SASSY IN STILETTOS ARe version (30 page)

Jaya blinked away tears. “I’m really happy for
you.”

Micha smiled. “Thank you. Now, can we go get you
married off before your man sends Interpol and the CIA looking for us?”

“Try and stop me.”

***

Caleb held Micha tight against his body. She
smelled of strawberries as usual and something a little spicier that ticked his
nose. As the music played on, he led her in the Rumba steps they’d practiced
for months. Her hips moved in time with his. She had just enough tension in her
arms to allow him to spin her properly. They moved easily together, like they’d
been doing this for years. Like they were partners.

When she rolled back into his embrace from a spin,
he whispered, “You look stunning when you dance.”

She grinned and executed the next series of steps.
“I thought I looked stunning all the time?”

Caleb nuzzled her neck. “That you do.” A niggling
voice in the back of his head told him to be careful. He was already in too
deep with her, but he didn’t care. Even if she didn’t love him yet, she would. Just
as soon as she could see that relationships weren’t the end of the world.

She would have to see, because he’d rather cut off
a limb than let her go.

Micha drew her body flush to his, and they worked
a circular motion with their hips. Blood from the thinking, rational part of
his brain immediately rushed to his dick. Then all he could think about was a
dark room where he could bury himself inside her and bury all the doubt.

“Why, Mr. Atkins, is that a hard cock in your
pants, or are you happy to see me?”

Unable to help himself, he barked out a laugh. When
he executed the closing sequence of the dance, he kept his gaze on her as she
twirled. With her face upturned to the ceiling and a broad smile on her face,
she looked truly…happy. That look on her face—that’s what he’d been trying to
put back there since the moment he first saw her.

When they took their bows, and Jaya and Alec had
hugged each of the dancers and opened the floor up to dancing, she leaned in to
whisper to him. “So are we going back to our table, or are you going to take me
somewhere dark and semi-private and make me come?”

He opted for the latter. He didn’t even pause to
give Alec or Jaya a heads-up. He’d helped create the program as he’d been in
charge of security. He’d already done his best man speech, already given them
their present. He didn’t need to be back until it was time for the bouquet
toss. He wanted to see Micha’s inner competitor come out to play. So while
everyone else was dancing, he was going to get some much needed alone time with
his woman.

He dragged her through the throngs and out a side
exit. Quickly, he looked around, but he had no idea which conference rooms
weren’t taken. Dragging her up two floors by the stairs, he used his all-access
key and prayed there was no one in the room.

Luck was on his side, and the room was dark and
empty. With the bed made and spotless bathroom, he figured it was safe to
borrow for a little while.

“Caleb, what are you doing? This could be someone’s
room.”

“What’s this? The great Micha Bennett is afraid of
getting caught?” He dragged her to him for a kiss. Savoring her flavor, he ran
his tongue over hers and sighed. “You taste incredible, do you know that?”

She smirked at him. “You know the only reason I’m
still great is because I’ve never been arrested. I try not to do anything that
I can’t talk my way out of.”

“Hm-hm.” He was too busy nuzzling her neck.

She giggled as he nibbled her ear. “I get the
distinct impression you’re not listening to me.”

“Sorry, I have a one-track mind. My brain is
focused on burying my dick inside you and showing you how much I’ve been
missing you today.”

“You’re incorrigible. We made love this morning
before I left to get my hair and makeup done.”

He hissed as she wrapped her hand around his thick
erection. “Exactly what I mean, way too long.”

Caleb dipped his head and kissed her again,
coaxing her lips apart and exploring her mouth with his tongue. He reached for
hers and suckled it. With her little gasp, he hiked up her dress. “Now tell me there
is a God, and you’re not wearing any—” He growled low when his palms met bare
ass. “Sweetheart, you’re not wearing any underwear.”

Micha fumbled for his belt and released his
straining cock from its confines. “I had it on good authority that you like
things to be easy access, and I want to keep my man happy.”

He lifted her up so she wrapped her legs around
him. His cock immediately sought her slick, wet heat. When the tip of it grazed
her sex, he swore.

