Chapter 18
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
It was a wrap.
The movie was done. Well, at least the parts that could be filmed in Virginia.
The rest of the week went by quickly, and the after-party had been held in the square. The entire town of Fallport was invited.
Zita was happier than she could remember being in a very long time, but she still felt a little on edge.
Silas hadn’t approached her again, but she felt his eyes on her while on set.
Every time she looked at him, he turned his head and pretended like he hadn’t been staring.
It was unnerving…and had begun to worry her.
As much as she loved Fallport, she was glad to be back on the road.
She had two more nights in Norfolk before her plane left for LA.
It was a weird feeling to be looking forward to going home, just to get away from the weird vibes she got from Silas, while at the same time dreading flying back to Los Angeles because that meant she was leaving Sage.
The last couple of nights had been everything she’d dreamed. Sage was easy to live with…if you could call sleeping in a motel “living” together. Their nights were the stuff romance authors wrote about. Sexy, passionate, and full of talking and closeness afterward.
The more she was around Sage, the more she was sure about her decision to move to Virginia.
He obviously couldn’t leave, so if she really wanted this relationship to work, it was up to her to cut ties to Hollywood once and for all.
And it was time. She was thirty-five years old and she wanted a life, something outside just movies and the medical field.
She loved both, but she rarely did anything but work. She needed more balance.
And she had high hopes that a relationship with Sage would provide just that. Give her the balance she craved. A family.
It wouldn’t be easy. Being with someone in the military wasn’t a walk in the park. Especially someone with a job like Sage’s. Where he could be deployed at a moment’s notice, and he couldn’t tell her anything about where he was going or what he was doing or even when he’d be back.
But she was looking forward to trying. To getting to know Laryn and Mandy better. She already liked the two women, and she had offered to do everything in her power to be there for Laryn and her baby when it was born.
Smiling, because she liked the thought of being in Virginia and settled before the other woman had her baby, Zita glanced over at Sage.
They’d gotten a leisurely start back to Norfolk, and with every mile that passed, it felt as if she were leaving Silas and his weird looks and threats behind.
She had no reason to see him again, and it felt like a huge weight was lifted off her back.
“You’re coming over to my place tonight, right?” Sage asked.
“If that’s okay.”
“It’s more than okay. Though I have to work tomorrow. I need to go in early, and I’ll probably be there until late afternoon. I’m sorry, but since I’ve been gone, I—”
“No need to apologize,” Zita said quickly.
“I understand. I’ve got some paperwork I need to do and some calls to make anyway.
I’ve got two more nights reserved at the motel, thanks to the studio, and if you can drop me off there in the morning, I’ll get a head start on closing up my life in California. ”
“You could stay at my place and do that,” Sage offered.
“I know, and I appreciate it. But there’s also one more meeting with the producer and some of the assistants mid-morning.
To finish up reports and logistics, and I need to give them my report on injuries for OSHA.
They booked a small conference room at the motel for that, so I’d have to eventually find my way there, anyway.
You can text and let me know when you’re done tomorrow afternoon and pick me up on your way home… if that’s okay.”
“That’s perfect. Silas won’t be there, will he?” Sage asked.
“Not that I know of. His contract was done when Logan left, so he has no reason to be at the meeting tomorrow.”
“Good. Okay. Anything you want for dinner tonight?”
Zita grinned a little mischievously. “I’m still full from all the food at the wrap party last night, and that delicious breakfast we had this morning.
I’m kind of thinking on our last day off, maybe we can watch another Star Wars movie and test out how easy it is to make love in that big chair of yours. ”
“Damn, woman,” Sage breathed, shifting in his seat.
Zita laughed, because she could see the erection in his pants. “Sorry,” she said, not feeling sorry in the least. “I had more than one naughty thought while watching TV with you before we left for Fallport.”
“You too?” Sage asked with a smile.
This. This was what she’d always wanted. A partner to laugh with. To tease. Someone with whom she shared amazing chemistry. And Sage was everything she’d ever dreamed about and more. Oh, she had no doubt they’d butt heads over time. But for now, she was loving how easy it was to be with him.
“Thank you for giving us a chance,” he said after a moment, his tone now serious. “For being willing to sacrifice so much to move to Virginia. You’ll never know how much it means to me. I’ll never take you for granted. Take what you’re giving up for granted.”
“I’m not giving up anything I can’t do here,” she told him honestly. “And what I’m potentially gaining is worth moving to the other end of the Earth, not just the country.”
“Not potentially, what you are gaining,” he replied almost fiercely. “I’m not going to fuck this up. Not going to make you regret making this decision. I’ll spend every day making sure you understand how much you mean to me, and how much I respect and admire you.”
“Sage,” Zita said softly, feeling overwhelmed with feelings toward this man.
He held out his hand, and she took it immediately, squeezing his fingers as she did. They drove the rest of the way home with her hand in his, Zita feeling as if she’d finally found the place she was always meant to be. By this man’s side.
