Chapter Four
Matt watched Sage go with a sense of dread.
He’d overheard Janie’s conversation with Sage.
He walked a fine line, turning down a woman without hurting her feelings.
But the anxiety of what he would say when she approached him paled in comparison to the hurt of knowing that Sage still believed him to be a player.
So preoccupied with his thoughts of Sage was he that he didn’t notice Janie sidling into his personal space. He closed the freezer, pivoted, and she fell into his arms.
“Whoops!” She giggled, draping her arms around his neck. Though she was attractive, she wasn’t his type. His type was extremely narrow—it began and ended with Sage.
“Sorry,” he said, gripping her waist and putting her away from him. Unfortunately, not quickly enough because Sage chose that moment to reenter the kitchen.
“Sorry. Didn’t mean to interrupt. I wanted some water.” She rubbed her temples. “My head is bothering me. I overdid it with the reading.”
Matt brushed past Janie to get to Sage. “Do you need your painkillers?” He cupped her chin and peered into her eyes, examining her once more. Did he miss something earlier? She wouldn’t meet his gaze. Something about her scent was off, but he didn’t have the experience to identify what was wrong.
“It’s nothing that a nap and a glass of water won’t solve.”
“You know it’s fine to take medicine if you need it.”
“But I don’t need it.”
“You can be so stubborn,” he groused, releasing her.
She retrieved a bottle of water from the refrigerator. “I think I’ve let you have your way often enough over the last day and a half.”
He refrained from voicing his opinion on that subject. As far as he was concerned, he never got his way with her when it truly mattered.
Sage patted his shoulder. “Thirty minutes and I’ll be good as new. If I don’t feel better, then I’ll take a painkiller. Happy?”
“Yes. I’ll check on you with the medicine in hand in half an hour.” He watched Sage retreat to her room.
Janie sighed. “Flirting with you is a waste of my time, isn’t it?”
“Hm?” Matt pivoted to face Janie, Sage’s presence making him temporarily forget the other woman’s existence.
“Sage said you were just friends, but you’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
“I’m not going to deny it.”
“Does she know?”
He shrugged and turned his attention to the remaining groceries. “It doesn’t matter. She doesn’t feel the same.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ve been worshipping the ground she walks on for over half a decade. She’s never given me any indication that she was interested in anything other than friendship with me.”
Humming sympathetically, she stroked his back. “Then maybe…it’s time you moved on?”
Matt shifted away from her touch. “I’ve tried.”
“Well, no harm in trying again. Sometimes, a diversion is needed. See, I understand your position. My man walked out on me, but I bet you could make me forget all about him.”
Women had been hitting on him since he was eighteen and he still hadn’t come up with a polite way to say no. “Ma’am—”
“Ma’am! Boy, I could have you shouting my name in minutes.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that you were old. You’re lovely, but I’ve already tried to find someone else, and I have the scars to prove it.” The vicious bites and scratches from his attack had healed but the damage to his psyche lingered.
Shrugging, she headed out of the kitchen. “Your loss. If you change your mind, I’m next door—the burgundy brick with the white trim and the hot tub on the back deck.”
Shaking his head at Janie’s tenacity, Matt set aside a roast for tonight’s dinner. He’d season it after he cleared the countertops.
Matt checked on Sage after the thirty minutes elapsed. He held her meds as promised. She slept so peacefully that he didn’t have the heart to wake her. The late afternoon sun cast a warm glow on her beautiful dark skin. He lingered in her doorway unable to look away.
His cell vibrated in his back pocket and caused Sage to frown in her sleep. He quickly retreated to the den before pulling out his phone.
He opened the text message from his sister. It was a polite check-in, the tone almost formal and stilted as they were practically strangers. He hoped that in future they could become good friends as he didn’t have any close family. Missy represented a second chance for him.
He replied to her message. They exchanged several texts while he seasoned the meat and potatoes for dinner. Sage entered the kitchen as he slid the roast pan in the oven.
“Matt? Are you cooking dinner again? You’re making me feel guilty.” She stretched her arms over her head, drawing her shirt tight across her breasts. “And lazy.”
He cleared his throat and dragged his gaze away from the tempting sight. “Nonsense. I don’t mind. I like cooking.”
“Since when?”
Since his need for protein became supercharged. But he only shrugged. “I gotta eat. I couldn’t live on fast food forever.”
