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

Chapter Eight | B

"Micah," he finally said, and again, his voice wasn't right.

My attention shifted at the sudden squeal of a small child as he came bursting out of the toy store, a remote control held before him as he ran. A little R.C. car skidded to a halt before crashing into a garbage can, and his mother called out after him, shouting not to smash his birthday present to smithereens before they even got it home. Wow, so the place wasn't completely unpopulated.

Letting out a held breath, I turned back around—and nearly toppled right off the edge when I found Micah crouched over top of me. His teeth were bared at the sudden commotion.

"I-I think you need to get going," I gasped, pushing him back in alarm. He plopped back down on the seat making the whole thing rattle. How he managed to get so close without making a sound was beyond me.

"I don't want to leave." Micah straightened to turn a piercing gaze into my heart through his bangs.

He offered me his gaze on purpose, as if he knew what I could do when he opened himself up fully to allow my clairvoyance to search him, read him unhindered.

"Things have changed, and I can be with you now, Aurora. I don't wish to leave you because—" He took a breath and readjusted his openness on me. "Because you always look so lonely when you think nobody is watching. You think that you're facing life all alone. Aurora, I want to tell you that you don't have to. I want to tell you you're not alone."

Micah's gaze fell away. His head bowed before my stunned expression. I didn't know what to say to the fact that he pretty much outright confessed he had been stalking me. But I didn't have to say anything when he next spoke. He spoke, and I knew it had to be him.

His true voice was half an octave higher, the smooth tone flowing like honey-sweetened milk as he explained, "I was hoping we could be friends."

My heart throbbed one forceful beat, and I found myself kneeling on the bench. I clasped the sides of his down turned face before I realized what I was doing.

"Say that again," I pleaded. "Speak to me again, Micah. Whisper, chuckle, hum a few bars. Say anything with the tone of voice you just slipped into!"

But the guy wouldn't budge. He remained as still as stone and he refrained from uttering a single sound, refusing to even breathe.

"Micah, please!" I crouched, straining to see his face, hidden in his hair.

His eyes were closed.

I cupped his chin, my fingers trembling, tracing, outlining. I couldn't help my need to touch him. To feel that he was real. There was glitter on my hands from my shirt. I was getting it on his face.

"I know I've heard your voice before. I'm sure I have." My words came out as soft as a butterfly's beating wings. "You've saved my life before today, haven't you?" I had found him—well, he had knocked me on my ass—but either way. "Relax, Micah. Open your eyes." His lips parted. He drew in a ragged breath, holding it before releasing it again. The tension around his eyes eased and his jaw unclenched, relaxing against my fingers.

"Your...hands. You're touching me?" he said, almost in disbelief, the tone of it pure honey. Then he mumbled, "Sunflowers. Feels like my face is being cupped between two sunflowers."

My hands felt like giant flowers to him?

"But you don't touch anyone, ever."

Mind reeling with the fact I had found him, I thought about what he was saying before I responded, "Micah, you aren't just anyone."

A small sound slipped from him.

"Open your eyes. I want to see them." Although I wasn't sure why I needed to see them so badly.

Finally, his lashes parted, blinking with a couple of quick strokes before opening fully. I sucked in a breath, silencing myself before I could gasp. His eyes...his eyes had changed!

Micah's irises were like two pools of liquid mercury tinted with indigo. There was even a hint of color swirl when he blinked.

And his pupils, for the life of me, there was no hint of darkness in the centers. Not even a pinprick of black. His pupils were gone. He sent the full force of his otherworldly gaze into mine, and I bit my bottom lip, moving my hand to trail a hesitant thumb up his left cheek. He was struggling not to squint, as if he was staring at something much too bright.

"Micah, what are you?"

"Aurora!"

Jerking upright, I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of Indy yelling my name. Looking down, I realized I was now standing on the bench. Micah, too, had jumped back away from me when we were spooked. He was on his feet, a few feet away. I finally spotted Indy a few stores down, in front of the Subway.

Arms crossed before her, her eyes blazed. "Aurora Anne Whyte! Get your ass down off there and get over here. Immediately!"

Oh holy Swiss, all three names. She was peeved. "Wonder what's got her panties in a twist," I mumbled as I bent to step down.

Micah's hand materialized before me, palm up, and I placed mine firmly in his without hesitation. His fingers closed over my hand, enveloping it with his steady warmth, and instead of allowing me to hop down from where I stood, I found his other arm wrapping my hips, well below my bruises. Carefully, he lowered me to the floor. My waist tingled from his half-hug when he pulled away, the odd sensation radiating from his gentle strength—and something more?

"Ah, thanks," I said, giving him a small smile. I let him touch me.

Micah's eyes were a steady amethyst again. Pupils solid and centered, as though they had never vanished.

"Aurora," Indy bellowed again. "Come to me this instant!" She pointed to the spot next to her with a freshly polished red nail. Somebody had been to the nail salon without me.

"You'd better go to her," Micah advised. "I'll see you at school tomorrow." His honey tone was composed, even non- threatening, despite the fact he was staring at her like a lion seconds away from bearing down on its prey.

A big, strong, honest-to-goodness lion—all of a sudden, he didn't seem real. "No." I turned and wrapped my free arm around his arm. He was solid. Micah was truly here. I could feel him, his warmth, his hand in mine. "Don't leave me again. Please!"

"I'm not going to leave you, little one."

"Do you promise I'll get to see you tomorrow?" I stared into those amethyst eyes, extending my awareness to analyze the contents of his heart.

Micah leaned close to eliminate the distance between our heights. His head came down beside mine, chin inches above my shoulder. Non-lethal glitter speckled his face.

"I promise," he said, truth whispering across my ear, clinging to my hair. The air around hisface and neck radiated, almost hot.

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VOTE if you can't wait for school tomorrow either!  Well, Aurora's school, ha ha.