“I want to, Micah. But I'm scared,” she admitted.
“Come here, pretty girl.” Turning her around so she was facing him, he grabbed the condom he’d brought with him, and ripped it open, sliding it on, then lifting Teresa and lowering her down onto him slowly. “Even if you can't give me a second chance, I will stillalwaysbe there for you. Any time, day or night, all you have to do is call and I’ll come.”
“I'm sure your bosses would love that,” she teased. “Sorry I have to leave this highly sensitive and covert op because my ex-girlfriend needs something.”
“The woman I love,” he corrected, making her blush. “Even when I'm on the other side of the world, I'm still only a phone call away. I don’t want you to ever have to carry another heavy burden alone again. Never again,” he insisted as he started to move, thrusting up into her while holding her still so she didn't put undue pressure on her healing wound. “Never again.”
Teresa’s fingers clutched his shoulders as he thrust harder, more desperately, he needed her to understand how much he loved her and how sorry he was for abandoning her.
“Touch yourself, pretty girl. Need you to come first.”
One of her hands dipped immediately between them, finding her bundle of nerves and working it with the same frenetic energy he felt. Her internal walls quivered, and a moment later she cried out his name as they clamped around him, setting off his own orgasm.
It flooded his system with so much pleasure he couldn’t think straight. All he could do was feel, and pray Teresa felt it, too. The almost otherworldly connection that had always existed between them. It was like it was snapping back into place.
As the orgasm faded and he pulled out of Teresa, laying her down and disappearing to the bathroom to dispose of the condom and grab a washcloth to clean her up, he could only hope that’s what the feeling had been. Once he’d cleaned her up, switched off the lights, and tucked them both in, something settled inside him as Teresa didn't hesitate to snuggle into his embrace as he pressed his front up against her side, spooning her as best as he could with her needing to sleep on her back because of her wound.
She was letting him in little by little, but was she ever going to be comfortable enough with him to let go of the fear and let him hold onto her heart again?
CHAPTER 17
May7th
2:27 A.M.
A shrill shriekjerked her from sleep.
Confused and still half asleep, Teresa blinked open her eyes and lifted her head, trying to figure out what was going on and what the obnoxious noise was.
She’d been out like a light within minutes of lying down and snuggling into Micah’s warm body. He’d always been so cozy. When they were teens and it was cold out, she’d always just tucked herself close and absorbed some of his body heat. Even though years had passed and there had been so much bad blood between them, it had been much easier than she would have guessed to curl up against him.
Because she was healing.
Like she’d told him last night, there was lingering pain, and there would likely be a scar left behind. They could never completely go back to how things had been between them when they were teenagers, but she was healing, and it was getting easier to let him in.
Now his large body moved beside her, seemingly waking with a lot more clarity than she had, because she felt him tense, and then he was flinging the covers back.
“Get dressed,” he ordered, already searching for clothes for her and thrusting them at her.
“Dressed? Is that the fire alarm?” she asked, finally realizing what the sound was.
“Yes,” Micah replied, his voice clipped as he found her a pair of shoes.
If she’d been wearing pajamas, Teresa would have been happy to just leave in them, but she was naked, and fire alarm or not, she wasn't going out of her apartment without clothing on. Shoving her legs into the leggings Micah had gotten, she realized with sinking clarity what was really going on.
“It’s a trap,” she said, standing and carefully easing the leggings up so the band didn't sit pressed against her healing wound.
“It is,” Micah agreed. Since he wasn't bothering to shield her from the worry rolling off him in waves, she knew he wasn't just concerned, he was terrified.
“The guys are out there,” she reminded him, grabbing the oversized T-shirt and pulling it over her head. “And you're here. They won't get to me.”
Although she said the words to reassure Micah, they both knew they weren't necessarily true. While she would stick to Micah’s side like glue, there would be a lot of people out there, and it would be far too easy for them to get separated.
Which was the point.
These people had decided to create chaos in order to flush them out and make an abduction attempt that much easier.
But she had no intention of making any of it easier for them.
