Sean pulls up outside of Hillcrest and rushes over to open the door to let me out. He assures me that he will be taking care of my car and wishes me a good day. I thank him as I give him a bright smile, still giddy from the back and forth texting with Mika. I am still grinning from ear to ear when I walk into the building. It isn’t until I enter Mikaela’s room that I remember what Mika is going to do to her today. What in the actual fuck? Why am I flirting with this guy? What is wrong with me? What is it about this guy that makes me forget about whatever else is going on around me?
After I catch myself drifting in and out of thought during the shift change report, I force myself to push any thought of Mika out of my head. I take Mikaela’s vital signs and document them before giving her a bed bath, paying special attention to washing her beautiful hair. As I am drying and styling her golden locks, I softly sing to her. I turn as the last note rolls from my lips and swallow the sound as my eyes lock with Mika’s strikingly beautiful blue eyes. He’s leaning in the doorway, looking even more prepossessing than I remember. His beautiful lips curl into a devastating smile and it is almost enough to knock me over. “You have a beautiful voice, Raeva. I could listen to you sing all day.”
I feel myself flushing at his words. I break eye contact and note the huge bouquet of wildflowers. He sees me notice them.
“These are Mikaela’s favorite.”
He shrugs and smiles. I am utterly confused at this point. Is the man bipolar? Or is he just cruel, delivering annulment papers with flowers and a smile? I plaster a fake smile on my face and walk toward him.
“That is very sweet, Mr. Kingsley. Shall I put them in water?”
I hold out my hands to receive the flowers. He takes a step toward me, cups my elbow, leans in, and whispers in my ear.
“Still being difficult, I see?”
My treacherous heart rate accelerates at his touch and my head is spinning. This man is giving me whiplash.
“I’m sure I have no idea what you are talking about, Mr. Kingsley,” I croak.
I tug my elbow from his grasp and mutter something about giving them some privacy. I walk into the sitting area and just stand there for a moment. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I walk farther into the room and grab a vase from a beautiful—and I suspect antique—oak cabinet, and start arranging the flowers.
“Have dinner with me tonight.”
His voice is so close it startles me. I turn around to find that the man is seriously invading my personal space. He lifts his hand and slowly caresses my cheek with the back of his hand. Being this close to him clouds my judgment and, before I can consciously make any rational decision, I lean into his touch and close my eyes.
“I really want to get to know you better, Raeva. I want to explore this attraction between us. I know you feel it too.”
Somehow his hoarsely spoken but arrogant words snap me out of the trance I tumbled into. I shake my head as I look at him with disbelief. Then I get angry—really angry. Who the hell does he think he is?
“Are you being serious right now?” I snap.
The expression on Mika’s face transforms from gently smiling to utterly confused and that annoys me even more.
“How can you come in here, bringing that poor woman flowers, all while you plan on having her served with annulment papers this morning? And to top it off you hit on me—her caregiver? That’s your wife in there! Have some respect! You may be the hottest man on the damn planet, but I am definitely not interested in being your next conquest. I don’t care what happened between you two but she is a human being who deserves to be treated with kindness and respect. And going out with a married man? I am definitely not that kind of woman. You, Mr. Kingsley, are a jackass,” I hiss.
Mika raises his eyebrow. I see a flicker of shock in his eyes but it’s quickly replaced with twinkles of amusement.
“My…wife?” he says slowly. “You think Mikaela is my wife?”
He throws his head back and laughs heartily. Seriously? He’s laughing at me now? He must see from the look on my face that I am not amused because I can see a spark of guilt in his eyes.
“Oh Sweet Pea, I am afraid that you have some wrong information. Mikaela is most definitely not my wife. She is my twin sister.”
My hand flies to my face and I find myself wishing that the floor would just swallow me whole. To say I’m mortified would be the understatement of the year. I am nailed to the ground. I don’t know where to look and all I really want is to disappear. I know I need to apologize but what can I say? Mika hooks his finger and thumb around my chin and angles it so that I am forced to look up at him. He looks at me for a moment as if appraising me or perhaps searching for words. I don’t know. What I do know is that my entire body is burning with desire, a simple touch from this man igniting a fire within me.
“You are quite the little firecracker, aren’t you?” he chuckles. “Say that you’ll have dinner with me tonight.”
I open my mouth to answer but snap my lips shut since I seem to have lost the ability to speak.
“I guess you’ll need more convincing,” he says.