Caleb braced her back against the door, and in one
sure stoke, he slid home. He’d planned for a little more seduction, but
something about Micha always had him changing his plans. He worried he was
hurting her when she started gasping, and he slowed down his strokes.

Her hands fisted in his hair, and she forced him
to meet her dark, grey eyes. “Don’t you dare stop. Not when I’m this close, not
when it feels this good.”

Looking into the eyes of the woman he loved, he
deepened his strokes, watching those eyes of hers turn silver as his cock
rubbed over her G-spot.

“Yes, Caleb, yes, I love….I love…I love when you
do that.”

Caleb’s orgasm started to rocket through him as he
heard the word love on her lips. The muscles of her slick core worked him as
she followed him into orgasm, holding him tight and promising to never let him
go.

Caleb watched Micha from the patio of Currant
restaurant. Ever since their trip to L.A., he’d tried to give her a little
breathing room. He still had a man posted in her office 24/7, and he still had
someone tailing her and a GPS unit on her at all times, but he didn’t have
anyone on her physical person all the time. They hadn’t heard anything from her
stalker in weeks, but he wasn’t going to be any less vigilant with her life. He
wasn’t trying to smother her now either.

She wore a fitted, white dress that came to below
her knees and those red and gold shoes she’d been wearing everywhere lately. Her
curls hung around her shoulders, wild and free, and he had the urge to tug on
one of the spirals.

She looked good enough to eat.

He’d seen her get ready this morning. Hell, he’d
even undressed her once today already, but that didn’t mean the need for her
was anywhere near tempered. In fact, it was worse. He knew that underneath the
dress she wore one of those see-through bras that barely covered her nipples. Considering
her substantial rack, he wandered how the hell the flimsy thing even held her
breasts up. The same for that thing she called a thong which was barely a patch
of fabric and some string. Not that he was complaining. Problem was, it didn’t
matter to him that her whole body was covered. He kept imagining her as she’d
been in her bra and panties, and he’d been unable to get any work done.

When she hit the light, she put her phone back in
her purse and caught him staring at her. The smile she gave him was so
brilliant and so unguarded that his heart squeezed. She was his. He didn’t know
for how long or if it would last, but for right now she was his. And she looked
pleased as punch about it. Damn, he loved this woman and all her stubborn,
infuriating ways. For that smile alone he loved her. She was joined at the
stoplight by a group of teenagers and an elderly man with a cane.

The traffic on Broadway was such that the main
lights sometimes took up to five minutes to change. Combined with the one-way
rules, traffic in downtown San Diego was in full force. When the light finally
changed, the teenagers bounded across the street without even a glance for the
stopped, oncoming traffic. Micha began crossing at the same time the elderly
man with a cane did. They both paused at the sound of an oncoming car.

Caleb’s eyes flickered to Fourth Avenue and the
direction of the engine sounds. The only problem was Fourth Avenue was one-way
and that traffic was sitting at a red light. A late model Ford Mustang
screeched down the street. Caleb’s eyes flickered to Micha again. The hairs on
his arms stood at attention. He stood and jumped over the wrought iron fence
before his brain consciously registered the commands for movement.

The turning lane traffic had a red light, and the
traffic from Fourth was about to get a green. The Mustang still barreled down Fourth
with loud rap music blaring in the direction of oncoming traffic.

Micha glanced at the oncoming traffic, swiveled
her head to glance at the charging car and saw him running. She froze
instantly, but then she tried to grab the old man and haul him to the relative
safety of the center divider.

Only the old man wasn’t interested in heading to
the center divider. He grabbed Micha’s arm and shoved her to the ground, then
took off at a dead sprint down Broadway. The Mustang closed in on Micha in the
middle of the street. She tried to stand, but her foot caught on the grate in
the street. As she frantically tried to free her foot, the Mustang closed in.
One hundred yards. Seventy-five. Fifty.

The drivers in the oncoming cars on Fourth slowed as
they saw Micha frozen in the crosswalk. A man in his Volvo stopped and jumped
out to try to help. Caleb vaulted over pedestrians and skateboarders and dogs
and wove between the now-stalled cars on Fourth and nearly knocked over the good
samaritan.

