Page 46 of Captive Heart

Melody stilled. "Is that what it was?" she asked him with complete sincerity. "That sensation of euphoria building up and bursting over all my senses?"

Micah could only nod, his eyes glued to hers.

She brought her hand up to cup one of his lightly stubbled cheeks, tears welling in her eyes once again. "I never had that before today, never knew what it felt like to have such pleasure."

Her lips trembled, and Micah could barely process what it was she was saying, even though, deep down, he knew. It just seemed so incredibly unbelievable that in her entire twenty-seven years, she had never known the tiniest drop of sexual pleasure.

Micah could feel an answering prickle in his own eyes and closed them against the sting, but not before leaning forward and covering her lips gently with his own, sipping and tasting and exploring in the sweetest meeting of mouths.

Sealing a moment that was more poignant than any he had ever shared with another woman.

31

Melody wanted more. She wasn't entirely sure what it was she wanted more of, just that she wanted it.

Micah had opened doors and secrets which she had never dreamt existed, and now she was desperate to experience them all. She knew there was more beyond the little taste he had given her. She just didn't know what it was or how to ask for it.

She felt like a tightly budded, rather wilted flower, anxious to be cultivated. Parched and thirsting, desperate to be nurtured. Greedily absorbing those first life-giving drops of water and now waiting for some elusive ray of sunlight so that she could unfurl and reach her full potential, so that she could blossom and bloom into bursting, sated completion.

Now that she'd had that first taste, she was hungry for another. She wanted to know everything that might possibly exist between a man and a woman, where tenderness and consideration sustained their deeds and behaviour, rather than any of the things she had previously experienced. And she wanted Micah to show her.

She looked at him in a new light.

In the beginning, there had been relief that spawned gratitude and a certain amount of curiosity, since he was different to any other men she had met. Not that she had a huge amount of experience.

Daddy had been old and gentle but fundamentally selfish when it came to intimacy.

V had been a brute, and those he had shared her with had been all of the same ilk. Vicious, sadistic beasts who revelled in her pain and powerlessness. Monsters whose deviance and depravity had magnified and intensified when they had been given the means and opportunity to live out their basest, most perverted fantasies without fear of judgement, condemnation, or reprisal.

She had suffered at their hands, but Micah had shown her that there was something else—something she wanted to explore for herself. Something…beautiful.

Melody looked at Micah now with speculation and some other emotion she wasn't familiar with. But every time she was near him, her senses lit up and sharpened. Her mouth went dry, and there was an almost awkward awareness she simply couldn't shake, no matter what. It made her skin sizzle and her breath hitch. It made her heart beat faster in anticipation… Of what, she didn't know.

But she damn well wanted to find out!

Unfortunately, she didn't think Micah felt the same things she did.

Since the revelation he had provided, he had been friendly and courteous, and as considerate as always. But there was a distance, too, which she didn't know how to overcome.

Tonight was a club night, which inevitably meant a late night, but that was fine. There was plenty of opportunity to sleep in in the morning, so she never felt tired.

Besides, being able to sleep in the warmth of a comfortable bed meant she was better rested than she could remember since she first went to live with Daddy as a teenager, almost a decade ago.

Melody found she enjoyed the vibrancy and energy of club nights, even though she wasn't involved. There were interesting people who wandered in and out of the behind-the-scenes area where she hung out. They were friendly and accepting, and many made a point of coming to talk to her.

Dr Xavier and Detective Storer, of course, always came to check on her or update her on any progress. Not that there’s been much, so far, with what little she’d been able to tell them, but it had only been a couple of weeks.

She’d come to realise both men were members of the club, more used to being referred to as Master in the context of this place.

Then there was Trinity, the assistant manager, and the other women she had introduced Melody to. Charlotte, Luanna, and Laurel. They always came with confident, rather intimidating men in tow. Nobody had told her so, but Melody suspected these were the men who owned the business.

She tried to keep out of their way when she saw them, becoming a ghost, in case they started to object to her presence within the club. She still didn't know what she would do if they required her to move on. While she might have recovered, for the most part, she didn't have a job or any place to live. No means to support herself and no idea how to go about it.

Micah had her running errands around the club, and for that she was grateful. She was doing more and more now that she was stronger. It made her feel like she had a purpose, that she made a contribution rather than just leeching off of these nice people.

Still, the girls always sought her out, bringing her little gifts—fragrant body lotion, pretty underwear, a brush and stuff to tie her hair back with, even chocolate. Little extras and luxuries which gave her an odd little twinge in her chest, not unlike the one she felt when she looked at Micah.

She felt a camaraderie and acceptance amongst these five women. Like they accepted her as a person, not just some itinerant victim with whom they sated their desire to do good deeds because she needed help. It made her feel as if she was a part of something bigger.

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