Until Sage (Until Him 2)

“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.