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Liam caught up to him on the azalea-framed walkway that led to the suburbia two-story. “Dumb shit, you always go to a woman’s door. How have you ever gotten a second date?”
“Look at me.” Mikah left it there, stating the obvious. Had chicks really let him get away with too much in the past? No doubt. He’d earned it. If he hit it off with a woman, they went for it, no harm, no foul, no emotions. They both moved on, a kickass memory had by both. “The question is, how do you get a girl? You’re working with literally nothing.”
Liam caught up to him on the front porch and punched him in the arm.
Piper, however, had not conformed to his usual rules. Halloween had been something. Her against the wall, the feel of her hands, her mouth. Hot. But their timing hadn’t worked out due to Liam’s girlfriend drama. The sticky point there was the more he and Piper met up, the more they became friends, the more she got entwined in his life, the less she fit his pattern. That wasn’t going to work.
Mikah had taken back control like a man. After Halloween, he hadn’t contacted her in order to let his desire cool and shift the power back to his hands. Any other woman would have sent naked pics by now to get him to call, and he would lay out his expectations. A casual hot time would be had by both.
Piper hadn’t texted except to confirm the pickup time for today.
She had to be thinking about him as much as he was thinking about her, but he was no level ten clinger, he wouldn’t give in first. This wicked standoff would define who controlled their fling. He had already fantasized about their kiss far too much. He was one step from being the needy one here, and that wasn’t him, the guy crying on the sidelines. He was a champion. Anything less…not happening. Zero chance. He rang the doorbell framed by a Texas star with one long push. He was the pro, he had this.
He didn’t have to ring twice. As expected, Piper opened the door right away. She wore tight, stretchy pants that framed her hips, a t-shirt that hugged her boobs, and had pulled her hair up in a messy-on-purpose knot. Gorgeous, like she’d been in his bed and had tied the strands up to go cook his breakfast.
Mikah plowed his fingers through his hair and leaned forward for a good-morning kiss.
CHAPTER 12
Whoa, Mikah jerked upright and away from Piper before he got close enough to kiss her. This wasn’t a date, what alt universe had he been thinking of?
Meeting her at the door was messing with his mind, and this courtesy was the least of his misleading behaviors. He was meeting her parents. He was one cold sweat away from turning into his kiss-ass older brother. Screw that.
The silence extended.
His feet shuffled to turn and sprint back to the SUV, but that would smack of a retreat. He stood his ground. He hid his mixed emotions. Not that emotions were involved. She was simply a fun woman who made him smile, who he wanted to touch, and who smelled fresh and alluring. She could take his hand and show him her room as they burned some of their extra pre-flight time. Would she like that? He gave her the look. Now, she needed to offer.
Liam cleared his throat.
Bro could wait in the car like the other shit that waited in the car until he needed it—the phone charger, the jumper cables, the spare stick of deodorant.
Liam stepped inside. “Any points you want us to hit with your parents? Do they want my mom’s phone number?” he asked with Canadian kindness.
How did they even run their own country? America should take over.
Piper shook her head. “Mom and Dad are fans, and if you two are as close as our driveway and don’t say hi, I’ll have to hear how I failed them every hockey season from now until forever.” She smiled to show she was mostly joking.
Hah. Mikah liked her lips and her attitude. He stepped inside. Was that lemon soap she’d used? Citrus perfume? Damn, he wanted to reach for her again. They needed to get moving before his primal brain overtook his masculine reasoning. Piper fluttered her fingers in a feminine lure. Yeah, she knew how his body felt, and he knew her touch could push him over the edge. Come closer.
Calm down.
He wasn’t reacting to her. He’d almost been with her on Halloween, and his body simply wanted to pick up where life had gotten in the way. He’d been deprived, this was physical. He wasn’t seeing fireworks and hearts where none existed.
He drew his eyes from her curves. There, she had a big-ass bag he’d have to carry. This was a chore.
Had she packed lingerie in there? What kind?
This was how women caught men. By tying up their thoughts with lace and silk. Filmy and soft. Breakable and removeable. His body heated. How the hell was he fantasizing about her at this moment? He needed a workout. Chill. Suburbia would cool him off.
Photos of Piper and the young woman who had to be her sister hung parallel on the center of the wall from birth to graduation. A gallery of family photos covered the rest of the entry. The house was a fourth the size of his parents, but also family oriented. Piper, her sister, her parents. Looked normal.
All the more reason to run.
A middle-aged couple came into view at the end of the foyer, both fair-haired with welcoming expressions, the father close to his height, the mother petite. They passed around introductions.
Piper’s mom waved for them to come in. “Have you boys eaten? We’re having an egg scramble with hash browns out by the pool.”
Shit no. Trap. Run. That was suburbia’s version of a dowry. They’d hand Piper over wrapped in a breakfast tortilla.
