House of Payne: Sage

by Stacy Gail

  “Wow, that must have been some night for you to oversleep this much. I’m impressed.” Again her sister laughed and Mads couldn’t help but smile along with her. Truth be told, she was impressed, too. “I’m almost sorry I woke you up, but I needed to ask you a couple things.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Remember that guy I accidentally invited over to dinner? Lorenzo?”

  Mads snorted. “Kind of hard to forget an accidental dinner guest.”

  “Okay, here’s the thing. I’d like to invite Lorenzo to the art auction at House Of Payne, but I just went online and the House Of Payne site says all the tickets have sold out. Is there any way you could get us both in?”

  That had Mads semi-sitting up against the pillows, suddenly wide-awake. “Are you serious?”

  “Oh, is that too big of an ask? I thought that might be the case.”

  “No, no, all the participating artists have been allotted four complimentary tickets to give out, so you’re good. That’s not what I’m talking about.” Mads ran a hand through her sleep-tousled hair and tried to focus. “Serena, are you seriously asking this Lorenzo guy out on a date? This time on purpose?”

  “Um… yeah.” It came out half-embarrassed, half-defiant. “I am.”

  So this was what being struck speechless felt like. “That’s… Wow.”

  “I know, right? But I’m really thinking Lozo would enjoy it, especially since he and Sage got to talking about art and tattoos over dinner. I had no idea he was such an art lover—”

  “Rena, whoa.” The sound of a door opening and closing registered, and she looked up in time to see Sage, bundled in a heavy ski jacket and gloves, carrying takeout bags and a drink caddy. “Did you say Lozo?”

  “He says that’s what his friends call him.”

  “He has friends?”

  There was a beat of silence. “I know. I get it. A few days ago he was the enemy. Now, I’m not so sure. That’s why I’d like to invite him out this one last time, to give him another chance.”

  “I… okay.” She looked up and couldn’t help but smile as she watched Sage shed his outerwear before he approached the bed with great-smelling food in hand. “You said there were a couple things you wanted to talk to me about. What else is going on?”

  “Dad called and asked if I had a key to your place, because he said he wanted to drop off a birthday present for you. I just wanted to clear it with you before I handed it over.”

  Mads blinked. “You’re kidding me. Dad actually remembered I have a birthday coming up? He hasn’t done that since I moved out on my own.”

  “I know, right? I think he’s changing now that he’s getting older—you know, understanding that he’s not immortal, and that family matters above all else. And, if it’s not too much of me taking a bow or two on this, I think getting the two of you together for that albeit-disastrous dinner still reminded him of what it’s like to be surrounded by family.”

  “Maybe,” Mads said, though she could hear the skepticism in her tone. Then she forgot all about skepticism, and her father, and just about everything else when Sage kicked off his shoes and climbed back into bed with her, working his way in behind her so that his chest became her backrest.

  “So? Can I give Dad the key the next time I see him? Or if you’re not comfortable with that, I can always offer to take your birthday present and get it to you myself, now that I know for a fact I’m going to be seeing you on your birthday. By the way, what should I wear to an art auction? Is this a hoity-toity evening gown kind of deal, or can I wear a sexy, club-style kind of dress?”

  “Uh… dresses are fine,” Mads mumbled, far more interested in how Sage’s mouth found that sweet spot on her neck beneath her ear. Mm. Nice.

  “Well, yeah, I wasn’t planning on going naked, Mads. Naked is not good, at least in public, and definitely in winter.”

  “Right. Naked.” She was naked, which was an outstanding state of affairs. But Sage wasn’t, which was less than outstanding. Clearly, that had to change. “I have to go now, Rena. Talk to you later.”

  “Oh, okay. Tell Sage hi for me.”

  “Rena says hi.” Blindly setting aside her phone Mads turned her head, offering her mouth up to Sage. Her heart did a triple somersault when he took that offer up with gusto, kissing her long and deep while the scent of snow and a hint of woodsmoke filled her senses. When he finally lifted his head, she found herself looking into those pale blue eyes that somehow held the warmth of the world. “Morning.”

