“They just want you to know they love you and that they support you,” he says quietly, giving my fingers a squeeze. “I think sometimes parents try to overcompensate. They never want us to feel like we are missing out on something.”

  “Do your parents do that with you?” I ask, and his face softens.

  “My dad is too cool for that, but my mom is a coddler. I love her for it. I’ve never worried about the depth of her love for me. So yeah, she throws love at me the way your parents try to throw money at you.” He smiles then leans back, letting go of my hand as our food arrives.

  Looking down at my salad, my mouth waters. Then I look across to his plate and my eyes get big.

  “Jesus,” Sage mutters, staring at the plate in front of him. It isn’t a normal size plate. No, it’s something you would serve a turkey on at Thanksgiving, and the burrito sitting on it takes up the whole surface.

  “Do you two need anything else?” our waiter asks.

  I pull my eyes from Sage’s meal and shake my head then mutter, “Unless you have another stomach somewhere. I think my man might need it.”

  Smiling big, he shakes his head then walks off.

  “Your man, huh?” Sage asks, and my eyes go back to his and my stomach dips when I see the look there. “I like that.”

  “You do?”

  “Been waiting a long time to hear you call me that,” he admits, and that warmth I’ve been feeling in the pit of my stomach spreads through my chest.

  “Thank you,” I blurt, and his focus on me changes. “For waiting for me, I mean.”

  The focus in his gaze changes to heat. “You better eat before I say fuck it to the food and carry your pretty little ass out of here over my shoulder so I can take you home and show you my gratitude in a different way.”

  “Right,” I breathe, picking up my fork and shoving it into my salad, taking a huge bite before I tell him I wouldn’t mind him doing just that.

  “I’m not even sure where to start,” he says, and I chew and swallow my bite while watching him look at his plate.

  “The middle,” I supply helpfully, and he grins at me then digs into his food. Surprisingly, I eat all of my salad and he finishes more than half of his burrito. When the check arrives, I try to pay, but like always, he doesn’t let me. After arguing for a few minutes, I give in to him and he pays the bill.

  After that he tucks me into his car and we head back to his place, where he leaves me with a soft kiss outside his bedroom door. I stand here watching him after that kiss as he moves to the spare room. I think about joining him there, but the part of me that knows we still need to work on getting to know each other keeps me in his bed, where I fall asleep surrounded by his scent.

  Chapter 9

  Kim

  STRETCHING MY ARMS above my head, I blink my eyes open to a view of crystal-blue skies overhead through the skylight. I don’t know what woke me, but something did, since I was sleeping better than I have in forever. I roll to my side and press my face into the pillow, breathing in the scent of Sage that kept me company all night.

  Hearing a shuffle, thump, thump, shuffle, thump, thump coming from somewhere in the house, I frown and sit up. Tipping my head toward the door, I try to make out what the noise could possibly be. It doesn’t sound like the normal hammer to wood that greeted me the first few days I stayed with Sage; it’s different.

  Curiosity has me getting out of bed and slipping on my sweater to go in search of the sound. Moving past the kitchen and down the hall on the opposite side of the house, I finally locate the noise and pause in the doorway, resting my shoulder against the doorjamb. The room isn’t bare like the other two rooms in the house that haven’t been renovated. This room has gym equipment shoved into the space, including a weight machine, a stair climber, and a treadmill.

  Sage, in all his shirtless glory, is on the treadmill in the middle of the room with a pair of large headphones covering his ears, wearing nothing but basketball shorts and sneakers. His profile is to me, so I can’t see all of him, but from my vantage point, I can make out the muscles in his arm that is cocked at the elbow. The side of his chest and back flex as he runs at full speed, hitting the treadmill hard every time his feet find purchase.

  “Lord.” My mouth goes dry, and the space between my legs starts to tingle as sweat makes every single one of his muscles glisten. Reaching forward, he hits the button on the machine, and I jump when the sound startles me out of my perusal. He must see me jump, because his eyes come to me and a small smile spreads across his mouth. Pulling off his headphones, he drops them to the holder on top of the machine then hits the button that brings the treadmill to a complete stop.

