AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ben
When I emerge from the bathroom, throwing the towel I used into the empty hamper by the door, Mikaela is at the front door. Her voice is gentle as she passes the boy some cash and tells him to keep the change and I lean against the door frame, watching her. The tiny caveman inside of me is fucking pounding on the ground as he dances around the fire that spreads in my chest at the sight of her, and I wonder if that should scare me; the fact I want to claim her so completely when I know I shouldn’t.
The boy glances at the crumpled bills in his hands and a huge smile erupts over his face before he glances back to her. “Are you sure?”
“Of course.” She laughs in a way that just emanates pure joy. “You got here quickly and you were polite. Plus, I’m really freaking happy right now so I thought I’d spread some of that happiness.”
Mine,the caveman grunts.All mine.
The boy is practically bouncing with excitement and Mikaela rests the pizza box on her hip.
“Thanks, Ma’am,” he whisper laughs.
She grunts and I grin.
“Wow. Call me Ma’am again and there’s no tip next time.” Her laugh is positively buoyant.
As the door closes, I move across the space to the kitchen and grab two glasses. I note the coffee cups have moved to the lower shelf and the wine glasses are now on the top shelf, and every ounce of self restraint I have goes into refraining from laughing and shaking my head.
Mikaela bumps her hip against mine as she moves into the kitchen space and I turn to face her, placing the glasses down and grabbing her before she can move past me. She pushes onto her tip-toes as I lean in and kisses me quickly before glancing to the couch. Part of me hates the pizza. It’s keeping her body from being pressed up against mine.
“Kitchen or couch?” The longing in her eyes is definitely for the comfort of cushions at this point.
“Couch.” I push her towards the living room and move to the sink, filling our glasses with cold water before following behind her.
Fuck, this is easy.
“Youcouldsitcloser,you know.” She sulks between bites of pizza and I grin, throwing a napkin at her before pointing to the corner of her mouth. She wipes at the sauce as she rolls her eyes.
“I know.” I run my eyes over her slowly and she shudders. I like that; that she reacts so easily. “But this is… safer. While we discuss rules.”
Mikaela huffs as she glances at the small pile of cushions placed between us and I bite back my laughter. As silly as it seems, I need the barrier. Especially with her sitting there in my shirt, the shadow of her nipples drawing my eye to her chest every five fucking seconds.
“Okay.” She shuffles closer and raises an eyebrow at me. “Hit me with the rules, Haston.”
“We need to agree them, Mik.” She nods as I continue. “I want us to take things one step at a time, make sure we’re good before we dive into anything we can’t take back. So.” I’m not even pretending that I’m not imagining her naked in front of me as my eyes skim slowly over her body and I set the first rule. “No sex.”
Her eyes widen ever so slightly and her jaw slackens momentarily before she regains her composure and reaches for her water.
“Right. Of course, slow would definitely mean no sex.” The twinge of disappointment in her voice is matched with the slight downturn of her lip and I breach the barrier for a moment, my fingers brushing the hair behind her ear, and I hold her until she looks back at me.
“Do not mistake this rule as me not wanting you, Mik.” I am practically growling and I take a sharp breath when her eyes flick to my lips. “Because I want you. I just want it to be right.”
Mik licks her lips and I feel it in my groin.Yeah, rule one sucks already.
“Okay,” she whispers. “No sex. Rule two?”
I pull my hand back and grab another slice of the veggie pizza balanced precariously between us. It is seriously good pizza, but I’m only eating more to stop myself from touching her again.
“Considering we’re not having sex, I think it’s safer if we minimise sleepovers.” I bite back the lump in my throat that forms with the thought of her alone in this tiny apartment and wait for her to respond. She stays silent. “I don’t mean that they won’t happen if you need me here, Mik.” My voice is hushed and I hope she doesn’t register the tremor of fear beneath it. “If you can’t stay here alone, I will be here. But I -”
“I can stay here.” I expected fear, maybe even anger, but there’s strength in her voice; determination. “Sleepovers are reserved for absolute necessity until further notice.” She nods to herself as she leans forwards and pulls open a small drawer on her coffee table.
I watch as she rummages for a moment before pulling a pen out and grabbing a napkin.
“What are you doing?” My lips tug into a smile when she bites the lid of the pen and pulls.
“I,” she mumbles around the pen lid, “am writing these rules down.”
