a few weeks sooner."
"I can wait." He brushed her cheek with his knuckles. "For a few weeks, if I have to. Forever, if I must, so long as you're near me. So long as I can hold you, touch you. Be a part of your life."
"Oh, Micah." She smiled up at him through her tears. "I love you so much."
"And I love you, Lainey St. John, with all my heart and soul."
How could she doubt it? He'd forsaken his home, his friends, traveled millions of miles, just to be with her.
"It's late," Micah said. "You should get some sleep."
"Will you hold me all night long?"
"All night," he replied in a voice thick with emotion. "And every night for as long as I live."
Rising, he carried her down the hall to her bedroom. Lowering her onto the bed, he undressed her, worshipping her with his eyes. He placed his hands over her swollen belly, trying to imagine his child sleeping within her womb. And then the child, his child, moved.
Speechless, Micah gazed into Lainey's eyes, his expression one of awe, of reverence.
Lainey placed her hands over his. "It is wonderful, isn't it? So many nights, I lay here, feeling the baby move, wishing you were here to share it with me." She caressed his cheek. "And now you are here, and it's even better than I imagined."
With hands that trembled, she undressed him, reacquainting herself with the broad swell of his chest, her fingertips lingering on the width of his shoulders, his strong, flat belly. Looking at him, at the sheer masculine beauty of his face and form, she felt all her fears fade away. Surely, with Micah for a father, her child would be beautiful.
Filled with contentment, she drew Micah down beside her, curling into his big body as she had dreamed of doing for so long.
"You'll be here when I wake up?"
"Every morning for the rest of my life."
With a sigh, Lainey closed her eyes, carrying Micah's image into her dreams.
Part One Chapter Twenty-Two
Lainey called her parents the next morning to let them know Micah had returned from Xanthia. Thirty minutes later, Ralph and Dolores arrived at the house.
Earlier that morning, Micah had assumed the form Lainey's parents would be expecting. Now, sitting in the kitchen across the table from Ralph and Dolores St. John, he knew they were trying not to stare, but he was acutely aware of their furtive glances as they looked for some tangible evidence that he was, indeed, from another world.
It was unsettling, to say the least, and after ten minutes or so, he'd had enough. "I guess Lainey told you where I'm from," he remarked quietly.
"She might have mentioned it," Dolores said. She picked up a napkin, folding and unfolding it in her lap.
"But you don't believe it?"
"Well, it did seem a little far-fetched, but she was upset. We knew she'd been in some kind of trouble, and she's always been given to rather bizarre flights of fancy... You don't look - I mean..."
"You're babbling,Dee ," Ralph said.
Lainey crossed the kitchen to stand beside Micah, her hand resting on his shoulder. "Maybe you should let them see how you really look?"
"Oh, dear," Dolores murmured. The napkin fell unnoticed to the floor as she pressed a hand to her heart. "He's not green or anything, is he?"
"Blue, actually," Lainey said, grinning.
"Lainey, this is no time for levity. It's natural for your mother to be a little... upset."
"I'm not making a joke, Dad. Show her, Micah."
Feeling like some sort of aberration on public display, Micah took on his own form. He held up one hand so they could see the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, and then he pulled back his hair so they could see his ears. The inner tension he felt caused the blue glow that emanated from his skin to shimmer darker than usual. He tried to keep his face impassive as he endured theSt. Johns ' reactions.
Dolores stared at him, her face suddenly pale, her mouth agape, her deep blue eyes registering shock.
Ralph swore under his breath. It was a crude oath, one that, under normal circumstances, he never would have repeated in front of his wife and daughter.
And Lainey laughed. "I told you he was blue,'' she said. Bending down, she kissed Micah on the cheek. "I'm hungry. How about the rest of you?"
"Forget breakfast," Dolores muttered under her breath. "I could use a drink."
She folded her hands in her lap and offered Micah a tentative smile, obviously relieved