Page 36 of Marking Micah

Luna smiled and left the room, leaving Arrow standing by the door. It was the first time she’d ever seen him appear at all awkward.

Her stomach dropped when he said, “Micah, we need to talk.”

CHAPTER 9

Micah bit her lip, trying to get her body to stop shaking. What the hell was going on? Were her thoughts about him regretting bringing her to the Ranch more than paranoia?

“Shit. Oh, honey.”

He was across the room in a split second, sitting next to her and grabbing her hand in his.

“I’m so sorry. That was a stupid way to start the conversation. We don’t need to talk, but I do need to apologize. I’m an idiot sometimes, especially tonight.” He stroked her face, pushing her hair behind her ear. “I really am an idiot. I can’t believe I left you alone with you possibly—probably, I now realize—going into subdrop, and it’s completely inexcusable. I’m so grateful Luna was here for you, and I’ll be sure to thank her later. But Micah, I never should have left the room. I never should have left your bed. I swear I have never, ever left a sub I’ve played with on their own without appropriate aftercare, and I swear I will never, ever do it again to you. Do you think you can forgive me?”

Her eyes had started to fill with tears the moment he’d started talking, and they coursed down her cheeks now. “I-I just don’t understand…”

“Of course not. I’m not really sure I do, either. Not entirely. But I went to talk to Derek to try to figure out what the hell was going on with me. And… the truth is, tonightwasintense for me. In ways I wasn’t really prepared for. But you shouldn’t have had to pay for my confusion.”

Dread pulled her stomach into a tight little knot, but she had to ask. “What are you confused about? About me? About what we’re doing here?”

His dark eyes locked on hers, and they were so filled with shadows she didn’t know what to think. “Yeah. But it’s not what you’re thinking. It’s that… I have such deep feelings for you, Micah.”

It was her turn to be confused. “You’ve literally been my best friend. I know you care for me.”

“Yeah, I do. But if I’m being completely honest, it goes beyond that. And I am not saying this to make you feel pressured into anything, but even though we agreed on sexual contact, it was pretty overwhelming for me because of how I feel about you, and how long I’ve waited to be with you?—”

She didn’t need to hear the rest as she launched into his arms, knocking him back into the cushions.

“Hey,” he said gently as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I guess that means you’re okay with all of this? About what we did in the Dungeon? About me expressing my feelings for you?”

“All but you leaving me here when you should have been cuddling me,” she muttered into his neck.

“Ah, honey. I didn’t understand it at the time because it’s never happened before, but Derek made me realize it was Top drop. I’m so used to being in control all the damn time. It freaked me out to feel that control slipping away—all because being with you in the Dungeon made me feel so close to you. Close in such a deep way. In a way I’ve only ever dreamed of, tobe honest. But my behavior was inexcusable. I am so sorry about that.”

“You can make it up to me when I’m not so exhausted.”

“I will. That’s a promise.”

He gently pulled her head up and kissed her, the promise so clear in his kiss she felt it down to her bones.

“Just for the record,” she said when he drew back and pulled her hands from his neck, placing soft kisses on them both and sending tiny shivers through her. “Mmm, that’s nice. But Arrow? Just for the record, I feel the same way about you. I think that’s why it was so powerful for me. And I couldn’t have done this with anyone else.”

He smiled, shook his head a little, then swooped her into his arms and carried her to the bedroom, plopping her down on the bed.

“I am gonna cuddle you all night, darlin’. You ready for that?”

“Oh, yes, please.”

He stripped down to his boxers and climbed in beside her, pulling her onto his shoulder, and she snuggled in. It felt like she belonged there. He was warm and strong andtherewith her. And it seemed like they were on the same page, finally. She was so damn happy about it, but she was so sleepy, too.

“Arrow? I want to talk more about all of this, but I think I’m falling asleep.”

He kissed her hair. “That’s okay, honey. It’s been a long day, and an even longer evening, and we both need some rest. But I’ll be right here when you wake up. I promise.”

Morning came,the sun gleaming in gentle shades of gold through the drawn curtains. Micah yawned and pressed hercheek against Arrow’s chest. She could hardly believe he was there. That he’d said the things to her the night before she’d wanted to hear for so long.

The truth was, she’d been so thrilled at his words she couldn’t help but jump into his arms, but at the same time, she was afraid to hear more. How deep did his feelings go? And what would that mean for them once they left the Ranch and returned to their everyday lives?

Don’t think about it now.

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