A wicked grin blooms on his face and before I can even register what is happening, his mouth crushes onto mine. He does this with such passion that it feels like he’s claiming me with his lips. I gasp in surprise and Mika takes the opportunity to drive his tongue into my mouth, deepening the kiss. The way he invades my mouth so possessively, with a hunger that matches my own, causes my initial hesitation to evaporate. He skillfully licks and strokes into me and I am rendered helpless to resist, my tongue just as curious—just as hungry—as his. I cannot help but wonder what it would feel like to have his very talented mouth explore my body. My thoughts are lost as my desire for him surges. As a moan escapes my throat, Mika releases my chin and pulls me into him. I throw my arms around his neck, needing him even closer, deeper inside me, desperately wanting him to continue the sweet assault of his mouth on mine. My nipples harden against his chest as I feel the impressive evidence of his arousal pressing against my belly. The heat pools in between my thighs, my hunger for him growing by the second. I cannot bring myself to come up for the air that I need, the hunger too intense. I’ve been thinking about his lips on mine and how our tongues would dance since the first time I laid eyes on him, wondering if he would be able to live up to my fantasies. Damn if he does not disappoint. Shit, the man has exceeded my fantasies. His large hands slide across my sides once, twice, and a third time before they cup my face as he gently breaks the kiss.
“Dinner tonight?” he breathes as he rests his forehead on mine.
I tell myself that this is a bad idea, that I should say no, but I don’t. Instead I swallow hard and then nod. We both stand there waiting for our ragged breathing to return to normal. I suddenly remember where I am, clear my throat, and step back. I smile at him shyly and he returns my smile with a huge boyish grin.
“So…the hottest man on the planet huh?” he teases.
I feel myself flush and I cannot help but giggle.
“Shut up, Mika,” I say, slightly embarrassed as I playfully hit him on the arm.
His grin grows as he catches me calling him by his name. He bestows a gentle peck on my lips.
“It’s about time, Sweet Pea.” He sounds pleased.
I note that it’s the second time he has called me that and although I have never been a fan of any kind of terms of endearment, I find myself liking him calling me that very much.
“I have to get going,” he says after a moment.
“Sean will pick you up after work and take you home to change,” he proclaims.
“What? My scrubs won’t do?” I challenge him. Mika chuckles.
“I would certainly have no complaints since it would mean I don’t have to wait as long to see you again. So if you want to forgo getting changed, I will instruct him to bring you straight to me. Is that what you want, Sweet Pea?”
He looks at me, amusement written all over his face. He’s got me and he knows it.
“No, that’s not what I want,” I admit.
He leans in and his lips lightly brush my cheek.
“Tonight, Raeva,” he murmurs before he strolls out, leaving me feeling a myriad of emotions.
* * *
The day goes by surprisingly fast, especially if you consider that I couldn’t get the thought of Mika’s lips on mine out of my head. Just the memory of the kiss we shared was enough to ignite a heat in me that would melt the North Pole. I was in such high spirits that I wasn’t deterred when Mrs. Sims and I had some more ‘pleasant’ exchanges. The woman seriously has a problem with me and for the life of me I don’t know why. When I exit the building, Sean is already standing outside holding the door of the car open for me. He has a huge grin on his face as he greets me. I climb into the car and the first thing I notice is two beautifully wrapped boxes. On top of the smaller one lies an envelope with my name written on it. I pull out the card inside and flip it open:
Raeva,
We have dinner reservations in an hour and a half.
I thought you would look amazing in this dress.
I have been assured that the shoes match perfectly.
Can’t wait to see you.
X Mika.
I stare at the card for a moment and try to decide how to feel about this. I stifle a gasp as I open the smaller box, which obviously contains the aforementioned shoes. Inside I find an exquisite pair of black pumps and, judging from the red soles, know that they are a very expensive pair of black pumps. Part of me is hesitant to open the bigger box, but a bigger part of me is giddy and curious. I open the box and this time I don’t even bother to try and hide my reaction—I gasp, very loudly. Inside I find a beautiful black dress. I gently lift the dress up by the straps so that I can better admire the skillfully woven silk and lace fabric.
“He doesn’t do things half way, does he?” I ask Sean.
He looks at me through the rear-view mirror and chuckles.
“No ma’am, can’t say that he does.”
I desperately want to ask him how many women he picks up for his boss or how many presents he delivers but decide against it. I tell myself that I’m just having dinner with the guy. I only said yes because I felt bad for berating him for no reason... right? Right. I almost laugh out loud at myself. The fact that the man is drop-dead gorgeous has absolutely nothing to do with anything... right? Right. I don’t know what to expect at all. Really all I know is that no matter what I try to tell myself, I am absolutely looking forward to finding out.