  “Morning,” he says, walking toward me while wiping his face and chest with the towel he grabs off the weight bench.

  “Morning,” I reply, licking my lips and letting my eyes slide over him, feeling his do the same in return.

  “Did you sleep in that?” he asks, and I look down at what I have on, feeling my eyes widen when I notice he can see all of me through the thin, white lace fabric covering my private bits. I didn’t put on my sleep shorts last night when I put on my tank top and got into bed, and I didn’t even think about pulling them on this morning when I got up. And the sweater I dragged on barely reaches the top of my panties.

  “Shit,” I mutter, turning quickly. I start to run down the hall toward his room, but I don’t get very far. His strong arm circles my waist and I’m pulled back against his warm, hard chest. Squeaking when I’m captured, I feel him kiss my neck then nibble below my ear. It turns that tingle I felt between my legs earlier into an ache.

  “Don’t change on my account.” His words whisper across my ear, making me shiver, while his fingers slide along my stomach where my tank has risen up. My muscles tense in preparation, and my eyes slide closed as his fingers sneak into my panties and touch my bare skin. Moving my arms up over my head, I hold on to his neck as his free hand moves to cup my breast.

  “Oh,” I whimper when he flicks my clit. My knees start to give out from under me then the doorbell rings, causing every inch of me to go solid as I freeze.

  “Fuck me,” he mutters, pulling his fingers from my panties and turning me in his arms. Cupping my jaw, his eyes search my face for a second before he grumbles “Fuck” again and shakes his head. “You may want to get something on. I can only think of two people who’d show up here this time of the morning.”

  “Who?” I ask, trying to shake the arousal that’s still coursing hot and heavy through my system.

  “Willow and Harmony.”

  “Right, I’ll jus—” The doorbell goes off again, and I fight back the laugh I feel building up inside me from the frustrated look on his face. “I’ll go get dressed,” I say, getting up on my tiptoes and pressing a quick kiss to his cheek.

  Hearing him groan, I look at him and watch his hungry eyes drag across my skin as he adjusts his hard-on in his shorts. My pussy clenches, and I debate going back and attacking him. “Go,” he growls, making my stomach clench.

  Nodding, I hurry to his room and right to the bathroom, where I strip out of my clothes, turn the shower to cold, and hop in. The freezing water does almost nothing to cool my overheated libido, but I do feel like I can breathe a little easier. After washing up quickly, I get out and dry off then put on the jeans I had on yesterday, one of my simple black tanks, and my sweater back over it.

  I try to get ready quickly, since I don’t want Sage to think I’m being rude, but it still must have been longer than I thought, because when I walk into the kitchen while tying up my hair, the smell of bacon is in the air. There are pancakes on the griddle on the counter, along with two beautiful girls sitting on the stools in front of Sage, who is cooking shirtless. I know Willow and Harmony well. We’ve hung out a lot. We have the same friends—or I should say I’m friends with their cousins—but I’ve never been around them since Sage and I… well, whatever we are right now. Feeling uneasy all of a sudden, I pause just outside the kitchen, not sure what to do with myself. Do I pretend like nothing is going on, or do I—

  “Kim!” The shout of my name and two women running toward me cuts off my wayward thoughts, and before I can prepare myself, I’m engulfed in a tight hug that cleans all of my worries away.

  “Hey, guys,” I get out, and then they both attack me with question after question in rapid succession.

  “Are you okay? How are you feeling? Do you need anything? We wanted to come see you, but Sage wouldn’t let us.” That last statement makes me shake my head.

  “What?” I ask, and both Willow and Harmony pull back to look at me before looking at their glaring brother.

  “He told us we weren’t allowed to bother you.”

  “I did not say bother her. I said you guys needed to give her some space. Jesus, there’s too many people in our family. If everyone started showing up, she would have been overwhelmed, and you know her family was here.”

  “You just wanted her to yourself.” Willow rolls her eyes.

  Sage shrugs. “Sue me.”

