In Deeper (6 page)

His lips curled into a smile. “Did you just quote
Zoolander
?”

She threw her hand up and growled. “I’m being serious.”

“I am, too.” He enjoyed teasing her, the way it made her cheeks turn pink with frustration. “I never joke about Ben Stiller movies.”

She closed her eyes and her lips moved silently, almost as if she prayed for patience. When she reopened them, her eyes blazed with golden heat. “I came here to make a point.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and watched her. “Then make it.”

She took a step closer, pausing for a moment, before taking another. “I want you. Not because you’re a Randolph. Not because you’re familiar and safe. I want you.”

The tight leash he held on his control snapped. “Goddamn it, Celeste. You don’t know what you do to me. You and I? We make no sense together. None at all. You’d be better off chasing Max.”

“I don’t want Max.” Her fingers moved to the strings lacing up the front of her corset and undid the top knot. “Don’t make me beg.”

If she didn’t stop, he feared drool would soon escape his mouth. “This is a bad idea.”

Her fingers stilled, and she gave him a hard look. “I never took you for a coward.”

Normally he would take her comment as patronizing and deliver a rude or curt response, but beneath her tone he sensed the hurt and rejection she fought so hard to hide. He was drawn to her despite good intentions and common sense. He wanted another taste. Just once more. And then he could go back to idolizing her from afar. He reached a decision, one he hoped wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

“Come here.” He crooked a finger at her.

True to her contrary nature, Celeste cocked an eyebrow. “You come here.”

“Celeste,” he warned in a low tone. “I’m not playing.”

She tilted her chin and gave him a sideways look. “If you want me, you’ll have to come get me.”

She retreated to the bed, the smile on her face letting him know she enjoyed this game of cat and mouse. She wanted to play? Fuck it. Game on.

With a confidence he was far from feeling, he leaned against the wall and cocked an eyebrow in a similar manner. He couldn’t control the blood flowing south, but he maintained his best nonchalant expression. She made it hard on him, standing by the bed and teasingly undoing the laces that held her corset together. Once they were unfastened, she locked gazes with him and drew the lacy material apart to expose her breasts.

He sucked in a breath. Fuck, she was beautiful. Full, pink-tipped breasts sat high over her sculpted rib cage. Even her damned belly button was a thing of perfection.

“Sure you don’t want to join me?” She ran a hand over her breast and squeezed the tip. “It’s much more fun when there are two of us.”

His nostrils flared, and he caught a whiff of her arousal, tinged with vanilla, musk, and a hint of spice. Tension coiled in his limbs, and his tenuous control slipped even further. He was glad he’d crossed his arms. It hid the tremble in his fingertips. “I’d rather watch from over here.”

“Suit yourself.” She shrugged as if it didn’t matter before unzipping her pants and sliding them down her long legs. The sight of her in nothing but a pair of red thong underwear nearly undid him.

Celeste settled onto the mattress and slid toward the pile of pillows. She arranged them behind her spine and sat with her legs splayed apart, allowing him a glimpse of the damp spot on the crotch of her panties. He swallowed hard, his throat dry and scratchy. Would she really continue the act?

“Last chance.” Celeste traced a palm over her rib cage and across the slim, golden expanse of her belly. She toyed with the elastic band below her navel, teasing beneath the edges with her fingers.

Micah bit his lip and tasted blood. The room took on a green glow. He didn’t fight the wolf’s urge. It would be easier to watch in night vision than brilliant Technicolor. A tiny thread of restraint kept him from pouncing. Last time, Celeste had been bold, but nothing like this. Better yet, now she was stone-cold sober. Sure, she may have drunk vodka earlier but his advanced sense of smell picked up nothing but faint remnants.

He kept his spine firmly against the wall and gazed at the beautiful sight before him. His fingers continued to tremble with the need to touch her.

With a sigh, Celeste removed her hand and sat up. “Seriously, Micah? You’re going to make me beg?”

Begging would be nice, but it wasn’t his intention. “I stayed over here for self-preservation. You’re dangerous.”

She reached for her panties, but he stopped her with a harsh spoken word, “Don’t.”

She paused with her hand extended toward the garment. “Why not?”

