Micah's Mate (Dark Sky) (3 page)

             
“Yes, you get separate quarters.” Katlyn laughed as she moved up the stairs. “Here you go, it’s not the Ritz but it’ll do I guess.”

             
Katlyn moved out of the way for him to enter the small bedroom. “There is a bathroom through there,” she pointed to the door on the right, “and I guess I will see you in the morning?”

             
“I look forward to it.” He set his bag down on the bed and smiled at her. Surprisingly he felt very relaxed with her here. “Good night, Katlyn.”

             
“Good night, Micah.” Katlyn moved out of his room and into hers. Oddly, she actually felt safer with him here in the house with her.

Chapter 2

              Rolling onto her back Katlyn stretched slowly and listened to the birds outside the window. Morning was her favorite time of day; when everything was still quiet and you could hear the birds beginning to wake up, when the sun was just coming through the windows. As the events of last night began rolling through her mind she sat up quickly and looked around; Micah.

             
“Good morning, Katlyn.” Katlyn glanced over toward the sexy, deep voice and found Micah sitting in a chair in the corner watching her intently. He was leaned forward, elbows on his knees, hands clasped under his chin. He appeared to have been deep in thought.

             
“How long have you been sitting there?” she grumbled falling back to the pillows and rolling away from him. Urrrgg, her hair was probably standing on end.

             
“Not long. I didn’t want to disturb you.” Micah let his gaze roam over the woman in the bed. Truth be told he had not been able to leave her in here by herself. His first instinct had been to watch over her while she slept, to ensure that no harm came to her during the night.

             
Katlyn chuckled softly and stretched again, he did not lie well. Rolling toward him she laughed softly, “And you thought staring at me from across the room wouldn’t disturb me?”

             
“Bad choice?” he smiled at her enjoying how her hair was rumpled and she had that sleepy look to her eyes.

             
“Bad choice.” Katlyn confirmed. “Ugh. I am no good without caffeine. Come-on, let’s get some coffee.”

             
Rolling out of bed she tripped over her own feet and stumbled into his lap, “Woops! Guess I haven’t got my balance yet.” she laughed as he caught her against his chest steadying her. Realizing she was inches away from him her breath caught in her throat as her eyes flew to his lips.

             
“You okay?” He asked wishing he could bend down and take her lips with his. She was so close and yet he knew that at this point that would be the wrong move to make.

“Yes, thank you.” Katlyn
gathered her wits and smiled up at him before pulling herself back to her feet continuing her trek. She clambered down the stairs with Micah right behind her and moved to the kitchen. Grabbing cups she fixed both of them coffee and brought it to the table.

             
“Interested in sharing your story with me this morning?” Katlyn looked up at him wondering if she would get the truth from him this soon. If the tables were turned she wouldn’t say a word, it was too soon. He really had no reason to trust her as of yet.

             
“I am unable to tell you. I am sorry.” He glanced down at his cup then back up at her. Telling her could either move her to assist him or it could cause her to toss him out on his ear. Without knowing which she would choose he couldn’t yet chance telling her. There was just too much at risk.

             
Katlyn rose to pull some oatmeal down for breakfast, “I understand.”

             
He quirked an eyebrow, “You are not upset? Not going to push me for answers?”

             
“You’ll tell me when you’re ready.” She smiled at him while putting butter and sugar into the oatmeal. “Trust is a very fragile thing; it has to be earned.”

             
“And yet there are few that think that way.” He murmured shaking his head slightly. Even on his world people did not like being kept in the dark, her acceptance of his need to not elaborate made him more confused. This woman was unlike anyone he had ever met. She intrigued him. Were all women here this easy to speak with, this understanding or was it simply just her. For some reason he was beginning to think it was just her.

             
“I guess.” Katlyn handed him a bowl and sat across from him. “I never was one to think that pushing someone was the best way to get answers. That is generally how you get lies not the truth.” She shrugged her shoulders, “I don’t want to waste my time with lies. So, you’ll tell me when you tell me.”

             
He took a bite of the warm oatmeal and smiled over at her. “That is an interesting way to think about it.” Tasting the food he smiled, “You know, I don’t believe I will ever stop being surprised by the taste of your food. It is good.”

             
“Thank you.”  Reaching out Katlyn turned on the TV partly so that they could watch it as they ate but mainly because she needed a distraction from the waves of pleasure that were rolling off of him even now.

             
Micah’s thoughts were immediately frozen by the newscast in front of him. Realizing what he was seeing he felt the blood drain from his face. They had seen the ships.

“Can you please turn it up?”
The screen was showing one of their ships glowing in the night sky.

             
Katlyn looked over at the screen and reached over to turn it up for them to hear, “Oh my God.” They watched as the newscast showed a green oval object falling through the sky. Someone must have video taped it falling and sent the recording to the media. Katlyn looked over at Micah who in turn glanced over at her worriedly.

             
The T.V. switched to a blonde newswoman standing on the side of the road where you could see multiple people combing the woods behind her, “Multiple unidentified objects were caught on camera falling through the sky last night but no one seems to be able to tell where they struck the earth. Strangely, it seems that each of these was seen in a remote area away from our major cities. Now the search is on to be the first to find them and everyone from our government agencies to our local residents are now on the search. Could these have been simply meteors or could they have been something more? Turn us back on tonight at 10 for more information.”

             
The news broke for a commercial and Micah and Katlyn sat in silence for a second each in their own thoughts.

