Page 24 of Marking Micah

“Go on,” he said after a long pause, his voice nearly as breathless as hers.

“I need more. I need… I need it all, Arrow,” she admitted, her cheeks going hot.

He let out a groan, and she wasn’t sure what it meant. Or, she thought she did. But the moment she began to mentally question herself, he shifted her on his lap, and his erection very clearly pressed against her thigh.

Oh god.

“Arrow? Do you want me? Because I need you in a way I’ve never needed anything or anyone before.”

Arrow heldhis breath as she finished that sentence.

Did he want her? Fuck, yes! He was as hard as he’d ever been in his life. Butshouldhe have her? The answer to that question wasn’t nearly as easy.

“Yeah,” he admitted finally. “Of course I do. Don’t you know that, Micah? Always. But my responsibility to you comes first.”

“Fuck responsibility,” she said, anger seeming to flare within her, and her eyes were damp with new tears, making him sink a little inside.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Micah. And taking what I want right now? That could hurt you. It could ruin the trust we’ve built. It could distract us from what we’re doing here.”

“You asked me what I needed and I’m telling you,” she insisted, a pout in her voice.

“Yeah. I needed to know. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to act on it unless I feel it’s what’s best for you.”

When she started to struggle to get up off his lap he held her tight, his gut in a knot.

“Come on, sunshine. Sit with me. Let’s talk this through.”

She shoved hard against his chest, but he held onto her.

“Let me go. Please. I can’t.”

She let out a small sob, and he gathered her close, and after a few moments, she stopped struggling against him and went limp all over, crying into his neck—so hard she had to pause to cough in between the wracking sobs that shook her whole body.

“That’s it, honey. Let it all out.”

They stayed that way for a while—he wasn’t even sure how long. She was so warm against him, so soft. And he was so acutely aware of the pain she was processing. He knew this release was good for her, but it hurt him to the core. It hurt that he’d caused her to break down like this, even though he understood she needed to.

This whole process was going to be like having an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. But wasn’t that what being a good Dominant was about, anyway?

“Come on, darlin’. Let’s get your robe on and we’ll get back to our rooms.”

She shook her head and burrowed in, so instead of getting up he pulled the blanket from the back of the chair and wrapped her up in it. Her sobs had calmed down, but he still felt the steady leak of tears against his neck, and he thought he’d just let her cry it out before moving her.

He stroked a hand over her back, then paused to wipe the tears from her cheek. They reminded him how fragile she was, how the trauma she’d been through had damaged her. How he’d like to kill that motherfucker Brett for abandoning her, because most of her pain came not from the accident itself, but from theway her Dominant—the man who was supposed to love and care for her—had bailed on her, when it was his damn job to stay by her side and do everything he could to mitigate the damage.

He tried to swallow down the anger at the man that had fucked her head up so badly. It took only a few deep breaths. He’d had a ton of practice in the last three years. He’d done it for her sake.

He’d do anything for her.

His heart slammed against his ribs, the feelings he’d kept bottled up inside leaking out through the crack in the armor he’d built around himself so he could be the friend she needed. So he could keep his shit together around her. But tonight had broken that façade a bit. And they’d only begun their journey here, which he realized suddenly would be as much a journey for him as for her.

She shifted against him, and he stroked her long, brown hair. So damn soft. Like silk between his fingers.

He realized she’d stopped crying. He lifted her face so he could meet her eyes. They were red and swollen, but still beautiful. Everything about this woman was beautiful.

“Come on, honey. Let’s get you cleaned up and get you to bed now.”

She nodded, and he stood with her in his arms.

---