Page 160 of Sage Haven
The kitchen counters.
All of it—devoured.
And it felt endless.
Like the world beyond us had ceased to exist.
Like we had stepped outside of time itself.
That night wasn’t just unforgettable.
It was one of the best of my entire life.
36
REICH
Iheld her close,my arm wrapped tightly around her waist, the other hand threading slowly through her hair as we lay sprawled across the cold, hardwood floor of the living room. The fire had long since burned itself down to glowing embers, their light flickering faintly across her skin. She was warm against me, her body molded to mine, fitting as if she’d always belonged there. My fingers combed through the silken strands of her hair over and over, memorizing the texture, needing to do something with my hands because if I didn’t… I’d probably lose what little control I had left… again.
The silence between us stretched, heavy but not suffocating. It wasn’t the uncomfortable kind that begged to be filled. It was a quiet understanding, a fragile peace I hadn’t realized I craved until now.
I dipped my head, brushing my lips across her temple. She exhaled softly, her breath feathering against my neck, and for a moment, it felt like the world outside us didn’t exist.
I tilted her face toward mine, needing to see her. Needing proof that this wasn’t just some fever dream I’d conjured out of desperation.
Those eyes.
Fuck, those eyes.
Green and wild and devastatingly soft all at once. They carried storms in them, the kind that could destroy, and yet they looked at me now with something gentler. Something raw.
It undid me.
“How are you feeling now?” I asked, my voice low, coaxing, a thread of teasing woven through it, because if I didn’t keep it light, I was afraid of how much weight would slip into my tone.
She didn’t answer right away. Just studied me with that unwavering gaze of hers, searching for something. I wasn’t sure what.
Maybe I didn’t want to know.
But then her lips curved faintly, and she gave me a soft nod. “Better,” she murmured. Her voice was quiet but certain. “Really.”
I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding, brushing my fingers along her jaw.
“Good.” Because if she was better, maybe I could be too.
“Thank you… for everything,” she added, and this time, her hand found mine, her fingers curling around my wrist like an anchor. Like I was the one who needed grounding.
“It’s nothing, Sage,” I muttered, but my hand lingered on her cheek, my thumb tracing the hollow just beneath her eye.
Her grip tightened just slightly. Not enough to hurt. Just enough to stop me.
“It’s not nothing, Reich.” Her voice wasn’t loud.
It didn’t need to be.
There was something resolute in it. Unshakable.
And it hit me like a punch to the gut.
