Page 53 of The Magic of Betrayal
"No. You didn't hurt me. You surprised the hell out of me, Fischer. I could tell there was some darkness in you, and I'm not sure what I expected, but that just surpassed anything I could've dreamed up.” Saige smiled above me and she was so gorgeous it made me breathless.
"You weren't afraid?"
Part of me didn't want to know the answer to that question, but even then as my hand smoothed down her back, I wanted to know. Needed to know.
"Afraid isn't the right word. Excited, on edge, nervous to see how far you were going to take it. I'm not scared of you, Fischer. You've protected me, cared for me, and despite how hard you just fucked me, those things, the way you are so sweet with me lets me know that you would never hurt me. Even if you want to a little bit during sex. But I wanted to explore this with you. How do you feel now?"
"My girl. Always brave and selfless," I murmured, tucking some hair behind her ear and pulling her down to lay her head on my chest once more. "There is something dark inside me, sweetheart. It's best if it stays there. That side of me doesn't deserve to see the light of day."
"But how can you say that?" she questioned softly, her fingertips moved across my naked chest, making nonsensical drawings, but the touching had my heart racing nonetheless.
"Just trust me, sweetheart. Nobody wants that side of me. Did you enjoy yourself dancing earlier?" I changed the subject because I couldn't talk aboutFaris anymore. Shit, I already let the bastard out to play earlier and he was still too fresh in my headspace to give him any more thought.
"I had so much fun. I hope Rupert didn't overwhelm you too much, I'd imagine he's pretty open with whatever emotion he's feeling," she chuckled.
I let my mind drift back to the club and then I jolted upright, Saige startling and looking at me with panicked eyes.
"Holy shit," I breathed.
"What? What's wrong?"
"I didn't feel any of his emotions, none of his thoughts, nothing," I confessed slowly, my brain trying to catch up with that. I'd been so wrapped up in my girl earlier, I hadn't even realized that my power had been muted.
"How is that possible, though? I thought it was rare for that to happen?"
"It is. I'm wondering now if you blocked my power."
"Me?" she squeaked and shook her head in denial. "I would never do that!"
"Not on purpose, sweetheart. We'll have to see what happens tomorrow when we're around other people to see if it happens again. There's been a lot of weird stuff going on, so it's not unreasonable to think," I said gently.
We laid there for a while, just softly touching each other. But I finally got out of bed and went to the bathroom to clean up. When I came back, Saige was laying on her stomach, her legs crossed at the ankles, scrolling through her phone.
"Oh, I'm gonna clean up quick, then do you want to have a picnic with me in the kitchen?"
"A picnic. In the kitchen?" I grinned and she walked toward me without a stitch of clothing.
"Yeah, why not? Picnics are our thing, aren't they?" She winked and closed the bathroom door behind her, but not before I saw her bright red ass.
She was back in a couple of minutes, heading to her dresser to find something to wear. My feet were quiet as I stalked over to her, pressing myself against her back.
"A picnic with you sounds amazing, but I think I'm going to just have another snack first before..."
We made it to the kitchen an hour later.
Friday morning arrived and I knew I needed to get myself into The Pig today to get some administrative stuff done. Frank and Arlo were running everything else today, but I liked to be in charge of my paperwork and financials. The month was flying by and I couldn’t believe tomorrow was my birthday party.
After a quick shower and throwing on some comfortable clothes, I made my way to the kitchen and found Gran sitting at the table sipping her coffee with another mug of steaming goodness waiting for me.
“You’re the best. Thanks, Gran.” I slipped into my seat and moaned when the coffee hit my mouth. Sweet, sweet creation.
“What’s your plan for the day, child? I need to put the finishing touches on my costu- I mean, outfit for your birthday party tomorrow. Other than that, I’ll probably just do some upkeep in the gardens,” Gran informed me, but I’d heard her little slip up. A costume, I didn’t know whether to be amused or terrified. Okay, let's be real, I was equally feeling both of those things when it came to anything that woman did.
"Just need to run into The Pig for a few hours, the guys are taking care of some business today, something with that property, I'm not even sure exactly what each of their job titles are. Probably should ask that, huh?" I chuckled, shaking my head at myself. How have we never discussed that?
"Ah, well there's been a lot of shit going on lately, dear. You got the gist of what they do, and clearly, they're all intelligent men who have a steady income. Much better than some deadbeat freeloader. Like that limp dick Bryce. Has he been giving you any trouble, by the way? I saw him a couple of weeks ago skulking around town like the cockroach he is," Gran informed me, her cornflower blue eyes shining with concern.
Yeah, Gran knew what I'd gone through with him. I'd nearly lost myself during that shit show of a relationship, and I still got embarrassed thinking about how long I'd put up with his shit. But I didn't want anyone to know the levels of fucked up he was reaching now. Just thinking about the way he'd groped me in the middle of the grocery store had my heart racing and my stomach clenching in disgust.
