“How long do you think it will take before they all come rushing over? Now that the food is all out, that is.” Raven bumped into my hip with her own, and I finally looked away from Mike. “They’re like a pack of wolves.” She laughed, and I again forced a smile.
Just then, Gran brought her fingers to her lips and blew out a whistle so loud it gained the attention of every one of the guys there. One by one, they began to walk in our direction, Mike being the last one to follow.
I had been here for close to two hours, helping to get things ready, and not once had I heard him talk to anyone. Instead, he silently observed, stewing, it would seem, which I knew couldn’t be good. I felt like everything was closing in around me, almost to a point of suffocation, an uneasy feeling that left me wanting to do nothing more than flee.
“I’ll be back in a few seconds,” I said in a rush and turned around toward the house. Bathroom, I mouthed over my shoulder to Raven and hurried off before she could offer to go inside with me. I just needed a few minutes to regain my composure.
I hid away in the bathroom, splashing cold water on my face. I felt sick to my stomach and considered making up an excuse that I was not feeling well so I could leave. But that would just trigger my mom to insist she take me back to my childhood home so she could ensure I got what I needed to get better. It was the nurse in her, the need to care for and soothe. At this point, the last thing I needed was for her to hover.
The only choice was for me to suck it up and lie in the bed I’d made.
Opening the door to the bathroom, I started to step outside only to be ushered backward by a bear of a man. The door shut behind me, and within seconds, I was pinned to the countertop, his body pressed firmly to mine.
“What are—” I didn’t get to finish the question. Mike lifted his hands up to cup the sides of my face and pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was one of urgency, one of dominance. I wanted to fight it, inside I was screaming to push him away, but my body could only react to something I’d imagined more than a hundred times.
A moan escaped me, and he circled my waist with his arm to lift my body up. Placing my ass onto the countertop, I hooked my legs around his waist, and it was his turn to moan.
He felt good. No, correction, he felt damn good.
One hand on my ass, he offered a squeeze just as his tongue broke through the barrier of my lips. “This is you not wanting me?” I froze, hearing the anger and sarcasm in his voice. “And this is me proving you wrong.” It was a version of Mike I hadn’t ever seen, a cold and callous man. “You’ve been so busy pushing your friend at me, telling me I should ask her out. But the truth is you’re scared. You’re terrified to face the fact that you feel something for me, too. But I’m done playing this game. If you can’t accept what’s right in front of you, then—”
He didn’t finish his sentence but instead backed away. And I was left breathless, panting on the counter. He turned, walked to the door, and without looking back, he pulled open the door and walked out.
I sat there, staring after him, feeling like I had whiplash from the dismissal I’d just received. I couldn’t move. Hell, I wasn’t even sure I was breathing. All I did know was that it hurt. It hurt like nothing I’d felt before.
What had I done?
Chapter Nineteen
Mike
I didn’t know what in the hell was wrong with me. I mean, it was Maddison, and I treated her like she was nothing more than a stranger. But I was pissed, angry with her for lying to me and for pushing me away instead of talking things out. I showed up at her place fully intending to tell her that I wanted her. I would have told everyone about us; I didn’t want her to have to face it in case there was resistance from anyone. I was willing to accept all the weight on my shoulders just to clear the way for us to make this work.
And she dismissed me.
I told myself when she refused to admit that something had shifted that I would move on. I didn’t need this shit. I didn’t want these games.
I was doing a pretty great job, too, or so I thought. Until she looked across the yard and we connected. Those feelings she triggered hit me all over again, and before I knew what I was doing, I had her pinned to the bathroom sink and my mouth was on hers.
I didn’t even recognize myself at that moment.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?” I looked up to find Gavin, my father, looking around the side of the house. I barged out the back door and paced, trying to slow my racing heart. And my racing mind. More than once, I stopped myself from going back inside to tell her that this was all driving me out of my fucking mind. I was like a smoldering fire after gasoline had been thrown on it. What I felt inside was out of control, and I wasn’t sure how to tame it.
“Your brother said you
