Snowed In Read online

  “That feels so good,” she breathed as her eyes closed, relishing the sensations washing over her. “It feels better than sex.” She hadn’t meant to make that last statement. The second the words came out of her mouth she stilled and her eyes flew open.

  “Then you obviously haven’t had the right partner,” Mike said with a heated stare that she felt shoot all the way to her center.

  Oh my.

  --- ~ ---

  Nikki’s lips parted at Mike’s bold statement. He was shocked those words had actually left his mouth. Since the moment he’d laid eyes on Nikki he hadn’t been acting like himself. His behavior had been reckless and even though Mike was making a small effort to reign it in, it actually was not bothering him as much as he knew it should.

  Nikki’s plump lips turned up in a small mischievous grin and her eyes danced with amusement as she agreed, “You’re probably right.”

  Mike felt himself growing hard at her words and the knowing twinkle in her hazel eyes. It also didn’t help that her skin felt so incredibly soft and silky smooth beneath his touch. And he could practically feel the tension draining from her body as he moved his thumbs and fingers against her soft skin.

  He liked knowing that he was able to calm her. To take away the panic that had so obviously been rushing through her. He liked that he affected her. It made a caveman feeling well up inside him. Trying to push his reaction down and focus on the task at hand—literally!—Mike put all of his energy into massaging her pressure points.

  “Where did you learn to do this?” she asked as a soft moan escaped the back of her throat.

  “What?” Mike asked, he had heard the question but the moan had made his brain temporarily short circuit.

  “This.” She nodded her head down to both of their hands. “I’ve had my fair share of massages and you are definitely a trained professional.”

  “No, I’m not.” Mike shook his head and continued rubbing her hands.

  “Well, you’ve got skills. Were you just born with them?”

  “It’s a long story.” And one Mike didn’t like to think about.

  Nikki let out a shaky laugh and looked around the elevator. “Well, doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere, so we’ve definitely got the time.”

  Mike took in a deep breath deciding whether or not to gloss over the story, tell a half-truth—which in his book was the same thing as lying—or just tell the whole truth.

  Nikki’s expression grew guarded and she pulled her hands out of his. “I’m sorry. It’s really none of my business.”

  Mike hated the way the look in her eyes made him feel. “No it’s fine. It was just a long time ago.”

  “You don’t have to tell me. I was just making small talk.” Nikki pushed her hair behind her ear. He’d noticed her do that several times tonight and wasn’t sure if it was a nervous habit or not but every time she did, she exposed the smooth skin on her long, graceful neck and all Mike could think about was tasting her there.

  His mind was definitely a run-away train when it came to this girl. He had no focus. No discipline. He needed to get a grip on whatever was going on with him.

  He reached out and took her hands back in his. She looked up at him and he felt the wall he’d built around himself begin to crack. He opened his mouth and just started talking. “Junior year of high school my cousin, Laura, was diagnosed with Leukemia. She was only a year younger than me and since neither of us had a brother or sister, we were the closest thing we each had to a sibling. Also, both of our parents were much more interested in their social lives than they ever were in raising us so we ended up together a lot with either her nanny or my mine.

  “They started Laura on an aggressive treatment of radiation and chemotherapy. I would go and visit her every day after school. Some days were better than others. On the worst days she would just lie there crying. Not with any sound, just huge tears falling down her face.” Mike paused for a moment as the memories of Laura’s small form lying in agony overwhelmed him.

  Clearing his throat he continued, “I just felt so helpless. I wanted to take all of her pain and suffering away from her. I would have done anything to be the one lying there instead of her. But, since that obviously wasn’t an option I began researching anything I could get my hands on about pain-management. When I would visit her in the hospital, I spoke to nurses and doctors, other patients. Anyone who would talk to me.

  “One of them gave me a book on reflexology. I studied it then bought three more on the subject. When her pain would get really bad I would use pressure points in her feet and hands to try and relieve it. Sometimes it worked,” Mike let out a forced laugh, “or she humored me. I still don’t know.”

  Tears filled Nikki’s eyes as she asked, “Is she…okay? What happened?”

  “Oh no. Yes, she’s fine.” Mike quickly explained. “After two years of treatment she went into remission. She lives back East now, she’s a doctor.”

  “Oh thank God,” Nikki breathed a sigh of relief as her shoulders slumped.

  “Sorry, I guess I should have led with that.” Mike shook his head. “I just haven’t thought about that time in my life for so long. And I haven’t ever really talked about it.”

  “Thank you for telling me,” Nikki said and he could feel the sincerity in her words. A small flirty smile spread across her face. “If you weren’t in the too-good-to-be-true category before, you have definitely secured your position there now.”

  Mike felt his shoulders tense. He didn’t want her to get the wrong idea about him. He was no hero and he definitely didn’t want Nikki putting him up on a pedestal. From what he’d observed, the only way off of pedestals was falling. Hard. “Believe me, I am no saint. I didn’t tell you that in addition to learning reflexology I would also buy her weed and since she never wanted to smoke alone, most afternoons we would sit together and get high as kites. I was so bad at it at first. I was like a fish out of water. Coughing. Choking. It was brutal.”

