Bent by Hb Heinzer Page A

kitchen while she was mulling over her feelings. He stepped close behind her at the sink and reached into the cupboard for a glass.
    "Just thinking." She thought back to when she tried to paint everything with a positive brush as a teen. She didn't want to tell him she was still the same glass-half-full girl she had been then. It wouldn't do anyone any good for her to admit that things happened as they should have back then.
    He wrapped his arms around her and placed a soft kiss on her neck. "I don't believe you." His voice was low and deeper than normal. This man hadn't forgotten anything in their time apart. He knew that breathy, low voice made her come apart. The kisses continued up the side of her neck until he reached her ear lobe. He grazed the lobe with his teeth. Her knees weakened and she leaned into him.
    "Micah, we can't." She didn't want to stop him. She wanted to pull him up the stairs and see just how many buttons he could push. She wanted a repeat of Sunday afternoon. But one of them had to be smart.
    Glancing to the sliding doors, Micah turned Julia to face him. "He's got his nose in that book. We could set off a bomb next to him and he'd be oblivious." His hands tugged on the front of her tank top. His rough hands felt amazing as they worked their way up her sides. She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She needed to be sensible. It was a losing battle. Her kiss was a frantic release of emotion. Hard and fast. Hungry. She felt the hardening bulge pressing against her stomach. She wanted to give herself to him.
    The thought scared the hell out of her and she jerked away from the kiss.  She had promised herself that she was going to tell him they had to be respectful and careful when Caleb was around and she sure wasn't keeping that promise. "Stop." Her voice was quiet and unconvincing but Micah eased his grip on her. "I can't do this. We can't do this when Caleb is here."
    "I told you --"
    She held up a finger to stop him. "No. I remember what it was like the first time I walked in and saw Dad kissing someone. I hated her. I hated him." She swallowed hard. Micah had been there through everything her family had gone through but it still hurt to put it into words, even years later, "I don't want that for you. I don't want that for us. Please, trust me."
    He leaned in and kissed her forehead. "That's why I love you." She saw the shock in his face that he'd said it and could only imagine what her own face looked like. "I mean--"
    Her finger pressed against his lips. He didn't need to say anything. "I know what you mean."
    Slowly, they broke their contact and went outside. For a long time, they sat in silence on the lounge chairs. Micah was right. Caleb hadn't noticed when they'd walked back outside. That didn't change Julia's mind about what they were doing. She had a feeling this kid caught on to a lot more than he ever admitted to and she'd do just about anything to make sure that he never felt uncomfortable around her. She turned to point out a shooting star to Micah to find him sound asleep on the chaise.
    "Hey Caleb, should we wake him?" She laughed as he looked up and rolled his eyes. Something told her it wasn't uncommon for Micah to fall asleep no matter what was going on around him.
    Caleb flipped through the pages of the book and looked back to Julia, "Can you wait until after I finish this chapter. Dad gives me crap for reading all the time. It's been nice to have the quiet."
    She laughed. She understood all to well what Caleb was saying. When she sat down to read, she wanted to be left alone. There'd been plenty of times as teens when she had been reading and Micah decided it was time for her to pay more attention to him than the book. He was merciless. Micah claimed to appreciate literature but said that he didn't have the time for it.
    "Deal. I'm going to do some stuff inside. Just wake him up whenever you're ready and let me know when you're taking off." She didn't want Caleb