Free Heaven Sent by Mahalia Levey Page A

He was so sweet to worry.
    Mia crawled up his body and kissed his lips. “I’m perfectly sore in all
the right places. You were right, riding you was like remembering how to riding
a bike.”
    Dire’s beautiful eyes darkened. Mia shivered,
hoping he’d decide to go a second round with her. All of the sudden she felt
the desire to make up for lost time, with him and only him.
    “No.” He shut her down cold and began to soothe her scalp again with
knowing hands.
    Mia moved to shake him off.
    Dire chuckled and trapped her body with his and the blanket cocooning
her.
    “Rat fink jerk.” The sandman stole the rest of her
tirade as sleep claimed her.

 
    ****

 
    The heavy aroma of coffee dragged her from the depths of the sleeping
dead. Mia stretched her deliciously sore body and worked the kinks out of her
neck. Dire’s magic touch brought her back to life in
more ways than one.
    She eased into the shirt he’d left crumpled at the end of the bed and
inhaled his spicy scent. Sandalwood, musk and a hint of something she couldn’t
reach. She briefly thought of putting on panties and quickly dislodged that
notion as his shirt covered most of her. She walked over to her bathroom and
began to brush her teeth. Her mind flew over the past few days that led her to
this moment. A sudden burst of self-consciousness overwhelmed her. Would
walking down to him be considered a morning walk of shame? She’d never had
casual sex and for her what happened between them was the polar opposite of
casual. Her heartbeat quickened. She set the toothbrush down with a shaky hand
and swished her mouth out with a handful of cool water.
    What if I walk down there and he’s gone?
Or what if he’s not? What am I going to say? Mia tamed her tousled
hair and left her bathroom. A caffeinated rush called to her. She would play it
by ear, not give too much away. How he enticed her body into pliancy with his
hands and eased his way into her deepest thoughts surprised her.
    Finding Dire wasn’t difficult. He sat at her barstool counter with a cup
of coffee in one hand and the sports section in the other. He brought out the
sexy in basketball shorts she didn’t know existed, and sleep tousled hair. His
eyes lightened to a pretty shade of slate grey when they landed on her.
    “Morning.”
    “Hi.” Mia moved toward him to get to the coffee pot. Dire circled his
hand around her waist and tugged her to him.
    “You look sexy in my shirts. Am I going to need to buy new ones?” He
pressed his lips to hers and coaxed her mouth open. Mia sighed into his kiss,
pressing her hands on his bare chest.
    “No. Just bring extras. It’s your scent. Fresh washed shirts are no
good.” She pulled back and escaped his attempt to reel her back in with a
laugh. He went back to reading while she pulled herself out a cup and created
her seventy five percent coffee , twenty percent cream
and five percent sugar with a dash of cinnamon on top.
    “Any coffee in there?”
    “ Haha .” Could life with another man really be this easy? “ I suppose you
drink yours black no cream or sugar?”
    “Black with two sugars and I figured you’d sleep in more today. It’s only
nine.” Dire set the paper on the marble counter.
    “How long have you been up?” Mia slipped onto the stool next to his. When
their legs briefly touched, she forgot to sip her coffee first and sputtered as
she burnt her tongue.
    “I went for a run while you slept.” He swiped her cup from her hand and
blew on it. At her scowl, he returned said cup with a wink.
    “How many miles do you run a day?” She preened when she sipped her
sufficiently cooled caffeinated beverage.
    “Five miles generally, ten if I need to work through something going on
in my head.” Muscles flexed as he moved. Mia watched him saunter to the pot and
pour himself another cup. She pushed the sugar his way caught up in his
swagger. Holy fuck . That sexy specimen belonged solely to her. She needed to workout to catch up
with