Page 25 of Reckless Abandon
Sage straightens and stalks toward me. As a grown adult male, he’s a little taller than average, but nothing compared to my size. I’ve been in the Air Force for six years and now a full-fledged forest firefighter. I’m massive and could overpower his too-lean frame in a second. I could have him sprawled out on the floor with my hand at his throat in a flash.
And yet I’m slightly intimidated. Or maybe turned on when he wedges up against me with his thigh and chest, pushing me back into the stove.
“My house. My rules. You’re the guest. I have the right to be a rude asshole if I want.”
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, I noticed. Very mature of you.”
Brushing past him, I return to the pancakes to ensure they don’t burn, flipping them over and hoping to hide my erection from Sage. The low, baritone timbre of his voice, smoky and arrogant, has a way of wiggling under my skin. It’s potent and mercurial as it sends sparks of heat racing through my blood. And it obviously turns me on when he talks dirty and nasty like that.
Sage backs away and resumes what he was doing, as I open the package and start frying the bacon.
“Why are we making breakfast, anyway? Don’t you have a shit ton of money for cooks to do this for you?”
My gaze meets his and he shrugs. “Yeah, I normally do have a cook and housekeeper on staff. But I sent them home.”
It has me curious about his lavish rock and roll lifestyle. In the last five years since his star has risen, touring with the likes of other alt-country, folk-rock stars like The Avett Brothers, Brandi Carlile, and Ryan Adams. He’s been on a plethora of magazine covers, some touting his music-writing genius and crooning voice and beautiful face that have women young and old wanting to drop their panties.
He’s also had stories and pictures published of his conquests. Both men and women. It wasn’t news to me, but certainly made for titillating headlines when he’d have some young hottie doing the walk of shame outside his hotel or home.
Sage’s rock star lifestyle doesn’t make me envious but makes me angry for the way he’s gotten away with treating London. It pisses me off that he’s so cavalier with his sex life with others, flaunting it in front of London who has allowed for that disrespect to go on. My mother raised a southern gentleman and I’d never do that to her. Ever.
You did when you left her.
I shake my head free of the internal smack talk and return to their kitchen PDA. Sage kisses her liked he owns her, like she is his property, when just a few hours earlier he had two other women slipping out of his bedroom and out the front door. Who the hell does that?
I turn the burners off and grab the plate on the counter next to me, filling it up with the bacon and pancakes. A few blueberries for London. Her favorite. My ire grows the more I think about how badly he is disrespecting London.
MyLondon.OurLondon.
“Just like you sent those groupies home this morning before London woke up?Fucker.” I grumble the last word quietly to myself.
Sage’s brow lifts skyward as we sit down in the dining room adjacent to the kitchen. It’s a table that could seat sixteen and I wonder if he has ever hosted a dinner party. Or if it’s simply a house to host pool parties for groupies to attend, their sights set on hooking up with Sage Hendricks, lead singer ofCrenshaw.
“You got something to say, Cam? Just fucking say it.”
My nostrils flare and I let loose all of the hostility that’s been building all morning and just came to a head when he kissed London.
I glare at him, then my eyes meet London’s, her brows furrowed in question. Goddammit, I’d promised myself to keep my anger in check and follow through on my promise to London to get Sage help.
“London doesn’t deserve to be treated like some two-bit mistress. She deserves so much better than that.”
“Cameron.” London howls like she’s been scarred by a hot poker.
Sage sniffs, glancing between us both and then landing back on mine.
“Yeah, you don’t think I know that? You don’t think I’ve wanted her to be mine alone and vice versa? But here’s the kicker, Cam. She’s turned down my proposals to marry me three times. And she won’t live with me either. I ain’t got any other leverage, Cam. So, unless you have any better ideas, why don’t you just shut the fuck up? Since you don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.”
I’m too stunned to say anything as Sage pushes back from the table and stomps off, leaving me to stare over the table at London, speechless and disappointed.
Chapter 16
Present Day
I lay in bed staring at the ceiling, looking for answers that I know aren’t there. My mind keeps replaying the events of the day and everything that happened between the three of us.
Once again, I’ve fucked things up for London. She’d asked me to come with her in hopes of convincing Sage to check into rehab or at least see a therapist. And within less than twelve hours, I’ve gotten into a heated argument with Sage and been shocked to learn that while I’ve been out of the picture, Sage had asked London to marry him.
Marry him.
