hockey Player, because you are too swinging for me, if you get my drift.”

Jason shouted with laughter. “I wondered why I wasn’t getting any vibes from you, Jess. You are all right, but you could have let a friend know sooner, girl. Damn.” There was no hostility in his tone, and Daniel wondered if Jason had come to the booth to hit on a girl, or to keep tabs on him.

Daniel watched as pain lines began to return, settling back into Mica’s face. He said, “Slide out, Mica, I’ll take you home, okay? Will you let me, please?”

Startled, she looked at him. “Are you sure it’s not a bother, Daniel? I always hate to bother people with my problems. In fact, I think I should take a bus. That’s what I’ll do; I can take a bus home.” She smiled sadly. “That way, no one has to leave the party on account of me.”

He realized with a sense of loss that she was clearly building up a wall behind which to hide, and was carefully schooling any accent from her voice. He found he really missed that sweet, subtle emphasis on unexpected areas in her speech. It seemed so natural to hear her speak like that, and so different now. This was a very deliberate pattern that pointed to a great deal of self-control and discipline.

“Let me take you home. Let me help you, please?” he asked again, looking steadily into her face. Mason walked up behind her and realized what the conversation had turned to. He nodded at Daniel and said, “Mica, how you holding up? You tired, babe? I can’t leave right now; Merry just went on break and we’ve got a houseful. Can you wait an hour or two, or can someone else take you home? Maybe Daniel?”

Turning to Mason, Mica held up her hand palm first and simply said, “Okay.” Jason and Jess slid out of the booth, with Daniel following them around. He got to Mica’s side as she asked Mason, “Help me up? I didn’t think about hobbling when I ordered tequila, but jus’ get me steady on my feet and I’ll be okay.”

Daniel leaned in and asked her, “Do you trust me?”

Mica stopped and looked directly into his eyes, saying softly, “Daniel, I trust you with my life. You’ve already saved me once.”

Daniel looked briefly around at the faces, seeing Jason nod with understanding, but still asked, “You’ll tell Gary and Steve I’m out?”

“Yeah, man, see ya at practice tomorrow.” Suddenly, Jason increased his volume as he walked away from the booth shouting, “Fucking awesome! Win zone! Wooo!” and Daniel shook his head in amusement at his friend.

Turning back to Mica and drawing in a deep breath, Daniel gently slid an arm behind her back, avoiding the areas with stitches, where the brick wall had torn her muscles and skin, and then slid his other arm behind her thighs, pulling and lifting with one motion, standing with her cradled in his arms. With her sore shoulder towards him, she couldn’t hold on, so she rested her head on his chest, hands folded in her lap and breathing shallowly. “Did I hurt you, Mica?” Based on her breathing, he was afraid he had pulled too hard, lifted too quickly, or was holding her too tightly.

“No, not at all, Daniel. Mr. Rupert, this is nice,” she spoke with her eyes closed, her face tucked in-between the edges of his jacket. She rubbed her cheek surreptitiously on his shirt, thinking no one would see her.

His voice caught in his throat as he said, “Let’s get you home, shall we?” He walked out of the bar towards his car, nodding at his driver as the rear door was opened wide for him to step inside with his burden. Jess carried Mica’s coat out and handed it to him to the car after they were seated, and then closed the door.

A moment later, a guarded question came from the front seat, “Sir?” It was accompanied by a very direct gaze in the rearview mirror. Daniel met his eyes, saying, “Mica needs to go home, Samuel.” The driver nodded and responded, “Mica Scott, sir? Yes, Mr. Rupert.”

Mica felt them pull away from the curb, so she picked up her head and rattled off her home address. She laid her cheek back down on Daniel’s chest and snuggled her butt down into his lap, wriggling for a second against his rampant erection. “Mmmm,” was the only other thing she said on the way home. Daniel groaned deep in his throat and shifted her slightly to one side, pushing her ass up onto his hard thighs instead of his swollen erection.

“Mica, where are your keys? Samuel can’t unlock the door without them,” Daniel spoke quietly, trying not to startle her. She had fallen asleep nearly as soon as the car had started moving, and he hated to wake her.

“Oh, ’s in my purse,” she mumbled, rubbing her cheek against his shirt again.

“You didn’t have a purse with you at Jackson’s, Mica. Do you have another key hidden somewhere?” he asked, trying to keep his composure as she nuzzled him.

“Mmmm. Yea, on the ledge above the door; ‘s where grandpa always kept his, so…yea.”

Rumbling under her cheek, his voice was gruff as he said, “You keep a key to your house on the doorframe of the entryway door, Mica, really? Samuel, go see, and unlock her door if it’s there, please.”

“You rumble when you talk, Daniel. Can I still call you Daniel?” More rumbling, and she realized he was laughing this time. “Don’ laugh at me, mister. I’m sumthin’ else; you’ll see.”

“Oh, I believe you, Mica. I do. Please, call me Daniel.”

Samuel nodded from the front porch of the home, and Daniel stood up out of the car, still carrying Mica in his arms. Walking up the sidewalk towards the house, he took in the quaint beauty of the home, painted white, but with what looked like bright splashes of color on the shutters and trim. It was in a safe neighborhood, and he understood from Mason that he lived in the house just south of Mica’s, which made it even safer for her.

Ducking around the front door and into the home, Daniel took in the layout for a moment, then turned left and away from the open floor plan of the living spaces, into the hallway towards what he suspected was the master bedroom.

