Page 98 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse
“Thank you.” Sage put the card away without looking at it, assuming an air of disinterest. “Father took me to many auctions through the years.” He twisted his mouth as if remembering some unpleasant experience. “It has always seemed the most… profitable way to conduct business when it comes to such things.”
Richie’s skin turned as gray as his eyes. “Auctions can be quite horrible and time-consuming affairs. If you contact me first, I assure you I will make it worth your while.”
Sage and I exchanged a glance and a smile.
“Horrible and time-consuming?” I echoed, wrinkling my nose.
Once more, Sage squeezed my hand, and we faked a private little laugh.
Richie seemed to relax and breathe a sigh of relief. “If you forgive me, as much as I would like to stay and continue this conversation, I must attend to my guests. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want.”
“Mind if we have another Scotch?” Sage asked.
“Not at all. Not at all,” he said, then walked out, leaving us alone.
When he was gone, Sage opened his mouth to say something, but I pressed a finger to his lips, fearing he might say something that could give us away. I wouldn’t put it past the cunning old man to have surveillance rigged up in his private study. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced he did.
Sage caught on to my meaning but also took advantage. He grabbed my hand and planted a kiss in the center of my palm. The unexpected gesture sent a chill up my arm. In one fluid motion, he set his tumbler down on a side table, slipped an arm around my waist, and pulled me toward him.
Cupping the back of my head, he pressed his mouth to mine. The sharp scent of Scotch wafted up my nose. My first instinct was to swat him away, but I resisted. Instead, I returned his kiss, then carefully slipped away. Running a hand down my heated neck, I rose to my feet and walked away.
The kiss hadn’t been unpleasant, but it was still unwelcome. As much as I wanted to distract myself from my other feelings, I wasn’t ready to try things out with him.
“Hey.” Sage came up behind me, pulled me by the waist, and pressed me to him. “You felt something, right?” he whispered in my ear.
I turned to face him. “We should go.”
It wasn’t wise to linger. He nodded, and we walked out hand in hand.
Outside, the attendant retrieved the Ferrari, and we got out of there as fast as we could. When we parked outside Drevan’s mansion, I got out of the car and breathed a sigh of relief.
Sage came around, shaking his head. “Why won’t you let me be a gentleman and open the door for you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said.
“It matters to me.”
“I’m just glad we’re out of there.” I started walking toward the front door, but Sage grabbed my wrist.
“Lucia,” his hazel eyes searched mine, charged with expression, “can we talk?”
I opened my mouth to sayno.I was sure he wanted to continue the conversation from the train, and though I didn’t want to broach the subject again, I knew, from experience, that this sort of conversation shouldn’t be avoided.
“Sure.” I nodded.
He moved to stand right in front of me, sliding his hold on my wrist to my hand. “You must know I like you. I think I have made myself pretty clear about that. But in case there are any doubts, I wanted to make sure and say it out loud. I like you, Lucia. A lot.”
He waited for me to say something, but I had no idea what or how. I didn’t want to be rude. Also, I was mad at myself for not liking Sage as I should. He was a proper guy, someone with whom I could share something real.
“I think that maybe you like me too.” He gave a self-deprecating laugh. “At least I think that, sometimes. I hope you do because… I can’t wrap my head around you and…” He glanced toward the house. He waited again, but once more I had nothing but silence to offer him. “Please, say something. Anything.”
“I don’t know, Sage. Things are just…”
He took a step closer and cupped my face in his hand, his eyes drilling into mine with meaning. “Why don’t you give me a chance? See where it goes? I’m as real as real gets.”
Sage patted his chest, and I was surprised by his fitting comment, his awareness that I was struggling with how I felt toward Drevan and contemplating my need for someone attainable.
Seeing my hesitation, he leaned closer still, his fingers tenderly caressing my jaw. “I enjoyed our kiss tonight, and I often think about that night at the club and wish I hadn’t been drunk.” He wet his lips, angled his face, and leaned forward to kiss me. I should’ve turned away. It was a bad idea to encourage him, but I wanted so badly to erase Drevan, to replace him for good. So I closed my eyes, ready to allow him to kiss me again in hopes that he might stir the right emotions in me.
