Page 60 of Captive Heart

This was different to what they'd shared before, Melody realised when Micah speared one hand into her hair, tightening his fingers deliciously as he threw himself into the kiss.

His normally banked dominance erupted as he took control, making her realise just how much he’d held back previously. Her heart gave a little flip at the knowledge of just how much he had protected her, even from himself, while she'd been throwing herself at him. It made her appreciation for his innate moral character even stronger, and Melody knew she was slipping deeper and deeper under a spell Micah didn't even know he was weaving. Because it wasn't really a spell at all, he was simply one of the good guys, and her life had been so devoid of one of those that now she'd found one, she couldn't help but be captivated.

She couldn't have done this with someone else, she realised with sudden clarity as Micah moved from nipping and tasting her lips to thrusting his tongue between them so it danced with her own. Her lips felt sensitised, tingling under the sensual assault. Kissing was a new thing, too. Oh, there had been a few fumbled attempts when she was a teenager, but they’d been all teeth and slobber compared with the smooth, erotic glide of Micah's mouth against her own. Daddy's had all been chaste pecks as he played out his role and after that, well…

What she shared with Micah, in these precious moments, was personal and intimate. Even more intimate than sex.

Melody knew, to her detriment, that there wasn't necessarily anything intimate about fucking. It was just an action, one that could be impersonal and often brutal, but this? Some might say it was only a kiss, but to Melody, this was the most intimate and cherished she'd ever had the joy of feeling, and it had unfamiliar reactions bubbling up and lodging in her chest…as well as other parts of her body!

Micah came up for air and Melody took the opportunity to suck breath into her own lungs. She wasn't in the most comfortable of positions, but it didn't matter, the gentle touch of his fingers stroking against the skin of her lower abdomen and the underside of her breasts, the sensual glide of his tongue against hers, had her body simultaneously bursting into flames and melting into a puddle, if that was even possible. That's what it felt like anyway. She had never known anything like this before and she was hungry to experience more.

Wriggling to try to move around, she was surprised when Micah scooped her up and laid her gently in the middle of the enormous bed.

Before he followed her down, he stripped off his shirt and undid the top button of the soft black jeans which sculpted his muscled legs like a second skin. She wished he would just remove them altogether, but she knew better than to ask. She'd already come to realise that Micah moved at his own pace and there was no pushing him into anything he didn't want to do.

His was a quiet dominance but one which was absolute.

He didn't exude that sexy but demanding arrogance like some of the men she'd met during her stay at the club, or the on again, off again fluctuation of command that others shifted between. It was more of a subtle but indomitable confidence and conviction, a calm but innate authority which was constant and unwavering. It made her feel safe because she knew it would absolutely never change on the whim of his mood.

And that was one of the most attractive things about him, which was saying a lot, because he was drop dead gorgeous, and had a body that could grace a fitness magazine. And yet his quiet strength was one that would never be pitted against another to deliberately terrorise or intimidate. There was security in that, too. He was a man who made careful moral judgements and then stuck to his ideology, a man of the utmost integrity who was worthy of being loved and yet one who deliberately avoided the prospect.

The faceless Sara, who had caused this beautiful man to distance himself from the satisfaction of a loving relationship, had surely never deserved to hold this man's heart. It made Melody angry just to think of it. What she would have given to have just a fraction of that kind of benevolent devotion bestowed upon her; and yet the woman had tossed it aside as if it was nothing, worthless.

Melody could not even begin to understand the logic, but it did make her sad it had affected Micah so deeply that he held himself apart as a result.

It made her sad that he would probably never love her the way in which she was falling for him.

But she could at least have this. And it would be something that she would embrace in the here and now, and something she would cherish when all that remained was a memory left to warm her.

Melody opened her arms and gave herself over to him. Micah took one of her hands, drawing first one sleeve off of her arm, then the other. Melody pulled the pyjama top over her head, and he caught up the long mane of her hair and disentangled it from the clothing.

"I love your hair," he admitted, spreading it over the pillow in a scented cloud of silver. He settled himself between her legs, threading their fingers together and pulling both her hands above her head, while he observed her intently. His own blond curls fell forward to frame the intensity of those melted chocolate eyes, and his equally fair stubble became noticeable now that she was so close to him. What would it feel like scraping across her skin, Melody wondered.

She hoped it wouldn't be too long until she found out. Just the feel of the taut, warm skin on his ripped chest pressed against her own bare flesh had her blood heating, and her sensual thoughts brought a quiet sigh to her lips which prompted Micah to speak.

"This isn't a scene, Melody, but you can use the club safe words if it makes you feel more secure. Yellow to slow things down, red for an instant halt. Hell, just say stop, and it's as good as done, I can promise you that, no matter how far things have progressed."

Ah, sweet fool. Didn't he know that she wanted everything he had to give? Every whisper, every experience, every tiny, delicious nuance.

Melody hooked one of her legs around his fine buttocks and used it to pull him to her in response. She canted her hips against the length of his erection trying to gain a little friction against the ache which had developed between her thighs.

"Micah…" she whispered in a voice that didn't sound remotely like her own. She didn't even know what she wanted to say, so she arched her back so she could rub her stiff nipples against the coarse dusting of chest hair and his rock-hard pecs.

Thank God he took the hint, because Melody was at a complete loss for words, and besides, she didn't want to chat. She just wanted to feel.

Micah dipped his head to hers and took her mouth in a sweet, leisurely kiss which filled up her senses before he trailed sensuous little nips across her jaw and nuzzled behind her ear. Tipping her head to one side to give him better access, Melody pulled her arms free so she could indulge herself in exploring his sleek, hard muscles.

When he moved lower and caught a pouting, aching nipple in his mouth, Melody arched up into him and ploughed her hands into his thick, wavy hair. It felt like silk, sifting between her fingers, but the reality of his hot mouth against her breast, suckling on the pebbled tip then grazing it lightly with his teeth, suddenly eclipsed any other sensation.

His hands, now free, plucked at the other peak, rolling it between his finger and thumb and pinching, oh so gently, until it seemed like a thread had formed from there to her lower abdomen, which he pulled with every movement of his hand or mouth.

Melody's hips found a rhythm all of their own and she writhed against him helplessly. It was like her body had a mind of its own and was dancing to some silent tune Micah was weaving as he plucked and played it. A soundtrack of soft moans and throaty sighs accompanied him, falling from her mouth of their own accord. She only wished the rest of their clothes were gone. She wanted to feel him everywhere, wanted the scuff of his coarse leg hair against her own, the slide of her feet against his calves. In desperation, she shoved her hands down the back of his jeans and kneaded his taut buttocks, pulling him as close as she could with the barrier of their clothes.

It wasn't enough!

Pushing the cloth down his hips, Melody fumbled in her impatience to get him naked, to feel all of him against all of her.

Micah chuckled. "Slow down, sweetheart, or you're going to do me an injury with that zipper," he warned wryly.

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