Page 53 of Sage Haven
Close enough for my breath to graze the curve of her neck.
Close enough to feel the shudder ripple through her.
I let my lips brush the rim of her ear. “You shouldn’t take what isn’t yours.”
She tensed. A tight, coiled reaction, but she didn’t speak.
Not right away.
And then— “I—” Her voice was faint and unsteady.
Unsteady.
She started to turn toward me, but my hand shot up, catching her jaw and stopping her.
Not rough, but unyielding. “Stay away, Sage.”
“I didn’t know,” she murmured, her voice stumbling. “I thought this was part of the preserve. The flowers… they’re so beautiful… I wasn’t trying to take anything or harm anything—”
“Leave.” Cold and final. One word because I didn’t know how much I would be able to muster out without losing control.
She hesitated. Her voice trembled when she spoke again. “Why are you being like this? I’m just trying to explain—”
And there it was.
The sincerity.
It cut through me like a blade and for a split second, I hated myself.
Hated the man I’d become, but I knew couldn’t afford softness.
Not with her and especially not now in my blood-soaked clothes.
I let the cruelty seep into my tone. “Because I don’t care.”
Her breath hitched.
Her eyes flickered—hurt, then guarded.
She covered it quickly. Too quickly.
Then— “I’m sorry.” Soft. Broken in a way that made me want to destroy something.
I exhaled, as the war started to rage inside me.
“You need to leave,” I said. “I’m not asking.”
She swallowed hard.
Her gaze held mine for a moment longer than it should have.
She didn’t want to leave.
I knew it. She knew I knew it. She could say it.
Instead, she exhaledshakily. Her voice a whisper. “Be careful what you ask for, Reich.”
My name in her mouth.
