Hot-Bites, Volume Two by Jenika Snow
Chapter Five
Michael
It took everything I had not to jerk off in the damn shower. The only thing that stopped me was that I was afraid Cassie would hear me. The last thing I need is for her to know I was beating off, moaning her name. I can just imagine her reaction. She’d take off running, terrified.
I’ve been locked in the cab of that damn truck with her, listening to her sweet voice, watching her lick her lips, touch her leg, and tuck her hair behind her ear. Anything she did was an exercise in torture for me. Then there was the smell of her. Sweet with hints of vanilla, a scent that reminds me of warm cookies coming out of the oven—something you crave to sink your teeth into.
She’s been driving me crazy. Despite the cold shower that I thought might freeze my balls into ice, I’m still aroused as hell. I can feel my dick pushing against the towel I have wrapped around my hips. It’s getting ridiculous. I’m having a hell of a job keeping myself under control and now I have to be in the same room with her—in the same fucking bed—all damn night. I groan at the thought.
I open the door into the main room and Cassie is sitting on the king-sized bed, her hair completely down and brushed until it shines. I want to pin her to the mattress and make her take my kiss, my touch and my fucking dick. It’s the thing she has in the center of the bed that stops me from acting on my urges.
“What’s that?” I ask, knowing what it is, but still not quite believing it.
“The room only has one bed,” she responds defensively.
“I know. I told you they had three rooms left and all were single beds. I took the one with the king. There’s plenty of room in it.” I try not to sound grumpy when I repeat myself to her. It’s not easy. I knew this wouldn’t make her happy, but I was so tired, I honestly didn’t think I could drive another mile. I wasn’t about to let her sleep in a different room either. I have this need inside of me to protect Cassie and make sure she’s safe. I can’t do that if I don’t keep her with me. She probably thinks it is all about money and how I didn’t want to shell out for another room. I’m fucking okay with her thinking that too. Hell, maybe she thinks I only took one room so I could have her in the bed with me and crawl between her legs and eat that sweet little pussy until she begged me to stop.
I can’t say she’d be entirely wrong either.
“I know,” she starts nervously, wringing her hands in her lap so hard I’m looking for her to start peeling the skin off. “This is just… This will help us reinforce personal zones,” she finishes, trying to sound very professional.
My lips twitch. I can’t help it. I’ve got a damn hard-on to end all hard-ons. My hands are literally shaking with the need to touch her, and I want to laugh. I shake my head. This girl has me by the short hairs and she doesn’t even know it. She’s sitting on the bed, not a sign of make-up on her sweet face. She’s not even wearing anything sexy—in fact, she’s wearing a white nightgown which has long sleeves and is buttoned up clear to her neck. It reminds me of something I’ve seen women wear in Little House on the Prairie reruns. It’s the line of pillows that has me almost bursting out laughing.
“Where did you get all those pillows?” I ask, still shocked.
“I called the front desk. I wanted more, but they gave me all they had. I took them and the ones on the bed and did the best I could,” she says.
I give a dry cough of laughter, trying to hold most of it in. I don’t want to hurt her damn feelings.
The best she could do is a line of what looks to be two pillows high and three pillows long situated up the middle of the bed.
“I… um… I gave you more room on your side,” she mumbles and I smile while fighting the urge to laugh again. She did give me more room. So much so, if she moves a lot she’s liable to roll off onto the floor.
“I sleep on the left side,” I deadpan.
Her eyes dilate and shock covers her face and again I grin.
“I’ll fix it,” she says, getting up and immediately grabbing the first section of pillows and pulling them to make the left roomier. “I’ll have it fixed in no time and you can uh… maybe find your pajamas,” she adds, her face blushing a deep red that I can see through the curtain of her hair. She’s doing her best not to look at me.
I stride over to her, stand at her back and reach around her to grab the pillow she’s holding. She freezes instantly, and I literally have to pull her body back into mine because she’s gone so stiff. Once I do, I lean down to whisper in her ear.
“I was joking, Cassie. The bed is fine, except you need a little more room. I don’t want you rolling off in the middle of the night and hurting yourself,” I tell her. I close my eyes, my hands firmly planted on her hips and I drag her scent into my lungs, enjoying the feel of her body so close to me. My dick is now tenting the damn towel, straining to get to the holy land, the head pushing against her ass. I know she can feel it, but there’s not a damn thing I can do about it—so I don’t even try.
“I don’t need much room. Once I lay on the bed, I’m good. I just lay there. I don’t move,” she says, and I drag my lips against the tender skin beneath her ear, letting my beard tickle her skin softly. Her body quivers against me and I let a soft moan escape before I can stop it.
“Maybe you just don’t have the right incentive to move,” I tell her like a fucking pig. I meant to control myself and not send her running. One touch of my hand on her body and I lose my damn control—and my mind.
“Michael, I can’t… we can’t… I mean, I don’t think it would be… We shouldn’t…”
I take in a deep breath, inadvertently getting drunk on the warm scent of vanilla and sugar. Jesus. Cassie is killing me with that flavor. I want to lick her from head to toe to see if she tastes as good as she smells.
I can’t do that…
“We don’t know each other. It would be so fast.”
“You’re safe, Cassie,” I assure her. I turn her around in my arms so I can see those beautiful eyes of hers. “I would never force myself on you. I know how it looks, but I promise you right here, right now, I will never take what you won’t freely give me.” She looks up at me with a big, vulnerable expression and I get lost in them instantly. “You’ll be safe beside me, or beside your wall of pillows,” I vow, and no matter how much it kills me, I mean it.
I reluctantly let her go, stepping back and giving us a little space.
“Thank you, Michael,” she murmurs, confusion on her face so clear I can see—
feel—it. Maybe she’s fighting herself as much as I am? It doesn’t matter because I gave her a vow and fuck if I’m not going to live up to it. I’ve never forced myself on a woman and I’m not about to start now—even if this particular one is like a raging fire in my blood.
“No problem,” I growl, frustrated with my arousal that won’t be tamed. I turn around and inhale and exhale slowly.
“Where are you going?” she asks, surprised—talking to my back. I keep walking, cursing myself silently with every step.
“To take another shower. Do yourself and me a favor, Cassie. Turn the damn television up… loud.”
“I… Michael?”
“Just do it,” I order.
“But—I don’t want to watch TV,” she answers.
“If you don’t do it, you’re going to hear me jerking off in the shower. It’s your choice,” I growl, just laying it out for her because I don’t have the patience to be gentle at this point.
“I.” Silence stretches on. “Oh. Wow…” she whispers, and I look over at her in time to see her body jolting with surprise.
For a second I think she might walk over to me. Maybe I’m fooling myself, but I thought I saw want—desire. Instead she reaches for the remote control on the nightstand and turns the TV on. I close the door, filled with disappointment, but most of all hunger for her.
A hunger that won’t be filled tonight.
