Changing Focus by Marilu Mann Page B

join me in the sauna.” The lazy sensuality of his voice only added to the lava forming in her stomach. But she couldn’t let him know that.
    “Maybe I will. Just not right now. I really need to get these images down on paper.”
    Smiling, Olivia moved past him to the staircase. She could feel Micah’s gaze on her as she went quickly up to the hallway. When she gained the privacy of her room, she leaned against the closed door for a moment, trying to catch her breath.
    “Sauna? Puh-lease! If I saw him naked in the sauna I’d definitely have to jump his bones.” Olivia laughed, pushing away from the door. “And that would be such a bad move.”
    Her laughter faded as Jackson ’s face floated up in her memory. Her first lover, the man she would have married if she’d been able to keep herself from going wild at his touch.
    Olivia swept a stray lock of hair behind her ear. They’d kissed before-even fooled around a bit and when he’d taken her to bed the first time, she’d been sure he was the man for her. She’d even accepted his marriage proposal. Then, one night, everything had changed. They’d been having sex and she’d gone crazy on him.
    He’d forgiven her. Of course he’d also broken up with her. His words spoken with kindness but tinged with fear still rang in her ears.
Olivia, I think maybe you need to see someone about this. It’s not normal to be so violent in the bedroom. I love you but I can’t deal with your aggression.
    She’d had to agree when faced with the stitches on his cheek that mirrored the ones on his chest. And she’d had her acrylic nails removed and vowed never to wear them again. If only she’d known that uninhibited sex did that to her. Her therapist had suggested past sexual abuse that she’d buried, but Olivia knew that wasn’t it.
    It was tied to the monster inside her. The one who had killed her parents.
Enough!
Slamming the door on those painful memories, she moved purposely toward the desk and her laptop, opening it and striking a few keys to wake it up. She paged through her notes from earlier then pulled up a blank document and started writing her article. She forced herself not to return to her earlier erotic journaling.
    As usual, she lost track of time as she wrote. The light tapping on her door pulled her out of the story taking shape in front of her and back to the present.
    “Yes?”
    “I just wondered if you were ready for dinner.” Micah’s voice carried through the closed door.
    “Dinner?” Olivia glanced at the clock on her laptop, shook her head and moved toward the door. “I’m sorry, I completely lost track of time.”
    She also lost her ability to speak as she pulled the door open. Micah stood in front of her door in a blue denim shirt and jeans that hugged his hips and thighs. His hair fell loose around his shoulders and her mouth went dry as she let her gaze roam freely from the top of his head to his moccasins with a long pause at the hidden treasure behind his zipper. She finally raised her eyes to meet his gaze.
    “Are you hungry?”
    “Starving.”
And for more than just food.
Olivia knew at that moment she wanted desperately to make love to this man. The breakup with Jackson had been eight years ago. Surely she could control herself now? Lust surged up and overrode every piece of good sense she had.
    The attraction raged between them. She could feel his arousal. She could definitely see his interest-hell, she could almost smell it.
Smell it? That’s ridiculous, Olivia Marie. Get a hold of yourself. First you think the man smells like cookies and now you think you can smell his arousal? What is wrong with you?
    She jerked her attention back to Micah with a faint smile. “I think I’ll take a quick shower, that is, if I have time?”
    “Take as much time as you need. I’ll be in the kitchen.” He turned, somewhat reluctantly, she thought, then paused at the top of the stairs to look back at her. “Would you like wine with