14. Micah

"Everything is starting to wind down. I think that we can make our escape now if you are ready to go home," Micah said.

"I'm ready," Lucy replied.

"We'll say our goodbyes to Angie and Noah and slip out."

Five minutes later, they were settled in Micah's truck, heading home.

"Did you have fun?" he asked.

"I did. Our clan had its annual celebration that was a lot like that at home. It was fun getting to know everyone," Lucy said. "I won one of the silent auctions."

"What did you get?"

"A home spa kit, with bath salts, bubble bath, a loofah, lotion, and a couple other things."

"Awesome. All of those baskets were donated, so a hundred percent of the proceeds go to the sanctuary," Micah said. "The people who run the sanctuary are amazing. They take in abused, dumped, and hard-to-adopt animals. They are a no-kill shelter."

"I love that idea. When everything settles down, I'll check them out and find myself a fur baby."

Vera, Michelle, and Ronnie had left the party an hour earlier, so the house was quiet. Micah held Lucy's hand as they walked up the stairs. He didn't want to let her go. He led her to his bedroom and shut the door.

Micah touched her face gently and kissed her. Heat rose between them as the kiss intensified. Their breaths mingled as the kiss told of an intense hunger they had for each other.

He unzipped her dress and it fell into a pool at her feet. She stepped out of it. Lucy pulled off his tuxedo jacket and tossed it to the chair. She deftly unbuttoned his shirt and sent it flying across the room to join the jacket. Lucy picked up her dress and dropped it into the chair.

Their arms wrapped around each other and their lips met again. They fell into the bed and their bodies joined together. Micah rolled onto his back, pulling Lucy on top of him. She moved her hips up and down, stroking him with her silken inner walls.

It didn't take long for them both to find the sweet release they ached for. Lucy fell onto the bed next to Micah.

"How did I do driving the bus?"

He grinned. "Perfect. You did everything right."

"Good. I don't like to disappoint."

"You could never do that," Micah assured her.

Micah wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him. He breathed in her scent and thought about a conversation he had with Zac about fated mates. Zac had known immediately after meeting Olivia that she was his fated mate. Zac told Micah that her scent stayed with him. He could smell her sweet scent everywhere he went. Although Micah had always thought the concept of fated mates was a fairy tale, he had to admit that Olivia and Zac were perfect for each other. He had never seen two people more in love.

A thought crossed his mind. Could Lucy be his fated mate? It was a coincidence that she just happened to come to the human world at the exact same time he decided to find a surrogate. There's no such thing as coincidence. Everything happens for a reason.

He thought about the course of their relationship. She was originally hired to be a surrogate. Micah wanted to make her feel comfortable with him so that when the time came to have sex, she would feel good. It would be harder for her to conceive if she was tense about the situation. Somewhere along the way, though, he had started to develop strong feelings for her.

We'll talk, soon. I know she has feelings for me. With that thought, he fell asleep.

After breakfast, Micah asked, "How about a trip to the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument. We'll take a picnic lunch and make a day of it."

Lucy grinned. "That sounds awesome."

They listened to true crime podcasts on the drive. "I love true crime for two reasons."

"Let me guess – so you know what the criminals did wrong and you know not to make the same mistake, and you learn how the cops solve crimes so you can avoid detection."

"How did you know?" Lucy asked. "I always wanted to grow up and become a serial criminal."

He laughed.

"Actually, you aren't far off. The true crime shows help me write a more realistic book. I know more about police procedures and forensic stuff," she said. "I also like to learn about why people commit evil acts. What compels them to hurt others? What makes it okay?"

"Interesting. And I just thought that you liked true crime because you're a ghoul."

"You never know, I might be."

Lucy loved exploring the cliff dwellings and enjoyed the trails, but sat down gratefully when it was time for lunch.

"I don't know if it's the exercise or the baby, but I'm starving."

Vera packed cold fried chicken, potato salad, and pumpkin pie.

"I know that woman loves me. Pumpkin pie is my favorite."

"They all adore you," Micah said. "I think I might be getting a little jealous."

Lucy rolled her eyes and laughed.

Micah looked around the park and sighed. "This is one of the places Mom brought me to. We would do a tour and have a picnic. They were some of my favorite times when I was a kid."

"Did your dad ever go?"

"No. He's not one for family stuff," Micah said. "To be perfectly honest, part of the fun in these trips was getting away from him."

"I'm sorry that you went through that," she said.

Micah shrugged. "It is what it is."

"What about your folks?"

"They are the best. Mom and Dad are very loving. They were stern and none of us was able to get away with anything, but they weren't mean about it. I've been keeping them updated on the surrogacy and pregnancy. They are worried about me but supportive."

