“I am so sorry!” she exclaimed as I grudgingly put her back down on the ground. And I regretted it immediately when shestepped toward him with intention.
I was still learning to find balance between restraint and protecting my boundaries. I couldn’t always trust my first reaction, but I’d assumed this might be one of those times when I should try to be patient. I knew Orlaith had also lost someone she loved, and sometimes that kind of pain could make people react in strange ways.
But I knew before she’d even put her arms around his neck and pressed her lips against his jaw that I was about to regret choosing restraint this time.
Thankfully, Sage was just as offended as I was because he pushed her away from him before I could even react. He must have been quite shocked because he shoved her hard enough that she nearly tripped and fell over.
“What are you—” she began blurting.
“Me? What areyoudoing?” Sage snapped back at her, and his lip curled in warning when she tried to touch his arm in reassurance. Then he used the back of his hand to wipe his skin as if he could erase where she kissed him.
“I was just trying—”
“No, notjustanything,” Sage interrupted her, and my brows rose at his unexpected temper even as his reaction filled me with vindication. “I know you must have been scared when I was taken, Orlaith, but that is no excuse to disrespect my mate or yours!” he chastised her.
And even though I’d trusted Sage to defend our bond against anyone trying to undermine it, there was still a foolish part of me that was relieved by his reaction.
As long as you know you are a fool. Sage’s devotion to you is all that should matter, Ciaran intruded completely uninvited in my mind. And I nearly bit off my own damn tongue with indignation at the realization that the asshole was fuckinglisteningto me at that moment.
I felt your temper spike, little doe. I wanted to ensure everything was alright,he explained in exasperation.
Fuck off,and stay out of my head!I snarled furiously, but he merely laughed and closed the link again.
I refocused on Orlaith blinking at us in confusion.
“But you said there was nothing—” she began to blurt before composing herself. “So I cannot even hug you?” she verified much more softly. And I had to scoff at her obvious attempts to manipulate him as tears began to fall prettily down her cheeks.
“No one else felt the need to hug him with their legs or to slobber all over him,” I interjected with an eye roll.
“I did not—He is not… It was not like that,” she tried to lie to Sage. “I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable! That was not my intention. I was just…scared. I must not have been thinking,” she attempted to explain herself.
I was pretty sure she might have been testing him in the hopes of getting a very different reaction. Maybe she had expected his brush with death to make him regret her as much as she clearly regretted him. Or maybe she was just looking to validate whatever delusions she’d told her friends about what could have been if shefought harder.
Whatever the objective, I was just glad that Sage had not been fooled.
“Then I trust you’ll remember yourself in the future,” my mate maintained firmly.
A flash of resentment sparked in Orlaith’s eyes when she glanced at me as if his reaction weremyfault. But she quickly schooled her features and nodded.
“Of course. I meant no offense,” she tried to reassure him again, although the angry flush in her cheeks made her words difficult to believe. “I am happy you are safe,” she added with a little more sincerity.
“As am I,” Sage responded dispassionately as he took my hand in preparation to leave, but she held up a hand.
“May I speak to Ornella?” she asked.
“Absolutely not,” Sage growled, but I was too curious about what she wanted not to agree to talk to her.
“It’s alright. I am sure it is about healing,” I told him, fighting a smirk as I gave his arm a reassuring squeeze.
Shedefinitelydid not want to talk about healing.
Sage seemed to know that too and remained hesitant for a moment before he nodded. Then he turned to put a hand on the back of my neck as he pressed a kiss against the top of my head. The affection felt intentional and effective when her lip curled before she looked away.
“I’ll meet you back in our tent,” Sage told me before he turned to go with one last warning frown at Orlaith.
She watched him leave until he’d disappeared around the corner of a yurt. She might have been waiting for him to get out of earshot or maybe she was watching his gait for any signs of discomfort. But my gut said it was neither of those things as she finally turned back to face me.
“He and I were good friends for many centuries before we ever became lovers. And he never felt a need to treat me with such suspicion before,” she seemed to chastise.