             
“Micah, I have one question that I need an answer for and I need you to be completely honest with me.” Katlyn said quietly setting her spoon down and looking up at him intently. This was a huge complication they did not need.

             
“Of course, I will not lie to you.” Micah steeled himself for the questions she would ask. Surely she would demand he answer her questions, she had every right to.

             
Katlyn smiled slightly, “Is there a chance that any of those objects are going to be found if those people continue to look?”

             
“You don’t seem very surprised about any of this. You knew about them; about me?” He set his spoon down at her nod. Well, she was full of surprises. It seemed that she had her on secrets that she was not willing to share. Suddenly, her acceptance of him, of his unusual behavior; now it all made sense.

             
“Yes.” Katlyn leaned back in her chair and waited for him to answer her question.

             
Sighing he met her gaze, “No, they will not be found.” He spoke softly but intently.

             
“You’re sure of this?” They needed to be absolutely certain, if one of these was found and it was found close by it would lead the hunter’s right here. There was nothing else to distract them, there were no neighbors to slow down the search; this cabin was the only thing in the woods for 20 miles.

             
“I am sure. There are devices aboard each that will make them completely undetectable.” He ran a hand through his hair; thankful this was one worry he did not have. Glancing over at Katlyn he frowned realizing where she was going with this. She was definitely more than just a pretty face; she had already put two and two together and realized that the men in the forest were tracking him; that Officer Carver was tracking him.

             
Katlyn sighed in relief, “Good.” She picked up her spoon and returned to eating.

             
“You are not going to question me further? I can tell you have more questions.” Surely she wanted to know more than just that.

Katlyn
looked up into his quizzical stare. “No. Nothing has changed; you will tell me when you are comfortable telling me, not before.”  Katlyn said and proceeded to finish her bowl as he watched.

             
Shaking his head he smiled, “You are very different than the women I have known.” Micah couldn’t quite figure her out. She was so accepting of him, of the situation she was in. She wanted to know, that he could sense that from her, the curiosity. But she didn’t push for answers, she allowed him to let down his guard around her at his own pace. Very few people were like that.

             
“Hopefully, that is a good thing.” Handing him the remote to the T.V., she stood and put her bowl in the sink. “I’m going to take a shower, watch whatever you would like.”

             
Katlyn went up to the shower and smiled as she heard the channels changing in the room she had just left. It didn’t take him long to figure things out.

             
Adjusting the hot water Katlyn climbed into the shower and sighed, the water felt so good running down her skin; almost as good as what she had felt downstairs with Micah. She allowed her mind to wander back to last night and the unusual feelings that had come over her. She could still feel the need coursing through her body but it had lessened now, dimmed by space and time. How he had that much control over her she couldn’t even imagine. As she thought about it she imagined how it would be to have him touch her physically as the need washed over her. She could almost feel his hands on her caressing her. Her eyes flew open as she heard the door crash open. Quickly she clamped down on the need coursing through her body.

“Micah, coming in here while I am in the shower is not allowed.”

              “I am sorry. I needed to know….I felt…” He stopped in mid sentence as his eyes met hers through the clear glass door.  Micah saw her under a spray of water completely naked to his gaze and felt as though all the breath had left his body; she was beautiful. Long legs, a small waist and breasts that were too large for her frame, long curly hair that came down to almost her waist, big eyes and full lips. At his gaze her nipples became hard and Micah watched as water rolled off of them completely captivated. 

             
Katlyn felt heat cover her body as he looked at her. Meeting his hungry gaze she felt a wave of need and want rolled over her causing her to gasp in surprise at the force of it.

“Micah.
”, her stomach clenched almost painfully as he ran his smoldering gaze over her body. Katlyn’s hand shook as she pressed it against the wall behind her for support. The look of need on his face was so pronounced she whimpered softly. His gaze was like a physical caress on her body.

             
Micah felt an overwhelming urge to go to her. To push open the door she was behind and pull her against his body. He had never seen anyone as deeply affected by his moods as she was, had never seen anyone so open. The women of his world were equipped with a kind of mental barrier that softened the intrusion of their male’s emotions and feelings; Katlyn did not seem to have this. Interesting, it was something he needed to think on; if he took her as a mate as he planned how would she be affected? How would he?

Slowly, Micah backed out of
the bathroom and shut the door softly behind him. It was only three steps and yet it was the hardest the steps he had ever had to take in his life. Leaning against the closed door he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could still feel her through the door doing the same thing. Quietly, Micah pulled away from the door and went back downstairs.

The
minute it closed Katlyn sucked in a deep breath, closed her eyes and waited for her heart rate to settle before she turned off the water and grabbed a towel. They were going to have to sit down and have a talk about what happened every time his emotions overloaded.

She paused letting her thoughts wander; w
hat would happen if he touched her? What would it feel like? Shaking herself, she pushed those thoughts from her mind. Thinking about it would not help the situation.

             
Throwing on a tank top and a pair of shorts she headed back downstairs.

             
Micah felt more than heard her come into the room; “Katlyn, I apologize. I don’t know what happened.” He was facing the window in the kitchen leaning on the edge of the sink. One look and Katlyn could see the muscles tightly bunched through his shirt, his shoulders pulled taunt with tension.

             
“It’s okay Micah. I should have explained to you what I was actually doing.” Katlyn poured a glass of coke and sat down at the table.

             
“I understood what you were doing but after you went up I felt….” He stopped and turned toward her a look of confusion on his face. Micah wasn’t sure if he should say exactly what he had felt. It had been very strange for him; he could only imagine what she would think.