Page 80 of Bitter When He Begs

I don’t know what to say at first, because for once, I don’t want to ruin it.

But I can’t sit in silence, not when he’s letting me touch him like this. Not after the way I’ve treated him. So I clear my throat and swallow the bitter thing sitting in my chest, before saying, “I was a dick to you.”

Sage lets out a sigh. “Yeah,” he says eventually. “You were.”

I nod against his skin. “I’m sorry.”

His silence stretches long enough that I almost regret saying anything. Then he rolls onto his back, just enough to glance over his shoulder at me. His eyes are soft but tired. “You were cruel, Luca. Not just a dick. You said and did some really fucked up shit.”

I nod again, slower this time. “I know. I wanted to hurt you before you could hurt me. I didn’t know what else to do.”

He looks at me long enough that I start to fidget, which is ridiculous because I never fucking fidget. But then he breathes out and turns his face back toward the ceiling. “You don’t get to treat people like that just because you’re scared.”

“I know,” I say again, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. “I’m not good at this.”

“You’re not allowed to be shit at basic human decency.”

That earns a real laugh out of me, one that shakes my chest and makes him glance back again. I grin, biting lightly at his shoulder. “You’re hot when you’re righteous.”

He groans and shoves at me, but this time, he’s smiling.

We stay like that for a while. Not touching, not fucking. Just… there. Breathing together. And for once, I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to run. I just want to stay here in this goddamn room with this brat and pretend the rest of the world doesn’t exist.

Until, of course, he ruins it.

“We should probably go downstairs,” he says eventually. “My stuff’s still outside.”

I groan, burying my face into his shoulder. “Or… we could just stay here.”

He laughs and threads his fingers through my hair, tugging lightly. “We’re not hiding in here forever, Devereaux.”

I grumble under my breath but eventually pull myself up, running a hand through my hair before sighing dramatically. “Fine. But only because I like you.”

Sage’s mouth twitches, but he doesn’t take the bait. He watches me, smiling, and something in my chest tightens before I can stop it.

“I’ll go grab your duffel,” I say and lean over, kiss his cheek, then I force myself out of bed, still naked and still fucking glowing, if I’m being honest. I pull on a pair of sweats, rakea hand through my hair, and smirk at him over my shoulder. “Don’t go anywhere.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” he says, and I don’t think he means just the bed.

I head downstairs like I didn’t just fuck the brains out of Sage Blackwell, and know exactly what’s waiting for me.

And yeah.

I’m right.

The second I step onto the patio, I get hit with a chorus of jeers, whistles, and very fucking obvious smirks.

“Look who finally decided to grace us with his presence,” Roman calls out from the pool. “Could you have been a bit louder? We couldn’t hear you over the music.”

“Luca Devereaux, defiler of nerds,” Eli adds with a dramatic bow.

Thorn snickers. “Was starting to think you died up there.”

Julian raises his beer. “If he did, he died happy.”

I roll my eyes, flipping them off as I grab Sage’s bag. “You all have too much fucking time on your hands.”

Then I feel a heavy, burning glare cutting into me from across the yard. I turn my head, and—yep, Nate looks like he wants to commit murder. I meet his glare with an easy smile. “Nice seeing you too, Carter.”

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