Page 30 of Sage Haven
My trespasser.
It was her.
The woman I’d been watching from the deck.
The woman who walked through my territory as if it belonged to her.
The woman I’d told myself was harmless—until now.
Before I could process these thoughts, a man approached her.
Blonde. Beach-boy swagger.
I knew the type.
Knew the false ease, the practiced charm, the easy grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. I knew exactly who he was, and I knew exactly what was in the drink he offered her.
And when she accepted it without hesitation.
Without any question.
That made my stomach clench hard.
A sharp, brutal twist of heat and something darker had churned in my gut because she had no idea what she’d just done.
No idea the kind of monsters she was inviting into her life and the danger she’d just let that close.
I moved before I had time to think.
Instinct.
No strategy or calculation.
I closed the distance between us in seconds, sliding through the crush of bodies until I was close enough to catch the scent of her—earth and musk, like wildflowers after a rainstorm.
I was close enough that if I reached out, I could touch her.
Close enough to feel the low, steady hum of tension in her spine.
“You shouldn’t take what isn’t yours.”
The words came out sharper than I intended.
Cold. Controlled.
But it got her attention.
She turned, startled, her green eyes flashing as they locked on mine.
Green.
Brilliant and sharp, like new growth cutting through cracked brick.
For a split second, I forgot why I was there.
Forgot what I was doing, until I remembered the cup and took it from her, spilling its content onto the ground. It was then she scowled.
The confusion in her expression twisted fast into defiance, her chin tilting up in a challenge.