  “Morning.” Those eyes heated as he looked at her, and all at once her toes started to curl. “What are your feelings on breakfast in bed?”

  Her brows went up. “Like, legitimate breakfast in bed, or the kind my sister and I used to try to make for my parents when we were kids?”

  “The kind designed to make you feel like a spoiled queen getting all the lux that she deserves.”

  Wheee! “I’m definitely in favor of that kind of breakfast in bed. Are you going to join me?”

  “Hell, yeah, I’m going to join you. After you eat the food I brought you, I plan on eating you. Sound like a plan?”

  Oh, this dear, sweet man… “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Good.” With one last kiss, he reached for the drink caddy. “First off, we’ve got coffee to get us going, because as much as I’d like to pretend otherwise, we’ve eventually got to get our asses out of bed and ready for work. Second up is a barbecue pulled-pork breakfast bowl that’s going to knock your damn socks off. And third… this.” He dropped a small, flat box that looked like it could hold a gift card onto her lap.

  “What’s this?” Setting her coffee aside, she picked up the box and shot him a curious look.

  “Early birthday present. Go on, open it.”

  A touched little sound escaped her. “Sage, you shouldn’t have.”

  “You don’t even know what it is yet. Open it up and find out.”

  Amazed at how deeply this man could move her with simple actions like breakfast in bed and a pre-birthday gift, she did as instructed and popped the box’s lid off. She wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, but the sight of a silver key nestled inside took her by surprise.

  “A key?” She shot him a bewildered look, before the light went on.

  Wait.

  Was this…?

  “We’ve been going along at a pretty fast clip, you and I,” he said when she didn’t say anything more, frozen in shock. “I get that. But after what happened a couple nights ago, I don’t think it’s too soon for us to start thinking in terms of something more solid. I know you’ve got your place, which is great, especially since that Zane asshole moved out. But you have to admit it’s a little on the small side.”

  “Small side,” she heard herself repeat as if from another room. It was almost like she was having an out-of-body experience, but she couldn’t help it. What she held wasn’t just a key. It was potentially an entire rearrangement of her life as she knew it. “Funny, I’ve never thought of the townhome as too small. It fits me pretty well.”

  “Yeah, but it only fits you, not me. That’s why my place works better for the both of us. Look around you. Room for days.”

  Her heart was doing somersaults again, and it was both terrifying and glorious. “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

  “I’m asking you to think of my home as your home. If it’s too soon for this kind of thing, I get that, but I don’t think it is,” he went on when she couldn’t seem to remember how to form words. “We hit a bad bump and almost crashed and burned the other night. Neither one of us dealt with that real well. That tells me something important, at least when it comes to myself.”

  At last she found her tongue. “What?”

  “It tells me that I’m invested in this thing we’ve got going on a helluva lot more than anything I’ve ever had before, so fine. I’m all in. That’s what this is about. I’m taking shit to the next level because that’s how much I believe in what we have. I made a copy of you
r housekey as well,” he added, stunning her all the more. “You can tell me to toss it or give it back to you, but I’m betting you won’t. You spent a sleepless night because of me, so whether you admit it or not you’re just as invested as I am. Exchanging keys and getting used to being in each other’s spaces is the next step. Deep down, I think you know that.”

  “I guess I do.” She heard her breath shake as she sat up a little more and took the key from its place in the box. “So, let’s be clear here. Do you want us to move in together?”

  “What I want is for us to make our being together real. Dating’s great, but there’s no stability there. Either one of us can just bounce without warning. I don’t like that. It’s like dancing on quicksand. We’re solid, you and I, so we should be dancing on solid ground. Exchanging housekeys and making ourselves comfortable in each other’s spaces is the first step. When you’re ready, you’ll move in here, or if you’re not good with this space, we’ll find someplace that fits the both of us.”

