6. Micah

Micah smiled as he pictured Lucy's reaction to him. She had stared at him as though she had never seen a naked man before. She had licked her lips as she looked him up and down with wide eyes. He could see the want in her blue eyes.

Lucy was incredibly sexy. Micah had to think of trains and buses to keep his shaft from getting hard. He was a little surprised. Even though he had strong feelings for Angie, he never worried about reacting physically to her. Of course, he hadn't seen her naked often, since she was human. She usually wore a bathing suit when she swam in the pool or creek, or relaxed in the hot tub.

He stared off into space as he imagined how he would have sex with her the first time. Micah knew that she would be nervous and unsure of herself. He would touch her body, caressing her to relax her muscles. Micah licked his lips as he pictured himself tantalizing her nipples and touching her heated wetness to make sure she was ready for him.

I will make sure that it is an enjoyable experience for her. I will take my time and ensure that her first time is memorable and amazing.

His thoughts were interrupted when Martha rapped on his door.

She rolled her eyes and said, "Caroline is here to see you. She is insisting that you talk to her."

Micah knew that Caroline had probably been rude and condescending to Martha, although the older woman would never complain. Caroline would become increasingly nasty to Martha if she didn't get her way.

"Show her in," Micah said, with a huge sigh.

He really didn't want to deal with her, but there was no point in putting her off.

"Hello, Micah," Caroline said as she pranced into his office.

Her blond hair had likely taken hours to get into that perfect arrangement and her makeup was impeccable. She was dressed to the nines and was loaded with diamond earrings, necklace, bracelets, and rings. He automatically compared her to Lucy's simple taste in dress and jewelry.

"Caroline," Micah said.

"There is an event in Santa Fe Saturday night, hosted by one of the state senators. It is a dinner and dancing. We should go together," Caroline said. "Dinner starts at six. When should I expect you to pick me up?"

"You shouldn't because I'm not going. If I did intend to go, it wouldn't be with you."

"Why do you have to be that way? You know that you and I are meant to be together. Now that Angie has married that alpha, you and I can focus on our relationship."

"I'm not sure what Angie has to do with anything, but we don't have a relationship," Micah said.

"Everyone knows that you were in love with Angie. We never had a chance to have a relationship because you were so fixated on her. Now that she's gone, you and I can be together."

"Nope. Not going to happen," Micah said. "I don't see you that way. I could never be in a relationship with you. I'm sorry."

"You're still blinded, but you will see the truth soon. You know I adore you, and we'll be great mates for each other."

Micah knew that it was useless to argue with her. "I have a lot of work to do. Please excuse me."

"You'll come around. You'll see," she said as she whirled around and stormed out of the door.

He coughed. The air was thick with her heavy perfume and it gagged him. Micah threw open the windows and stared at the woods that bordered his property. Although it was necessary, he hated being cooped up in his office.

Reluctantly, he sat back in his chair and stared at the proposal that Ginger had put in front of him. There was some prime real estate that had been put up for sale. It was a thirty-acre parcel, which meant that sixty nice-sized houses could be built. All of the environmental tests came back, proving that the land was safe. There were no heavy metals or other toxins in the ground that would make people sick or kill them. It was a good investment and Micah signed the order.

Leaning back in his chair, he laced his hands behind his head and closed his eyes. Once again, images of Lucy popped into his brain. He could almost feel her silky soft skin beneath his fingertips.

A sudden thought occurred to him. He wondered if Lucy would want to be a part of the baby's life. Before he got to know her, he had figured that he would get the surrogate pregnant, she would deliver, and then be on her merry way. Although Lucy said that she could do that, he knew it would be hard for her.

Lucy would be a good mother. But what would happen if I found a suitable mate? How would that work?

He sighed heavily and leaned forward, drumming his fingers on his desk.

"It would work just fine," he muttered to himself. "Blended families and all that. People did it all the time."

"Pardon?"

He looked up sharply to see Martha standing in his doorway.

"I knocked. I thought you heard me."

"I'm sorry. I guess I was lost in thought. What's up?"

"Ginger wanted to know if you had a chance to look at the proposal."

"I did, and I signed it," he said. "I'm going to work on the house. The walls are closing in on me. You know where to find me."

"Have fun," she said.

That night, after dinner, Micah and Lucy walked through the garden.

"I wanted to talk to you about something," he said.

"Okay," she said, nervously.

"When we first started this process, it was with the idea that you would have the baby and then we would go our separate ways," he said.

"Yes."

"I was thinking…" Micah started.

"Uh-oh. When people start thinking, that usually spells trouble," she joked, trying to ease the tension."

"True statement," Micah acknowledged. "But I was thinking that you might like to be a part of the baby's life after it is born. You can watch it grow up and be there for all the milestones."