Her eyes flicked over him from head to toe. “So that’s the secret to your new physique? You’re on a home cooking kick?”
He made a noncommittal grunt. Becoming a werewolf did wonders for his metabolism and his muscle building skills.
While he’d been fit before, it had never been to this degree.
He’d been in average shape due to occasional hiking, sporadic gym visits, and irregular games of basketball with coworkers.
Without trying, he’d developed washboard abs after his first scary transformation.
His stomach morphed from flat but soft into rippling bands of muscle capable of withstanding a hit from a sledgehammer.
“Okay. Great.” She patted her hips. “No matter what I do, these stubborn hips won’t go away.”
“Thank God for that,” he muttered. Her hips featured prominently in his dreams. They flared out from her unbelievably tiny waist. In his fantasies, whether he was sliding into her from the front or taking her from behind, his fingers gripped her hips, holding her steady for his pounding thrusts.
“What was that?”
And thank God that human hearing wasn’t nearly as sensitive as shifter hearing. After his change, sounds and smells had been so overwhelming in his city apartment that he’d spent a week in his darkened bedroom, emerging only for food and bathroom breaks. Moving had been a necessity for his sanity.
“I said that you’re perfect as you are.”
Smiling, she gave his shoulder a shove. “Sweet talker.” She turned on the oven light and bent to peep inside, giving him a view of her shapely hips and ass. “How long will this take?”
Matt bit back a groan and pivoted his lower body. Hoping for a natural pose, he rested his elbows on the counter and leaned over. “About an hour and a half. Are you hungry?” He ran a hand through his hair. “I can make you a snack. I got some—”
“I’m fine. That roast looks good. I can’t wait to try it.”
He relaxed. “Yeah? I hope you like it.” Then he had a thought. “Medium well, okay?” If she wanted well, he’d have to pop in a second roast for himself.
“That’ll be fine.” She reached into the fridge and got a bottle of water. “So…you and Janie?”
“There’s no Janie and me.”
“You seemed like you were getting to know each other pretty well when I walked back in here.”
“She’s not my type.”
Sage’s brows rose. “A woman who’s up for a no-strings attached fling? I thought that was right up your alley. She’s older than your usual dates, but she looks great for her age, and she takes yoga.”
Was she trying to talk him into sleeping with her neighbor? Matt shook his head. “I’m no longer on the market for hookups.” Despite his reputation, casual sex had been his style for only a blip in time. And now…it was physically impossible for him no matter his wishes. How did he explain to Sage?
He opened his mouth but quickly fell mute. He didn’t have the words.
His vibrating phone alerted him to an incoming text. He’d left it on the counter. The screen lit up with Missy’s name and a photo of her that he’d found online.
Relieved at the distraction, he grabbed his cell, mumbled an excuse about replying to the message, and exited the kitchen. He’d find a way to tell Sage soon. But not today.
***
Sage stood frozen in front of the oven long after Matt departed, his words echoing in her mind. “I’m no longer on the market for hookups.”
And then the photo of an incredibly beautiful woman had popped up on his phone. He’d been quick to snatch it up, but not before Sage had seen it.
Was this the secret he’d been hiding? Because he was definitely hiding something. He’d been off since he showed up. Was he in love? It would explain his comment.
But why hide a relationship? She was his friend. If he’d finally found someone he to commit to, then…she would be happy for him. She would. Matt was a wonderful man. He deserved to be loved. Yet….
She wasn’t happy. There was a twisting in her gut so strong that her chest hurt. A prickling in her sinuses let her know that she was close to tears. Blinking rapidly, she willed them away.
“This is nonsense,” she whispered. “He’s my friend and I wish him every bit of happiness. Why wouldn’t I be happy for him?”
Only…. Why was he keeping this woman a secret? Maybe the relationship was new, and he didn’t want to subject his new love] to the pressure of gaining his friends’ approval.
Or maybe she was married. Sage immediately dismissed that idea. Matt wouldn’t date a married woman. In the past, he had always seemed bewildered and disgusted by his father’s philandering ways.
By the time she shook off her stupor, he returned to the kitchen, a smile on his face as he slid his phone into the back pocket of his jeans. “Good news?” she asked.
“Hmm?”
She gestured at his cell. “Did you get good news? You seem happy.”
He shook his head. “Catching up with family.”