Page 207 of Breathe Like Hell

“And if I’d been human, I might’ve gotten it, but I’m not. This was never on you. Not even a little bit. Do you understand me?”

I wanted to understand him, but I couldn’t help feeling responsible for this. My attitude at the beginning could’ve been the reason the baby had been taken.

I got what I deserved.

“Masters,” Micah said, his voice low and soothing. “I love you so fucking much, and I’m sorry for putting you through that. I’m sorry I didn’t know it could happen. I’m sorry that I’m an angel and this is just what happens to angels. It never should’ve happened to you.”

It never should’ve, but it did.

I was shivering, the coldness of the ground seeping beneath my coat.

“You’re cold,” Micah said softly.

“No I’m not,” I insisted. His body kept me warm, but I just…I’m weak. Fragile. Slipping away.

“How did you get here?”

“I took the bus and then walked. I left when Mason was in the shower.” I didn’t hold a grudge against him for failing to hide his distaste of my pregnancy at the start—it would’ve been completely unfair—but that didn’t make me want to be excessively vulnerable with him about it now that it was over. He took care of me well. But it was different with Micah. It’d been his child, after all.

“You shouldn’t do that. What if I wasn’t here?” Concern flitted through his irises.

“Then I’d walk back. I’m okay.”

“Can I take you home?”

I hesitated, then nodded, still crying.

But through the trees, I swore there was something glowing in the forest.

━━━━━

Micah drove me to my trailer, and I texted Mason to come over, too. Not because I really needed to do anything with both of them, but because I needed the comfort. Mason arrived with Chinese takeout, and I could tell he was sad that I’d left him the way I had, sad that I’d ended our week of isolation without Micah.

But I’d never lied to him about my love for them both.

He knew this was coming.

We all sat on the couch to eat, the TV playing some sitcom rerun at a low volume. I had an extra blanket wrapped around my shoulders over my clothes because the trailer wasn’t insulated all that well, and it got colder inside during the winter. The body heat from the men on either side of me helped, though.

Before long, Mason and Micah’s scents had woven themselves through all the air in the room, comforting me and turning me on in the same breath. But I was still very nervous. So I didn’t say anything.

Mason’s hand slid onto my thigh, squeezing gently, inching higher slowly enough that I’d be able to stop him if I wanted to. But I wasn’t sure what I wanted. A soft gasp escaped me when Micah turned my head and brought our mouths together, gently at first, giving me opportunity to resist him. I didn’t resist him, either.

He kissed me slow, hand moving beneath my t-shirt to settle on my waist. I leaned into him for only a moment before Mason was turning me in his direction, running his mouth along my throat while holding my hips. I liked this. The sound of the TV playing low in the back, the light dim, all three of us on the couch, both of their hands on my body. Cuddling, but more now.

“Good?” Mason murmured, his fingers curling in the hem of my shorts.

“Okay. Yes,” I breathed. “Good.”

Mason pulled off my shorts, leaving me in only my cotton t-shirt and underwear. Micah’s fingers slid down my stomach, slipping just below the waistband. My pulse spiked.

“No,” I whispered. “Don’t take them off. I’m scared of that.”

“Scared of me putting something inside of you?”

I nodded, a bit stressed out. “I looked it up. The internet says to be careful.”

“I looked it up, too. I wouldn’t do something that would be unsafe, baby girl. You haven’t bled in a few days?”