One of the doors was partially open, and there was a soft light coming from a far corner of the room. Taking a chance, he bumped the door open farther and grunted softly when he realized he had found the right room. Natural wood was everywhere, from the cherry headboard of the king size bed, to the maple table that held an arrangement of flowers.
Nice, this is a comfortable room
, he thought in surprise as he strode farther into the room.

Walking towards the bed, he asked her, “Mica, honey, do you wear pajamas? What do you sleep in? Anything? Nothing?”

Caught off-guard by the question, she laughed a little and opened her eyes. “When I’m with or without a companion?” she asked in return. Toe-to-heel, she slipped her shoes off, and he just let them stay where they dropped.

“With a companion. Most definitely
with
a companion, Mica.”

“Why then, nothing at all, Daniel.” Snickering a bit, she laid her head on his chest again.

Sliding her body down the front of his until her feet rested on the floor, Daniel took inventory of her clothing. He realized both her shirt and skirt buttoned in the front, probably so it was easy for her in her injured state to put on and take off without assistance.

Once her balance was steady, he briskly unbuttoned her shirt and slipped it off her shoulders, dropping it to lay on a nearby chair. Leaving her bra on for now, he moved to her skirt and unbuttoned it the full length, wary of the cloth dragging at her injuries and causing pain.

He winced at the scrapes and marks covering much of her back, and at the deep bruising over her shoulder and collarbone he saw in the mirror across from them. “Mica, do you want your underwear left on, or not?” he asked quietly, hands on her upper arms as she stood with closed eyes.

“Off, but I can do that, thanks.” She sighed and let her head wobble forward, resting her forehead against his chest. “Just gimme a minute.”

Reaching between her breasts, he found the clasp of her bra and unfastened it, sliding the straps of her bra down her arms and off, placing it on the same chair with the rest of her clothes. He was desperately trying not to focus on her bare breasts, round and tipped with large, pink nipples. Those luscious peaks were tightening and pebbling in the chill of the room.

Groaning deep in his chest, he pulled her hands up to rest on his shoulders for balance. Kneeling in front of her to remove her panties, he slid them slowly down her legs. Allowing his fingertips to graze the back of her legs down their entire length, he groaned again as the dark triangle at the top of her thighs was revealed. He scarcely resisted the urge to nestle his nose into those curls. She was exquisite, a gem, a rare find. She was beautiful, real, and perfect…perfect for him.

Standing again, wrapping one arm around her, glad for the flimsy cloth of his shirt that still separated them, he moved and flipped back the comforter and sheets on the bed, creating an opening for her body to slide into. Once she was safely in bed, he stepped back, looking down at her. “Are you okay, Mica? Do you need me to get anything for you before I go?”

Her eyes flew open. “You’re goin’, Daniel? Oh.”

Surprised by her disappointed tone, he hesitated a moment before asking, “Would you like me to stay?” She was silent and still for a few seconds, but when he was satisfied by a silent nod of her head, he blew out a shuddering, deep breath. He had not realized until then that he had been holding his breath, waiting on her response.

Moving to the far side of the bed, he slipped off his shoes and laid down on top of the covers. Distractedly pulling his cell out for a moment and propping up on one arm, he sent Samuel a text asking for an early wakeup call and ride, but dismissed him for the evening. He twisted to look back down at Mica, and listened to her shallow, steady breathing. Daniel comprehended she had already drifted off to sleep, but not before moving towards him and placing a hand on his arm, her grip holding on tightly, even in her sleep.

15 -
            
Sleeping

It was early morning, still dark outside when Mica became aware she was slowly waking up from a deep, peaceful sleep. Warm and feeling a little trapped by her covers as she rolled onto her back, she started stretching deliberately, trying to do it like her trainer had taught her, starting with her toes, curling into the mattress, rotating and extending her ankles, then flexing and stretching her calf muscles.

She released the tension in her legs, changing to tightening her core, clenching her internal muscles, and then arching her back to push her ass deeper into the soft mattress beneath her. She moaned as she enjoyed the sensual feeling of the inner walls of her sex tightening and relaxing.

“Hey, you okay?” came a soft question near her ear, from a voice she recognized as Daniel’s.

Weak light filtered into the room from the streetlights outside, and she turned her head to find he was sharing her pillow. He was lying on his side facing her, with one hand tucked underneath his cheek. Quickly glancing down to make sure she was covered to her chest, she could feel the sheets along her entire body, attesting to her complete state of nakedness.

Following the slope of his upper arm with her eyes, she found her hand was curled around his bare bicep near a dark bruise, held in place by the weight of his arm against his naked side. Shifting sideways away from him to gain a little distance between their bodies, she rolled up onto her side, extricating her hand with his smiling assistance. As they moved, she realized he was resting on top of her comforter, and that was what made her feel weighed down.

She tugged the comforter a little higher on her breasts, folding it for bulk in the cool morning air. “Yes, Daniel, I’m fine. I’m glad you stayed, thank you,” she murmured softly. “I am sorry you left the party for me, though.” Her eyes slid down his torso, drifting across his bunched and muscled frame. She saw his hard and defined shoulder and chest muscles, then slid her gaze lower to see a flat stomach and ridges of more muscles outlining his hips into a deep V angling towards his pelvis. There was a another dark bruise along his hip.