He placed his free hand on the small of her back and steered her toward their table. For the rest of the night, Cara heard nothing else except a low buzz of her friends talking and the hum of anticipation in the air as she waited for the time when she could head upstairs and be alone with Mike.
Eight
Mike liked Cara in uniform. He liked her in jeans and a beat-up faded tee. He liked the cut-off pink sweatshirt that bared one shoulder, her long ponytail hanging down her back, swinging as she walked. Her hips were swinging as well, and as his gaze traveled lower, he decided he really liked her ass.
So why hadn’t he taken her up on the invitation in her eyes to ditch the bar and go upstairs? Because as much as he enjoyed those things, he loved watching her laugh with her friends that much more.
Apparently he was in deep.
Sam didn’t mention anything about the scene earlier. He also hadn’t spoken to Mike directly ever since. Whatever Mike had with Cara was none of his brother’s business, and Mike didn’t plan on bringing it up either.
Eventually, Alexa yawned and said she was ready to turn in. Liza did the same, which led to Dare pronouncing their night over. He took his wife home, Alexa walked out with them, Sam left with barely a good-bye, and Mike turned to Cara.
“Ready?” He rose and extended a hand.
She grinned and stood up. He was happy to see that her buzz had worn off; she was steady on her feet and, from the look in her eyes, as eager to get upstairs as he was.
For the first time, they didn’t sneak out separately. Instead he took her hand and led her to the back entrance. Mike didn’t give a damn who saw them, and apparently she’d come to terms with her issues about being seen together in public. By morning, word would spread through Serendipity, and though he now had a responsibility to a woman he’d never willingly sought out before, this was Cara. And he didn’t mind.
After his messed-up relationship in this small town, Mike had learned a lesson. He wasn’t cut out for anything serious because, as he realized not long after his departure from home, he had his biological father’s blood running through his veins. He’d proven it with Tiffany and let no woman afterward get close enough to make demands or have expectations. None made him want to give those things.
Cara did.
It didn’t miss his notice that he’d willingly gone into a relationship with Cara. He was okay with that because if he wanted to move on before his time in Serendipity was over, she was prepared. He’d handle her with care. He wouldn’t deliberately hurt her, and he wasn’t worried anyway because he didn’t see that happening any time soon.
The cold wind hit them as soon as they left the warmth of Joe’s and stepped outside. Before he could give her his jacket or ask where hers was, she ran with him up the back stairs. He had his key in hand and let them inside quickly, shutting and locking the door behind him.
He shrugged out of his coat and hung it on a hook in the hall. A second later, Cara launched herself into his arms and plastered her shivering body against his.
She felt good and right and he wrapped his arms around her tight.
“Cold,” she said, teeth chattering.
“I’ll warm you. Where was your coat?”
“I left it in Alexa’s car. It’s such a hassle to have it with me at Joe’s.”
He grasped her beneath her arms. “Jump,” he said.
She did as he asked and wrapped her legs around his waist, allowing him to fully embrace her. Then he sealed his mouth to hers.
He kissed her hard, while backing her up to the nearest wall so he could anchor her in place and free up his hands. He never broke the kiss as he lifted her shirt and pulled it over her head, then freed her luscious breasts from the confines of her bra. Only then did he move, licking a warm path down her cheek, her neck, and her chest, ending when he pulled her taut nipple into his mouth. He alternated long strokes of his tongue with light nips of his teeth that had Cara’s hips bucking against him in search of relief.
He needed some of that himself.
When she tugged on his hair, indicating she wanted him to move things along, he had no problem complying. He stepped back long enough to help her open the button on her jeans and shimmy out of them while he pulled off his pants and tossed them aside.
He braced his hands on either side of her head and looked her over, top to bottom. “God, you’re beautiful.”
She blushed but didn’t move to cover herself. Instead she reached out and touched his cheek. “Thank you.”
He replied by kissing her and within seconds, they were skin to skin, her soft body melting against his. Her breasts pressed against his chest, she smelled like wildflowers and Mike couldn’t wait another second.
“I want you in my bed,” he said with a possessive growl.
“So what are you waiting for?” She grinned, and he scooped her up. In his tiny apartment he didn’t have far to go in order to get her where he wanted her: on his bed, ready and waiting.
Cara thought her heart was going to explode inside her chest. Mike might be silent some of the time, but when he spoke, every word counted, and tonight everything that came out of his mouth affected her in a profound way.