Chapter Twelve #4
Her smile softens around the edges, losing some of the teasing and becoming something quieter that settles between us with surprising ease.
I point toward the open door. “I could leave, you know?”
“You could.”
But neither of us moves.
The silence doesn’t feel awkward anymore.
She watches me for another couple of seconds before shaking her head to herself. “I really am never letting you forget that, am I?”
“No, I don’t think you will.”
She weakly smiles, her eyes kind. “Goodnight, Ethan.”
Fuck! I haven’t been Ethan for a very long time, and I’m not entirely sure how she found out my real name—probably from Deek.
But somewhere along the way, Ghost became easier and the name people expected. The one that came with the cut, the monitors, and the version of me that never let anyone close enough to need the other one.
Then Sage says my name, “Ethan,” like it’s never belonged to anybody else.
Something shifts, small and dangerous. I have the strange feeling that if she keeps saying my name like that, Ghost might not be the one who answers forever.
“Goodnight, Sage.” My voice comes out rougher than I intended.
She looks back at me with those beautiful doe eyes, and this time I don’t give myself the chance to think.
I cross the last few inches between us before my brain can invent another reason to stop, my hand settling carefully against her waist as though it’s been searching for that exact place all night.
Sage doesn’t move toward me because she doesn’t have to. She watches me coming, a smile already beginning to soften the corners of her mouth, and something about the trust in that look steals whatever words I might have had.
I press my lips to hers.
This kiss is nothing like the one on the sofa.
Nothing frantic or desperate, just… us.
She sighs so quietly I almost miss it, the sound disappearing between us as her hand drifts up to rest against my chest. I feel the warmth of her palm through my shirt, the slow rise and fall of her breathing matching mine.
My thumb brushes absent circles against her side, more because I need to know she’s real than because I’m thinking about what I’m doing.
Every soft breath.
Every tiny smile I feel against my mouth.
Every heartbeat that’s suddenly a little too loud in my ears.
And for the first time since she stumbled into my life, nothing feels uncertain.
There’s no investigation.
No shell companies.
No waiting for the right moment.
Just Sage.
When I finally ease back, it isn’t because I want to. It’s because if I don’t, I have a feeling neither of us is getting any sleep tonight.
She stays close, our foreheads almost touching, her hand still resting against my chest while she searches my face with a smile that’s softer now, but no less amused. “There,” she says quietly.
I furrow my brow in confusion. “What?”
“I knew you could do it, champ,” she teases.
I huff, knowing she is mocking me. “What?”
She laughs under her breath. “You finally got your shit together.”
I can’t help it. I laugh—a real one. The sound surprises me almost as much as it surprises her. “So that’s what all this was?” I ask. “A performance review?”
She tips her head, pretending to think about it. “I’d say your first attempt needed… significant improvement.”
“I was buffering, remember?”
“You absolutely were.”
I tilt my head, letting a cocky smirk creep across my face. “I’d say I recovered.”
She makes a face. “You eventually recovered.”
“I think you’re being very harsh, young lady.”
She snorts. “I think I’m being generous, and what are you trying to be with that young lady shit? My father? A broody old teacher? Maybe an HR manager?”
I snort out a laugh. “What?”
“I’m waiting for you to hand out a written warning.
” She giggles at her own joke, then reaches up and smooths a hand over the front of my shirt where she’d wrinkled it earlier, her fingers lingering for a second before they curl lightly around the fabric.
“For the record…” she says, her voice quieter now, “… that kiss was worth waiting for.”
Something warm shifts inside me. The kind of feeling I’ve spent most of my life avoiding because I never saw the point in letting anyone get close enough to create it.
Now, I can’t imagine wanting anything else.
I brush my thumb lightly across her cheek. “So…”
“So?”
“I finally got my shit together?”
She smiles. “I think you’re getting there.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“You bet your ass you will.”
I make it as far as the first step before a grin spreads across my face. I stop beside her car in the driveway, sliding my hands into my jeans pockets, tipping my head back toward the night sky, and shake it at myself. A quiet laugh escapes my lips before I can do a damn thing about it.
I have spent years planning operations down to the second.
I have anticipated outcomes before other people even realized they were making decisions.
Apparently, none of those skills translate to kissing the woman I’ve been quietly falling for.
I shake my head again, still smiling to myself as I head toward my bike.
Somehow, Sage has gotten under my skin, and into my heart.
But I don’t mind nearly as much as I probably should.