The Bachelorette's Secret Ch. 02

Sarah smirked. "I doubt that."

The women faced off. Mikki imagined they could have been friends under different circumstances. They were both women in professions dominated by men and probably faced similar challenges in trying to carve out careers for themselves. But Mikki wasn't going to just lie down and take it, even if she did respect Sarah's ambition.

"I've said what I had to say. And I really don't like repeating myself," Mikki said.

"Heard you loud and clear," Sarah said, her expression void of emotion.

Mikki let the conversation end there, needing to decompress before she could even begin to formulate a plan for dealing with the producer.

#

Ronnie strikes again, Steve thought, as Mikki's laughter floated down the hallway. The two had been chatting alone for the past hour.

The evening portion of the group date was being held in a quirky diner that had been rented out by the show. Mikki had three hours for one-on-ones with the guys on the group date and she'd spent the first two hours getting to know seven of the guys. The last hour she spent with Ronnie.

Steve had completed his interviews and was killing time with the other guys.

"My chance of winning the rose tonight is at least 75.9 percent," Oscar said. "Mikki really liked my zombie lawyer joke."

"I'm calling bullshit, Cassanova," said Abraham, a beefy redheaded coach from Texas.

"Ronnie's in the lead, right?" Damon asked Steve. The firefighter kept mostly to himself, rarely speaking to anyone besides Kevin. Steve knew him asking that question in front of everyone else was a big deal.

"I wouldn't say that," Steve said. "The Bachelorettes can change their minds at the drop of a hat."

"Mikki's not that type. She's the kind of woman who knows what she wants," Damon said.

"I can't disagree with that." Mikki wasn't the indecisive type. It was clear Damon didn't miss much.

Mikki and Ronnie rejoined the group, laughing and walking hand-in-hand. Steve cleared his throat. "Almost an hour for a group date one-on-one. You two set a new record."

"And it still wasn't long enough," Ronnie said, kissing Mikki's hand before taking a seat with the rest of the men.

"Sorry, guys. I guess I lost track of time," Mikki said. She avoided looking in Steve's direction. She had been oddly distant since the Noah incident and the loss of her attention weighed on him. She squeezed in between Ronnie and Damon, the silver mini dress she wore exposing more thigh as she took a seat. "I just want to thank you all for tonight. After everything that went down today, I started to question whether or not I should even continue this journey. But after tonight, I'm more certain than ever that I'll find my future husband among such a wonderful group of men."

Steve feared he was excluded from that group. After all, he was the host of the show, not one of the contestants. Plus, he was divorced with two kids and had no intention to remarry. But Mikki had shifted his paradigm and the thought of losing her to someone else was devastating. He had to make things right between the two of them, to make sure she knew he had nothing to do with what went down today.

"And with that..." Mikki said, picking up a rose from the coffee table. "Ronnie, will you accept this rose?"

Ronnie smiled. "Has a man ever said no to you?"

Mikki laughed. "It's been done before." She pinned the rose to his shirt and kissed him on the cheek. Steve's heart dropped.

"All right guys, time to call it a night." She went around the room, hugging and thanking each man for being there. "Sleep well."

Steve moved for Mikki, but Ronnie slipped in front of him. "Can I walk you out?" Ronnie asked.

"Sure," Mikki said, not bothering to say goodbye to Steve. Ronnie slipped his arm around her waist and the two sauntered out of the diner like some celebrity newlywed couple.

If Mikki thought Steve was going to bow out and go quietly into the night, she really didn't know him at all.

#

Freshly showered and enjoying a glass of wine, Mikki perused headshots of the remaining contestants. Terence was her choice for the first one-on-one date and she was confident she'd chosen well. His gorgeous smile and kind eyes made her want to get to know him better, to find out if they had more in common than an interest in Japanese culture. She had prepared a list of questions to ask him during their date tomorrow and was genuinely excited to see where this could go.

After the chaos of the day, Mikki was doing her best to put Steve out of her mind. The thing with Noah made her doubt not only the intentions of the show, but his intentions as well. He'd sworn that he had nothing to do with it, but she found that hard to believe. A knock sounded at the door. She'd ordered another bottle of wine from room service.

"Coming," she called out. Mikki looked out the peep hole to find Steve on the other side. Her stomach fluttered. "Relax," she whispered to herself. She needed to get rid of him and the confusion he would inevitably bring with him.

"Go away, Steve," Mikki said.

"We need to talk," he said. "I only need five minutes."

"This has already gone too far. Let's just end it here."

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me. And I'd rather not be escorted out by security."

The last thing Mikki needed was for any of this to end up in the tabloids. She opened the door and immediately knew it was a mistake. Steve squared his shoulders, his tussled curls and five o'clock shadow making him look even more handsome. His blue eyes were dark and piercing. He wanted to do more than just talk.

"I..." Mikki started, words suddenly escaping her.

Steve kissed her, not missing a beat. The flood of hormones drowned out any internal alarms and she kissed him with wild abandon. He slammed the door shut behind them. He hoisted her up by the waist and Mikki wrapped her legs around him, her hips gyrating against the bulge in his crotch. He moaned, the taste of his desire on her tongue. Steve carried her to the couch, settling between her legs.

Mikki wanted Steve more than she'd wanted any man in her life. She knew making love to him would mean more than she was willing to admit, but she needed him. She cried out as Steve slid his hand into the front of her pants.

"You're so wet," he said huskily. Mikki threw her head back as his finger worked the sensitive spot between her legs.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Come for me, Mikki," Steve said, relentless in his fondling.

"Oh...oh yes. Please."

"Now," Steve whispered, sucking hard on the most sensitive spot on her neck.

Mikki orgasmed on command for the first time ever. Her release left her feeling hot, dizzy and thirsty for more.

Steve kissed her deeply, tugging on her bottom lip with his teeth. "My five minutes are up. I'll see you tomorrow."

Steve slid his hand from her pants and slipped out the door. Mikki struggled to catch her breath.