“Stand up.” He enjoyed the thrill of knowing she was at his mercy, no matter how fleeting it may be.

She reached for the panties again, but he took a step forward. “Leave them.”

“But…”

He took another step. “Leave them, Celeste.”

Heat flashed in her gorgeous eyes a moment before she did as he commanded and got to her feet. In nothing but a thong, he could see every dip, every curve, every flawless inch of her. Golden, perfect skin stretched over a frame that was lithe and slender. “Turn around.”

She pivoted, and he bit his lip at the sight of her rounded ass. The red lace cut between the plump cheeks of her backside and made him want to trace the length of it with his lips. Celeste glanced at him over her shoulder and gave a coy smile. “Like what you see?”

“Bend over.” His voice came out rough and gravelly.

She tossed her hair before bending over and placing her palms on the mattress. Her ass in the air made his dick even harder than before. If he’d thought lust overruled his mind before, he’d been dead wrong.

It would be a long night, and he planned to enjoy every second.

CHAPTER FOUR

It was the hardest thing she’d ever done to stand before him in nothing but her underwear and wait for him to make a move. She’d come to his room with the purposeful intent of fucking Micah. Now she’d lost control to him. How did Micah do it? Muddle her thoughts until she saw nothing but him?

Cool air brushed over her nipples, making them tighten into hard peaks. She craved his touch, needed him to ease the ache inside her. The carpeting muffled the sound of his approach, but he’d crept closer. She wanted to look back at him again, but kept her head facing forward, waiting for him to touch her. The air shifted, bringing with it the tantalizing hint of male wolf and lust.

She closed her eyes and willed instinct away. When two wolves mated, it was easy for animal form to take over. She’d never been a fan of sex that way, and it hadn’t been hard to resist. But with Micah, everything that was off-limits became as natural to her as breathing. She took a deep breath, followed by another. Each inhalation brought more of the intoxicating blend of his scent.

He touched her. He brushed feather-light fingers across the gentle curve of one buttock. She sucked in a gasp. Tingles exploded at the simple, tender caress. She was going to spontaneously combust if he didn’t touch her again.

She clenched her thighs tight and struggled to remain in the position he’d commanded her to assume. The inclination to turn around and view his virile body spread like wildfire across her tenuous control. Her knees buckled first, and she fell toward the bed. Her elbows broke the fall, and she cursed her lack of grace. Micah took away every ounce of self-possession she owned and tossed it to the winds.

He chuckled a moment before wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her to a standing position. She was tall, and despite her slim figure, not a featherweight. He lifted her as if she weighed less than nothing. His forearm flexed and held her in place with her spine pressed to his chest. The prod of his erection sent another shock wave throughout her.

It had been so long since someone had held her. There hadn’t been time before, when their lust had overruled their inhibitions and brought them together in a fast-burning fire. Unlike that night, Micah seemed intent on keeping things slow. She was OK with that. More than OK.

“Celeste,” he murmured her name and nuzzled his nose against the back of her neck. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

Resignation colored her tone. “You never do.”

“You should go.” His voice turned stern, but the arm around her waist tightened. She gloried in the obvious proof that he wanted her.

“Why do you push me away?” She wanted the truth. Had to hear it from his lips.

“You’re too much for a guy like me.” He broke off to dip a soft kiss on her shoulder. “We’re from different worlds.”

“Not that different.”

She felt Micah shake his head. “There’s a reason Randolphs and Proctors have never mated. You’re on a pedestal. I don’t want to be the one to bring you down.”

She twisted in his arms and faced him. “If I’m on a pedestal, it’s because you put me there.” She framed his face with her hands. “Look at me, Micah. I’m more than the spoiled rich girl you think I am. I’m more than your brother’s beta. I’m a normal girl, and like everyone else, I’m allowed to have feelings.”

His expression tightened. “You shouldn’t have them for me.”

“Why not?” She lowered her hands to stare at him. Anxiety filled her while she waited for his answer, an answer that didn’t come. “You say we’re from different worlds, but we’re not. The blood that flows in your veins is the same as mine. We both know what it’s like to hide our true selves from the world. I’m tired of hiding. All my life, I’ve been the perfect shifter. You said it yourself. I attended all the best schools. I allowed my father to mold me, shape me into something I’m really not.”

