The Redemption of Micah

by Beth Williamson

  Yet that’s exactly what happened.

  The door to his room opened slowly and he waited for Miracle to appear. She would frequently jump into bed with him when she had a bad dream. Ever since Eppie woke up, Miracle had snuck into his bed at least half a dozen times.

  He propped himself up on an elbow when the door opened wider. However, the little moppet didn’t appear.

  Eppie did.

  His heart kicked into a gallop and a flush spread from the top of his head to his feet. He lay down, regretting the fact he slept nude. He didn’t want to scare her, but she was entering his room uninvited, and his body reacted.

  She never needed an invitation. She could sleep there every night and he’d never complain.

  He wasn’t sure if he should play possum and see what she did, or be honest and let her know he was awake. She stopped in the doorway and waited, the only sounds the small sigh from her mouth and Micah’s blood rushing past his ears. He thought for a moment she’d step into the room, but when she started to turn, Micah made his decision.

  “Wait.”

  She jumped a bit, but she didn’t leave.

  “Please, don’t go.”

  He saw her hand tighten on the knob in the shadows. Micah took the proverbial leap off the cliff and opened his arms. If he didn’t, he might never see her come through the bedroom door again. He couldn’t stand the thought of that possibility.

  “I know you don’t remember me or anything about what happened before you went into the coma. I’m not going to force you into anything you don’t want to do, but I just want you to know that I will wait for you.” He held out one shaking hand. “I only ask that you give us a chance. You found joy in my arms once already, let’s start again.” His heart ached with the knowledge if she walked away, there was likely no chance he’d ever get Eppie in his arms again.

  Time stopped for a moment and then she closed the door. Micah could have done a jig; instead he pulled the covers back and climbed out of bed. His body tightened with arousal, hope, and downright disbelief as he approached her. She didn’t move, just stood by the door, but he could hear her panting. Her scent washed over him, and the moment was so sweet, he never wanted it to end.

  When he held out his hand, even in the shadows, he saw it trembling. Eppie might have been hesitant when she came into the room, but she put her hand in his immediately. He let out a sigh of relief and threaded his fingers with hers—they fit together perfectly. Micah didn’t want to push her too fast, too soon, even if he felt as though he’d explode with waiting, wanting. He led her to the bed and sat down, controlling his breathing and his rampant erection with monumental effort.

  “Please sit.”

  He could sense her hesitation, but she sat next to him. The warmth from her body reached out to his and the chill he’d felt for weeks suddenly disappeared. She was there, right there at his side. That was something to celebrate.

  His voice was low enough that only she could hear him. “I’ve missed you.”

  She blew out a breath. “I couldn’t stop myself from coming here. I told myself to stay in bed, but I had a dream.”

  “Was I in your dream?”

  “Yes, and it wasn’t the first time.” She let out a painful chuckle. “I think my body remembers you.”

  Micah’s heart slammed into his ribs. Her body remembered him? “I can’t tell you how glad I am.” An understatement, to be sure. “Will you let me touch you, Elizabeth?”

  He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb and felt a tremble race across her skin.

  “Yes.” Her whisper was so soft he barely heard it, but it echoed through his heart loud and clear.

  He leaned in and pressed his nose to her neck, breathing in her unique scent. She sat unmoving, but goosebumps raced down her skin. Smiling, he kissed her neck and collarbone, running his tongue along the little niche. She tasted of woman, of love, of pure sensuality.

  His hand ran down her thigh and back, nudging her knees open. Each pass brought the nightdress higher and higher until he brushed the soft curls protecting her core. She started in surprise, but didn’t pull away.

  “Mmmm, you taste good.” He lapped at her small ear, nibbling on the delicate shell and blowing softly.

  “You feel good.” She leaned forward and before Micah knew what she was doing, she’d removed her nightdress and sat just as naked as he.

  His dick yowled in triumph, practically dancing in pain as it caught wind of the woman who excited him like no other. He felt amost primal as if he would throw her down and fuck her until her eyes crossed. However, he knew that wasn’t the best idea. He’d seduced her, shown her the pleasures between a man and a woman, down by the river.

