“Hi,” she said, her voice wavering a little although she struggled to keep it normal. The way grins were popping up around the table, it was probably a good thing she was focusing on her drink and not on their friends.

“Hello, everyone else,” he said grinning at Ellie’s reaction.

He wasn’t just calling her beautiful to compliment her though, she really did look lovely, wearing a black leather halter-top that dipped low in front before being tied together with laces. Her entire upper back was left exposed, creamy skin just begging for a whip or flogger. The black leather mini-skirt hugged her ass, curling around her curves invitingly and barely covering them. The strappy shoes on her feet looked more like torture devices than footwear, but they also made her legs look incredible.

Michael wanted to touch her, the way Adam had his arm around Angel’s waist as she leaned against him, or the way Jared had Leigh tucked between his legs, but he didn’t want to scare her off either. Slow and steady. Instead, he just stood close enough to her so he could feel her body heat, so she couldn’t move without brushing against him; invading her personal space but not actually claiming her the way he wanted to.

Across the table, Jared lifted his beer glass to his lips to hide his slow grin as he watched. Leigh was more interested in Ellie, coming to Ellie’s rescue when it appeared she was continuing to pretend unnatural interest in the bubbles of her soda.

“So uh,” Leigh cleared her throat. “I heard about this thing on the radio today, which I can’t believe I’d almost forgotten about, that I think we definitely need to revisit. Push presents.”

“Push presents?” Ellie asked, obviously jumping on the new topic to distract from her reaction to Michael’s arrival. The color in her cheeks was still high, but fading a little. “What on earth is that?”

Leigh’s eyes slid over to where Adam and Angel were canoodling, smirking slightly. She brushed her long, brown hair back from one shoulder, and shooting Jared a smile when he began running his hand through the long strands. “Apparently, it’s a fad for having a baby; like a thank you from the father to the mother for carrying his progeny for nine months...” She looked meaningfully at Angel.

“And then pushing it out of her!” Angel said, finishing the sentence as she cracked up. She looked up at Adam, almost gleefully. “I can’t believe I forgot to tell you about this. But now you know, after I give birth to your baby, I expect a ‘push present.’”