Page 149 of Sage Haven

---

I smiled faintly.

I sank into the leather chair by the window, curling my legs underneath as I let the music wrap around me.

I wanted to understand him.

I wanted to peel back the layers he so carefully controlled.

But how?

A quiet idea slipped into my mind.

I could cook for him.

He had provided for me in that way. He had kept me alive, kept me safe.

Maybe…maybe this was how I could offer him something in return.

A gesture.

A truce.

Some part of me whispered the truth.

This was dangerous.

It wasn’t freedom.

It wasn’t love.

But it was something.

And for now, I would take it.

I stood slowly and made my way toward the kitchen, Reich’s shirt slipping over my thighs like a second skin.

I could still feel his hands. His breath against my throat. His words in my ear.

Actions have consequences, Wildflower. Be a good girl.

I wasn’t sure which I wanted more.

To obey.

Or to make him prove what would happen if I didn’t.

Either way—I was ready.

34

REICH

Iwoke before dawn,the room still cloaked in darkness. The faintest glow of early morning bled in through the French doors, pale and gray. For a long moment, I just laid there, breathing in the quiet. I listened to the slow, steady rhythm of Sage’s breathing beside me—soft and delicate, like the whisper of wind through leaves.

She was still asleep, her body curled toward mine in the most trusting way, her cheek pressed against my shoulder, her hand resting over my ribs like I was her anchor. The heat of her skin seeped into me, a warmth I hadn’t realized I’d been craving until now.

It was dangerous, how much I wanted to stay. How much I wanted to let her keep holding on like this.

But if I didn’t move now, I wouldn’t move at all.

---