Page 75

The pleading stare in his gaze while he watches me—the complete overruling passion—pushes me closer to the edge. Impossibly, my body gears up for another, and I start to shake uncontrollably. I lose all control over function and thought, and when I come, I’m so thrown in the grip of pleasure that I see actual stars. I come to when Micah lowers my dress and crawls to lie next to me. He wraps his arms around my body, placing soft kisses over my shoulders and cheeks.
“What was that about?”
He shrugs. “I missed you, and all I thought about was giving you multiple Os.”
My breaths still rasp in and out of me.
“I wanted to see how many you can handle, and then we’ll work up from there.”
“Work up from there?” I hear myself saying.
“Yeah, there are several records. Or people don’t agree on the records. Some say 222. Others, 135.”
I gasp. “In a day?”
“In an hour.”
I try to scramble out from under him, but he laughs and embraces me, turning us to our sides. “You have no idea how free and beautiful you look when you’re having one.”
“Well, I know how tired I am now.”
“Come on. Get that cute little ass up. We have the ocean to walk into.”
“My legs are Jell-O,” I complain as he gets me to my feet. I’m still feeling things in places and tightness in muscles I didn’t even realize I had.
“Lean on me,Mrs. Freeman. We’ve got this.”
20
Micah
California used to be one of my favorite places to travel for a game. The sun, the sea, the beautiful girls roller-skating down the boardwalk in Santa Monica. It was a different world than Rhode Island—and definitely Tennessee.
Raeann licks the ice cream from her chocolate cone while we sit on a bench overlooking the ocean, her hair shines in the last remains of the sun. She smiles at me, and my stomach clenches.
Nashville has a new hold on me, that’s for sure.
“So, we’ve walked the pier, dipped our toes into the Pacific, and ate great food.” She lifts her ice cream up as proof, but I also took her to one of the restaurants on the pier where she got a greasy burger and the waiter gushed over her accent.
“We did all that,” I confirm.
“Not bad for a whirlwind trip.”
“When the season is over, we can come back.”
The sea air picks up her hair and tracks it across her face. It’s been a constant struggle for her all day. She pins it in her fistand holds it while she finishes her ice cream. “When the season is over, what does Micah Freeman do?”
“He visits his family, hangs out with his friends, and does a bit of traveling. Now, I’ll be doing all those things with you.”
“Oh, really?”
I nod once.
“Tab and I were talking about getting another employee.” Her eyes flash like she can’t believe it’s real. “She said it would be awesome to have a bunch of Pet Threads around the US.”
“Like franchising?”
“Well, I guess. She mentioned we should have a store in every major professional football city so that I can come to each one and check on it.”