Finding Focus (9 page)

“We best be making our way back to the house, Chuck.”

“Oh, right. Sure.” I try to get out of the hammock as gracefully as possible, but I don’t succeed. Micah’s strong hands keep my camera and me from hitting the ground below. We both laugh, and my head falls to his shoulder as I grasp his thick biceps for support.

“You gonna be all right?”

“Yeah, we’ve really got to stop ending up like this.” I lift my head and swallow hard when his crystal blue eyes are all I see. Those babies should really come with a warning label. I quickly pull back and right myself, smoothing my hand through my hair.

“Like what?” he asks, the smirk on his lips telling me he knows exactly what I’m talking about.

“You picking me up, keeping me from falling.”

“I don’t mind.” His smile is wide, genuine, and his eyes shine brightly.

I hate to admit I don’t mind it either. For once in my life, I’m kinda glad I have an affinity for falling on my face. With someone like Micah Landry around to pick me up, who can blame me?

Micah

LYING IN BED, TRYING TO
motivate myself into getting up and taking a shower, my thoughts drift to Dani . . . which is becoming more common than not. Watching the way she worked her camera, her enthusiasm shining bright in her eyes when she took a shot she loved . . . it felt like I was getting a glimpse at the real Dani . . . her passionate side. The angles, precision, movements . . . the way her mouth worked into different expressions without her realizing it was happening. Without a doubt, I knew I was attracted to her. But up until that point, I didn’t realize how attracted I was. Her personality, looks, and even her clumsy nature drew me in, but there was something about seeing her in her artistic element that really drove it forward. And the way her face lit up when she saw the hammock . . . it was so child-like and radiant, pure beauty. I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

Her long hair was beautiful in the sun, showing each shade of red, and her skin glowed. She looked angelic lying there, but I have a feeling she’s not as angelic as she looks. Every once in a while, I catch glimpses of fire and mischief in her eyes. She’s something else—independent, driven, ambitious—definitely a woman who knows what she wants.

And while I really saw her, I couldn’t help but
see
her. I know I shouldn’t have been looking, but with the way the mounds of her breasts peaked out over the top of her shirt . . . it was hard to look away. I can’t help but wonder how they feel . . . how her nipples would react to my touch. And at that thought, I’m hard.

Just the motivation I needed to get in the shower.

I hurry into the bathroom and turn the water on, testing the temperature before hopping in. With thoughts of Dani’s tits still in my mind, I quickly step into the spray and lather up my soap. Closing my eyes, I allow myself to imagine what it would feel like to touch her—my hands running over her curvy hips, down her thighs, grabbing her ass, and making my way back up to pay special attention to her tempting breasts.

I firmly wrap my hand around my cock and work it up and down, lathering the soap. The more I think of her soft, round tits, the faster my hand pumps. I picture her long red hair splayed out under me and my hands on her creamy skin. When I think of how my name would sound falling from her lips as she unravels, my balls tighten. One last thought of her naked, writhing beneath me, and I’m done for. My release comes in a few short bursts, hitting the back of the shower wall.

One thing's for sure, if I ever get the chance to fuck Sheridan Reed, I will definitely need to pre-game, or risk the chance of looking like an under-experienced teenager.

After showering and getting dressed, I head out to my parents’ house to see if my mama left any breakfast out for me. As I walk inside through the back door, Dani’s voice is coming from the formal dining room. I peek around the corner and see her sitting at the table with her phone to her ear.

“Graham,” she sighs heavily, “hey, it’s Dani. I, uh . . . I thought maybe I’d hear from you by now. I mean, if it were me off on a vacation
all by myself
, you’d be pissed I hadn’t checked in by now. For fuck’s sake, you’d probably have the FBI hot on my trail.” The more she talks, the angrier her voice sounds. “Listen, just call or text me and let me know you’re all right. I hope you’re having fun . . . or whatever it is you went there for.” She pauses, and for a second, I think she’s hung up her phone, but then she starts talking again, her voice quieter and sadder. “If you’re there with someone else . . . if you’re
with
someone else, I wish you’d just tell me. I think I deserve that.” Her sigh is loud, and I look around the corner to see her staring out the window. “We really need to talk when you get back. Call me . . . bye.”

I hear the phone hit the table, so I peek back into the dining room. With her head resting on her arms, her shoulders move up and down. I refrain myself from bolting out of the house. The tears of a woman will always be my undoing, but no tears have ever made my heart squeeze like the tiny sobs coming from Dani. Without much thought, I’m moving toward her, needing to comfort her in some small way. My hand itches to soothe her with its touch, but I stop myself, afraid I’ll startle her.

“Dani . . .”

She turns her head to look at me and quickly begins wiping the tears off her face.

“I’m sorry,” she says, trying to cover up the emotions.

“What are you apologizing for?”

“I don’t know. For crying, I guess?” she says, laughing through the few tears still running down her cheeks.

She takes a deep, cleansing breath, collects herself, and continues on her exhale. “I’m apologizing for allowing personal matters to interrupt my work. This is very unprofessional of me,” she says, standing up from her chair.

“Well, first of all, you wouldn’t need to apologize to me anyway. I’m not your boss,” I reply, giving her a half smile. “Second, I think it’s quite all right for you to have a personal moment, if you need one.”

We stand there for a moment, me looking at her, her looking out the big picture window, avoiding my gaze.