I wonder what they would think if they knew that I had feelings for Lucy?

"Tell them that you're in good hands. I'm here for you and you have a bunch of other people who are in your corner."

Lucy grinned at him. She reached out and touched his hand. "You know, I uh… I really…"

Just then a group of people rushed by and one of them accidentally bumped Lucy.

"I'm so sorry," the woman said. "I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No worries," Lucy said, smiling.

The crowd passed and Lucy started picking up the remnants of their lunch. "Shall we continue on?"

Micah wanted more than anything to ask Lucy what she was about to say, but she busied herself with putting everything back in the pack. She reached for his hand and headed for one of the trailheads.

That evening, while Lucy was getting washed up for dinner, Vera and Michelle pulled Micah aside.

"We're worried about Lucy," Vera said.

"Why? What's wrong?" Micah asked, his heart starting to pound. "Is she sick? Do you think that there is something wrong with the baby?"

Michelle laughed and shook her head. "No, nothing like that."

"Lucy is falling in love with you, if she hasn't already completely fallen head over heels," Vera said.

"We see the way she looks at you and talks about you," Michelle said. "We're not sure if she even knows the depth of her feelings, but it is written all over her face."

"If you aren't careful, you're going to break her heart," Vera said. "Then, we'll have to kick your butt."

Micah said, "There's no need for violence, ladies. To be honest, I have feelings for her, too. I'm not at the point where I can say that I'm in love with her or anything, but there is something there – something that tugs deep inside of me when we're together or when I think about her. I love spending time with her. She's an amazing woman."

Vera's face lit up and she looked at Michelle, who was grinning from ear to ear.

"You may as well propose to her now because it's a done deal," Vera said. "The writing is in the stars, as they say."

"I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything to Lucy about this conversation. I'm trying to sort out my thoughts. You know me. It takes me a long time to process information and make a careful decision."

"You overthink things sometimes," Michelle said. "Sometimes you have to just go with your gut."

"Or in this case, your heart," Vera said.

"But we promise not to say anything," Michelle said.

"For now," Vera added with a smirk.

Rose visited him in his office the next morning with donuts in hand.

"Three times? Really, Mom? This is getting to be a habit. Pretty soon, I'll expect a visit and donuts at least twice a week."

"You know I'd do it."

"What's the occasion?" Micah asked.

"I just wanted to see how things were going. Caroline talked to me at the fundraiser. She was as mad as an old wet hen. She was trying to get information out of me about Lucy and what I thought your relationship with Lucy was. Caroline also hinted that she was going to try to figure out how to make Lucy go back to the shifter world."

"Ugh. That woman," Micah groaned. "I've told her point blank that I have absolutely no interest in her."

"Some people aren't able to understand or handle being rejected. In Caroline's case, she likely just thinks that you are blind and that you will change your mind once Lucy is out of the picture."

"I wonder if Caroline would leave if she suddenly won an all-expense paid vacation to Europe."

"I honestly doubt if she would go. She has a mission here and she's not about to abort it. Caroline is determined to have you. Lucy needs to watch her back."

"She's aware," Micah said. "Although Caroline told Lucy that she and I were promised to each other and going to go through the mating ceremony, Lucy knows the truth. She also knows that Caroline is a formidable enemy."

Rose looked at Micah speculatively and a slight smile curved her lips. "I saw the two of you dancing together. I saw the way that Lucy looked at you and how you looked at her. The chemistry between the two of you was obvious to anyone with eyes. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"We have feelings for each other, but we haven't talked about them," Micah said. "I like to take things slow and make sure that it isn't just the heat of the moment type of thing."

"You don't believe that," Rose said. "You're just scared of jumping into a commitment."

"Maybe a little. If we don't work out, things could get a little sticky, especially with the baby involved. I don't think that Lucy would be vindictive or anything, but I just want to make sure that everything is good," Micah said. "Although I have a feeling that a conversation between Lucy and me about our relationship is going to happen sooner rather than later. She's pregnant."

"Woohoo," Rose yelled, clapping her hands.

"We're keeping it quiet for now, and I really don't want Dad to know. I don't want to deal with his crap, and I certainly don't want Lucy having to deal with it. She has enough to contend with regarding Caroline, who has confronted Lucy at least twice."

"You know, people disappear all the time," Rose said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Mom, I can't believe you said that."

"You know that I protect mine. Lucy and that baby are a part of us. If Caroline does anything, I'll yank her by the hair of the head and twirl her around like a shot-put."

"Mom." Micah laughed.

Micah was smiling when his mother left. She was right. Lucy was a part of the family and she was a part of him.