“Why thank you,” she says, leaning her face into my hand. We stay like that for a moment and then she seems to shake herself.
“Okay, we can’t stay up here for too long or Mom will send Martha to check something and she won’t knock before she barges in. She’s Mom’s eyes and ears.” I have no doubt about that.
She puts the things back in the box, except for the ring that’s now safely in pocket and locks it before putting the key back in her secret hiding place in her closet. I wish there were some way to come back here and steal the box so I could have all the time I want to with it. I want to crawl inside her life. I can’t deny it anymore. I want her body, but I want everything else too. I want her past. Even if I’m going to leave. It doesn’t stop me from wanting.
She moves toward the door, but I don’t get up from the bed. I just want to stay here for a few more minutes.
“You coming?” she asks, hand on the doorknob.
“Yeah,” I say, swinging my legs over the side of the bed and standing.
When we make our way back downstairs we find Bridgette and Beaumont arguing softly. They cut it out the second they see us coming down the stairs and put on fake smiles.
“Well, I think we’re going to get going,” Saige says. “Thanks for dinner, Mom.” She leans forward and gives her mother a kiss on one cheek and then the other.
“Thank you, Mrs. Beaumont, it was lovely,” I say.
“You’re very welcome, it was wonderful to see you again.” Her tone leaves a little bit to be desired in the “wonderful” department. Saige is saying goodbye to her father with a hug. It’s clear the two are much closer than Saige and her mother. I shake Beaumont’s hand and he squeezes just a little too hard. I let him do it and hide my wince.
Finally, I’m out the door with Saige and glad for it.
“You survived,” she says, putting her arm around my waist.
“I did. And it wasn’t even that bad. You had me very worried there, Saige.”
She pushes her hip into me and I almost stumble. She just laughs.
“I’m going to get you for that.” I swing her around in front of me. We’re right in front of the house and I’m sure her parents are watching. Fuck it.
“Oh yeah?” she says, looking up at me, her face full of defiance.
“I’m going to get you so good.” I slide my hands down her back and grab both her ass cheeks, making her jump.
“Then let’s go back to your place.” I back her up until she’s pressed against my car. I’d love to work her over right in the driveway. It would really stick it to Beaumont, but I know that wouldn’t go over very well.
So instead I reach around her and open the door, shoving her playfully into the front seat. She protests, but it’s a cute sound and she’s not serious.
I wait until she’s all the way in and shut the door. Something moves in my peripheral vision and I see a face at one of the gigantic windows watching me. Beaumont. His eyes are hard, but he smiles as he holds a drink in the air, like he’s toasting me. I just nod and get in the car.
Twenty-Two
“Don’t you have any friends, Quinn?” Saige says in a quiet voice. As soon as I got her home I fucked her against the door because I couldn’t wait. And then in the kitchen. It took us a while to actually make it to the bedroom, but we got here eventually. The fire she ignites in my body is satiated for the moment and she’s resting on my chest and drawing patterns on my skin with her fingertips.
“Would it matter if I said no?” I ask. She looks up at me. The lights are off, but the early light of dawn is filtering through cracks in the curtains, bathing us in greyish light.
“No,” she says, not looking up at me. “But you seem like someone who would have friends. You did so well hanging out with mine.”
I sigh and she stills her hand, looking up at me.
“I do have friends.” She searches my eyes, as if looking for what I’m not saying.
“But you don’t want me to meet them.” It’s not a question. I look up at the ceiling and rub my eyes.
“It’s complicated, Saige. My life is complicated.” Another truth. I’ve given her far too many truths, along with some lies that are starting to feel like truths.
She thinks about that for a minute and then runs her hand over my head in such a sweet gesture, it makes something in my chest ache.
“I can handle complicated,” she says before pressing up and kissing me with the same softness she stroked my head. “I can handle complicated for you.” She speaks against my lips in a whisper.
I open my eyes and find her so close that she’s all I can see.
“You’re going to change my life, Saige Beaumont.” The words are out of my mouth before I can swallow them back down my throat.
She blinks and then moves back.
“You’re already changing mine,” she says.
We sleep for a few more hours and then my internal clock wakes me up. I extract myself from under Saige and go to the bathroom to take care of business. She’s still sleeping when I come back, her brilliant copper hair spread over my pillows and her naked skin on display.
I watch her for a moment before pulling on some pants and going to the kitchen to start breakfast.
I’m just scrambling up some eggs when she comes out wearing one of my shirts. It’s so long on her that it skims the top of her thighs, but if she bent over it would leave nothing to the imagination.
“I found this in your drawer,” she says, looking down at the faded band t-shirt. It’s so old you can’t even read the logo anymore.
“It looks good on you,” I say, my voice rough. She’s so… soft this morning. Her hair is all over the place and she doesn’t seem to care. Her face is makeup free and she gives me a sleepy smile before yawning.
“What are you making?” she says, coming over and standing next to me, looking into the bowl.
“Scrambled eggs, toast and there’s coffee if you want it.” I point to the fresh pot I made less than ten minutes ago. She practically dives toward it. I’d already set a mug out for her, along with cream, sugar and a spoon. I know she takes both.
“You didn’t have to do all this,” she says as she stirs the dark liquid until it turns a lighter color from the milk.
“I want to,” I say as I dump the eggs into the waiting frying pan. She leans her back against the counter and holds the cup in both hands as she sips.
“Well, you’re certainly setting the bar high this early in the game. You should have just kicked me out of bed so I didn’t set my expectations so high.” She’s joking and I point my spatula at her.
“Not funny. Anyone who would kick you out of bed is clinically insane.” She rolls her eyes and waves off my compliment.
“I’m not everyone’s type. No one is. There’s a quote by Dita Von Teese that says you can be the ripest juiciest peach in the world and there’s still someone out there who hates peaches.” I start stirring the eggs and shake my head.
“Well, I, for one, am very, very, fond of peaches,” I say, throwing her a grin.
She sets her coffee down and walks toward me until she’s pressed against my back.
“It’s good that you like peaches,” she says, kissing the skin on my neck. I don’t have a shirt on, so there’s only a little bit of fabric from her shirt between us.
Her hands slide down my skin and grip my ass through my jeans.
“Is that payback for last night?” I say, gritting my teeth and feeling the need for her shoot right to my cock. No matter how many times and how many ways I fuck her, I still need more. I’ve never been with anyone like her and I have the feeling I won’t again.
“Maybe. You really shouldn’t have done that. My dad was probably watching.” Her fingers creep around my hips and start heading for my cock, which twitches, because it knows what’s coming.