It Must Be Love
Elise~
"...oh, what a lovely scarf, where did you get it?" My mother reached up, rubbing the material of my white scarf between her fingers. My side of the closet at Micah's. It was just an accessory to cover up the blue and purple bruise from Micah's bite. The very fresh memory made my cheeks warm and I glanced over her shoulder at him, where Sebastian was greeting the male.
"It...was a gift, I think." Everything on my side of the closet at Micah's was a gift. "Look Mom, Micah is here. You can finally meat him." I grabbed her hand away from my throat and pulled her across the office where the two men were standing by the door.
The compulsions to be near and touching him were strong. All of that brown hair and that crisp suit. I knew his introduction would be polite and formal. Basically, he took her hand from mine and lifted it to his lips. "Mrs. Connolly..."
She swooned, Sebastian rolled his eyes. "Oh. It's nice to finally meet you, Micah. Elise has told me so much!"
"Has she?" A twinkle of amusement flashed in his eyes as he looked at me and I went to his side.
"Of course." That much was true. "I hope you will be joining us tonight. Audrey has invited everyone to dinner."
"I would love-"
"Actually mom, I was thinking it could just be us. You and Dad and...us." I gestured between Micah and myself. Had I even ever agreed to have dinner at my brothers? My sister-in-law hadn't called me with an invitation. Didn't matter...I wasn't in the mood. Sure, it had been several months since everything had happened with Camille Danvers but I was still pissed about it.
Sebastian glowered at me...Mom frowned, then shrugged. "Sure. But I would like to have dinner with my children sometime soon." As if that mattered.
"K, great." I moved away from Micah then, going back across the room to my desk and made a show of opening my appointment book. "I'm glad you came by Mom. I have a photo shoot to get to soon. I'll call you tonight and we can make plans." I definitely didn't have a shoot to get to.
I just wasn't very fond of people showing up unannounced, anywhere. I wasn't surprised when Micah walked them out.
~
Have to meet a client out of town. See you tomorrow
I didn't think 'tomorrow' would be this early tomorrow. That was the text I had gotten from Micah yesterday afternoon before closing the studio. We didn't usually have mornings together unless I stayed at his house, or he stayed at mine.
But I was pleasantly surprised when I sat up in bed this morning; the first thing I noticed were the millions of red and white rose pedals, everywhere. The second, music. Quiet music and the smell of food. If I hadn't have given Micah a key to my house then this would have just been creepy. Criminal Minds kind of creepy.
Then there were the balloons. "Oh..." I rubbed my eyes and sat up in the bed. It's your birthday, Elise. I'd been worrying too much about other things lately to remember. I'd stop worry about birthday's-somewhere in my teens. After a certain age they just weren't so exciting anymore. Unless...you were in a relationship with Micah Novaletti, apparently.
There was a long, velvet box on my nightstand beside a bouquet of colorful mixed flowers. Jewelry. And then the boxes at the end of the bed. A dress, I guess...and more heels. He has a serious problem...I shook my head and reached for the box. And I was going to have to upgrade my jewelry box if things kept going on like this. I wasn't talking fancy, like the built in drawers he kept his watches in at his place...something more like second hand from a thrift store.
That was more my style. As soon as I opened the lid, it exceeded my expectations. Everything Micah did, including him himself, exceeded my expectations. The pendant was oval shaped-and if I had to guess, blue sapphire and diamond. Of course, a part of me wanted to jump out of the bed and go to the kitchen, where I knew he was making breakfast, and make him take it back.
Another part of me wanted to give him an epic blowjob with nothing else on but the necklace as thanks. Fuck me. "Do you like it?" With that erotic imagine still in my head, I looked over to find Micah standing in the doorway to my bedroom with a cup of steaming something in his hand. Coffee, I hoped it was coffee.
"Mhm...it's perfect. Thank you." Not exactly how I wanted to say thanks and I looked back down at the necklace, hoping he didn't notice my flushed cheeks and ask what I Was thinking about. Bad girl. Behave.
