Page 46 of What I Should Have Done

He cocked a brow. “Why not?”

“Men lie about that stuff.”

His breathing quickened. “I promise you I’m not. I’m a solid 6 and a half at least.”

“Prove it,” I said without thinking. The waves of heat rolling across the desert sand were nothing in comparison to the steam flushing my cheeks. His gaze intensified. His brows twitched. But he didn’t speak, not right away. I knew some fucking attitude was coming my way. I mean, I’d just asked the guy to show me his dick.

Mikey closed the space between us, pressing himself flush with my body. Bold move, but I didn’t shy away. The warmth that pulsed from his skin swallowed me whole, and I wasn’t going to fight it. Drowning in his sweet scent of sand and whatever else it was that I still couldn’t name, I prayed that the pounding against my chest was his heart and not mine.

“I cannot get a read on you,” he whispered. I cautiously lifted my gaze to meet his.

“In what way?” I replied quietly, enjoying whatever this was and ignoring what was his pressing lightly between my legs.

“Whether you talk about this shit from personal experience or to put on a face like you do with almost everything else?”

“I don’t do that with everything else.”

He shook his head. “Then tell me one thing, just one thing, about yourself that’s true and personal.”

Pulling my bottom lip in between my teeth, I glanced away from him, connecting with the tan canvas side of the tent. This time, without hesitation, he raised a hand and brushed a calloused thumb gently over the bandage resting on my cheek.

From such a simple touch of his, everything in me shifted. Everything around us shifted. This wasn’t something only sexual for him. He wanted more than that. Had he lied to simply keep me comfortable by telling me he believed sex is simply sex? But he’d been vulnerable with me, and the tenderness coating his expression softened the brick walls around my heart. “My biological parents died in a car crash taking me home from the hospital, so I was raised in a foster home with seven foster siblings. All boys.”

Mikey inhaled and threaded his fingers through my hair. “The crows…”

“They gave me hope that somehow my parents knew about my life and were watching over me.” I closed my eyes, leaning against his palm. This was wrong, and the moment that we left this tent, I would deny this happened. But the touch also felt quite nice. Maybe being open with Mikey, with one other person, wasn’t such a bad thing. I’d never been allowed to be soft around anyone else, to be even a fraction of feminine, I wasn’t even sure what that was like. But right at this moment, at least for a fleeting second, something bloomed faintly in my heart.

“Now, let’s talk about something else,” I quickly added, even though I wasn’t ready for him to remove the comfort of his touch; that was enough tender vulnerability for a day.

“You know, I do have a question concerning your reaction to walking in on me getting dressed,” he said, obliging my request.

“What’s that?” I narrowed my gaze suspiciously, gathering the strength to start rebuilding my walls.

“Why were you so surprised with what you saw earlier when you’re the one who has admitted you’ve seen me change before?”

“I only caught a glimpse as you took your shirt off. Normally when we have to change, I disappear to the showers, remember?” I explained.

He slowly nodded, letting his hand fall back to his side, and a chill swept across my skin where the ghost of his touch lingered as he stepped away. “Right, I guess I don’t pay too much attention to that when we’re gearing up. But I know you lied to me yesterday.”

“What? When?” I widened my eyes, feigning innocence.

“You were worried you’d see something you like.” His voice lowered, deepening with the sensations that he elicited in my body.

“I shouldn’t have been since there was nothing impressive to see,” I teased back, remaining somewhat in control.

A slow whistle left his lips. “That was low. Very low, Scotch. Good thing I’m quite confident in myself.”

“Borderline arrogant.”

“You like it.”

I rolled my eyes, despite the fact that he was right. “Let’s go, or the team’s gonna get suspicious.”

His brows furrowed. “Go where? Suspicious of what?”

“Oh right!” I lightly slapped my forehead. “I totally forgot to tell you. Colonel Duke is sending us out with a squad to go take care of a bomb that Karim al-Jabari is apparently transporting.”

Mikey’s grin widened. “Oh, fuck yes!”

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