  He would move for her if that was what she wanted, she had no doubt about it. That knowledge—that sense of belonging with the man she loved—was the greatest feeling she’d ever known. “I think you’re right.” Closing her fingers around the key in a silent claim of ownership, she looked over her shoulder at him, and fell in love all over again when she saw that patient, predatory gleam in his eyes. “Dating’s all well and good, but we’re way beyond that at this point. I don’t think I realized that until we had our big blow-up, but I get it now. We’re actually a couple, aren’t we?”

  “We’ve been that way for a while. You’ve just been slow on the uptake.” He grinned and hauled her back to him. “Or maybe it was just you taking your baby steps.”

  “I’ve been moving at warp speed with you.” With a laugh, she gave the forearm wrapped around her a playful swat. “But you’ve made me realize there are some things in this world that can’t be cautiously dipped into. Either you jump in, or not at all. You made me want to jump when I fell—” She cut herself off abruptly, horrified. What the hell. What the actual hell had she been about to blurt out like it was no big deal? No way was she ready for that kind of leap. “Uh, maybe we should eat before it gets cold.”

  “Wait a sec.” His big hands caught her up. Before she knew it, she was lying under him with the bedclothes separating her naked body from his clothed one. “What was that just now?”

  “Uh, Sage—”

  “No, no, Daniels. No more baby steps. What were you about to say?”

  Damn it, damn it, damn it. “I was about to say that…”

  “Yeah? Go on.”

  God, why was this so hard? “You made me want to jump when I fell in love with you. It’s not a big deal,” she added in a rush while he just looked down at her, those gorgeous eyes of his unblinking. “In fact, I just figured out my feelings for you about five minutes ago, so it’s all very new. You don’t have to get weird about it.”

  “I’m not getting weird. You are, but I’m not.” By degrees, a slow smile curled a corner of his mouth. “You don’t have to get so defensive about how you feel. It’s not like I’m going to attack you for it.”

  “Good, because I didn’t ask for this. You made this happen, with all the ways you spoil me. Taking care of my car, giving me a key to your place, chasing away all the storms that come my way. If you think about it, this is all on you. I was perfectly content until you came along, making me think you’re God’s gift to women.”

  At that, he burst out laughing, to the point where he had to rest his brow against hers. “Holy hell.”

  “I’m not kidding.” Now more mortified than ever, she tried pushing him off her so she could take what was left of her dignity and get the hell out of Dodge. “Let me up. I have to go.”

  “No, you don’t. And you’re not going anywhere until you’ve had breakfast in bed. Though it’s really more like lunch now,” he added, glancing around for the takeout bag he’d left on the bedside table. “Want me to handfeed you? Since you think I spoil you, I might as well take it to the next level.”

  A fierce growl escaped her as she wriggled, trying to get out from under him and the tangle of sheets. “You’re an asshole.”

  “Yeah, but you love me.”

  “I never wanted to love anyone,” she shouted loud enough to make an echo in the cavernous space of his loft. “I saw what love did to my parents, so I never wanted it. And I sure as hell never prepared for you. I never knew I could be this out of control, but that’s what love is. I can’t control whether I’m going to have a good day or a bad day, because now that all depends on you. Do you have any idea how scary that is for someone like me?”

  “You really think you’re so different from everyone else on the planet? Skittish,” he chided, shaking his head, “you’re a hell of an original, but in this one regard you’re just like everyone else. No one likes being vulnerable, but that’s how this deal works. When you give me your heart, at least the way I see it, you’re giving yourself over to me so I can take care of you. So fine. I’ll take care of you. In fact, I’m going to make your world so fucking perfect that even the gods themselves will be envious. Trust me on this.”

  “Trust you,” she repeated faintly, as those two words rippled through her all the way to her soul. That was the bottom line, really. That was why she’d had such a hard time admitting her feelings out loud. She’d seen firsthand what hell love could turn into. To open her heart to Sage meant trusting him not to hurt it, and that was terrifying.