  “Whatever,” Harmony grumbles, taking my arm and pulling me toward one of the barstools. “The point is we don’t want you to think we don’t care, because we do.”

  “I know that,” I assure her, and I do know they care. After Kelly’s death, I must have gotten a million texts and a dozen bouquets of flowers delivered to Sage’s house from his family, my friends. It was all really sweet, and I tried to reply to everyone, but sometimes I just couldn’t.

  “How’s Sage treating you? Is he being nice? Mom said to make sure he’s being nice, ’cause if he’s not, she promised to cut off his balls,” Willow states, and I flinch.

  “Christ,” Sage mutters, looking at me. “I knew I shouldn’t have opened the fucking door.”

  “He’s being very nice,” I promise, watching Sage’s eyes darken. Seeing that, my nipples get hard and my clit throbs. I don’t think I’ll be able to keep myself from jumping him the first chance I get. There is too much heat between us, and I’m pretty sure that if we don’t find a way to burn some of it off, we’re likely to explode.

  “Sheesh! Do you two need me and Willow to leave?” Harmony asks, and I say “no” as Sage says “yes,” which makes me smile.

  “I’m listening to Kim on this one. Sorry, brother,” Harmony says, picking up a cup of coffee from the counter to take a sip.

  “So, you two are really together then?” Willow inquires, and I look at Sage and wait to see how he will answer that question.

  “We’re really together,” he confirms.

  I let out the breath I didn’t even know I was holding then get up and head around the island to get a mug and make myself some tea, but Sage stops me with a hand to my waist before I make it to the cupboard.

  “I made you tea,” he informs, reaching over and handing me a cup of tea.

  I take a sip, realizing it’s just how I like it—dark English Breakfast tea with a little bit of honey. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome.” He presses his lips to my temple then turns me in his arms, walking me two steps forward. Pressing his side into my back, he wraps his hand around my waist while he uses his free hand to remove the pancakes off the griddle.

  “Do you two want to go out on the lake with me and Kim?” he asks Willow and Harmony.

  I tip my head back to look at him, wondering what he’s talking about. He never told me anything about going on the lake. “The lake?” I question.

  His head dips down as his eyes drop to meet mine. “I figure we have a while before dinner tonight. I already pulled the kayaks out of the garage this morning. The lake’s calm and the sky’s clear, so it’s a good day to go out.” He shrugs, adding more batter to the griddle while Harmony moves to the oven, opening it up and pulling out a pan full of bacon.

  “I’ve never kayaked before,” I tell him, and he looks at me once more with a smile that’s almost wicked curving his lips.

  “Really?” he asks, and I shrug.

  “I’m not really an outdoor-activity kind of girl. I’m more of a sit on the edge of the lake or in the sand at the beach and read a book kind of a girl,” I admit.

  “You’ll love it.” He kisses the top of my head while his fingers run along my hip under my tank.

  “I don’t think you understand. I’m not the most athletic person in the world,” I add, and he laughs.

  “It’s all good. You don’t need to be athletic.”

  “I’m guessing you’ve made up your mind and no matter what I say I will be going out on the lake,” I deduce, and the girls, who are watching me and Sage like they would a Ping-Pong match, both laugh.

  “You’d be right. You’ll like it.”

  “If you say so,” I mutter, taking a sip of tea, knowing he has no idea what he’s getting himself into.

  *

  “THIS WAS A bad idea,” I grumble, and Harmony and Willow laugh as I take Sage’s hand and put one foot in the kayak then the other, hissing “Oh, God” when the boat wobbles side-to-side.

  “I’ve got you. You’ll be fine,” Sage assures.

  I roll my eyes. I don’t think he understands how uncoordinated I am. We are both likely to end up in the water if I’m on this damn thing. “What are you doing? I thought you were coming with me.” I panic as Sage starts to push me and the boat out into the water.

  “I need to get us out a bit before I climb in so we don’t bottom out,” he replies calmly before climbing into the seat behind me. The boat tips again, and I grab both sides, holding on for dear life as I screech at the top of my lungs. Hearing him chuckle behind me, I turn around to look at him and narrow my eyes.