  This time, he wanted her to participate.

  “Touch me.” He took her hand and placed it on his throbbing erection.

  As if she still remembered what he liked, her hand closed around him and tugged. When her thumb landed on the head, she flicked the tender spot as she’d always done. Micah sucked in a much-needed breath and focused on not coming on her hand.

  “Feels good?”

  He let out a pained chuckle. “Any better and we’d be done already.”

  Her husky laugh made every small hair on his body stand up. “You’re beautiful to touch.”

  Micah hissed through his teeth as she added another hand to the fun and cupped his balls. So good his eyes crossed in rapture, pulses of arousal radiating from his dick. “Your touch is pretty amazing.”

  “So is yours.”

  He’d forgotten about her pleasure momentarily. An unacceptable situation—Micah could still claim to be a gentleman. He cupped her breasts, the nipples begging for attention. She leaned into his touch, and he obliged by teasing, pinching and caressing until she moaned, although he was having trouble concentrating because of her talented hands.

  “I must taste,” he managed to get out. “They are gifts from the gods.”

  She chuckled. “You’ve been reading too many books.”

  He laid her back on the bed with trembling hands, eager as a schoolboy with his first woman. Yet, she was the last woman he would be with, the only woman in his heart.

  His mouth closed around one pert nipple even as her hand continued to pleasure his dick. He licked, nibbled and sucked at her glorious breasts, punctuating each swipe of his tongue with a pinch on the opposite nipple.

  “Micah, I need more.” Eppie didn’t ask, she demanded. It was a small window into the woman who used to be in his arms.

  “Happy to oblige you my lady.”

  He nudged her legs open, finding her cunt wet and hot enough to make his breath catch. She was so perfect, so ready for him. Micah almost forgot his own name when his staff slid against her moist folds.

  “Ah, God, yes.” She breathed. “That’s what I need.”

  If he had a thought in his head, he would have been overjoyed to hear Eppie needed his touch. However, he focused instead on pleasuring both of them.

  Slowly he entered her, inch by glorious inch, until he was firmly embedded deep within. Bolts of pure ecstasy rippled through him and he had to pause before moving, or risk losing control completely. His heart thudded so hard, no doubt the neighbors half a mile away heard it.

  “Move.”

  He managed a strangled chuckle at her command. Yet he obeyed. His stroke was long and intense, pulling all the way out of her before thrusting back in again. He latched on to her breast again, even as his hand settled between them to heighten her gratification.

  It was a symphony of flesh, conducted for the sole purpose of mutual satisfaction. Micah knew a moment where the world around them stopped, the experience so exquisite, even time had to cease. Sweet, delicious and insatiable, he could feel her velvet walls clench around him.

  Micah held onto his sanity by a slim thread as his balls tightened. When he bit her nipple, she bucked beneath him, her breath coming in gasps. Her heated core became one with his staff, catapulting him into the most intense
orgasm of his life. Wave after wave of rapture crashed over him as he thrust into her. Her name sprang from his lips as their bodies fused in a melting heap of sexual energy.

  Micah had no idea how long he was lost in the throes of passion. When a final shudder of contentment left him, he rolled to his side, pulling her close. Her breath puffed against his chest as their hearts thudded against each other, the ribs absorbing the rhythm of an ancient dance.

  “To think I dreamed of this. It was definitely not the same.” She squeezed his arm.

  “I’m glad to know I can surpass your imaginings.” Micah kissed the top of her head, amazed to have her still in his arms. The dark night had proven to be the light in his life.

  She sighed and he sensed she was going to say something he didn’t want to hear. “Micah, what happens between us in the dark shouldn’t happen again.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because we aren’t married and we haven’t even begun to sort out our relationship.” Eppie sat up, leaving him cold and alone on the sheets as a crack appeared in his heart.

