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Not that she was dog ugly. She was very, very plain, he decided, looking at her closely. And when had he decided she was simply plain rather than ugly?
He must definitely be getting on in age. He shuddered at the thought that he could be so old that his eyes were giving out on him. The eye doctor he saw once a year had assured him that his eyes were fine. Twenty-twenty vision, the doctor had promised him. Orion had never had trouble with his vision.
He clicked through a few more pictures, ti
lted his head again, and frowned deeply. Yes, there it was. One he had snapped as they moved through the mall. The man had his hand at her neck, as though he were rubbing it. There was a hint of sensuality in her face. A certain tilt of her eyes. Her too-large mouth seemed sensual rather than out of place here. Even with her baggy clothes she looked almost pretty.
He shook his head. What new phenomenon was this? And what did it matter? He’d make his move soon. A rather public one, simply because it wouldn’t be expected. No one could anticipate his next move. He’d made certain of it.
CHAPTER 10
“I HAVE THINGS I need to do,” Risa announced the next morning after breakfast dishes had been cleared away and an uncomfortable silence had descended between them.
“Things?” A dark brow arched as Micah watched her from the easy chair.
He was entirely too confident, too arrogant, she decided as she eyed him. And too damned sexy. The blue cotton shirt he wore did nothing to hide the power beneath it, and the jeans and boots made him look much too male, too virile.
“Yes, things,” she told him. “I need to go to Grandmother’s and discuss some last-minute details for the party she’s having in a few weeks. I’m handling the arrangements this year for her, and I want to make certain everything runs smoothly.”
“Your grandmother could come here,” he suggested, his gaze running over Risa’s body.
He was always doing that. Looking her over, his black eyes gleaming with an intent she didn’t understand. But her body responded to it. She almost sighed at the rush of desire that washed over her and pulsed between her thighs.
“I need to go to the house, Micah. I shouldn’t have to argue over that. It’s a simple enough trip and one you should be able to arrange.” Besides, her grandmother was worrying and Risa needed to reassure her.
“Come here, and we’ll discuss it.” His hard hand patted his lap as he stared back at Risa with an edge of amusement. “You can convince me you need to go to her, rather than her coming here.”
She blinked back in surprise. Was he teasing her?
“There’s nothing to discuss,” she stated stiffly, forcing her hands not to form fists as she fought he need to do as he asked.
“There’s actually a measure of risk involved in the trip,” he mused. “Sit down here and we’ll talk about it.”
He patted his hard leg again.
“Stop playing with me, Micah,” she demanded, frustration clawing at her now. “The situation is difficult enough; there’s no sense in adding to the complications.”
His eyes gleamed with laughter, and with lust. She wanted to sink into that link, holding it inside her. But the memories of the single night they had shared sliced through her mind and filled her with shame.
She couldn’t handle a man like Micah, she had decided. He was obviously more exacting in his sexuality than she had heard of men being. What happened to the wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am sexuality that men were supposed to possess? When had the rules changed?
“I like adding complications, Risa, they make life interesting,” he told her. “Now, you can sit down here and let me pet you a little bit while you explain this need you have to escape the safety of your apartment, or we can stay here.”
“Or I can walk out and go anyway,” she pointed out with a tight smile. “You’ll still follow, your friends will follow, and I’ll still be protected without having to humiliate myself to do it.”
“You would of course have to get past me to get out that door,” he pointed out. “How do you intend to do that?”
With a baseball bat, probably. That was most likely what it would take, and she didn’t own one.
“Micah, please don’t be difficult,” she protested, trying to restrain her anger. “Nothing will be solved or gained by sitting on your lap and playing this asinine game you’re intent on playing.”
He stared back at her archly. “Much will be gained, Risa. Just to begin with, our pleasure. Orion will be thrown off balance, and we’ll be much more relaxed.”
She felt her hands fisting into the loose material of the T-shirt she wore as she glanced at his lap and swallowed tightly.
He had an erection. It wasn’t hard to detect. His explanation the day before for his reasons for not releasing the night they were together made sense, but still her mind wanted to reject it. Nerves and fear gathered in the pit of her belly each time she thought about that night, each time she remembered the waves of sensation that she had fought.
They had been frightening. The thought of experiencing them again was both terrifying and exciting. Unfortunately, the thought of disappointing him again held her back. She couldn’t control that pleasure, and the thought of not controlling her body, of once again being helpless beneath the tide of sensation, had the power to send her into a panic.
