The Key To Micah's Heart (Hell Yeah!) (12 page)

“I uhh…We should.” Micah adjusted his dwindling erection in his pants. It’d settled against his right thigh and leaked a stream of pre-cum down his leg. “Would you like to go for a walk?”

Madison still hadn’t regained her breath. “Yes. Of course.”

They left the coffee shop together, but Micah left a bit of distance between them as he led them down the walkway. Madison had been hoping for more handholding like earlier, but now he seemed distant and she was sure it must be her fault.

The normally, never quiet nor uncomfortable Micah was both at the moment. He figured he’d committed a huge blunder, maybe even ruined his chances with this amazing girl and he’d promised himself he’d keep his distance for the rest of the evening.

The night was gorgeous and the setting was beautiful, but there was a silence between them after the kiss on Mozart’s deck. “So why is my ‘if’ non-negotiable?” Madison asked as they walked, trying desperately to regain the closeness they’d felt.

Micah looked at his watch. “You’ll find out in about thirty seconds.”

They continued to walk and half a minute later, Madison’s purse began to vibrate. She stopped and looked at her date before fishing her new phone from her purse. She slid her finger over the screen. A text message awaited her. “But how could I be getting messages on this phone? Nobody knows I have it.”

Micah just smirked and shrugged his shoulders. “Weird. Who’s it from?”

Madison opened the message after a few missed tries. “Gonna take me a while to figure this phone out,” she said with a laugh.

Her words were music to Micah’s ears, it sounded as if she were planning on keeping his gift.

“It’s from you. But how?” he remained silent and Madison began to read the text.

I’m sorry to tell you that your cell phone information has already been switched over. I knew you might not accept my gift, so I have already made arrangements. Your old phone is now deactivated. Looks like you’re stuck with the new one. 

It was certainly a bold move, to have her information switched. Either Micah was extremely resourceful or Madison needed to call up her provider and ream them out for letting anyone call and change her information. “How did you do that?”

“Not yet,” Micah insisted, holding up one finger.

The phone vibrated again. Madison looked at the screen.

Now, how about a kiss?

When she didn’t respond immediately, Micah felt it best to try and explain. “I often find myself in situations where I’m not sure if I’m going to get slapped or kissed–like earlier. And now I find myself in another one. I know it was an aggressive thing to do, but I couldn’t help myself. I want to be able to contact you and I want you to contact me. So, I’m just gonna close my eyes and accept whatever happens next. Hopefully, it’s not a pointy-toe to the balls.”

He closed his eyes and a second later once again felt the familiar touch of her lips. The kiss was quick, but precious. Micah opened his eyes and found her smiling up at him. “Sooooo much better than a kick in the balls,” he murmured as he pulled her in for a hug. All the awkwardness from a few moments ago was completely gone. “It’s a good thing you pulled away quickly or I’d have pushed you into those bushes and had my way with you.”

Madison giggled, broke free from his embrace and strolled up ahead of him with a little extra wiggle in her walk. “Night ain’t over yet,” she purred.

Micah watched her go. “My God,” he whispered to himself. Where had that body been hiding the first night he’d met her? The girl was blessed with a bounty of curves in all the right places. He felt his cock reawaken and twitch in his pants. “Down, boy.” They walked the rest of the way with Madison a few paces ahead. She didn’t know where they were headed, but Micah loved the way her ass moved.

Madison kept glancing back and it was obvious what Micah was looking at–he was watching her–or more specifically her backside. She worried a bit because he wasn’t looking where he was going. She hoped he didn’t trip. But–Lord Have Mercy–she loved him watching her.

Her enjoyment was doused a block later when Micah called a halt to their progress. “Hold it, cupcake. We’re here. Give me your hand.”

Madison’s head was foggy. This had been one hell of a fun and yet confusing night so far. They’d gone from enjoying a kiss at the first sight of each other, to him giving her a very thoughtful gift–a gift that set off a series of events like dominoes being knocked over one by one. A mutual loss of composure. A touch that set her whole body on fire. An awkward silence. And now here they were, back to holding hands and smiling at each other. Being with Micah Wolfe was a dizzying rollercoaster and Madison wanted to keep riding it until the car ran off the tracks.

“Oh, Micah, I’ve always wanted to do this someday,” she said as they strolled down a walkway framed by low hanging branches of a huge oak.

The old steamboat Madison had seen from the deck at Mozart’s was docked and decorated with hanging lanterns. Music from a string quartet wafted up from one of the lower decks. Micah ushered her on and straight to the top. Part of the deck was encased in glass and they took seats right next to one another. One wall was a sliding glass door that was standing wide open. When the boat pulled away from the dock, Madison shivered in the cool night air. Micah got up from his seat and retrieved one of the blankets that were folded and placed on the end of a bench for passengers who needed to wrap up for warmth.

He draped the cotton throw over her lap and took a seat beside her. “I guess they expect a lot of ladies to get cold. Do you want to snuggle?”

“Yes,” she said simply, picking up the edge of the blanket and draping it over his lap too.

Micah rested his hand on her leg. Above the blanket to be safe, but still on her knee and Madison settled into her chair with their shoulders touching to enjoy the closeness. Outside, big houses with wide picture windows seemed to pass by. Inside those houses, people were going about their lives, some even looked up from a book or away from their phones long enough to wave.

Madison broke the silent reverie. “How did you get the phone switched over without my permission?”

“I know people. People who know things about computers. People who can quite easily hack into a cell phone provider and switch things at will.”

“Seems illegal.”

“You’d be surprised the things I’m willing to do to make sure we stay in touch, Fellows.”