  “That’s not true, and you know it. We’re sorting it out right here.” He couldn’t lose her, not after that experience.

  “That’s not what I mean. There has always been a physical tie between us.” She looked down at him, the moon turning her into a blue goddess. “I can’t think when I’m in your arms.”

  “And I can’t survive without being in yours.”

  He knew it was the wrong thing to say when she jumped out of bed. She pulled the nightdress back on, then stood for a moment, seeming to catch her breath.

  “I can’t be who you want me to be.” She leaned forward and kissed him quick. “You’re in love with a ghost.”

  Before he could answer, she left the room, leaving him to his self-pity. He pressed a fist to his aching heart, wishing he had the power to make her memory return, knowing she was right.

  He was in love with a ghost.

  Chapter Seven

  For the next week, Micah and Eppie tiptoed around each other. Their morning breakfast time had been filled with uncomfortable silence. Micah wanted their easy camaraderie back, but Eppie seemed to be farther away than ever.

  He watched her over the coffee cup.

  “Stop staring at me.” She nibbled on the biscuit with jam. “It makes me feel odd.”

  “Sorry, I don’t mean to stare.” He swirled the coffee in his cup. “I miss you.”

  She let out a long sigh. “I’m sitting right in front of you.”

  “You know what I mean. Ever since you came to my room—”

  She shushed him. “There are little ears and big ears in this house.”

  He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Ever since you came to my room and we made love, you’ve been hiding from me.”

  Eppie opened her mouth, then closed it. She seemed to deflate in front of his eyes. “You’re right.”

  “I am? You’ve been hiding from me?” He had suspected it was true, but to hear her admit it made it slam into his heart like a horse kick.

  “Yes, I have.” She met his gaze. “You scare me, Micah. I want to find out who I am before I make a decision about who I want to be with for the rest of my life.”

  “I’m not forcing you into anything.” He sounded petulant, but couldn’t seem to stop himself. “You came to me and dare I say, you enjoyed it immensely.”

  “Dammit, Micah, that’s not what I meant and you know it.” She whispered harshly. “You’re a forceful personality, whether or not you admit it. I can’t think when I’m around you.”

  “You’re afraid.” His accusation made her eyes widen.

  “Probably true, but you make me afraid. You’re too much.” She pinched the bridge of her nose.

  Micah felt her slipping through his fingers and he panicked. He rose to his feet and watched as he threw away the relationship he’d built with her over the last few weeks.

  “Then I should leave you alone for good.” He threw the coffee cup into the sink, splashing coffee all over the window like brown streaks of blood. “I apologize for my rude behavior, Miss Archer. I won’t bother you anymore.”

  Before Eppie could answer, Micah left the kitchen. He needed to go somewhere and lick his wounds. He obviously had trouble being patient and recognizing how much others were suffering. Selfish bastard that he was, Micah wanted Eppie back in his arms every day, not once in a while when she wanted to.

  If the situation grew any worse, he might have to leave for a while, and give her all the time she needed without him. Perhaps he should have done that three years ago and he wouldn’t have a broken heart again.

  Micah headed for the parlor, ignoring anything and everything. It was time to quench his thirst.

  Eppie went looking for him just before supper. She hadn’t looked for him all day because of his behavior earlier. Micah had been sarcastic and mean, hurting her as he apparently was hurting. It angered her, and she’d been avoiding him all day.

  Yet when Miracle came to her and asked where Daddy was, Eppie grew concerned. He wasn’t the type of father to leave his daughter alone and she was scared for him.

  Eppie had a feeling she knew where he’d be, and unfortunately, she was right. The parlor stank of whiskey, sweat and man, making her nose wrinkle. From what she was told by Madeline, he used to drink all the time, losing himself in a bottle more than not. However, she’d only seen him drunk once since she’d awakened from the coma.

  Until now.

  He was sprawled on the settee, arms and legs splayed every which way. A soft snore told her he was asleep. Eppie didn’t want to feel for him, but she did. He’d come to mean something to her, as a friend and as someone who obviously cared a great deal for her.