Micah’s sapphire gaze held steady. “What are you saying?”

She put her palms to his firm pecs and sighed. “I’m saying I’m tired. Perfection takes its toll. It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. I want to be me. Not Drake’s beta. Not the golden girl. Just me.”

He cupped her shoulders and held her, not doing anything despite the erection that lay heavy upon her belly. “And I’m part of your identity crisis?”

“No.” She gripped his smooth, taut skin and wished she could find the words to make him realize she was serious about them being together. “You were right earlier. I didn’t consider you in high school. I noticed you, of course. Who wouldn’t? But you were rebellious. There was no way my father would’ve allowed me to consider you. My family pushed me toward Drake from an early age.”

She swallowed hard, hating that she’d never revealed this to another living soul. No one knew the pressure put upon her once she’d turned sixteen. Sometimes she’d feared she would crack under it. “I wasn’t allowed to date. My days consisted of school, coming home to study, and going to bed early. I didn’t have friends.”

He frowned. “But you were popular.”

“A mirage.” She lifted one hand from his pec and twirled a finger in the air. “I pretended to be popular at school, but did you see me at any parties? Dances? My popularity was a carefully cultivated image to draw Drake’s attention. And it worked, for a brief time. But when he went to college, things changed. Our relationship cooled.”

The lines of Micah’s body tensed. His voice chilled. “I really don’t want to know about you and Drake.”

She closed her eyes for a moment and prayed for patience. “It’s important that you understand I would’ve done anything to please my father. Drake was what Dad wanted for me. He wasn’t what I wanted.”

“You made a damned good show of it,” Micah ground out.

“I resigned myself to a life of being the obedient daughter. Drake was nice and attentive. I won’t lie and say it was a hardship to pretend a relationship with him. But I always knew in the back of my mind that it wouldn’t happen. He deserved someone who could truly love him. And I deserve to live my own life, and starting tonight, I’m going to.”

“By playing me?”

“No one is playing you.” Frustration made Celeste grit her teeth. “What I’m trying to say is I want you in my life, damn it!”

For several long moments, he didn’t speak. Not a flicker of emotion crossed his face. She held her breath, embarrassed at her outburst and even more upset by his lack of response. When it became apparent he wouldn’t say anything, she pushed away from him and reached for her discarded clothing. “Just forget it.”

She shoved her feet into the leather pants and struggled to pull them up.

“Celeste.”

She ignored him and wriggled into the too-tight pants.

“Celeste.” His tone sharpened with a hint of authority.

“What?” She threw out her hands at her sides and glared at him. “I’ve already embarrassed myself enough for one night. What the hell do you want?”

“You.”

The single word shocked her into immobility. “Excuse me?”

He put his hands on her hips and slid his fingers beneath the unfastened waistband of the pants. “I want you.”

She drew in a breath and released her pent-up frustration. “Fuck you, Micah Randolph. You let me bare my soul to you and don’t say a word. You had your chance. I’m leaving. I’m tired of this bullshit.”

He laughed softly and slid his fingers farther down, closer to the heat of her. “Stay.”

“You…” He swallowed her words as he surged forward and captured her lips between his. He kissed her like he had that night, all lips and tongues and teeth. Nothing gentle or soft but demanding and passionate and seductive as hell.

He grabbed a fistful of her hair and held her in place for the sweet torment he placed upon her lips. The small bit of pain melded with intense pleasure. How did he understand her so well, figure out that she liked rough sex? There’d been nothing soft last time. They’d fucked against a wall, in the heat of an argument, until they’d ended up in bed and nearly broke the box springs. She’d ached when she’d left the next morning, her sex tender and sore, her lips bruised to hell and back.

She didn’t care if he marked her. Visible proof of their time together would sustain her during the long days while he was on tour. She pushed the thought of his impending departure out of her mind. She didn’t want to think about it. All her life Micah had been right there, always in the shadows but never far from her. She hadn’t realized it then, but when he and Max moved to Nashville, they’d taken the light with them. She would miss the bastard, and she hated it. It sucked to have her mind wrapped up so much in someone else. She’d been alone for so long, never being allowed a thought of her own. An ice princess. Yes, that was her. But not when she was with Micah.