  Terrifying… but worth it.

  “You’re worth the risk,” she whispered, almost to herself.

  “What?”

  “I do trust you. I trust you, because you’re worth the risk.” It was as if a massive weight suddenly lifted from her. With a lightness she’d never known before, she laughed and reached up to frame his face in her hands. “I trust you so much I’ll even let you handfeed me, if that’s what trips your trigger. But first I’d like for you to get out of your damn clothes and get under the covers with me where you belong.”

  A dark brow lifted in a scorching looked she adored. “If I do that, I guarantee you that we’re going to be eating cold food. Once I get naked with you, the last thing I’m going to want to do is eat.”

  Yay! “And here I thought you said you wanted to eat me.”

  “Good point.” With a smile hotter than the sun, he began tearing out of his clothes.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Okay folks, we’re officially in the final stretch.” Scout, in a fuchsia boat-necked angora sweater, black skirt with petticoats for days and killer hot pink stilettos, looked like she’d walked off the cover of a Rockabilly magazine. But the fun in her appearance was surface only, Mads realized. The House’s manager had the look of a general about to storm all the beaches. “We’re just two days away from the art auction, if you hadn’t already guessed that by all the construction going on downstairs in the gallery area.”

  “Scout, I’m allergic to sawdust.” Sounding congested and miserable, one of the female tattooists by the name of Rocket snuffled into a limp tissue. “I don’t know if I’m going to make it to the end of this meeting, much less my shift.”

  Sunny, Scout’s assistant, shoved a tissue box down the glossy conference table. “I’ll see what I can do to lighten your load for this evening’s shift, Rocket. No one wants a tattooist that’s sniffing and sneezing all over them. But in the meantime, antihistamines are going to have to be your best friend.”

  Scout nodded and consulted her ever-present tablet. “I’d like to congratulate you all on this year’s auction. A good portion of you got your projects in on time last week so that they could be framed, so well done, guys. You did it.”

  “Yay,” Mads said and shot a happy grin Sage’s way. Earlier that week he’d “helped” her wrap up the caged bird painting the same day she’d given him Darkness, Vanquished. Eventually they’d wound up making love on the floor amidst the brown paper, tape and string, th
e wrapped painting leaning, forgotten, against the foyer wall.

  Just thinking about it still made her girlie parts tingle.

  “You all should know,” Scout went on, “that we’ve gotten all your paintings back from the framer this morning. Payne’s downstairs now dealing with the lighting and whatever the hell else his weird artistic brain needs to do in order to make everything look perfect. FYI, the framer dudes let us know there were a couple items they felt weren’t completely dry, so those pieces didn’t get to go through the framing process—”

  “I told you that was going to happen,” Talon decided to pop off, sounding as irritated as he looked. “There are consequences for yanking a whole week out of an artist’s schedule, Scout. We’re not fucking machines, you know.”

  “But,” Scout went on, after shooting the tattooist a quelling look that would have flattened the Rock of Gibraltar, “all items are certainly dry the last time I checked on them, which means all the promised works are now here, onsite and complete. They’re gorgeous and they’re ready to go up on the auction block without any panic or mad scramble to get something thrown up on the walls, unlike last year.”

  “Man, I really missed out on some drama last year,” Mads marveled, brows raised. “Thank freaking God.”

  “It was awful.” Rocket snuffled from the depths of a handful of tissues. “It was so bad I actually thought about giving this year a skip.”

  “It wasn’t fun,” Scout said, nodding at Rocket. “That’s why I want to go out of my way now to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for your charitable spirit, to give you all a standing ovation on a job well done, and last but not least… to offer up a mild death threat over what I need to discuss with you next.”

  “Fucking hell, Scout.” Max, a tattoo-covered, bearded man with a Russian accent sharp enough to peel paint, slouched back in his chair on the far end of the conference table. “Nothing good ever comes from death threats. Well, usually nothing. Actually, sometimes a lot of good can be found in death threats, so never mind me. Carry on.”