“Want to talk about it?”

“I wouldn’t know where to start,” she replies, letting out a deep breath and rolling her eyes.

“Maybe the beginning?”

“Everything’s so fucked up. Honestly, we could be here all day, and it’s really
not
the way I planned on spending the day,” she says, her demeanor starting to shift back to the Dani I’ve come to know. “How about you show me some of the house I haven’t seen yet? Help me get my mind back on my work?” She puts her cell phone in her back pocket.

“I can do that,” I tell her, smiling. The idea of spending the day showing her around again is music to my ears.

I point to a picture of my grandparents on the wall, but before I can speak, the doorbell rings.

“Lemme go get that. I’ll be right back. Did you eat breakfast yet?”

“A little, but I could use some more coffee.”

“All right. Well, go help yourself, and I’ll see who’s at the door.”

It’s Tuesday, and my mama has been in party planning mode, so I assume it’s another delivery of some sort. Opening the door, I see it’s not a delivery or the taxman—either of those would’ve been better than the person standing in front of me.

“Hey, Val.”

“Hey, Micah,” she purrs as she closes the space between us and launches herself at me. I have no choice but to catch her or the sheer force of impact will knock me over.

“What the hell?”

“I missed you! Didn’t you miss me?” she asks, giving me a pathetic pouty lip. I hate that.

I turn around and try to shake her off. “
Sure
, I missed your clingy ass,” I say, hoping she picks up on my sarcasm and takes a hint. She’s so damn manipulative sometimes, always thinking a turn of her lips or a bat of her eye will get her what she wants. Normally, I’d let her have her way and give in, which is how I end up in her bed occasionally, but the fact that Dani is in the next room has me on edge. I don’t know why, but I really don’t want her and Valerie in the same room.

“Well, I was hoping I could catch you before you left the cottage. I was kinda hoping we could maybe have some breakfast . . .
in bed
.” She winks, and I smile at her, shaking my head. “When you weren’t home, I decided to come track your ass down.”

“Sorry, Val. I’ve got plans for the day.” I look up and my gaze meets a set of emerald green eyes staring at me from the doorway. Her eyes leave mine and zero in on Valerie. The look she gives her is interesting, to say the least.

Her eyebrow quirks and her lips draw together, like she’s trying to keep from saying something.

“Dani! I was wonderin’ if you’d be out here,” Valerie says. Her fake-ass niceness doesn’t slip by me.

Dani’s eyes narrow and pink tinges her cheeks. “Valerie, it’s good to see you.” Her words and tone don’t quite measure up.

She’s not jealous, is she?

The possibility that Valerie pissing on my leg evokes that kind of emotion from Dani excites me. I
want
her to want me, because I sure as hell want her.

Wait. What?

“I take it you two have met,” I say, already knowing the answer but hoping to get rid of her before things get too awkward.

“Of course. She’s staying at the motel,” Valerie chirps, throwing her arms around my mid-section. She’s clingier than an octopus. “Dani, did you know Micah is my boyfriend?” Valerie asks in her syrupy-sweet voice, cutting her eyes up at me. She knows she’s treading on thin ice. We’ve had this discussion a million times.

She
ain’t
my damn girlfriend.

I give her
the look
, which she knows well because she gets it often.

“Valerie, we’re not—”

“Semantics, Micah!”

How she manages to pull a word like “semantics” out of her ass, I’ll never know. I’m sure it’s something she’s picked up off one of those reality TV shows she’s always watching.

She brushes past Dani without another look and heads straight for the kitchen. Dani is just standing there, looking puzzled as she glances up at me.

I run my hand through my hair and motion toward the kitchen. I don’t trust Valerie to be left alone in the house.

I swear she’s going to be the death of me . . .
both
of them . . . for entirely different reasons.

We walk into the kitchen, and Valerie is helping herself to stuff in the fridge as if she owns the damn place.

“Val, we’ve really got to get busy. I’m supposed to be showing Dani around the house today.” I wink at Dani, who’s watching the two of us from the doorway.

“Fine.” Valerie huffs, not liking the dismissal. She hates when she doesn’t get what she wants. “Call me later! I imagine you’re just dyin’ to have your
itch
scratched,” she says, pulling at the front of my shirt as she walks by. “I know you don’t like takin’ matters into your own hands, so I’m sure you’re just about ready to explode.”

She begins to walk out of the kitchen but stops and turns on a dime. Touching her finger to her own lips, she presses it to mine, then gives Dani a wave before leaving the room.

What she doesn’t know is I took care of that shit in the shower this morning . . . all thanks to Dani and her luscious tits. I keep my focus on the floor so Dani can’t see the smug grin on my face or the blush on my cheeks.

“You know the way out, Valerie,” I call out after her. “Don’t let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!”

“Hey, uh, I’m going to get to work,” Dani says from where she’s been watching the one-sided pissing contest.

“Did you still want me to show you around?”

“No.” She shakes her head and fiddles with her camera bag. “I know you have more important things you could be doing around here.” She huffs as she finishes collecting her things, and I can’t help but sense some hidden innuendo. “Besides, I made some notes from our walk yesterday and I have a few places I want to revisit. That should keep me busy for a while.” She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Okay, well, have a good day,” I concede, noting the difference in her mood. I’m not sure whether it’s the message she was leaving earlier or the surprise visit bothering her, but whatever it is, I don’t like it.