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He shrugged. “Yep. But my mom had kids to take care of. Chuck’s father destroyed the video and we never spoke of it again. I wasn’t charged with assault. But Chuck has hated me ever since. It was only compounded by the mess with Della. Anyway, my mom promised she’d never hook again, and we all moved on with our lives.”
“Don’t do that.” She continued petting him as though calming an agitated animal. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit he leaned heavily into her touch.
“Don’t do what?”
“Minimize how you felt. How you still feel about it. Keith, I can’t even imagine…you were fifteen.”
He snorted. “Yeah. It fucked me up, that’s for sure. When I got home my dad beat my ass for being out late. Mom tried to stop him but he just screamed at her about losing a source of income.” He let out a harsh laugh. “God, it was so fucked up.”
“Your siblings—do they—”
“No!” he barked. “And they never will. They don’t need that information tainting their memories of our mother.” He’d die before letting a soul know what happened in that house that night. He owed his mother and his siblings that much. He’d go to his grave knowing he hadn’t destroyed the only positivity in their childhood.
“Keith, you need to learn to share the burden. Your siblings aren’t kids who need you to take care of them anymore. This won’t ruin their memories of your mother. It’ll make them sad, sure, but it won’t destroy who she was to them. And it sounds to me like she was a woman who would do literally anything to make sure her children had what they needed. There’s no shame in that.”
He should have known Mickie wouldn’t cast an ounce of judgment on him or his mother. Her easy acceptance of him and his demons was just another reason he couldn’t stay away from her.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
MICHAELA’S HEART FRACTURED and bled for the mistreated boy who’d been forced into adulthood way before his time. To shoulder such a heavy burden alone and for the protection of his mother and younger siblings was precisely what she’d expect from this honorable man. Words failed her, but the desire to ease the pain that still haunted him became a living need.
“Keith,” she whispered as she climbed off his lap. With her knee, she nudged his legs apart. Standing between the strong thighs, she stared down at the somber man who gave so much. Without another word, she lifted the hem of his T-shirt and worked it up his abs. When she reached his armpits and cocked an eyebrow, he kept his arms at his sides.
“Babe…”
“Shhh,” she soothed. “Let me take care of you, Keith. Please. Let me show you what I think of you, how much I want you, how much I admire you.” She swallowed a lump. “And how much you mean to me.”
His intense gaze bore into hers for long seconds before he finally raised his arms. Once she’d freed the tee from his delicious body, she pressed a hand to the left side of his chest. The strong, steady beat of his heart thrummed against her palm. “Do you feel that?” she asked, soaking in the warmth of the firm pectoral muscle beneath her fingertips. “You have a tough exterior that’s so hard to pierce, but beneath it, this heart holds so much love. It’s extraordinary. You’re extraordinary, Keith. You are such a good man. Thank you for sharing a piece of this powerful heart with me. I promise to be worthy of the gift.”
His eyes flashed at the word promise, but he didn’t balk against her claim. Instead, he covered her hand with his much larger one. Together, they cradled the organ Keith sought so desperately to protect.
Mickie vowed to keep that heart safe no matter the cost. Even if he couldn’t give her the entire thing, she’d guard every piece he shared with all her strength. And as she’d recently learned, she was tougher than she’d ever given herself credit for.
He helped her see that.
With her hand still beneath his, she lowered to her knees. Tearing her gaze away from the intensity of Keith’s wasn’t an option. As she descended, he followed her with his eyes. They grew more fiery with each passing second.
“Lift up,” she whispered from her spot on the floor.
The muscles in his throat worked up and down with his hard swallow. “I want you naked too,” he rasped. “Let me see all of you.”
She nodded as he released her hand and went to work on lowering his sweatpants. She shoved her yoga pants down, wiggled around, then tossed them aside. Her shirt followed, leaving her in a lacy bra.
When she reached for the clasp behind her back, he said, “Leave it. I love how it pushes your tits up like that.” He sounded like a man close to the edge. The emotional upheaval combined with physical need had his voice gravelly and the veins in his arms popping as he gripped the sides of the bed.
