Page 34 of A Moment Never Forgotten
Worse, there was nothing sexy about them at all. Just a tiny edge of lace adorned the top of the cups on her white bra and around the waist on her navy-blue cotton panties.
Not the way she ever wanted a man to see her but the fact that he was Micah made it all the worse. She’d considered…okay, she’d hoped…she and Micah would someday make it to a bedroom and get naked, but this was so far from the way she’d expected. Berit wanted to turn back the clock and emerge from the closet fully clothed in her most feminine blouse tucked into the black slacks that showed off her trim waist.
But that was not the case. You never get a second chance at a first impression.
“You’re beautiful.” Micah hesitantly took a step into the room.
“Let me…” She watched him prowl closer. “Put on…” The feral look in his eyes made her swallow hard. “Some clothes.”
“You don’t have to as far as I’m concerned.” Micah stood a foot from her, breathing fast and shallow. His scorching eyes scanned every inch of her exposed body.
He slowly lifted his hand, wavering near her breasts, before he sucked in a breath and placed his palm on her cheek. “I want you, like this…and more.” He slid his hands to the back of her head and kissed her, hard and desperately. Their teeth clicked when she opened her mouth, inviting him in. He tasted spicy as his tongue tangled with hers.
Berit grabbed his shoulders and squeezed, wanting more. Dropping her hands, she wrapped her arms around his broad back, over his sweater but under his heavy coat. She closed the distance between them. Pressed against his hard body, she couldn’t miss his erection.
Her hands automatically went to the hem of his sweater, diving underneath, seeking bare skin. Instead, she found a T-shirt and started yanking it out of his black jeans.
He softened the kiss and grabbed her hands, bringing them up between them. “I want nothing more than for us to strip each other bare and crawl into that bed of yours.” Still holding her hands, he took a step back. “But we can’t. I need to get you to Mak’s house.”
Reality slammed into her. “What did he say? Is he hurt? Did he reinjure something?” She was grasping and knew it.
“All he said was that it was personal and complicated. I didn’t want to push him.” He brought her hands to his lips and pressed a kiss. “We’ll find out everything when we get there and deal with it. You need to finish packing.” He slowly shook his head. “And I can’t believe I’m saying this, but you need to get dressed.”
“Okay.” She glanced down at her disheveled suitcase.
Dropping her hands, he stepped back. “I’ll wait for you in the foyer.”
On autopilot, Berit finished throwing things into her bag and zipped it closed. She threw on a mock turtleneck and a pair of jeans. As she reached for socks, she realized she’d forgotten them and grabbed several pairs, stuffing them into an outside pocket.
She wasn’t sure if her mind was fuzzy because of Mak’s cryptic message, or Micah’s kiss.
Rolling her bag behind her, her only thought was that she was headed to Virginia Beach…in Micah’s Mustang. As he put her bag next to his in the trunk, her mind warned her that she was in for the ride of her life.
Chapter Thirteen
Micah made good use of his navigational apps and arrived in Virginia Beach in record time. He didn’t mind that Berit had spent the first hour of the trip on the phone rearranging her schedule so she could take off the next two days and possibly part of the following week.
He hated when a woman felt she had to fill every moment of silence with her yammering. Watching her work was interesting. She was firm and direct, yet pleasant and not demanding. She obviously had a close working relationship with her administrative assistant. There was respect and leadership. She was all business, not giving away one ounce of personal information.
Mak had been cryptic when he spoke with the young SEAL while waiting for Berit to pack, saying only that the situation was extremely personal. He obviously didn’t want to talk to a senior officer about his circumstances, and Micah didn’t want to press. He would give Berit’s son some space…for now.
The second hour of the trip, she hooked her phone up to her computer and worked.
Micah wasn’t sure if she was giving him the cold shoulder, or if this was just her way. She was very professionally oriented and had an extremely important job. After he thought about it a few minutes, that’s exactly what he would have done if on a long car ride with a friend.
As they drove through Norfolk, she put away her computer. A few miles from Dam Neck, Berit directed him through some side streets to Mak’s townhouse.
“Mak and two of his teammates rent the condo from a retired senior chief,” Berit informed him as they drove through a nicely maintained neighborhood of townhouses. Some had five in a regrouping, most contained four, but a few had only three. She directed him to a cul-de-sac with the smaller units.
“His is the unit in the middle. Pull into the driveway on the far right. Theirs is the condo on the end.” Berit’s precise directions, without embellishments, were easy-to-follow.
The sun had set over an hour ago, but the porch light was off and very few lights were on inside. As they exited the car, they looked across the top at each other. He could feel waves of worry emanating from her.
She hurried to the door and knocked. “His doorbell is broken,” she explained. Whipping out her phone, she texted him. “We made good time. Perhaps he wasn’t thinking we’d get here this soon.”
She stared at her phone as though it had every answer. After two long minutes, she knocked again.
“I’m hoping he would know better, but do they keep a hidden key out here?” Most of Micah’s men were hypervigilant about personal security.
