Savage Revenge (18 page)

Sage laughed, but she quickly sobered and gave a small nod. “Actually, I’m alive because of him. He saved me from being dinner to a mountain lion, and that’s right about when I began to trust him.”

“Amazing.” Sienna shook her head, and disbelief still shone bright in her eyes. “Though it doesn’t surprise me he’d step in to help you, even if you shot him. I’m sure you had your reasons for doing it.”

“Mmm. A handful of them, actually.”

Sienna laughed softly. “Well I’m glad you’ve come to trust him. Whatever method he used to garner your help initially, I’m certain it was due to desperation.”

“Clearly.” She didn’t bother to hide her sarcasm.

“You seem to be getting along well enough now…” Well enough meaning sleeping together. Sage turned away again and grabbed a couple mugs down from the cupboard. She wouldn’t deny or confirm that one.

“Did you guys eat? There’s a bunch of hard-boiled eggs in the fridge, and I have some sandwich meat. Cheese. Just help yourself to anything you want in the cupboard or fridge.”

“We’re fine. Please, I know your schedule must’ve been disrupted quite a bit with Nathan entering your life—”

“I work from home. I’m a writer,” she explained, because the question inevitably came up. “I’ve managed to get some work done, surprisingly.”

“Good, and if you need to work, please, don’t feel you have to keep me occupied.”

Suddenly the offer sounded too good to be true. To claim the need to write, but be able to sneak off to the other room and just be alone for a bit.

All the events of the morning were starting to catch up with her and she was struggling not to crumble under the emotional weight.

“Thanks. Actually, maybe I will if you don’t mind. Feel free to use the computer in my office.” She gestured to the open room that was just outside the kitchen.

“Thank you.”

Sage slipped away, offering an apologetic smile as she disappeared.

Though the temptation to disappear up to her room with her laptop was strong, she didn’t want to be overtly rude, and settled in the living room again instead.

She tried desperately to get back into the story she was writing, but there was a lingering cloud of anger in her heart. Bitterness. But she didn’t fault Nathan for it all, part of it was directed at herself. 

Work, Sage, work. You’re on deadline
.

Giving herself tunnel vision, she focused on the story in front of her and made herself write.

When the door opened awhile later, she only barely heard it. Only when Nate’s voice filtered through her mind, did she lift her head.

He was in her office with Warrick and Sienna. They were gathered around the desktop computer, with Warrick in the seat typing on the keyboard.

“Be sure to check for any sign of a male child that may have survived,” Nate ordered. “And then if you can find anything in the P.I.A. system on Jocelyn Feloray.”

“I’m on it,” Warrick murmured.

“Thanks. I can’t thank you guys enough for coming after me. You’re saving my ass.”

“Not yet, but we’ll sure as hell try.”

Sage tried to bring her focus back to the book, but the sudden quiet had the hairs on the back of her neck lifting.

She hadn’t heard his approach, but the hand that touched her shoulder had her flinching.

“Let’s talk outside.”

A shiver raced through her at Nate’s deeply voiced command.

She glanced over her shoulder at him, unable to resist a rebellious, “You should try asking nicely sometime. It’s always a string of orders with you.”

“It’s habit.”

“Well break the habit and learn some manners.”

From the corner of her eye she saw both Warrick and Sienna turn to gape at them in surprise.

Clearly they weren’t used to hearing anyone talk back to their alpha so blatantly. Well, if they stuck around long enough they’d get used to it.

But Nate didn’t look irritated, just a little amused. Maybe tired. “Will you
please
step outside with me?”

Going outside with him wouldn’t solve anything. He’d just feed her some lame apology or excuse.

“I’d rather not,” she murmured honestly. “I’m really pushing the deadline on this book.”

He didn’t budge. Didn’t say anything else, but just waited and watched her. Which meant she was going to get jack done with him standing there. Especially wearing nothing but a sheet around his waist again and her fingers itching to trace that defined six-pack on his chest.

“Fine.” She closed her laptop reluctantly and stood. “Let’s get this over with.”

Nathan led Sage outside and to the backyard where the dirt was packed hard and trees were a bit sparser.

