Olivia wondered if Micah had some superhuman strength. First he fucked her nearly senseless, then he just sat there as though he could go again. A motion caught her eye as his fingers traced her flesh. His legs are shaking. Ha! Not so tough-just better at hiding it!
“Where do you want to go to talk, Micah?” Olivia reached out to slowly drag her fingers down his thigh. His shudder brought a very self-satisfied grin to her lips.
“Liv.” He grabbed her hand. “If you do that, we won’t leave the sauna and that would be bad for both of us. Come with me.”
Wrapping the towel around her body, Olivia shook her hair out of her eyes and followed him. Micah picked up his clothes and her robe on the way out of the sauna room.
“Normally, we might take a cold shower or dive into a snowbank or,” he grinned at her, “we might shift and go for a run. But for now, all I want to do is curl up in your bed with my arms around you. We can let Talia have dinner with us in the room. She’d like that.” He paused with a wary look in his eyes. “It’s good for our young to know they have adults they can trust.”
Olivia’s throat suddenly felt as if it were slamming shut. Talia needed what she hadn’t had as a child. Nodding at Micah, she motioned for him to lead the way. Fearing if she spoke her voice would betray the hot, sharp, almost jealousy she felt, Olivia remained silent until they reached her room.
Micah seemed almost shy when they got there. She went in but he didn’t follow.
“What? Are you also some kind of vampire?” Olivia laughed as she tugged him into her room. “C’mon, you already know you are welcome here and you’ve been in before.”
“That was different. Now you know what you are and there are rules about a female’s room. Liv,” Micah’s voice deepened as he focused an intense gaze on her. “In the Pack, the female has a lot of power. If you told me to leave, I would have to. And there’s no such thing as vampires. That’s just a story someone made up to scare children.”
She couldn’t help it-she laughed so hard she cried. Waving a hand at Micah’s puzzled look, she gasped, “A werewolf is telling me vampires are fictional characters. That’s rich. Don’t you see the irony?”
His head cocked to the side for a moment then a smile split his face. “Yes, I see your point. Still, as far as I know, vampires do not exist. But if they did,” he stroked her cheek, “I would kill them if they wanted to harm you. I…” His voice trailed off.
“What, Micah?”
He just shook his head and pulled her in for a kiss. She sighed into the heat of him, returning the soft kisses. There was no urgency from him. Just a long, deep kiss that spoke to her of safety and belonging. She pulled back slightly. It was almost more intimate than making love.
“Micah? What were you going to say?” Still, he shook his head. Nothing she did coaxed the lost phrase out of his mouth, so she turned the covers down on the bed.
“Come take a nap with me?”
He nodded. Olivia dropped the towel and crawled onto the bed. Micah tossed his clothes over a chair and joined her. When she lay down on her side, he fitted his body behind hers, wrapping his arm securely around her middle. Olivia sighed and smiled.
She could feel Micah’s heart beating, his comforting scent filled her head and when he nuzzled into her hair to kiss her head, she felt better than she had in ages. With the steady sound behind her and his warmth all around her, it didn’t take Olivia long to fall asleep.
Micah propped himself up slightly so he could see Olivia’s face. She slept peacefully, her body pliant in his arms. He meant what he’d said, he’d fight any foe to keep her just this way-at peace and in his bed. With a smile, he sent a mental query out to Gareth.
Where are you? He got a mental picture in reply. Gareth had taken Talia with him to the rez. She was playing with one of Pete and Margie’s grandchildren and they’d be home in time for dinner.
Grinning, Micah lay back down to stroke his hand down Olivia’s side. She sighed and rolled toward him. Cupping one of her breasts, Micah closed his eyes. He jerked to wakefulness when the bell over the front door rang. Sliding out of bed, he glanced at the bedside clock to see that several hours had passed.
Pulling his jeans on and grabbing the rest of his clothes, Micah went back over to the bed. He leaned over to kiss Olivia, smiling when she stretched and opened her eyes.
“Did you sleep well?”
“Better than I have in ages. Where are you going?”
“Gareth and Talia are back. I’m going to run upstairs for a quick shower then go down to start dinner.” When she smiled and threw the covers back, Micah backed away from the bed.
“Don’t tempt me, Liv. If I shower with you, either here or in my room, I’m going to want to make love to you again. That will make both of us very late for dinner. Besides, Talia is going to want to tell you all about her afternoon at the reservation.” With a final regretful look at her lovely nakedness, Micah leaned down for another quick kiss.
“I’ll make it up to you later.” He smiled and left her room before he lost his resolve. Running up the stairs, he carried that last sight of her with him. Open arms, open smile and hopefully an open heart, one open enough to accept him and the future he wanted to offer her.
Damn, I forgot to talk to her about the Gathering. I need to do that after dinner. Micah took the fastest shower he’d taken in ages, dressed quickly in clean clothes and headed for the kitchen. A nice juicy steak would be good for dinner. Hopefully Liv had worked up just as much of an appetite as he had and Gareth was always hungry. He assumed Talia would eat her fair share.
As he rummaged in the fridge to find what he needed for dinner, Micah picked up the sexy orange scent of his mate. My mate. That’s what she is. Mine. It shook him to his core to hear those words in his mind. He turned to smile at her and found her standing inches from him.
“Very good, Liv.” She’d managed to sneak up on him. Not many shifters could accomplish that so his pleasure was very real. The Great Spirit had chosen his other half very well. He circled her with his arms, pulling her in for a kiss. Breathing deeply as her lips moved under his, Micah decided he now knew what made Tony and Malcolm smile the way they did. I am in love.
“What’s got you so happy, Micah?” Olivia ran a hand through the hair he’d left unbraided. Her fingers tugged, gently pulling his hair and arousing him more than he thought possible. Pressing his urgent need against her, he shook his head.
“That’s for me to know and for you to find out, sweetheart. Now go over there and set the table before I forget that Talia and Gareth could be in here any minute!” Swatting her ass, he noted that she could stand to gain a few pounds.
As if on cue, the two he mentioned came into the kitchen laughing. Anyone would think they’d been friends forever the way Talia swung on Gareth’s hand. Micah noted the look of peace on his friend’s face and knew he had to do something about Gareth. He needed a child of his own to make him look that way all the time.
Love is turning me into a matchmaker already. Micah pointed at the two.
“So tell me about your day, Talia. Where did you go?”
Talia’s story began with Gareth taking her to the reservation on a snowmobile and had his name peppered throughout. She talked nonstop until Micah put the food on the table. The meat disappeared quickly with even Olivia eating her share. As the dishes were cleared, Gareth excused himself. Micah didn’t have the chance to pin him down about the Gathering the next night.
Turning to the shorter of the two blondes in his kitchen, Micah tipped his gaze down to her.