“Hurting your friend will only hurt you in the end.”
“Maybe. But it would be worth it,” I mumbled into his neck as I melted deeper into his reassuring embrace.
“Not to me,” he replied as his hands stroked lovingly across my bare back.
“I am sorry. I hate that I cry so much with you.”
Sage snorted a soft laugh as he took a firm hold of me at the back of my neck to pull me off his chest so he could look at me seriously.
“Do not apologize for giving me the parts of you that you keep from the world. I am honoured that you trust me with the most tender pieces of you,” he insisted and then kissed my damp eyelids. “Iloveyou, Summer. I am not afraid of your darkness, and I will not falter before your ugly truths. I promise to cherish every forsaken corner of your heart if you will let me,” he swore.
“It’s yours,” I assured him as even more tears began streaming silently down my face.
“Good,” he murmured with an adoring smile, and then he kissed away every droplet on my cheeks.
Sage
I was jolted awake by the sensation of Ciaran prodding at me through the rider bond. Summer groaned sleepily in protest and tried to roll off my chest, but I caught her and dragged her delicious body back up against mine.
What is it?I asked Ciaran, keeping the link muted so he could not perceive anything about her.
Well… we gave you the day to be together, but we also missed you, Sage. So we decided we should come to your yurt tonight to see you. I wanted to give you plenty of warning so you two can be decent,Ciaran explained with a smirk in his voice.
“What?” I growled aloud, waking Summer.
“What’s wrong?” she gasped but then realized I was speaking to someone else and waited.
Whymyyurt?I demanded.
How else can we be sure you show up?Ciaran pointed out witha mental shrug that made me grit my teeth.
How long do I have?I asked him.
Maybe an hour? But don’t be surprised if your mother cannot wait and gets there before the rest of us.
I heaved a sigh and sent him my appreciation for the warning before closing the link with him.
“What’s going on?” Summer asked once I dropped my head and pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers.
“We are being… invaded,” I sighed.
“What?” she gasped, her entire body coiling readily as if she were preparing to spring out of the bed.
“No! I mean our friends and family cannot wait any longer to see me, and they are coming here soon.”
“Oh,” she breathed in relief, her shoulders dropping, and then she laughed as she leaned over to place a kiss on my chest. “I like the sound of ‘our friends and family.’”
I hummed my agreement as I bent down to nuzzle my nose between her neck and shoulder and greedily inhaled her scent. My claim had only gotten more potent on her skin with every climax I’d coaxed from her; and despite the day we’d spent together, the idea of sharing her with anyone else made me feel a little crazy. But night would fall soon based on the darkened canvas walls of the yurt, and I wanted to see my family now that I was better.
“Hello? Sage?” called my mother’s voice suddenly in the main chamber of my yurt. Clearly she was early, just as Ciaran had predicted she would be.
I gave Summer a moment longer in the room to make herself presentable and went out to greet my eager parents before they ended up barging into the bedchamber.
My mother gave an uncharacteristic squeal at the sight of me and quickly set down her share of the food platters that she and my father had brought with them. I laughed as she charged me and caught her when she hit me hard, swinging her around once to help slow her momentum.
The second I put her down again, she leaned back with a wrinkled nose and furrowed brows to look up at me.
“Phew! That is a potent mark, my love. You probably should have bathed before inviting everyone over here,” she informed me with a playful smirk.
