Page 23 of Marking Micah

Finally, he paused, stroking her heated skin, making her want to purr, and maybe she did. All she knew was that it felt wonderful, that everything felt wonderful. That she desperately needed more.

He bent to peer at her face, keeping one hand on her ass. “Checking in, lovely girl. Are we still green?”

“Oh, yes. So green.”

“Look at me,” he commanded, and she turned her head.

“Hmm, you’re pretty far gone already. It’s time to stop.”

“Nooo…” she whined.

He chuckled. “Oh, yes, sunshine. You are one subspaced girl.”

She felt a crushing surge of disappointment. It was as if everything was being cut off when she’d just rediscovered what she needed.

Don’t cry, don’t cry.

She pressed her cheek into the table as he unbuckled the cuffs and helped her to sit up. When she wouldn’t look at him, he used his fingers to force her chin up.

“Micah? Why are you crying? Tell me what’s going on.” When she just shook her head mutely, he repeated, “Tell me.”

“I… I just… I can’t.”

To her horror, huge tears rolled down her face and plopped into her lap.

“Honey,” he said gently. He pulled her off the table and carried her to the big chair, where he sat with her in his lap. He wrapped her up in his arms and held her close, just letting her cry for a while.

He pulled some tissue from somewhere and helped her wipe her face as she calmed down. She felt utterly exhausted.

“Okay, darlin’. Can you talk to me now? I need to know if this was just a release, or if it’s something more.”

“I’m n-not sure,” she stuttered.

“Okay. All right. Was it something about your past? The things you’ve been so afraid of?”

She shook her head. “No. No. It was… the things I’m afraid to want.”

He was quiet for a few moments, and she rested her head on his chest, comforted by his heart beating against her cheek even as her body burned with need.

Need him.

His touch. His lips. His cock.

That’s what she’d been missing. That, and the power play he’d only begun to hint at tonight. And no amount of telling herself they still had another two weeks there at the Ranch did anything to make her feel any better about it.

“Micah? Honey. Talk to me. What is it you want?”

She swore his heartbeat sped up as he asked the question.

“I… I don’t know that it’s fair to ask me that right now.”

“Because you’re in subspace? Vulnerable? No, it’s not fair. But this may be the only time you’re able to be completely transparent with me. And I need to know before we take this any further. So I’m gonna need you to try.”

She took in a deep breath, and exhaled. “Okay. So… everything felt so… good. So right. Like, I don’t know, like my body had some sort of muscle memory. Like it knew how to sink into the pain, into the sensation, maybe even better than it ever had before. And even sort of giving myself over to it… well, to you. I hit subspace so fast. I didn’t expect to. But I think it’s that you knew how to get me there. And, Arrow, I don’t know if you even realize that you knew. I mean, I know you’re a true Dom, and that means you go on instinct, but man, your instincts with me are so damn good. Ugh! I’m sorry. I’m babbling.”

“No, I don’t think you are. But I feel like there’s more. Is there?”

She lifted her head to lock onto his dark gaze and nodded. “So much more,” she said on a soft sigh. “So much about the way you touched me.”

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