The top deck was empty, it was just the two of them there and when Micah squeezed her thigh over the blanket, he glanced at her and their gazes locked. She thought she could see the desire she felt mirrored in his own. Madison wanted to slip her hand beneath the blanket and do some exploring of her own. She ached for him to touch her–anywhere and the kissing was a given. But since she couldn’t be sure, there was no way she’d make the first move.

Micah fought for control. He wanted to grab her up and let his passion explode. The heat between them had gone up by a million degrees, his need far surpassed a passionate kiss and a bit of light petting. Micah wanted to bury every inch of his cock as deep inside of Madison as he could get it. Under the blanket his hips bucked. He caught it right away and stifled his desire. He couldn’t rush this.

Sensing his inner turmoil, Madison sought to keep him talking. “Tell me about yourself.”

“Only if you tell me about yourself after.” 

“Okay. Deal. Why do you come to the shelter to help out?”

“I can’t just do nice things for people?”

“You can. But you mentioned a friend. A friend no longer with us, if I remember correctly.”

“A friend of mine used to go to Angel House every once in a while. It was years ago. We were a lot younger then. He lost his life.” The words were hard for Micah to say. Nobody in his life knew he went to the shelter and did what he did–not Kyle, not Jet–no one. It’d been something he’d done on his own and something he always kept to himself. He liked Madison, but he wasn’t fully ready to open up to her yet. “I’d rather talk about you, if that’s okay.”

She gave him the way out he was clearly looking for. “Of course.”

“Why do you go there?”

“What? I can’t just do nice things for people?” she said with a smile.

“Of course you can, but you had that bag with you. I know you didn’t come from your storage locker.” He didn’t want to embarrass her, but he wanted to know more about Madison Fellows and why she felt the need to sleep at a homeless shelter. “Why were you there that night?”

Madison’s blood went cold. The moment had come to reveal herself for who she was. She was just a poor girl from the wrong side of the tracks, unworthy of the attention of a man such as Micah Wolfe. “I went to feel safe.” She looked away, embarrassed.

Micah placed a hand on her cheek and turned her face toward him. “Safe from what?”

“My family.”

An edge of steel entered his voice. “Your family?”

Madison pulled away. “I’m sure you don’t want to hear about this. What do you do for a living?”

“That’s not going to work. Don’t try to change the subject. Tell me.”

Madison tossed the blanket off her lap and stood. “What do you want me to tell you?” She was emotional. Tonight had been amazing and now she was about to tell her dream guy about her ugly, troubled life. A knot formed in her throat as she stepped over to the railing, hugging herself as she went.

Micah gave her some space. “It’s okay, Madison. You can tell me anything.”

“Like what? Tell you that my mother is a drug addict? Or how I don’t even know who my father is? Tell you that my mom’s lowlife husband beats the crap out of her and has beaten the crap out of me before?”

“What?”

“Tell you how I want to be a nurse, but every time I save up enough money my mom calls and needs bail money or I have to pay off a debt of hers to keep her out of jail?”

“I won’t judge you, Madison. I just want to know you. Has he hit you lately?” Micah’s blood was boiling, but not with desire, with anger. “We can call the police right now and have him arrested.”

“He’s gone. They’re both gone. My mom and Rudy left for Fort Worth the other day. They’d been staying with me. That’s why I was at the shelter that night. That’s why I had the bag with me. I stuffed everything of value I could find in my bag, so my mother’s trashy husband wouldn’t steal it to sell for drugs.”

“Have they been together long?” He rose to stand by her at the rail.

“For years, but what difference does it make? They’re gone now.”

“They sound like the kind of people who’ll come back around when they need money. I don’t want you to be in danger.”

“Well, I’m not. They’re gone, three hours away and I’m fine.”

“The next time they come around or you feel scared, you call me.” He wrapped his strong arms around her and pulled her close. “I don’t care where you are or what time it is. You call me, Madison.”

Madison looked up at him. Her eyes were blurry from the tears, but she felt completely safe in that moment, encircled by the protection Micah offered her.

Slowly, Micah leaned down to kiss her, placed his lips against hers and drank from her sweetness. The heat was there and the kiss was passionate, but the tone of caring was unmistakable. They watched the lights of the city twinkle in the distance until the ride was over. Once they were ashore and standing on the sidewalk near Mozart’s, Micah took her hand. “I want to take you home, Madison.”

“No, no, I’m good.”

“How did you get here? Did you call a cab?”

Lying to him didn’t seem right. “No, I took a bus.”

Damn! “I really wish you would let me drive you home, Madison.”

“No, I’ll be fine.”

She would’ve loved to be with him a bit longer, to have him walk her to her door, but the thought of him seeing where she lived and how she lived was too much for her to handle after the things she’d already told him. She hoped to maintain her dignity just a bit longer. Madison didn’t know a great deal about Micah yet, but something kept telling her that Rudy was right, she had no business being with a man like Micah. If he saw her place he’d be gone for certain. Selfishly, she wanted to hold on to this time with him for a little while longer. “I don’t want to put you out.”

“Taking you home wouldn’t be an inconvenience, Madison.” When she gave him a slight smile but said nothing, he knew there was no use to keep pressing the issue. She wouldn’t change her mind. “Well, I’m calling you a cab. And I won’t take no for an answer.” He picked up his phone and dialed the number, sitting with her until it arrived.

“Text me the minute you get home.” He gave her a tender kiss on the cheek. “Got it?”

Madison held the phone in her hand. “I might bother you from the cab just a little. For practice.”

“You’d never be a bother.” He kissed her one more time, holding her tight, loving how she felt in his arms. And when the cab came, he stood and watched as it drove off before heading to his car. Once he was behind the wheel, he sent her a text.

I had a great time tonight. If you ever feel unsafe, you call me. Goodnight, Madison Fellows.

Madison smiled as she looked down at his text. She was new to this texting thing and she had to retype her message a dozen times before sending it.