  “It’s not funny.”

  “Baby,” he says gently, smiling at me. “Take a breath and look around. Tell me this isn’t beautiful.”

  With a huff, I turn around to face the front of the kayak then pull in a sharp breath. He’s wrong. It’s not beautiful; it’s breathtaking. The trees surrounding the lake are in varying shades of greens, golds, and browns, and the lake itself looks like smooth dark glass that the sky and trees are reflecting off of.

  “It’s amazing,” I whisper as we move smoothly over the water. Turning to look at Sage once more, I see he has the paddle in his hand and is using it on first one side and then the other in an almost circular motion. “Thank you,” I mouth to him, and his face softens. Hearing Willow and Harmony laughing, I glance across the lake and watch them as they speed over the smooth surface, paddling in sync.

  Seeing them, I pick up my own paddle. “How do I do this?” I ask, and the boat glides to a stop.

  “First one side and then the other. You start us off and I’ll fall into rhythm with you,” he says, and I nod then take the long paddle and begin to put one side into the water. It takes me a few minutes for me to stop going in circles and to get the hang of it, but when I finally catch on, Sage starts paddling with me and we fly over the top of the lake, chasing after Willow and Harmony.

  I laugh harder than I have in a long time and smile so much my face hurts. I know my happiness isn’t because of what I’m doing, even though kayaking is a total blast. I’m happy because of who I am with. Sage is one of those people who is just easy to hang out with. He puts you at ease, takes the stress away, and makes you smile, even when you don’t think it’s possible to.

  And he is also the guy I’m pretty sure I’m already falling in love with. I just hope with time he can feel the same way about me.

  *

  Sage

  SLIPPING ON MY dress shirt, I do up the buttons then the cuffs and grab my watch, putting it on before walking out of the closet. Listening to the sound of Kim singing behind the door of my master bath, I smile then laugh. She sounds horrible, but it’s still cute to hear her so happy. I head toward the door and grab my shoes, leaving for the living room, where I take a seat on the edge of the couch to put them on.

  We were out on the lake longer than I expected us to be, so by the time we got back in and put away the kayaks, Willow and Harmony left to get ready for dinner, which reminded Kim about our plans for the evening. I know she’s nervous about being around everyone tonight, but I’m relieved. For a long time, I’ve hated going to family functions or get-togethers knowing Kim could be there with one of my cousins. If she were there, I would’ve had to be in the same room with her and not touch her, not talk to her. Fuck, I could barely look at her. It was like torture every time.

  But tonight, tonight is different. There are no rules anymore. I can touch her whenever the fuck I want.

  Standing from the couch, I head for the kitchen but stop dead when Kim walks out of my room and down the hall toward me. Her hair is half down and pulled away from her face, making her eyes and cheekbones stand out. The dark burgundy turtleneck dress she’s wearing looks amazing with her complexion and skims her body like a second skin, ending just above a pair of knee high black leather boots.

  “Fuck.” Seeing those boots, I know going slow just went out the fucking window. I want her. No… want is too tame a word. I fucking need her.

  “Is this too much?” she asks, stopping before me and holding her arms out to her sides. “I don’t want to look slutty. I didn’t even think about the fact this kind of screams ‘slut’ with the boots.”

  Jesus, my woman is crazy.

  “You don’t look slutty, but I’m definitely thinking about you in those boots and nothing else.”

  “Sage,” she snaps, and I lean in, wrapping my hand around her hip, feeling the soft material of the dress under my palm.

  “Never mind, the sweater’s hot, too. The first time I fuck you,” I lean down, nipping her earlobe while grabbing her ass, “it will be up around your waist, your boots around my hips, and your ass on the counter in the kitchen.”

  “You’re not helping me feel better,” she growls.

  I lean back to look at her then move my hands to hold her face gently. “You look beautiful.”

  “Are you sure? Your mom and dad—”

  “They couldn’t give a fuck less what you wear. They already know you and like you. You have nothing to be nervous about. This is my family and the people you’ve been hanging out with for a long time.”