Page 47 of Meet Me In The Dark

As Kara digested his words, something finally clicked. “Your love language is feeding people, isn’t it?”

It explained why he was so obsessed with feeding her, even back at the cabin. Why he’d made himself their foursome’s cook.

He cracked a smile. “I figured you knew that already.”

“I think I did, but I didn’t put it together.”

“Hmm. Those weeks on the streets, after my family kicked me out, I was so hungry. I became obsessed with food. Not with feeding myself, but with feeding other people. I think in another life…” he hesitated. “I would’ve been a chef. But that’s not the life I have now, and I’ve made my peace with that.”

“Do you feed Conor and Luke by hand?”

He chuckled. “They’d probably beat my ass for it. Besides,thatparticular compulsion only comes up with you. Now, open your mouth, baby.”

She complied, and he broke off a piece of protein bar, placing it on her tongue. She chewed and swallowed, ignoring the chalky taste and dry texture. He fed her another piece, and another, until it was all gone, her stomach had stopped grumbling, and Micah seemed satisfied.

“What about you?”

His eyes twinkled in amusement. “You want to feed me by hand?”

Kara brushed this off. “If you want me to, sure.”

He shook his head.

“You should eat something,” she insisted.

“I will. I needed to make sure you were taken care of, first.”

He fed her, cared for her, like he fucked her, didn’t he? Always making sure she’d gotten off at least a few times before he let himself come—unless he was withholding her orgasm to punish or test her. Despite herself, Kara clenched her thighs, wanting him again.

But they didn’t have time, and she didn’t have the energy. Still, it was more proof that she was more than a set of holes. That whatever, whoever she’d been in a past life to other men, it didn’t carry over tohermen. No matter how they’d started, or how much they fucked, they wanted her forher, no matter how messy she was.

“Baby,” he said, reading her. “When this is all over, I’m going to feed and fuck you so much, you’re going to be begging me to stop. Prove to you, again and again, how necessary you are to me. But if you’re feeling better, we should keep moving. We’re too exposed.”

“I’m good,” she told him, even though it was partly a lie. The food had helped but she was still exhausted. It didn’t matter. Between exhaustion and determination, determination won every time when the goal was important enough.

Luke. Conor.

They were so close to getting them back.

He placed an approving kiss on her neck, then pushed her to standing before following her up. As they began to walk, he took her hand in his, rubbing her knuckles with his thumb.

Surprised, she turned to look at him. Micah wasaffectionate, but she’d figured he’d be too focused to put attention into settling her nerves.

“Why?” she started.

He looked at her, his eyes bright. “Just in case, I want to make sure I get every last moment that I can.”

Oh, god. Tears filled her eyes, blurring the forest in front of her. Losing her footing, she almost tripped, but he caught her.

“Oh, baby, don’t cry. I won’t let you die, I promise.”

“But you still think you might.”

He nodded. “It’s a distinct possibility. On every mission, I take a deep breath and make peace with my death. I’ve lived a good life, Kara. And the past couple of months have been better than I could form words to describe. I don’t want to give it up, I’m not going to give it up. But if I have to…I can be at peace with it, knowing every second of it was worth it, even the worst ones, because they led me to you.”

She swallowed the sob before it could escape her lips. He didn’t need to hear her cry. Instead, she said, “That’s hero talk.”

“No, it isn’t. Hero talk would be if I was sacrificing myself for some greater good. I’m not, I’m too selfish for that. I’d kill every last person, burn down the whole world, if it meant the four of us were together forever. But I will noteverlet you die. And Kara, if you can do one thing to make me happy, promise me that you won’t do something stupid and heroic and try sacrificing yourself for us. If you do that, Kara? I will rise from the dead, burn down the heavens and the earth, just to get you back—and then beat your little ass for it forever.”

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