am.”
We don’t have time for this, but I can’t bring myself to reject him, not when my body and heart and soul crave him with every touch of his skin against mine. It’s insane and foolish. We’re on the run, in a rest stop on an interstate with the world going on around us. But when Sage kisses me again, I slip into his lap, straddling him, pulling the blanket over both of us.
It’s not romantic or private. But it’s all we’ve got. And I won’t squander this chance to be with Sage.
***
Chapter Sixteen
I drive into the night, Sage quiet beside me, the miles passing under the wheels of our stolen car. I stopped in Texas to change out the plates again, just in case, but there’s been no sign of pursuit, neither the normal kind nor the touch of Enforcers. So Andre has chosen to keep his mouth shut.
I just wished knowing that made me feel better.
Sage has been quiet since we left the rest stop, since our rapid love-making left us both panting and wanting more. I long to pull over into one of the small motels off the interstate and spend one last night with him. How lovely it could be, with his wolf emerging. I wouldn’t have to hold back. That thought startles me. I’ve always been so careful with him, for fear of doing something, out of passion, we’d both regret. My wolf understood, always, and still does. Now I realize such restraint is unnecessary.
Still, what would unbridled passion do to him? Would it speed up the process? His wolf emerged when he climaxed in the back seat, but only for a moment. If I were to let mine out, allow her to connect with him…
Too risky. And yet incredibly tempting. Which leads me to other thoughts I can’t have. Thoughts of being a queen, but this time with smiling Sage at my side, our beautiful children raised to pride and honor, but to love themselves and be free, first and foremost.
It’s a lovely dream. I only wish there was a chance in hell it could ever come true.
As for pulling over, I know it’s a foolish idea. I just can’t spare the time. We have to reach California as fast as we can. Because no matter Sage’s questions, his request to remain a werewolf if he’s healed, he is and will always be a revenant, a werewolf who has been made and not born. And though we might be able to convince the powers that be to keep him alive if a cure is found, there is no way I’ll be able to take him as my mate.
The dream dies, but I won’t wallow in the older version, where I’m a slave to the throne. I won’t. It may come, but not here. I won’t think about my future now. There’s too much road ahead of us, figurative and literal, for me to stray from my focus. Find a way to help him first. Then figure the rest out later. First things first.
Sage stirs beside me as the sign for San Antonio flashes in my headlights. He grins at me, lop sided, but for the first time I notice how red his face is. I’ve missed it in my distraction, so many details I’ve let slip. His paleness has gone, replaced by fever, his skin tight and shining red. And the scent of him has changed. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I missed the shift completely.
He suddenly smells ill.
I reach out, touch his face, wince at how hot he feels. He’s burning up, the wolf in him super heating his insides as it battles the infection—which means, it’s either fighting itself, or he’s contracted some other bacteria or virus that’s interfering. When I glance at his shoulder, I see his T-shirt is soaked, the infection seeping through.
“Sage,” I say, accusation in my voice, though it’s not his fault. “Why didn’t you say something?”
He shakes his head, wobbly, smile child-like. “Charlie.” He slurs my name. “Hiya, Charlie.”
I take the next exit too fast, the tires squealing under the car, but I’m not thinking about my driving. I have to get him medicine, find a way to reduce his fever. Were he a full werewolf, I wouldn’t worry. His lupine nature would
We don’t have time for this, but I can’t bring myself to reject him, not when my body and heart and soul crave him with every touch of his skin against mine. It’s insane and foolish. We’re on the run, in a rest stop on an interstate with the world going on around us. But when Sage kisses me again, I slip into his lap, straddling him, pulling the blanket over both of us.
It’s not romantic or private. But it’s all we’ve got. And I won’t squander this chance to be with Sage.
***
Chapter Sixteen
I drive into the night, Sage quiet beside me, the miles passing under the wheels of our stolen car. I stopped in Texas to change out the plates again, just in case, but there’s been no sign of pursuit, neither the normal kind nor the touch of Enforcers. So Andre has chosen to keep his mouth shut.
I just wished knowing that made me feel better.
Sage has been quiet since we left the rest stop, since our rapid love-making left us both panting and wanting more. I long to pull over into one of the small motels off the interstate and spend one last night with him. How lovely it could be, with his wolf emerging. I wouldn’t have to hold back. That thought startles me. I’ve always been so careful with him, for fear of doing something, out of passion, we’d both regret. My wolf understood, always, and still does. Now I realize such restraint is unnecessary.
Still, what would unbridled passion do to him? Would it speed up the process? His wolf emerged when he climaxed in the back seat, but only for a moment. If I were to let mine out, allow her to connect with him…
Too risky. And yet incredibly tempting. Which leads me to other thoughts I can’t have. Thoughts of being a queen, but this time with smiling Sage at my side, our beautiful children raised to pride and honor, but to love themselves and be free, first and foremost.
It’s a lovely dream. I only wish there was a chance in hell it could ever come true.
As for pulling over, I know it’s a foolish idea. I just can’t spare the time. We have to reach California as fast as we can. Because no matter Sage’s questions, his request to remain a werewolf if he’s healed, he is and will always be a revenant, a werewolf who has been made and not born. And though we might be able to convince the powers that be to keep him alive if a cure is found, there is no way I’ll be able to take him as my mate.
The dream dies, but I won’t wallow in the older version, where I’m a slave to the throne. I won’t. It may come, but not here. I won’t think about my future now. There’s too much road ahead of us, figurative and literal, for me to stray from my focus. Find a way to help him first. Then figure the rest out later. First things first.
Sage stirs beside me as the sign for San Antonio flashes in my headlights. He grins at me, lop sided, but for the first time I notice how red his face is. I’ve missed it in my distraction, so many details I’ve let slip. His paleness has gone, replaced by fever, his skin tight and shining red. And the scent of him has changed. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts I missed the shift completely.
He suddenly smells ill.
I reach out, touch his face, wince at how hot he feels. He’s burning up, the wolf in him super heating his insides as it battles the infection—which means, it’s either fighting itself, or he’s contracted some other bacteria or virus that’s interfering. When I glance at his shoulder, I see his T-shirt is soaked, the infection seeping through.
“Sage,” I say, accusation in my voice, though it’s not his fault. “Why didn’t you say something?”
He shakes his head, wobbly, smile child-like. “Charlie.” He slurs my name. “Hiya, Charlie.”
I take the next exit too fast, the tires squealing under the car, but I’m not thinking about my driving. I have to get him medicine, find a way to reduce his fever. Were he a full werewolf, I wouldn’t worry. His lupine nature would
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