Page 19 of Micah

My eyes snap open, but it’s dark under the duvet. I sit up and slam my head into something hard that yelps. Fighting with the duvet that really doesn’t want to let me go, I call, “Micah? Help!”

He mutters something, then that hand is back, holding me still, and he peels the duvet off my head. I inhale deeply and blink up at him.

“That wasn’t what I imagined when I pictured dying in bed.”

He stares at me, face set in frowning lines. I’d be worried that he’s angry, but I only have to remember what his face looked like last night, and how affectionate and cuddly he was after, to banish any concerns. He might seem scary, but he’s a softie.

“You pictured dying in bed?” he asks.

I shrug and crawl off the mattress, nearly taking a header over the edge. Fortunately, he catches me. I rise on tiptoe and kiss his cheek. “Thanks! And yeah, every incubus dreams of dying in bed. Just not in our sleep.” I wink, then saunter toward the en suite bathroom. “Just let me use the facilities and then we can go to the cave.”

His voice follows me. “Use the facilities and then I’ll take you to meet the village council.”

Shit, I forgot about that. I spare a longing thought for my pretty puzzle, all alone in that cave, as I flip up the toilet lid and take care of business. Why do I have to meet the village council, anyway?

I shout the question to Micah and hear him sigh.

“Because they want to meet you. It won’t take long, and Garrett will be there.”

He will? I flush and wash my hands. “How is he on the council if he only came to live here last year?” Should I shower? Probably. Micah and I were enthusiastic last night, and there’s cum crusted in all sorts of places. Demons can’t smell as well as shifters, but they smell well enough that they’ll know what we were up to if I don’t shower.

“He’s not on the council,” Micah calls patiently through the half-closed door as I turn on the water. “They appointed him to be the point person for anything to do with the cave, though, so he’s coming to the meeting this morning.”

It seems like every time I learn something new about the situation here, I end up with thirty more questions. None of them matter, though, except “But then we can go to the cave?”

He chuckles softly, and the sound of it makes me smile as I open the cabinet under the sink and find a big, soft bath towel. “Yes, then we can go to the cave. Unless you want a tour of the village or to go to the grocery store.”

“I can do that on the weekend when you make me take time off.” I’m only half joking. Now that I know Micah has to be with me while I’m in the cave, I don’t feel as opposed to taking weekends off. It's not fair to make him give up all his free time. Especially because I’m almost positive he still needs to work at his day job. Which is… engineering. No, architecture! He used to be an engineer, and that’s why he recognizes how amazing my puzzle is.

I stick a hand under the water and find it’s reached a delightful temperature. “Do you want to join me in here?” I call as I step under the spray. The shower itself is perfection—big enough for three people, with a rainwater head and jets on the sides. If metal didn’t rust, thus making it impossible to bring puzzles in with me, I’d move into this shower.

Micah appears in the doorway, and I peer at him through the steamy glass. “We don’t have time for me to join you,” he says, but his eyes are hot as they skim downward. I’m not sure how much he can see with the steam playing peekaboo, but I slide my hand down my stomach to my cock anyway. The way his breath catches tells me he gets the idea.

“Are you sure? I can be fast.”

His nostrils flare, and for a second I think I have him. Then he takes a step back. “You have no idea how hard it is to say no to you right now.”

I pout and turn back to the spray, hopefully giving him a great view of my ass. “Then why did you?”

“Because I don’t want to tell the council the reason we’re late is that we fucked in the shower. Ten minutes.” He leaves before I can reply.

I reach for the shower gel. Any other time, I might pout and take extra long, but why punish myself? I want to get to the cave, and that means meeting with the council. How bad can it be?

* * *

I’m remindedof that question twenty minutes later when we step out of the teleport room at what Micah tells me is the post office and see Garrett with an anxious face.

“Thank fuck. I thought you were going to be late.”

Micah looks at his watch. “We’ve got three minutes still.”

“Yes, but she’s—” Garrett cuts himself off and widens his eyes.

“What?” Micah groans. “No. Why?”

I look between them like a spectator at a tennis match and wonder if either of them will finish a sentence that’s longer than one word. Context would be helpful here.

Before I can ask, Micah sucks in a deep breath and turns to me. “Be polite. Answer their questions. Don’t say anything… Don’t say anything else. Donottell them I took you to the cave yesterday or that we slept together. Don—”

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