Page 38 of Lose Me In The Shadows

Kara laughed, hating how sad it sounded. “She can speak, you know.”

Micah’s face softened. “You’re right, I’m sorry. We need to dye your hair—we’re going somewhere relatively safe after this, but there are very few people I trust outside of our foursome, and I’m not risking someone spotting you and reporting you through back channels.”

“You trust me?”

Micah’s eyes were guileless. Kara knew better. “I have to, don’t I?”

Conor sighed. “Not enough room for all three of us. Kara, don’t you dare wash me off. I want you to smell like me when we land, so Marcus has no doubts who you belong to.”

Kara tried to ignore how hot his demand made her. God, did she have a breeding kink, too?

“You are not actually putting a baby in me,” she confirmed.

Conor shook his head playfully. “The woman does not understand roleplay,” he told Micah.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Micah said, straight-faced.

Before she could respond, he pushed out of the bathroom. Micah entered, closing the door behind him.

“What did you say to him?” Micah asked as he moved around her to turn the shower on.

“You mean you didn’t hear?”

“Some of it. But I want to hear it from you.”

Kara inhaled, wondering how painful it would be to parachute naked. If Conor was relentless in getting her to open up, Micah was going to manipulate her into talking, and she didn’t want anything to do with any of that.

“I told him that back at the cabin, it felt like I was only a come dumpster to all three of you.”

Micah blinked. “Didn’t we have this conversation two weeks ago? I’m almost having déjà vu, we were in the shower then, too.”

“I know,” she said. “I’m not saying it’s true—I had an epiphany after they…” she trailed off.

“Hurt you?”

She nodded. “I know you don’t feel that way, but it seemed like you did, and it made me feel like shit.”

Micah didn’t answer her. Instead, he went to the shower, fiddling with the knobs and testing the temperature until he was satisfied. “Hop back in.”

“Micah.”

Pinching his nose, he looked at her. “Kara, I’m not trying to fuck you right now. Or dig deep into your soul. I promise. We don’t have much time, I need to dye your hair, and call me old fashioned, but I’d rather not have you get off the plane with half-dyed hair, still in a towel, soaking wet and shivering. And based on what you just said, I doubt you want to walk around with Conor’s spunk between your legs. Am I wrong?”

Damn it.

They got in the shower together, and Micah was right, Kara remembered this—their angry fuck where they battled it out, wit for wit, manipulation for manipulation, and came out tied.

I’m sorry for ever making you feel less than you are.

And what am I?

Everything.

“You can say I’m ‘everything’ but if that were true, wouldn’t you have treated me better?” she pointed out as he wrapped plastic around her forehead and under her hair before beginning to apply the hair color. It felt good, having his big body behind her as his big hands delicately painted strands with black dye. She leaned back and shut her eyes; despite her anger with him, she couldn’t resist the pampering.

“I have to say, I see it differently. We took you out of a life even you can admit was lackluster at best. We brought you to your favorite place in the country—believe me when I tell you, the Tetons are nice, but they aren’t our choice of a landing pad. We would’ve preferred a beach. We gave you the home of your dreams. Fed you—well, if I do say so myself. Gave you time and the tools to start writing again, which I know is what you love to do and abandoned a long time ago because of the professor. Helped you explore the parts of your sexuality you’d denied without guilt or self-reprimand. Plied you with enough orgasms to keep you sated and relaxed and happy forever. Worked with you on your panic attacks so you felt more in control. Would we do that if all we wanted you for was your body?”

Kara began to speak. “That’s all nice, but it doesn’t—”

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