“Whatever you say,” Julie said, with an air of disbelief, as she turned to make the rounds at tables, refilling their waters and clearing away plates.
Sage hadn’t been interested in him that way, but Julie’s insinuation made her feel guilty of grave robbing. She resigned herself to keeping her head down and studying the exercise rotation Devon had given her. Not exactly the kind of riveting entertainment she’d normally go for, but safer than locking eyes with the guy who’d suddenly sent chills down her spine with little more than a look.
“I couldn’t help but notice you checking me out.”
She could have sworn he was across the room only a moment before, but his voice sounded as if he were right on top of her. Cocky and arrogant, with just enough amusement to send ever alarm bell ringing in her head.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Sage lifted her eyes, shocked to see him up close and personal. She hadn’t even heard him walk up. From this new vantage point he was more than reasonably attractive and had the deadly combo of dark hair and blue eyes that was her personal kryptonite. Words refused to move past her lips, though she desperately wanted to explain she hadn’t been ogling him.
He flashed a sideways grin, revealing impressively white teeth that looked dangerously sharp. He was everything her mother would have warned her to stay away from; and here he was trying to chat her up.
Meanwhile, all she could do was stare. Those eyes – there was something so different about them. The color of pure blue. She’d have sworn they were contacts. No normal person had eyes that rich in color. All she could think of was the dream she’d had. The blue creature had been her enemy; it had tried to push her toward death.
“Can I sit, or are you expecting someone?” he asked.
She nodded like an idiot and immediately regretted the speed at which she said, “Sure.” He was the kind of good-looking that screamed bad boy and at the same time silenced the rational part of her brain that recognized the danger.
“I don’t normally do this,” he said, as he slid onto the bench next to her.
“I don’t ever,” she started to reply, without thinking or having a clue how to finish the sentence.
“I don’t believe that. You probably have guys lining up. No wonder you’re hiding in the back. Sick of the attention, am I right?”
Damn. Good looks, gorgeous eyes, and a silver tongue too. He had lady killer written all over him.
“So what’s your deal?” She stumbled over her own tongue, trying to sound cool but realizing too late that she might have veered into bitchy.
“You saw my friend leave, huh?” His smile didn’t falter for a minute. “She had a bad week, and I just couldn’t console her. Poor thing.”
“Didn’t mean to pry. Sorry. She just looked…” Sage really hadn’t paid much attention to the girl who’d left. Had she been angry, sad, or just walking away? She let the words hang in the air until the stranger picked up the thread and ran with it.
“It’s okay. I know the girl code. You all stick up for one another. I admire that.”
How was he so quick on the draw? He had an answer for everything. No one was that good a flirt.
“Yeah.” She feigned a laugh. “Girl code.”
Her stomach somersaulted at the flash of his sharp teeth. The element of danger excited her.
“So, is this your normal bar? I’ve never been in here before, but I’d heard the food was excellent.”
He’d been on a roll up to that point. Had her on the hook, ready to reel in, but his one mistake was tossing out a cheesy pickup line. That broke some of the spell he’d had over her. Reworded from the usual Come here often? But even as dense as she could be when it came go guys, the message came through loud and clear: player, womanizer, not worth her time!
“Try the sliders.” Sage deflected his attempt at a pick-up line. She appreciated that he’d come over to chat her up – it was a definite ego boost – but she wasn’t ready to deal with the drama men brought to the table.
“Maybe next time. I was planning on heading out tonight. Maybe you’d like to join me,” he asked, with a flirty waggle of his eyebrows.
Moments ago, when she’d been under his spell, she might have said yes. But her brain had rebooted and the reality was a definite no. Sage looked herself over. She’d showered after the gym, but she was dressed in yoga pants and her Read Learn Survive tank top and sports bra. She was hardly dressed for an evening out. “Maybe not tonight.”
“Oh, c’mon. The night has only just begun. Don’t tell me you don’t like to get out and party.” Those brilliant blue eyes went well beyond gorgeous. There was a sort of hypnotic power behind them, something she could feel drawing her in; but at the same time, she recognized the connection enough to avoid being pulled under again.
Damn, he was hot. She was stupid to say no. But then again, what the hell was he doing trying to pick her up? She could see him trying if she’d been at a club and dressed to impress, but gym wear – as cute and comfy as it was – hardly screamed Date me.
“Oh, I party.” Feeling momentarily self-conscious about her appearance, Sage jumped to defend herself. “But, you know, girl code.”