"Happy birthday," He said and came further into the room to stand beside the bed. "Come here, so I can put it on you." There was next to no hesitation as he sat his cup down on the nightstand and I got up from the bed.
"You're cleaning this up you know." I said as he took the necklace out and I held my hair out of the way for him. He had made it clear once before that most of his House Rules applied here as well. Plus, I was still kind of salty about being paddled over spilt milk. It was going to take days to get that permanent marker off of my ass.
Micah chuckled and the deep vibrations from it spilled onto my skin from his lips as he kissed up the side of my throat. "Sure. After I take you out to dinner tonight then bring you back here and make love to you on them."
I turned around then and frowned up at him. "Why not now?" I mean right now.
His hand came up and he rubbed the pad of his thump over my bottom lip. "Don't pout. I have to leave in twenty minutes and I'd like to have breakfast with you." Damn him for dropping his hand and leaning down to kiss me instead. I would have sucked his finger into my mouth and made the decision to change his mind a hard one. "Are you hungry?"
"I am." I was. My stomach had started growling as soon as I'd smelled the food. Micah took my hand then and lead me out of the bedroom, past the living room and into the dinning room where a small feast was spread along the dining table. Eggs, bacon, hash browns...muffins? I looked up at him and lifted a brow. "Either you really baked muffins or you made Ms. Marks run out the back door."
"Funny, girl. Sit."
Within minutes, my plate was full-too much to consume-and Micah was sitting across from me. "I thought you said you were going out of town..." I finally said, washing a bite down with a drink of OJ.
"I did. I made sure I got back early this morning-"
"So you could throw a thousand rose petals around my bedroom at five in the morning and give me expensive gifts? You didn't have to do that." I hadn't had a birthday this special in ten years.
He gave me that look then. The one that warned me not to make a big deal out of things. Usually happened when he bought me things. I'd just learned not to argue about it. "I wanted to."
Fair enough. The remainder of the quick breakfast was spent talking about what time he would pick me up tonight and when I was going to make plans with my mom for dinner. I could have lived without the latter being conversation.
"Don't forget to open your other gifts," Micah said as I walked him to the front door and kissed him goodbye. I still had a couple of hours before work, so after I watched him leave from the living room window, I went down the hall to the bathroom and took a long shower.
I went back to the bedroom, wrapped in a towel, and opened up the boxes at the end of the bed. Like opening the necklace before, I shook my head at the black satin cocktail dress and heels...refused to look at prices and brands. All I did know, as I went to the closet to find something hundreds of dollars less expensive to wear to work, was that a proper thanks was in order.
~
It didn't surprise me that Gabby wasn't at the studio yet when I arrived half an hour earlier than usual. I was already up on the sidewalk, juggling my camera and a coffee, when I noticed someone waiting beside the doors of the studio.
It wasn't until I was up close and personal that I recognized those emerald colored eyes and sandy blonde hair. It was the man from the other day. Lincoln? Leland...Sanders? The writer. I'd completely forgotten about his offer to write an article about me in that magazine. Again, what had he called the magazine?
Refusing to become embarrassed, I stopped a few feet away and smiled. "You again."
"Me again. I was just stopping by to ask if you thought about my offer. You never called." For one slither of a second, a look flashed over him. The same look that had given me the creeps when I had first met him. Easy, Elise, don't jump.
"Um...yea, sorry. I've been a little busy. Honestly, I forgot." I shrugged and walked past him to the door.
"If you have some time we could sit down and discuss it a little more-let me help you." I didn't have much of a choice when he came to me and grabbed my camera, freeing my hands as I struggled to find my keys and unlock the door.
The smile he gave me reminded me of the All American-boy next door. "Thank you." I managed to get the door open and punch in the code to the alarm system. "You can come in, I guess. I have a little bit before my receptionist gets here."
Who was I kidding? I had to let the apprehension slide. This would be a fantastic way to get my name out there-more. I flipped the lights on after the door closed behind us and invited him into my office.
"You've barely touched your food. Feeling okay?" Micah was backdropped by long, floor to ceiling curtains and a pianist playing live, subtle music. He'd let it slip on the way here that he had made this reservation weeks ago.