“What’s this?” she asked, taking in the line of soda cans along the hillside.

“Target practice. You need to learn how to shoot.” Before he and Donovan had come in, they’d searched her recycling bin for soda cans.

“This is why you brought me out here?” Her lips thinned and her eyes flashed with irritation.

“Do you want an apology, Sage? Because I can give it, but we’ll both know I’m just saying what I think you want to hear.”

“Bingo.”

He pulled a Glock from where it was tucked into the sheet tied around his waist, then set it on the picnic table where two ammunition clips already lay.

“I
am
sorry you heard what you did, but it was pretty damn close to the truth. It put me on edge to learn your brother was an alpha. I admit I panicked and my first thought was gaining your trust in any way I knew how.”

“By sleeping with me.” The pain in her accusation made him flinch.

But he stood his ground. Used reason. “Are you going to deny that we were already on our way to doing it?”

“No, I won’t deny it. But like I said, sleeping with me in no way made me more inclined to trust you.”

“I realize that now.”

“And sorry if I was unremarkable.” Bitterness clung to her every word. “But you could cut me some slack. I mean, you know it was my first time.”

“Bullshit.”

Her eyes rounded, her lower lip jutted with anger. “Bullshit? Seriously? You’re calling bullshit on—”

“On myself. When I said what we had was nothing spectacular.” His words were soft as he stepped toward her and reached down to cradle her face in his palms. “I lied, because what’s between us is none of Donovan’s business.”

“Oh.” That seemed to deflate her irritation, but she gave a small shake of her head.

“Yes, at first seducing you was about control. But when we were together—” his voice dropped to a low intimate pitch, “—when I was inside you, it wasn’t about that anymore. It was about
us
. What we have is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.”

Hope flared in her eyes, but then she shook her head. “I don’t believe you.”

“I know you don’t, but maybe you’ll believe this.” He captured her mouth and thrust his tongue deep to taste her. To dredge up a response she clearly wanted to deny him.

She caught his shirt, whether to cling to him or push him away, he wasn’t sure. She seemed to fight the kiss emotionally. Staying slack in his arms and not returning the teasing strokes of his tongue.

But it only took a few moments before he felt her melt against him. Heard the tiny moan of frustration and her tongue smoothed against his.

He lifted his head, and stared down at her. Lips swollen, curls messy, and her breathing uneven, she was adorably disheveled after the kiss.

The urge to lift her into his arms and stride into the house, past the Donovans and back to the bedroom hit hard. The realization bothered him more than he cared.

“You hurt me earlier.” Her words were unsteady, tears behind them, as she shoved a mass of curls over her shoulder. “Don’t do it again.”

“I swear I’ll try not to,” he vowed, and pressed a tender kiss against her forehead. “I hate the idea of hurting you anymore than I already have.”

She gave a small nod, and he could see that maybe she believed him a little bit more now. He hadn’t lied. He’d tried to. Initially both to himself and to her, but what had happened in the bedroom had changed everything.

“Let’s get you shooting, Curls, because next time you pull the trigger, I want you to hit your target.”

“I hit you.” She didn’t meet his gaze, still looking a little frazzled.

“In the shoulder, and as you saw, that barely slowed me down. You need to be able to shoot to kill. If someone tries to harm you—”

“Who would try to harm me?” she asked bewildered.

He stared at her for a moment, remembered how it felt to take Alicia’s life, and couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through him.

“Nate? You don’t think…are you thinking
you
might hurt me?”

She read him far too easily. He wanted to lie and put aside her worries, because he could see that beneath the disbelief there was a hint of unease.

“I don’t know.” He went with honesty, because he needed her to be aware of the potential danger. “The man I was two weeks ago would tell you no, but since that night—since I was injected with God knows what, I’m different. I had moments of…”
Crazy rage
. Blackouts. “There was something inside me that I didn’t trust.”

“But it’s gone now, right?”

“I hope so.”

Her brows dipped into a frown. “You’d think the drug whatever it was, would be out of your system by now. Do you think it could be residual?”

