The Morning After

Rune

Groaning, I went to roll over as I felt the ache emanating from my muscles, but I ran smack dab into a smooth chest sprinkled with course hair that pointed downward, finding a very naked male lying beside me as my hands explored the contours of his defined pectorals and abs of their own accord.  

It took me a minute to grasp that I wasn’t in my own bed, that I wasn’t lying next to Damien as I had for so long. It’d been months since anyone other than the kids had slept beside me, but it was difficult forgetting about the years I’d had my ex by my side.

I’d begun getting used to sleeping alone at night for the most part, but that didn’t mean I liked it any better than I had over the months when I’d been given no choice in the matter due to my ex’s poor decisions.

The absolute extravagance of this bed, and the powerful arms that were locked around me brought back flashes of what we’d been up to late into the night, or maybe even into the early morning, a thrill of heat trickling through me all over again at the thought.

My thighs were sore, and I could still feel the throbbing coming from in between my legs. Micah had definitely known what he was doing, and he hadn’t been afraid to take my body to heretofore impossible heights.

I allowed myself to breathe in his spicy coffee smell as I wholly melted into his embrace for a fleeting moment, still reeling over his ability to make me see stars while we’d fucked. I’d never had an orgasm with a male before last night, but Micah had made damn sure I couldn’t say that anymore.

His bossy attitude had transferred to in between the sheets as I’d suspected it would, but, hell, I would let that man tell me what to do in bed any day of the week with how incredible he’d made me feel.

My mind leapt to the kids as I heard a dog barking from somewhere close by, though I had no idea where it could have come from with how high up that we were. Hell, maybe I’d finally gone crazy after all and was hearing things now.

A crack of thunder made me practically jump out of bed as it startled me a second later, but I thankfully didn’t wake the dozing male encompassing me with his carved body.

I didn’t want to leave his embrace with the contentedness I felt. It had been what seemed like years since anyone had last held me like this. Yet, the drone of a downpour quickly followed the booming sound, and it was enough to spur me into action.

The massive German Shepherd I’d inherited was terrified of storms, and I knew my house would look like a battle-torn war zone if I didn’t make it home soon. Kiki had promised to let Blizzard out prior, but I knew her offer didn’t extend to this.

I loved my friend, not having many of them who’d stuck by my side throughout the years, but it didn’t go unnoticed that I gave far more than she was ever willing to give in return to our friendship.

It was disheartening, but I shook off the sadness as I refocused on my current situation.

Carefully, I extricated myself from Micah’s arms and the twisted sheets, and I wanted to cry as the burst of cold air washed over my heated skin, the loss of his body heat doing its best to persuade me to crawl back into his arms and under the blanket with him.

Still, I made myself tiptoe around the room instead, searching for where my discarded clothes had ended up, but I gave up on finding my panties in the dull light from the alarm clock by the bed when Micah began to stir in his sleep. 

I hesitated outside his door after slipping my lacey bra and tiny dress back on, using my almost dead cell to order a rideshare before I continued plodding through the rest of Micah’s penthouse apartment.

Glancing out a window as I skulked down the hallway, my feet sinking into the plush carpet, I noticed the sky remained dark and overcast despite the time of morning.

The clock had declared it to be almost seven, and I knew the atmosphere should have begun lightening up around this time. Regardless, I was aware that storm clouds were likely blocking out the sun, and it told me the rain wouldn’t be stopping anytime soon.

I couldn’t help recalling how it’d felt to have Micah’s hands on me, reliving the raunchy memories as I made my escape the morning after. Maybe that was why I didn’t see the shadowy figure in the doorway before I’d run right into it.

“Argh!” I shrieked, scrambling backward as blood soared through my veins, and I would have landed on my ass if the man’s sure hands hadn’t caught me around the middle at the last instant.

“Woah! Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you. I live here too, babe.”

The voice sounded vaguely familiar, but my pulse was pounding in my head, my breath coming in short bursts as my fright faded. It made it difficult to concentrate enough to pinpoint where I’d heard it from before.