  Nikki burst out laughing. She pulled her hand from his and placed it on his jaw, “Awww, I think that might just be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”

  “Two teenagers getting high is the sweetest thing you’ve ever heard?” He asked, raising a brow in question.

  “No,” Nikki tilted her head, moving her hand back into his. “A guy buying and smoking weed with his sick cousin so she’s not in pain and doesn’t have to do it alone is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. It’s very bad boy with a big heart.”

  “I don’t know about the bad boy part. I haven’t touched the stuff since.”

  “That just makes you a smart bad boy.” Nikki smiled and Mike felt an unfamiliar feeling swell in his chest.

  Looking into her beautiful golden eyes Mike felt exposed. Like she saw him. The real him. It felt like she had a clear view right down to his soul. It was unnerving and comforting at the same time.

  When most people looked at him they saw who they thought he was or what they wanted him to be, especially lately. But not Nikki. He was fairly certain that she had no idea who he was and he honestly felt like the only thing she wanted him to be was himself.

  Mike wasn’t sure how he felt about that. He’d gotten really good at protecting himself. Keeping up a mask. In his professional life, he’d had to. Things were never personal. He knew that if people were being nice to him, nine times out of ten, it was because they wanted something from him. Or, at the very least, they wanted to have a good relationship with him in case they wanted or needed something in the future. Which was fine. Sure, he might be a little jaded, but that beat the alternative.

  With Nikki he felt a distinct absence of pretense. She was just her. If she thought something, she said it. It was hot.

  Of course, when he’d first laid eyes on her he’d been instantly attracted to her physically. But after hearing her deal with one guy after another, hearing the irreverent and witty responses that she’d dished out, Mike was undeniably drawn to her. Not just her outer beauty but her
inner spirit.

  Before he could delve too far into why he was having such a profound reaction to her or more importantly what it meant, the car rocked and the bright overhead lights came on. They were moving again.

  Nikki jerked her head looking around wide eyed and Mike helped her to her feet. As they stood the fine hairs on the top of her head brushed against his nose. Her hair was soft and she smelled fresh, sweet, and flowery.

  Holding her arms, he braced her thin frame as she steadied herself. The car rocked again and she let out a small cry as she fell into his chest. Her arms flung around his waist and he held her tightly against him. “It’s okay. We’re still moving,” he assured her.

  She was shaking uncontrollably in his embrace. Her body felt so tiny as she clung to him. That caveman instinct welled back up inside of him in full force. He loved the feeling of her being in his arms. Seeking him for comfort.

  Logically, he realized it wasn’t like she had a whole lot of other options. It was just the two of them and she was terrified. His brain knew that this embrace was nothing more than her needing to feel safe and secure. It wasn’t personal. She was only clinging to him for dear life out of fear and his response should be comfort only. His body, however, was not listening to his brain. It seemed her soft curves overrode his good intentions and logic. He’d been half hard since he’d first laid eyes on her and their bodies being pressed together was not helping the situation down under.

  Her breaths were coming in short pants as she held onto him tightly. He could feel her chest rising and falling against his, her heart pounding hard. He ran his hands up and down her back and tried to soothe her. “Hey, we’re okay. Really.”

  He could feel her head nod in agreement against his shoulder and he continued to move his hands in a steady motion. Up and down her back.

  His pants were growing tighter and tighter by the second. Part of his brain was telling him to move away from her, he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. But another part of his brain, the one currently in control, did not agree and wanted to remain pressed against her.

  “Mike,” he heard his name leave her lips in a whisper.

  “Yeah,” he looked down at the top of her head, cradling her in his arms.

  She raised her head to look at him and there may still have been some fear there but all he saw shining out of her hazel eyes was desire.

  Their mouths were just a millimeter apart. If either of them moved at all, they would be lip to lip. Not giving it a second thought, out of pure unadulterated instinct, Mike moved. He lowered his mouth to hers just as the elevator doors swooshed open.

  Nikki’s head flew around at the sound and in a flash she was out of his arms and through the doors. Mike followed her and stepped out of the small elevator. He immediately missed the intimacy he’d felt when they’d been inside. The power outage had created the illusion that time had stood still, he’d felt like they were the only two people on the earth.

  The look of utter relief on her face told him that, for each of them, their experience of getting stuck in the elevator could probably not have been more different. He couldn’t remember the last time that he had felt so normal. So authentic. So connected to another human being. He would have happily stayed in the small enclosure all night and then repeated the experience the next night.

  But, he wasn’t claustrophobic.

  Nikki’s eyes were wide as she stood in front of him, one hand covering her chest and the other covering her stomach. “Thank you so much. I could not have gotten through that without you.”

  He didn’t know about that. She seemed like a pretty tough girl. “You would have been fine. But I am glad that I was there.”

  “No.” She shook her head emphatically. “I would not have been fine. If you hadn’t been there I would have completely lost my shit. You were amazing.”

  Mike smiled at her choice of words. Even her cussing was sexy. He still believed that she would have been perfectly fine without him but he wasn’t going to argue the point. “I’ll walk you to your room,” he said placing his hand on the small of her back as she turned to walk down the hall.