“The hell if I know. I just,” he hesitated. “I want you to be able to protect yourself from anyone who threatens you.” Brushing her swollen lip with the pad of his thumb, he struggled with the next words. “From me if need be.”

She searched his gaze, seeming to think the truth lay in his eyes, but she wouldn’t find it there. Hell, he barely knew it.

With a short nod, she stepped away from him and reached for one of the guns.

Disappointment swelled inside him that she was so easily convinced. Which was stupid. That’s what he wanted. He needed her to keep her guard up against him.

“First thing I’m going to teach you how to do is load the gun…”

He trailed off in surprise as she grabbed the clip, deftly popped it in the chamber, and then turned to aim at the target he’d set up minutes ago.

He cleared his throat. “Okay, you seem to have that down. Why don’t you let me show you how to hold the weapon properly—”

She pulled the trigger and fired shot after shot, easily hitting and knocking down the seven soda cans he’d lined up.

Dismay kept him silent long after the echoing gunshots faded.

Sage set the gun back on the table and folded her arms across her chest. “How was that?”

“Pretty fucking good, actually.” He met her stare. “Looks like your brother taught you how to shoot after all.”

“Of course he did. I missed any vital part of you on purpose this morning, Nate.” She tilted her head and flashed him a hard smile. “If I’d wanted to put a bullet in your heart, you wouldn’t be standing here right now.”

Looking at the obliterated cans again, he muttered, “Apparently.”

“Now back to what you were saying. I’m not sure why you don’t trust yourself with me. You’ve slept with me in every context of the phrase. What sparked this new
I’m dangerous
theme?”

Learning about a handful of dead women that he may or may not have killed. He couldn’t tell her that, though.

“Sleeping with you will have to stop. I won’t let myself be alone with you at night. Maybe not at all.”

She made a murmur of disbelief. “You’re alone with me now.”

“Yeah, well you’ve got a Glock within reach and clearly know how to use it.” He picked up the gun and extra clip. “Let’s head back inside.”

But she made no move to follow. Instead folded her arms across her chest and looked at the ground.

“Actually, I need a couple minutes to myself.” She bit her lip. “Well, maybe even a couple of hours.”

He stilled. “You want us to leave the house?”

“No. Not at all. Stay with the Donovans, do whatever sort of investigating you need to do, and I’ll just go for a walk.”

Something about the request didn’t sit well with him. It was stupid, because he wasn’t holding her hostage.

Not anymore.

“You’ll be safe?”

“Of course. That mountain lion thing was a total fluke. I ran too far away from civilization and was taken off guard.” She paused and gave a small shrug. “Nate, I know this area like the back of my hand. I’m not going to get into any trouble, and if it makes you feel better I’ll bring the gun.”

“I’d prefer if you did.”

She lifted her gaze to his again, and all he saw there was steadfast resolve.

“It’s actually pretty normal for me to walk an hour every day. I use the time to think. Plot out my books. Decompress.”

“Understood.” He wouldn’t stop her. He’d been striving to gain her trust—had offered her the chance to leave before—so why was instinct telling him to stop her now? “If you’re not back in a couple hours though, I
will
worry.”

“I know.” A smile played around her mouth.

“And I
will
come find you.”

“I know that too.” She took a step toward him and reached out to touch his chest, smoothing her hands over it.

The feel of her fingers, delicate and soft, tracing his bare muscles had a shudder of need ripping through him. Why the hell did he respond so easily to her?

Why, when the darkness threatened to rise up inside him again, did he seek her out? In just a few short days, she’d become his anchor. Maybe against her will at first, but now, clearly willing.

“You don’t need to worry about seducing me to gain my support. You have it. Though you’re welcome to try that seducing thing again tonight—in fact I encourage it.” She gave a soft, suggestive laugh and then stood on her tiptoes to press a light kiss to his mouth. “I trust you, Nate, and you should trust yourself. You won’t harm me.

This woman was incredible. He watched her turn and grab the gun from the table, then stride off into the woods.

Don’t let her go.

He ignored the paranoid voice in his head and went back inside the house to join the Donovans.