I hadn’t expected to come across anyone else during my walk of shame, but some of the fear I’d felt dissolved as he gave me space once I was steady on my feet.

He released me without preamble, backing away from me, and I belatedly realized he was turning on the lights as brightness flooded the entryway seconds later.

“Rune!?” He questioned in a disbelieving tone, making me whip my gray-colored orbs up to meet his dark brown ones.

“Well, shit. Hi, Shane.” I muttered, my face igniting in flames as I angled for the door once more, tossing the last part over my shoulder as I strode away, “Nice seeing you again.”

It was just my luck that I would run into Shane here of all places, but I didn’t stop long enough to hear his explanation for the coincidence, striding out the door with my feet bare as I clutched my shoes to my chest along with my small purse.

His deep voice trailed after me, saying, “You don’t have to run on my account, baby,” but I was already barreling towards the elevator directly outside of their apartment, repeatedly smashing the button down in my haste to get away.

The same bolt of attraction I’d felt for him last night remained, but the rumbling thunder and my own jumbled mind had me near desperate to leave this sumptuous apartment complex, encouraging me to keep putting one foot in front of the other.

I let out the breath I’d been holding as the metal doors slid shut in Shane’s handsome face, and I berated myself for being stupid enough to take Kiki’s suggestion last night, even if it’d been the best night that I’d had in a long ass time.

Flickers of Micah’s hands moving over my body recurred on a reel behind my closed lids as the elevator steadily descended, his burning brown eyes basically seared into my mind with the pleasure he’d given me, but I shoved the memories to the far reaches of my brain as the doors opened on the bottom level at last.

Without risking a look at the eyes that I could feel staring at me as I marched barefooted out of the building, I made myself concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other, shivering as water seeped through my thin dress a minute later.

I didn’t want to see the grandiosity of the building I’d just exited, knowing the luxury was so far out of the scope of my own poverty-stricken life without bothering to take a closer look, but I kept my head up high, all the same.

Maybe I didn’t have much money, but all I had to do was look at Roman and Isla to know my life was far more blessed with their presence in it than any form of happiness that money could buy me in their place.

The rough concrete from the sidewalk outside didn’t feel great on my bare feet, but I’d caught sight of the car waiting for me as I glanced around, so I scurried forward without bothering to put my shoes on, the rain having mercifully slowed to a drizzle for the moment.

In any case, the shrill ringing of my phone had me freezing mid-step, concern for my children making me forget about everything else as I tried to shuffle the stuff that I was carrying into one arm.

One of my shoes clattered loudly on the cement as it fell, but I managed to reach my phone before the final ring, seeing Shane’s name lighting up the screen before I automatically answered the call out of habit.

My heart was still racing in my chest from the anxiety coursing through me, and it only sped as my brain struggled to catch up with who was on the other end of the line. I heard his voice echoing in my ear as he asked if I was there.

Next, the driver I’d ordered rolled down his window in the meantime, shouting, “Are you coming lady? I don’t have all day.”

The stranger was clearly annoyed with the delay, but I ignored how disrespectful he was being, opting to show my own annoyance with his behavior in the tip he received at the end of my ride.

I wasn’t one for outright confrontations, but I would make sure he knew about my displeasure before we parted ways.

Repositioning my bag and remaining shoe so they were pressed against my body, I leaned down to pick up the one I’d dropped as I answered Shane at last, my speech coming out muffled from pressing the phone against my face with my shoulder as I multitasked, “Hey, Shane, I’m here. Look, I can’t talk right now. My ride is here, and he won’t wait. It was great seeing you again. Bye!”

My words came out jumbled, and I wanted to slap myself at the ridiculousness of what had come spewing out of my mouth with my embarrassment before I’d abruptly hung up.

Even so, one thing I knew for certain was that I would not be seeing either Micah or Shane again in the future if I had any say in the matter.