  Even if he did know how to make her angry.

  Either way, he was done for the day and she wasn’t about to even attempt to move him. With a sigh, she took the afghan from the wingback chair and covered him with it. He shifted in his sleep and curled into the back of the cushions.

  “Eppie,” he breathed.

  She knew he was asleep, that he couldn’t know she was standing there, yet her name on his lips sent a chill up her spine. Earlier she’d been honest with him when she said he was too much. He was so intense most of the time, Eppie didn’t know how to react. Apparently he was dreaming of her in his drunken state.

  She didn’t know whether to be flattered or scared.

  Instead, she did what she’d gotten good at. She fled the room, leaving him alone, lost in a whiskey cloud.

  It had been a few days since the fight in the kitchen, since Micah had gotten drunk and woken up with the taste of old shoe in his mouth and Eppie on his mind. Since then she’d been polite but so distant and cold, he could feel the ice coming off her. He’d hurt her and he owed her an apology. However, before he could find her, Micah watched as a carriage pulled up to the house with a dapper man inside. Doctor Carmichael walked out to greet him and the two shook hands vigorously. He couldn’t hear what they discussed, but the stranger gestured to the bright blue sky.

  Micah couldn’t put his finger on it, but he knew something was different about the man. He was tall and broad-shouldered with a bowler hat perched on his head. His hair was dark and cut quite short and, although Micah certainly wasn’t a man who noticed men’s looks, strikingly handsome. It appeared the world descended on the house and Micah had a feeling in his gut he wasn’t going to like it.

  They walked up to the house together, heads bowed as they talked. Micah’s stomach clenched like a fist the closer they got to the house. Whoever the stranger was, Micah knew deep down, he wasn’t going to like him. More than likely, he was a Yankee like Teague.

  While Teague had his good qualities, like loving Madeline the way he did, this man had all the marks of a rich city man come west.

  “Who is that?” Madeline appeared beside him and he jumped a country mile.

  “Jesus, did you have to scare me?” he snapped.

  Her eyes wid
ened. “My apologies, Micah, I didn’t know I needed to announce myself to walk in the room. It isn’t as if I tiptoe, for pity’s sake.”

  Micah blew out a breath. “Please forgive me, Madeline. I don’t have to tell you how strained things are right now.”

  She squeezed his shoulder. “I know, and I hope you also know that you can talk to me anytime. I will always be there for you.”

  Micah nodded, his throat tight with the love he had for his friend. “Thank you.”

  “She’s very angry with you.”

  He sighed. “I know that. I also know I need to apologize, and I intend to, as soon as I can find her.”

  “Good, you two need to make peace. I can see your hearts are meant to be together.” Her eyes looked glossy with tears as she wiped them away. “Enough of that now, let’s get back to the stranger. Who is he?” She looked out the parlor window again, but the two men were gone.

  “I don’t know. Let’s go find out.” He turned to leave with Madeline on his heels.

  They found the men in the front hallway talking to Eppie. Her face was lit with excitement and a broad smile. It was the first time in quite a while he’d seen her smile and it knocked the wind out of him. Particularly since it was directed at the tall, handsome stranger.

  “It’s wonderful to meet you, Doctor Lawson.” She held out her hand and his almost swallowed her smaller one. “Welcome to Plum Creek.”

  Doctor Lawson?

  “Brian surprised me by coming all the way out here from New York, but I can say I’m pleased to have him here.” Doctor Carmichael’s head bobbed on his thin neck. “He’s the best in his field, someone whom I’ve consulted with on numerous occasions.”

  Micah watched, a stranger in his own home, as they talked and ignored him completely. Not even Eppie acknowledged his presence, and a red haze descended over him. She had obviously finished with him and found another man to take his place in her bed.

  It had been hard enough to have her, yet allow her the freedom to leave him. Now it seemed his worst fears were coming to fruition. Panic threaded through him, but before he could open his mouth, Madeline put her arm through his as he shook with the fury of his situation.