He was right. Though the Lamb salad was delightful, I'd barely touched it. I was full and just being here with him was enough. "I'm fine. I just had a big lunch." Courtesy of Leland Sandoval. I'd spent most of the day with him, when I wasn't away doing shoots, talking about the article, giving him details of my life that he would write.
"Yea? Did you and Gabriella go out?"
"No. There's this man, a writer, and he came by the studio a few days ago. He wants to write a piece on me and the studio in some local art magazine. I meant to tell you but it slipped my mind. We discussed it over lunch today."
"Hmm." A brow lifted. I was going to explain how we were going to do some headshots for the article when he wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin and leaned back in the chair. "I want you to move in."
I froze, glass half way to my lips and just stared at him, slouched in that chair. I'd known this would eventually come but now? So soon after house keys and codes were exchanged..."What?"
Micah grabbed his glass and took a drink, which reminded me that mine was still at half mast in the air. "I want you to move in...with me. And I'm sure Ms. Marks would like that as well."
Fuck the drink, I sat my glass down, and laughed. "You sure? I wouldn't want her to have to pick up after me."
"I'm serious."
He was. Too serious. And like always, I thought too far ahead into the future. Like what if we didn't last and I had no where to go? I almost laughed out loud picturing myself on Sebastian or my parents door steps. This was going to be a hard no for me. "Can I think about it?"
Micah smiled then-or rather grinned-as he leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table. "Sure. Until you decide, I'm going to give you every reason to say yes."
I was sure all of those reason would be physical. Not logical. Like I'd I'd not even known him for six months yet. Couples usually didn't move in with each other unless they loved each other. Right? Did he love me? My heart sped up a little and I took a drink of my wine. "Fair enough."
"Good. I'll start tonight." With one simple gesture, he was silently calling the waiter over for the check. I knew he was going to make good of his promise this morning. Within minutes we were in his car, flying down the freeway-the chilly air that whipped through the cracked window caused goosebumps to rise on my bare skin and it smelled of rain.
I knew that more than a few driving laws were broken by the time we made it to my house. The air was filled with a mist, the sky darker than usual, as he pulled me up the sidewalk to my front door and used his own to key to unlock things. "Do you want to know the fantasy I had this morning after opening the necklace?" I asked Micah, my fingers coming up to rub the pendant between my breast.
"Mhm, tell me about it." There was no curiosity in his voice, his soul destination my bedroom where I'd left all of those petals in their place this morning. Not even a single light switch was bothered to be flipped on.
We were in the bedroom, my knees flushed with the bed, when I realized he was still waiting for me to answer him. "I was thinking I would like to suck your cock while I wore nothing but the necklace..." I confessed. Micah was pulling the zipper down at the back of the dress. Before all the black satin could hit the floor around my ankles, my nipples were perking up in the cool room and he easily pulled my lingerie down to my thighs.
"Mmm. Maybe later, baby."
Later. It was the second time today he was telling me later. Sure, now I was going to get what I'd wanted early this morning-to make love on these rose petals. I turned around then and sat on the edge of the bed. Thank god the small lamp on my dresser was always left on. If not, then pouting up at him would have been useless. "Please, Sir."
Like this morning, his hand came up so that he could rub my lower lip and I didn't miss the opportunity to put my mouth to better use than pouting. Micah could hardly tell me no. I was sure, that when I licked along the length of his thumb before closing my lips around the small appendage, he would cave.
"Very convincing..." The edges of his lips twitched, threatening a smile and I nodded, sucking, wishing it were long enough to reach my throat. Micah pulled his hand back then and didn't give me time to beg for anything. He pushed me back against the mattress, hand on my throat. It was gentle and irritating. "You're a nice tease." Micah whispered against my ear and pushed my head away, exposing my throat.
I imagined all of the places his clothes tightened around his body as he straddled my naked body with his clothed one. Male fashion-his in particular-was such a turn-on. Why is he in such a tender mood? I wondered as he kissed along the curve of my throat and his fingertips glided down my sternum, tickling along my belly, making me squirm.
