Sun Catch Her (Book 1: Three Rivers Deep series) COMPLETE

Chapter Thirty-Seven | A

The steam drifted among the bright halogens below us to give the illusion of stars nestled in melon colored cotton candy. The darkness above was a beautiful, fathomless creature with the heavens as its infinite wings. I wasn't looking at either as Micah adjusted his hold on me to maneuver us in the breeze that constantly buffeted this high up. He hovered in midair, carefully lowering me to kneel on legs that were shaking.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?"

Swallowing hard, I nodded, my throat tight as I snuggled deeper in the fleece blanket wrapped around my shoulders. Beneath it I wore only thin pajamas. The soft clinking of metal on metal and the hissing of steam from the surrounding factory rose and fell in soft hushes as I waited for him to touch down beside me. Yes, I was ready to overcome my fear of storms.

It had taken Micah until 2 a.m. to return last night. Despite my previous protests, he stayed away to work off the excess energy, and in doing so exhausted himself. He promptly fell asleep next to me in bed, and I knew I couldn't let things continue this way. I had to conquer my phobia. I had to try for him. I had to try for myself. I told him so this morning, and he said we could give it a go after dark.

So yes, I was ready to face my fear. However, I wasn't so sure that I wanted to do this hundreds of feet up in the open air.

Craning my neck, I gazed out beyond the rounded edge of the golden smokestack Micah had chosen, staring at its brick twin some twenty yards away. The red lights that ringed their bellies gave an intermittent pulse to warn aircraft of their lofty location. The flat top of the one we sat on was nearly eight feet across. Directly underneath us, the tubular throat was empty, void of any emission, as the boiler house the pair were attached to at ground level only came to life during the colder mornings. The steel grate covering the hole to keep birds out easily held our weight, and I crossed my legs on the uncomfortable, crisscrossing surface.

Micah crouched beside me, the lights from the factory catching the movement of his wind-tousled mane to cast lively shadows on his throat and cheeks. He was striking. Wild. I stroked the shadows. An emotion close to awe overcame me because I was able to touch someone who was so majestic, so untamed. Pleasure seeped from his soul to tickle my nose. He pushed his cheek into my hand like he wanted me to tame him. Desired it, even.

"I want to do this, but do we have to do it all the way up here?" Holy cheddar, I felt exposed, like a gust of wind might blow me right off. My attention wandered to what appeared to be the top rung of a ladder attached to the brick. Who in their right mind would be gutsy enough to make this climb? Certainly wouldn't catch me in the act.

"What? I thought you'd love the chance to sit up here in the open sky. I've lost count of how many times I've spied you staring out the window at them." His hand was warm when he caught hold of mine. "This spot is close to the center of Petroleum Valley," he explained while tucking my arm under the blanket, away from the chilled Saturday evening air. His other hand was a lingering weight on my knee. "Up here, we're high enough above the industrial ambience for you to see what I'm going to show you without the factories' kinetic signature polluting it."

My gaze went to his hand on my knee as he pulled away, reluctance evident in his slow actions. "You can't touch me while you're doing this?" My voice held a quiver in it.

"When I tap into storm clouds, I'm connecting to their tremendous power. I don't want to risk it being too much for you."

Frustrated, I sighed. "You don't know that you can't touch me." I gave him a stubborn frown as I recalled last night's brief exchange before he fell asleep, when I confessed that I hated that he was afraid to touch me with a live charge going through him.