“Harder, Sage! More. Give me more!”
Zita was on her hands and knees in his bed, and Sage was behind her, thrusting in and out of her body as desperately as she was rocking back against him. They’d started out in his chair, but things quickly got out of control as their desires ramped up.
He’d put Zita on his lap, straddling him, but because of the ultra-soft cushion under her knees, she couldn’t get the leverage she needed to take him as hard as either of them wanted.
Eventually, he’d growled something under his breath, lifted her off his cock, threw her over his shoulder and brought her to his bed, where he threw her down, turned her so she was on her hands and knees, and slammed back into her.
Which is where they were now, with Zita seeing stars and on the verge of an orgasm so immense, it was almost scary, Sage standing at the end of the bed and holding her hips tightly as he took her.
“Come for me, Zita. I need to feel it on my dick.”
His words turned her on even more. But it wasn’t until he shifted a hand so his finger roughly massaged her clit that she broke.
She let out a half wail, half scream as her body shook. The orgasm went on and on, until Zita didn’t think she’d be able to hold herself up anymore. Sage thrust inside her once more and held still as he groaned loudly. The sound was sexy as hell, making Zita’s muscles spasm.
They were both breathing hard when it was over. Frozen in place, as if memorizing the moment. At least Zita was.
Probably sensing how shaky she was, Sage pulled out almost immediately, which sucked, but it was a relief when he gently lowered her to the mattress, turning her onto her back in the process.
Then he climbed onto the bed, throwing one leg over her thighs, his arm over her chest, and buried his nose in the crook of her neck.
Zita smiled. She loved being used as a pillow, the way he was doing now. She felt surrounded by him. Warm and replete. Safe.
“Never gonna be able to sit in that chair again and not get an instant hard-on,” he mumbled against her skin.
She giggled. “I could always sit in the other chair. You have two, after all.”
“No way. It’s the most exquisite torture having you in my lap.”
Her smile wouldn’t die. Zita ran her hand lazily over the arm on her chest. She liked this. No, she freaking loved it. Lying here with Sage. Her body tingling from her orgasm, feeling a little sore between her legs and having no doubt the man next to her was meant to be hers.
“Not sure I like you thinking about me and torture in the same sentence,” she teased.
Sage lifted his head and stared at her for a long moment.
Then said, “I didn’t get it. Didn’t really understand the connection Casper has with Laryn or Buck has with Mandy.
But I do now. I feel like a different man than I was before I met you.
More compassionate, more determined to be the best pilot I can be so I can come home to you.
So the men and women I transport can get home to their loved ones.
So my single teammates can stay alive to find their soul mates.
I thought loving someone would be scary.
Would change my passion for flying. For serving my country. Instead, it’s magnified it.”
“Sage,” Zita whispered, having no idea if he even knew what he’d just said.
“It’s like this missing piece inside of me has suddenly been filled in.
That’s cheesy as shit, but it’s how I feel.
I like knowing you’ll be with me when I’m on a mission.
That you’ll be there inside me when the shit hits the fan, because I have a feeling it’ll help me concentrate.
To do what needs to be done so I can come home to you.
It’s not frightening in the least. It’s…
empowering. Makes me even more determined to be the best pilot possible. The best partner.
“I love you, Zita. I…you…Fuck. It’s impossible to put into words just how much I care about you.”
“I think you just did,” Zita said quietly.
She was reeling from his admission. She felt much the same as he did.
That he made her a better person, because she wanted him to be proud of her.
That she wanted to save other people’s lives so they could continue to be with their loved ones.
Was that love? She had no idea, as she’d never felt about anyone the way she did about this man.
Like if she didn’t get to be with him, she’d shrivel up into a tiny little raisin and wither away.
Talk about dramatic…she was being ridiculous. Wasn’t she?
Sage shifted and kissed her cheek reverently, before putting his head back down and snuggling deeper into her.
Was he upset that she hadn’t said the words back? He didn’t seem to be, but Zita had no experience with this. The words were stuck in her throat. She wanted to say them but something held her back. A sense of self-preservation, maybe?
She was well aware that she was making all the sacrifices in the relationship by quitting her job and moving across the country, but she was all right with that.
She wanted to move. Was ready for a change.
But if Sage decided she wasn’t what he wanted after all, that he was wrong about loving her, it would devastate her so badly she wasn’t sure she’d recover.
“Sleep, Zita. Stop thinking so hard. This is going to work. I give you my word. You’ll see.”
Deciding stressing about the future would do her no good whatsoever, Zita took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
There was no need to lay all her feelings out right this second.
The sex was good—no, it was fan-fucking-tastic—but that was no reason to blurt out that she loved him.
She had time. They had time. Their life together was just starting. No need to rush things.
Feeling better about the situation, Zita fell asleep within minutes, happier than she’d been in a very long time.