  They made their way down the narrow hallway to her room. At each door they passed Mike felt his heart rate pick up. He didn’t want his time with Nikki to be over. He knew that every step they took was a step closer to their night coming to an end. To saying goodbye to her.

  Sure, he knew that he could get her contact information and stay in touch. But it would never be like this night again. This night was…special.

  After tonight things would inevitably change.

  If they exchanged information she would most likely Google him—like any intelligent woman would—and their dynamic would shift. Or not. He didn’t know, but what he did know was that after spending just these few hours with her he felt like she knew him better than all the people that surrounded him on a daily basis. And he liked that feeling.

  A lot.

  She stopped and pulled out a card key from her purse. Turning, she looked up at him. Her breathing had returned to normal, and thankfully after the short walk down the hall where he’d had his introspective thoughts, his body’s response to her had subsided so he wasn’t sporting a massive erection anymore.

  Her eyes dipped down for a moment before returning to his. She licked her lips and her voice was soft as she said, “I had a really good time tonight.”

  He smiled.

  “I mean meeting you, not the elevator,” she clarified as she motioned towards the elevator banks. “That was…scary. But, I can honestly say that there is no one in the world I would rather get stuck in an elevator with.”

  So many thoughts were fighting for attention in Mike’s brain. Most of them in complete opposition to every natural instinct he had, which was that he wanted to back her up against the door and kiss her. Hard.

  He knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. The media attention that he was dealing with was significant and he definitely didn’t want to do anything that would feed their unwarranted obsession with his personal life.

  But, damn, he wanted the girl standing in front of him more than he’d ever wanted anything in his entire life. He wanted to touch her. Kiss her. Taste her.

  Unfortunately, he had been hardwired at an early age with the belief that life wasn’t about getting what you wanted. Life was about responsibility and obligation.

  As wrong as it felt, his brain knew that he needed to say goodnight. Taking a deep breath in through his nose and out through his mouth he reached up and tucked a silken piece of hair, his fingertips grazing the sensitive skin, behind Nikki’s ear. He felt a shiver run through her as her lips parted and her chest began rising and falling in shallow breaths.

  Leaning down, he softly kissed her on her forehead. Allowing his lips to press against her for a few seconds before saying, “Goodnight.”

  Her head tilted up and she looked at him with wide eyed disbelief. “That’s it? Wow, you really are a gentleman.”

  He was pretty certain that she didn’t mean that as a compliment. “Believe me, if you knew what I was thinking right now, you wouldn’t be saying that,” he rasped.

  “Really?” Nikki’s crossed her arms in front of her and the action caused her breasts to push up over her sweater.

  God, help him. He wasn’t sure he was going to survive this.

  “Hmm,” she said her eyes narrowed in challenge. “So what are you thinking?”

  Chapter Three

  Nikki’s heart slammed against her chest as she waited for Mike’s response. She knew for a fact that he was holding back. She’d felt his impressive hard-on pressed against her in the elevator. She was certain that physically he wanted her— that he was attracted to her. What she didn’t know was why he wasn’t acting on it.

  But she was going to find out. He’d told her that he wasn’t married or in a relationship when they’d been at the bar and she’d believed him. Nikki had always prided herself on being able to detect when people were lyi
ng. And she would bet her last dollar he had not been lying about the fact that he was single. The question then remained what else could it possibly be.

  Nikki tried to search for a clue looking up into the dark pools of Mike’s chocolate colored eyes, but for the first time that night they were totally unreadable. It was as if he had erected a mask in the few seconds they’d been at her door.

  Again, Nikki felt out of her element since normally she had no problem whatsoever taking the lead in these types of situations. If she knew what she wanted, she went for it. The problem she was having here was all she knew was that she didn’t want this night to be over. Yes, of course she was physically attracted to Mike and she wanted him but more than that she wanted more time with him, even if all they did was talk. She had no idea what her next move should be.

  “I’m thinking things I shouldn’t be,” Mike finally answered, his voice sounding strained.

  “That’s a little vague.” Nikki’s heartbeat was picking up speed and her palms moistened.

  A slow smile spread across Mike’s face. Nikki felt his smile ping pong down to the apex between her legs. It was not one of your run-of-the-mill, average, every day how-you-doin’ smiles. Oh no! This smile should be in the Guinness Book of World Records for best-panty-melting-tingle-inducing smile of all time.

  “Do you want me to be specific?” His deep voice held as much promise as it did warning.

  Nikki didn’t really respond well to warnings so she decided to focus on the promise aspect of the question. She quickly answered, “Yes.”

  A groan sounded in Mike’s chest and he took a step closer to Nikki, closing the distance between them, backing her up against the door. He placed his hands flat on the door beside her head. She loved the feeling of being completely surrounded by him. It was a delicious combination of safe and excitingly dangerous all at once.

  Anticipation radiated through her whole being. All of her senses were vibrating and alive. She wasn’t even sure if she was breathing as she waited anxiously to hear what Mike would say. She stared at him totally captivated.