Page 52 of Wood You Knot

“I don’t think she’ll feel that way, but I understand. Like I said, we can take things as slow as you need. We don’t even have to define things yet. But know that you’re the only woman I’m interested in spending time with.”

Her eyes brightened at that, like it’d been exactly what she’d needed to hear in the moment. She leaned over and kissed me, and we started making out, exploring each other’s bodies over our clothes.

As our kisses grew more and more heated, our touches became more and more exploratory. My hand slid under her shirt, cupping her breast through her lacy bra while she palmed me over top of my jeans.

When we heard voices drifting down from somewhere nearby on the beach, we knew it was time to finally pack up and end the night…but neither of us really wanted to.

“Maybe we should…go somewhere more private?” she suggested, sounding a little vulnerable.

I swallowed hard. “If you want to, we can.” Her gaze dropped down to my lips, and she bit her bottom lip, considering.

“I want to,” she finally said with a decisive nod. “We could go back to my place if you’d like?”

The invitation sounded too good to resist. “Yeah, we could do that.”

Sage helped me fold up the blankets and pillows, and I put them in the storage box along with the empty bottle of Choco Temptation and the folded-up tray. Once everything was tucked away, we collected the take-away boxes and wine glasses, then climbed into the cab.

We could see flashlights farther down on the beach. Figuring it was likely Damien or Noah coming out to check on things, I made sure to lock up the gates to the private beach before we left. Then I drove us back to her place.

“Can you park in the parking lot behind the hardware store?” she asked, and I nodded, doing so without complaint.

I didn’t mind that she’d probably asked me to park there to make it less obvious to the townsfolk. I understood her desire to keep what we were doing on the down low. We were consenting adults, but that didn’t mean the town wouldn’t run amok with gossip if my truck was parked out front of Sage’s apartment late at night.

There was more anonymity in parking in the lot behind the building, and I was happy to give that to her, especially after the whole love elixir mishap. I wanted her to know she could trust me, and I wanted her to set the pace. I was prepared to take it however slow—or fast—she wanted to go. If all she wanted was to continue kissing at her place, I was game for it.

Sage punched in the code to unlock the door and opened it, letting us into the back of the building. She glanced at me, her green eyes shining with desire and need, and slipped her left hand in mine, tugging me toward the stairs and leading me up them.

I held open the door at the top of the stairs, and she stepped into the hallway. Sage dropped my hand, bringing her finger to her lips to signal I needed to be quiet, gesturing with a tilt of her head to the other apartment door. I nodded, and we walked as soundlessly as we could down the hallway.

Once we were inside her apartment, Sage turned to me. “Do you want a glass of wine?” she asked as she removed her shoes.

“That sounds good,” I told her, toeing my boots off and leaving them by the door while she went into the kitchen.

I watched her reach for two wine glasses from the top shelf of her cabinet, the bottom of her top rising to expose a little of her belly. I wanted to press my lips to that sliver of skin and see if she tasted as good there as she had everywhere else my lips had touched so far.

Instead, I moved behind her and brushed her hair aside, pressing a tender kiss to the side of her neck. She tilted her head, leaning her back against me and pushing her supple ass against my arousal as she poured the wine.

I tried not to thrust, but my hips moved involuntarily, and she spilled a bit of wine on the counter and giggled.

“Sorry,” I murmured with a smile against the skin on her neck, reaching for the dishcloth in the sink to wipe it up for her, still pressing kisses to the side of her neck as I cleaned the mess I’d caused.

A soft sigh escaped her lips, and she picked up the wine glasses and turned around, her body still flush against mine. Sage offered one of the glasses to me. I took it from her and sipped it at the same time she sipped hers, but it wasn’t what I wanted to drink in that moment.

She met my lustful gaze with her own, swallowing the wine and setting the half-full glass back down on the counter. I abandoned mine, too, my interest in wine evaporating as the heat of desire licked up my spine. She ran her hands up my torso, feeling the panes of muscles over my shirt.

My skin erupted into goosebumps as her hands explored me. I’d never wanted anybody more than I wanted her, never felt such pleasure from a woman’s touches. I mean, I’d found pleasure before, obviously, but this…this was on a whole other level.

Then she was grabbing my shirt collar and tugging me even closer toward her. I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her, pouring all the pent-up desire I had for this woman into every stroke of my tongue against hers.

She ground her pelvis against my erection, and the sensational feeling had me pushing against her and deepening the kiss. I pulled away for just a moment, pulling back enough to catch her eyes. “Are you sure about this, Sage? We don’t have to do this yet.”

While I was talking, she slid one of her hands back down my chest, over my abdomen, and once she’d passed the hemline of my shirt, she unbuttoned my jeans and tugged the zipper down, slipping her hand into my boxers.

“I want to,” she insisted, her hand wrapping around my hardness. I let out a low groan, my forehead falling to rest on hers as she stroked me.

“If you’re sure…” I said, trailing off as her fingers tightened around me. She gave me a coy smile, and that was really all it took. My hands fell away from her face, gripping her hips as I ravished her mouth, kissing her like my life depended on it.

Sage pulled her hand free and started tugging my shirt up, breaking away long enough to pull it over my head. I lifted her tank top off too, tossing it to the floor with mine. Then our mouths collided again, frantic and searching. I lifted her on top of the island counter, gently pushing her legs aside so I could stand between them.

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