Page 57 of Captive Heart

The only thing left to do was keep her distance until she could find a place of her own and a way of supporting herself, allowing Micah the opportunity to regain his privacy and his comfort.

They were strangers forced to practically live in each other's pockets after all, and he had somehow become responsible for her.

Everything finally caught up with her and it was suddenly all too much, and now Melody was feeling despondent and disheartened.

And what the heck was with that? Luck had brought her to a place of safety where decent people had helped and supported her out of the goodness of their hearts and she, a complete stranger, who could have brought all manner of problems to their door, was sitting here feeling sorry for herself.

Jeez, she needed to get a grip. There was literally no comparison in the way she lived now—as basic and transitory as it was—with what she had managed to escape from. So where the hell did she get off feeling sorry for herself, just because some dude didn't find her attractive enough to want to be intimate with her?

I just need to grow a pair and get over myself!

Micah was an absolute diamond of a man and Melody didn't want anything she did to cause him regret. He'd been too damn good to her for that, and he deserved better in return.

Perhaps she could talk to Trinity about flat sitting while she was out of town, although Melody didn't know how that would work when Trinity was back… and the thought of being on her own didn't exactly appeal after what happened tonight.

But she couldn't get over the fact that she needed to give Micah his life back. He shouldn’t be forced into being her begrudging babysitter.

Melody wiped away the tears she realised she was crying with the pad of her palm, angry with herself for being so damn pitiful.

Damn it all! What the hell was wrong with her? She'd been forced to endure things a hundred times worse than getting her feelings a little dented, for crying out loud. She needed to start counting her blessings instead of being so damned pathetic!

Of course, it was just her luck that Micah chose the exact moment, when she was wallowing in her own self-pity, to retire for the night. Yeah, sod's flippin' law!

Melody tried to extract herself as unobtrusively as she could without drawing any attention to herself, but she should have known better. Micah was far too astute to let anything go.

"Hey, are you all right, sweetheart?" he asked, noticing her red rimmed eyes and blotchy cheeks. "The events of the day have finally caught up with you, I guess? Why don't I make you a nice relaxing cup of herbal tea, to settle you for the night?"

Melody was feeling unaccountably contrary and for some reason his sympathy and consideration just made her feel even more pissy. "I'm just dandy, thanks, and I don't want any damn tea!" she snapped, jumping up from the sofa and flicking the blanket that she'd been wrapped in sharply before she started folding it with abrupt, jerky movements.

Micah eyed her with endless patience, which only served to ratchet up her already strung-out nerves even tighter.

"How about some hot milk instead?" he asked kindly. Except 'kind' wasn't what she wanted from him.

"No!" she bit out sharply. "I do not want any hot flippin' milk, either. I’m not five!" She punctuated her words by throwing down the folded blanket onto the sofa and only just stopped short of stamping her foot.

Micah just gazed at her quietly with those gorgeous, melted chocolate eyes with one eyebrow cocked.

Jesus, what was wrong with her? After everything he'd done for her, she was behaving like a spoiled child having a tantrum, regardless of her argument to the contrary.

"It sounds like someone's cruising for a spanking," he said with deceptive calm, standing there all relaxed with his thumbs hooked casually through his belt loops.

"Yeah? Well, there's no one here to give me one, is there?" Melody retorted, whirling around and flouncing toward the door, even while she cringed on the inside as the catty words poured out of her mouth.

Her self-preservation instinct was intact, at least, and it was telling her to get out of there before she ruined things between them completely.

38

Melody was halfway to the boudoir where she was still sleeping, when Micah caught her from behind, swung her around, hefted his shoulder against her midriff, and sauntered the rest of the way to her room with Melody dangling none too elegantly over his shoulder.

He paused only briefly to flip on the lights which were recessed into the top frame of the four-poster bed, then deftly flipped her across his knee, holding her securely with one hand while he shoved her baggy, elasticated pyjama pants down with the other.

"Luckily, I know damn well when a naughty little girl is begging for a spanking," he growled as he peppered her ass with a swift flurry of warm up taps before he got down to the serious business of applying the swats she so desperately needed.

His hand crashed down, again and again, and she squealed, though it was more from surprise than hurt.

This time, Micah got straight down to business, delivering a swift and methodical punishment which had her first wriggling, then bucking, then finally subsiding into a puddle of retained grief, recent frustration, and unsatisfied lust.

All thoughts were pushed away, allowing her busy mind to finally quiet, analyse, repent and ultimately, to let go. It all flowed out of her as if her tears were a vessel through which everything could be released. To seep away, leaving her feeling cleansed and as if the weight of all her stresses and frustrations had been lifted from her shoulders, leaving both her mind and soul light and alleviated.

---