Then he was gone and I was opening my eyes that I didn't know had been closed. "Get up there." Micah commanded-if that was the correct term for his placid tone-and nodded towards my pillows. Scrambled, however, was the right term as I made it to the head of the bed-which was harder than expected with my panties still tangled around my thighs- and laid there, watching him get out of his shirt.
How disappointed I was when that was the only thing he took off. Especially when I could clearly see the erection beneath his slacks. It was what had all of my attention as he climbed on the bed and came to me. Not for long. All hope of having him in my mouth went out the window when he took my hips and turned me over onto my stomach.
Usually when this happened, him lifting me to my knees, he'd nudge my legs apart and the rest was history. My knees stayed together and when I tried to rise to my hands he pushed me down. It was "Micah-behavior"; his fingers tangling in my hair, holding my face against the fold of my sheets.
I wanted him to not let me breathe when I turned my face away from the blankets and took in some air. This was Micah in charge but a gentle in charge. Not like the roughness I was used to. Even as his fingers stayed in my hair and his free hand fondled my ass, spreading me open for him, it was serene.
I laid there, almost wanting to fall asleep as his lips kissed over my back and down over my ass. Occasionally he would bite into my flesh, leaving a cool wetness behind that made me shiver. I had no complaints when he finally lets his tongue lick over me.
~
"Maybe turn your body the other way...good. Cross your legs...perfect." A couple of days later I sat in one of the chairs in my studio and faced off with a camera. My camera. It was weird, especially since I was so used to being on the other side. I never fully understood why sometimes my clients became restless after countless shots. Now I knew.
"Try taking your hair down..." Leland Sandoval suggested. He was standing beside Gabby who was the picture taker for the day. We were doing the headshots for the article he was fast at writing for the magazine.
I reached up and took the metal barrette from my hair, all while accessing Micah. The Brute was sitting on the couch we had picked out together months ago and he was glaring at Leland Sandoval. I was trying to figure out why and focus on the shoot. It was the way he usually sat when he was irritated; ankle over knee, thumb rubbing at his jaw.
Forcing myself to look away from him and back at the camera, I smiled as Gabby took several more pictures. When Micah's cellphone went off, I was glad he could give his eyes a break. He stood up, took the call and walked through the reception and into my office.
"I think we have plenty of photo's now." Gabby said a few seconds later. Finally. I relaxed in the chair before I got up, leaving the two to look through the photo's on the camera. Micah was sitting behind my desk when I made it to the office and shut us in. Thankfully I didn't have to bother with the blinds that were closed over the window that looked into the front of the studio.
"What's wrong? You were fine until we got here." I asked as I went to the desk and leaned my hip against the edge. He was pretty much posed in the chair like he had been on the couch out there. Except now he had nothing to glare at but the top of my appointment book.
Micah looked up at me and seemed to relax some. "I don't like him."
"Really, you don't say."
That sarcasm got me a glower before he pulled me away from the desk and onto his lap. His large hand rubbed over the silk of my blouse just under my breast. "He wants to fuck you."
"Okay, calm down, angry man." I moved to get up but he held me fast.
"Am I hiring someone to move all of your things to my place?" The conversation changed lightening quick.
I figured keeping up the sarcasm was a better idea than telling him no. "Hmm, no. I'll just have Leland help me move everything. Oh, maybe he will take his shirt off and sweat a little." I said against his ear.
Micah tensed under me and I was sure it wasn't from my teeth rolling the lobe of his ear between them. "Do you want your ass spanked right here? You're not funny, girl." Before I could reply to that or give him a serious answer about moving in, the bell went off in the reception.
A perfect save. I was nearly to the closed door when Micah spoke up. "We'll talk about this tonight...while your restrained to my bed."
Lovely.
~
I hope you all enjoyed, as always.
Do you think Elise should move in with Micah? I don't think she thinks it's such a hot idea. But why not?
Leave your thoughts bellow, they are always welcome!
Until next time,
-Lu