"You mean I get to be the crazy auntie who picks up the kid, spoils it, and then brings it back for you to deal with?" Lucy grinned.

"There is no way that you are going to swoop in and then leave me with the aftermath," Micah said.

Lucy smiled cheekily and said, "Who's got some candy for the baby? Auntie Lucy has candy for the baby."

Micah grabbed her and started tickling her.

Lucy laughed hard and said, "Stop. You're going to make me pee my pants."

They bantered back and forth as they continued their walk.

If nothing else, we have a good friendship starting,Micah thought.

The next morning, Angie and Apollo, her faithful dog, came to the house after Micah and Lucy returned from the treatments.

"Lucy, this is my friend, Angie. She lives in the shifter world and is mated with the alpha from the Silent Paw Wolf Pack. We work on a lot of projects together," Micah said. "Lucy will be my house guest for a while."

"I just moved here from the shifter world, too," Lucy said. "I'm from the Thunder Claw Bear Shifter Clan."

"I think your clan's territory is pretty close to ours," Angie said. "It's nice to meet you."

"You, too. Can I sit in while you talk about your projects?" Lucy asked.

"Of course," Angie said, enthusiastically.

They talked about the animal sanctuary. Lucy loved animals and wanted to help.

"I don't have money that I can contribute, but I have great writing skills. I can help with press releases, brochures, and any publications."

"That's perfect," Angie said. "We would be glad to use your talents for the domestic violence shelter, too."

Micah watched the two women interact. It was almost as though they had formed an instant bond. They fed off of each other's excitement over the projects. They joked around and talked as though they had known each other forever.

The more he studied them, the more he realized that all of the old feelings he once had for Angie had disappeared. He still loved her but now as a good friend. None of the desires that once consumed him when he was close to Angie existed anymore.

Once all the plans for their next fundraising event were hashed out, Angie said, "I need to be going. I still have to see Flora and stop by the house before I get back to the baby."

She hugged Micah and kissed him on the cheek. Angie and Lucy hugged like they were old friends.

"I'll see you soon," Angie promised.

Micah's phone blinged. Tom wanted to talk to him about another opportunity. Micah's heart just wasn't in it, though.

"Do you want to go for a jog?"

"Sure," she said.

Lucy tried not to stare at him as he undressed, but he caught her looking at him under her eyelashes. He thought about teasing her but decided that he didn't want to embarrass her.

Micah's mouth literally watered and he had to focus really hard on the trees around him as Lucy undressed. She bent over to pull her pants off. Her ass was perfect and he could see a hint of her womanhood peeking out from between her legs. He wanted nothing more than to lay her on the ground at that moment and take her, making wild passionate love to her.

The mountain was full of life. The rabbits, squirrels, and chipmunks were everywhere. The leaves blew in the breeze and birds were singing. He inhaled the sweet scent of the pine trees.

He caught a whiff of something else, too. It was the intoxicating mixture of vanilla and Lucy's essence. The scent was intoxicating. It tugged at his very soul. Micah had never felt anything like it before.

A loud rustling alerted him to the wolves coming toward them from the trees. He sniffed the air and sighed.

"Conner and Zac," he greeted the wolves warmly. "How are you?"

"We're good. Zac decided that if he had to go to one more meeting, he was going to lose his mind. I rescued him."

"That's a good thing. We don't need our alpha to be insane. Who knows what kind of crazy ideas he would try to implement," Micah said.

"What's worse is that either Ian, his second, or I would have to take over his duties until the baby gets big enough. Neither of us wants that," Conner said.

Lucy was hanging back a little bit.

Micah nodded in her direction and said, "This is my friend, Lucy."

Both wolves studied the black bear for a second.

"Nice to meet you, Lucy," Conner said.

"Ditto," Zac agreed.

"Good to meet you, too," Lucy said, shyly.

"I guess I had better get back before the elders have a meltdown," Zac said. "We'll see you guys later."

Lucy and Micah continued their walk. He could feel Lucy's anxiety.

"Do they know about me? About us?" she asked.

"They do, but they have nothing but the utmost respect for you," Micah assured her.

They stopped by a little oasis near the creek and shifted. The floor was carpeted with multicolored wildflowers. The warm rays of the sun beamed down on them.

Lucy stepped into the water and splashed around. Micah waded in next to her. He couldn't help himself. He put both hands on her face and pressed his lips to hers.

She tasted sweet, like honey. Lucy wrapped her arms around him, and they stood with their bodies tightly together as he consumed her with his kiss.

A low moan escaped from the back of Lucy's throat as the kiss intensified.

After several minutes, Micah raised his head and smiled at Lucy. She smiled back, the hunger in her eyes unmistakable.