Chapter 39 #2
Within a half-hour, we had only gotten three of the plants in the ground while we chatted and caught up about the last few days.
She asked me all the questions about Opal and her friends she was making at school, and what I was doing with work.
I surprised her by being able to talk with her about the book they were reading at Chapter & Crumb.
East had told me that Lila loved talking books with him.
It was his one big piece of relationship advice that was worth listening to, and the way Sage’s eyes lit up meant he had been spot on.
Finally, when she seemed relaxed enough, I broached the topic I’d been avoiding. “Did you want to ask me any questions about Catherine? Or my marriage?” We were elbow-deep in the dirt, and we’d settled into a natural, easy working rhythm. “I just want you to know that it is an open-book for you.”
She paused on her heels for a moment, and I could see she was considering it. She stood, then paced back and forth for a moment. After brushing my palms off before I removed the gloves she insisted I wear, I rose to my feet, stuffed my hands in my pockets, and watched her warily.
“You said that she didn’t want you?” Sage finally asked, biting her lip as she flicked her eyes up at me.
“We didn’t love each other. Ever. Someone who wanted me as a man would be excited to see me for more than how I’d pay for shit.
Not that I don’t like to pay for stuff, but there needs to be a connection there.
That person would know who I really was.
That I wanted a family. A home.” Sage’s eyes were sad now, but I didn’t mind the pity in them.
Normally, it would piss me off, but it was a shit situation.
“She used me for a paycheck, but I used her to get Opal.” It was the best way to describe it.
“I guess I could call her a surrogate. It would have been easier if we’d just arranged it that way in the end.
It never made sense to me why she insisted on the marriage, but she told me once that it was about security.
She didn’t trust me to keep my word, I guess. ”
“That wasn’t really fair to you. It wasn’t like you intended for her to get pregnant. Either way, it wasn’t just your responsibility.”
“No, that’s true. It wasn’t an intentional pregnancy.
” I actually had serious doubts about that.
I’d once overheard Catherine complaining to her friend about the situation, and her girlfriend sniped back at her that she’d made her bed and had to lie in it now.
“But that doesn’t change that she did, in fact, carry my child. A child I wanted.”
“Why did you stay with her so long?” She cringed a little as if it were a question she was holding back.
“You don’t have to worry about asking anything you need to.
I want you to be comfortable knowing the score between Catherine and me, past and present.
” She studied me for a minute, pacing back and forth, kicking small stones.
She was uncomfortable, but I was glad she was asking all the hard questions.
“Part of the deal Catherine insisted on with me was marriage. I put in the contract that we would divorce at the five-year mark. She got 10 million at the end of five years if she held up her end of the contract.”
“That’s a lot.” Sage’s eyes were wide.
“It was, but apparently she’s already out.
That’s my guess, because she’s blown it all and is back asking for more.
The whole thing gives me a headache. She’s exhausting if I’m being completely honest.” I rubbed the back of my hand on my forehead as if to erase the headache forming from talking about my ex.
“She gets a monthly alimony on top of that lump sum. I had to negotiate that to get full custody of Opal.” That frustrated the hell out of me.
“The contract was for an open marriage.” Her eyes narrowed.
“She wanted to be free to screw who she wanted, and that didn’t bother me. ”
“She was still your wife.”
“It didn’t. I really want you to understand.
After that night at the bar, when she told me about the pregnancy, we never had sex again.
” I hesitated, then decided she deserved all the information.
“So that you know, she’s been hanging around Alder Valley.
I’ve had Parrish keeping tabs on her. She was told to leave, but …
” I shrugged. “Apparently, she’s been busy partying with some bikers. ”
“Maybe she regrets pushing you away.”
“Maybe, but I regret not paying her off years ago. I should have stood up for myself. It was a bad situation with a woman who didn’t love my daughter or me.
I’d justified it as being for Oppie to have a mother, but that was just a lie.
I was afraid of what might be on the other side of my marriage.
” I jabbed angrily at the dirt. “So I stayed.”
Sage moved close and wrapped her arms around me. “Well, she was a fool. It had nothing to do with you, Rhodes. Whatever reason she has for being the way she is isn’t your fault. I am scared of getting hurt again, but it sounds like you got hurt, too. If you’re here, willing to try, then I am."
“I’m glad to hear that, Sage, because I’ve been dying being away from you.”
Crowding her against the vine-wrapped trellis, my body pinning hers as I searched those wide, green eyes for any hint of no.
"Let me prove that you're all I crave,” I ground out, my voice gravel-rough with the need I'd been choking back.
Her breath hitched, a nod slipping out, and that was my green light.
I didn't ease her down. I gripped her hips hard, yanking her off her feet and setting her on the potting table.
Her legs parted instinctively, those tiny jean shorts riding up her thighs like an invitation I couldn't ignore.
"Rhodes—" she started, but I shut her up with a bruising kiss, my hands shoving the fabric down, exposing her to the humid air.
“I’ve fucking missed you. We can take everything else slow.
Just know that you’re mine, Sage,” I growled against her skin, dropping between her legs like a man starved.
No teasing bullshit—I dove in, mouth claiming her slick heat with ruthless hunger, tongue thrusting deep, lapping at her like she was the only thing I’d tasted all day.
She bucked against me, fingers yanking my hair hard enough to sting, her moans raw and desperate as I devoured her, sucking her clit between my teeth, nipping just enough to make her cry out.
"This pussy? It's what I fucking want on my face every day of the week—only you, tasting just like this. Strawberries and flowers.” I plunged two fingers inside, curling them roughly, pumping in sync with my tongue’s assault, proving every word—no mercy, no holding back. “I want you like this every day.”
Her body arched back on her palms, thighs clamping my head like a vice, shattering with a scream that echoed through the vines, her release flooding my mouth. I didn't stop until she was trembling, spent, her hands clutching weakly at my shoulders.
“I want that too. I want you so much.”
After, I dragged her up into my arms amid the tangled greenery, her body limp against mine.
"Feel that?" I rasped, voice wrecked. "Us.
Real as hell." She managed a shaky smile, eyes hinting at something deeper, feelings that even if confused were still there.
I was going to cut through those walls until she loved me.