In the span of thirty seconds, the Mustang
screeched around the corner of Broadway. Caleb hauled Micha free and vaulted
her to the center divider, narrowly following suit. The good samaritan landed
on his ass in the middle of the street, and Caleb dragged him behind him.  When
the Mustang missed the three of them, Caleb’s heart and lungs nearly exploded
in his body they worked so quickly to get oxygen and blood flowing.

Caleb mumbled into his earpiece as his men all
screamed at him, asking what the fuck had just happened. He squinted as he read
the plate on the Mustang. In that instant, the rear window rolled down and the
barrel of a gun jutted out. On autopilot, he immediately hauled himself over
Micha’s body and covered her with his. Shots rang out, and he gritted his teeth
against the sound.

Bystanders hit the ground and ducked. People
jumped out of their cars and hit the pavement. Screams filtered into his stream
of consciousness. But all he listened intently for was the sound of Micha
breathing. And she was breathing all right. A string of inventive epithets spewed
out of her mouth. Relief washed through him. If she was swearing, she was
alive. Now all he had to do was keep her that way.

Two more shots rang out before the Mustang was out
of his range, but he screamed orders to his men to follow and track the fucking
car. As calmly as possible, he gave the plates and instructions. The sound of
wailing sirens had him gritting his teeth. What he wanted to do was get Micha
the fuck out of here. He would find the car faster than the cops. But he’d have
to rely on his guys right now. Micha was his priority.

He finally shifted off her to allow her to sit up.
His hands roved over her, checking her for wounds or injury. “You weren’t hit?”

She shook her head, eyes a little wild. “N-no. Do
you think that was my stalker?”

His stomach rolled. Micha’s stalker, while
dangerous, wasn’t that bold. The asshole had gone for sneaky attacks that
protected identity. To go after her in such a bold and flagrant manner
suggested someone who didn’t give a fuck about getting caught. Someone who
wanted to send a very specific message. Someone like Cabrillo.

“I don’t think so.”

“You know, maybe, just maybe, people could stop
trying to kill me?”

He cupped her cheek in his palm. “I swear to you. I
will catch and annihilate whoever did this.”

She covered his hand with hers. “I think the word
you’re looking for is we. We will catch and annihilate.”

He opened his mouth to argue with her, but she
placed her fingertips against his lips. “You came after me. Into oncoming
traffic and a charging car and gunshots.”

“Yeah.” He blinked at her, wondering if she was
going into shock. She seemed lucid enough, but he couldn’t be sure. He’d need
to have her checked out by the paramedics.

She kissed him briefly on the lips. “Thank you,
Caleb. Without you, I’d likely be dead.”

“I told you. Nothing is going to happen to you. Not
while I’m here.”

***

Two hours after the cops and the statements and
the check overs by EMTs, Caleb was still trying to convince Micha to get seen
by a doctor. “You need to go to the hospital.”

She scowled as she stepped past him into the lobby
of her building. “Are you kidding me right now? I have to finish up edits for
the interview. Prep for all the promo spots, and believe it or not, since I’m
still senior features editor, I have a magazine to get out. I did that in-depth
piece for the magazine on Simon, and I have to make sure it’s good to go. Plus,
I still have to select the final two advertising spots for the issue. I’m
sorry. I don’t have time to sit in the hospital all day. Especially when the
paramedics say I’m fine.”

“Look, I know. Can’t you have Ryan bring
everything you need to the hospital? I would feel better.”

“Find me a doctor who will come to the office. I’m
sure Adele has one on speed dial. Or I’m sure, given what you do, you have a
doctor or two who owes you a favor. If you’re so worried, have one come in, but
I’m working today.”

Fine, she thought she could skirt the issue. He
would have a doctor come in to make sure. He’d almost lost her once today. He
sure as hell wasn’t taking chances. She hadn’t been hit, but he’d taken her
down pretty hard, and he didn’t want her to have a sprained or broken anything.
And while her eyes were clear, she still shook a little, even though she was
trying to hide the telltale tremor of her hands.