His smile faltered for the first time since he’d sauntered over to talk to her. He narrowed his eyes in confusion. “You’re batting for the other team?”
She should have said yes. She could have said yes. It might have been a lie, but it would have ended her painfully awkward struggled to speak to the way-too-handsome guy trying his hardest to go out with her. “No. I just meant, uh, I have to be up to code to party. Girl standards and all.”
“So how about we swing by your place and I’ll wait while you get ready?”
Creeper alert! She grabbed her beer and chugged it down, more to give herself time to formulate an appropriate response than because of thirst. It might as well have been water for all the effect it had on her. Normally alcohol was liquid courage, but she was now two beers in and felt nothing, which only made the situation that much harder to deal with.
His eyes left her face for a moment and widened as he looked down at her empty beer bottle. No – her wrist. “What an unusual tattoo.”
That she could easily respond to. She really needed to invest in a leather cuff like the one Mark wore to hide that damn birthmark. It was all people could talk about these days. But at least it provided her with a sobering distraction from his insistence they go out. “It’s not a tattoo.”
“It’s gorgeous. Can I take a closer look?”
She sighed and held out her wrist. He bent his head and took a closer look but thankfully did not reach a hand out toward her.
“It’s really not a tattoo? I’ve never seen such beautiful artistry.” His tone screamed lie. She saw clear as day in those icy eyes he’d been trying to hypnotize her with. Marcy had had that same look too. Something about her birthmark was affecting the people around her. Ever since her mother’s death anytime someone asked to look at it, they acted as if they were seeing the mark of the beast or something equally damming. What the hell was so special about it? And for that matter, why didn’t she know?
“Nope. I call it a birthmark for lack of a better term,” she responded mechanically, having had this conversation so many times she might as well put it on a business card to hand to everyone she met. Might save her time in the long run.
He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear. “Well, that makes you truly special.”
Chills ran the length of her spine and goosebumps erupted all over her body. “You’d be the first to say that. Growing up, most people just called me a freak.”
“Children don’t appreciate uniqueness.”
“And you’re definitely not a child.” God, could she be more awkward? The moment the words left her lips, she felt the heat rising to her cheeks. This had to end before she shoved her foot all the way into her mouth.
“No. I’m definitely not.”
“And on that note, I should probably call it a nigh
t.” She tried to excuse herself, knocking her knee painfully into the table as she scrambled to get to her feet.
“You sure I can’t convince you to come out with me this evening?”
“How about we exchange numbers and try for another night?” she replied hastily. The conversation had turned weird, and alarm bells had begun to ring in her head. She needed an escape, fast.
As if by magic, his eyes became an even icier blue, a noticeable contrast against the paleness of his skin and dark hair. She felt something, like an invisible presence in her mind, trying to persuade her, but the voice could not be heard over her own intuition screaming no!
“If you’re sure.” He reached into a pocket and pulled out a business card. “Here’s my number.”
She accepted it and quickly slipped it into her bag without even looking at it. “I’ll call you.”
“Don’t I get your number?” His request took her aback, halting her attempt at an escape.
“Sure. Um…” Her heart raced, adrenaline pumping hard as she tore off a corner of the paper Devon had given her and scrawled out her name and cell number. “Here,” she said mechanically as she handed it over, and again realized how stupid she sounded. He folded it neatly and placed it in his shirt pocket after taking a quick glance. “I will. Sage.”
Hearing her name roll off his tongue had her nearly tripping over her own feet as she stepped away. If her mind had been working properly, she might have said good-bye, but she ignored courtesy as she bolted for the bar. Slapping down a twenty, she waved to Julie. “See you tomorrow.”
Sage felt his eyes on her as she walked away, and prayed she’d make it home before anything else happened to her. The day had gone completely sideways, a roller coaster ride of harrowing ups and downs that left Sage uncertain which direction was which. She really couldn’t make heads or tails of any of it. All she knew was that she needed to return to the normalcy of her home and maybe get a little sleep. Things always made better sense after a good night of rest.
EIGHT
The walk to her apartment gave Sage time to breathe and relax. Being hit on was a compliment and the boost her ego needed after the downward spiral of the previous week, but that guy had something else about him. Like every sense in her body had gone on red alert. She’d dated a bad boy before. Who hadn’t? They were exciting and thrilling, up to the point they broke her heart. But no one she’d ever dated had set off her internal alarm system like that guy had. Even now, the vision of those gorgeous blue eyes haunted her. Even with every part of her screaming no, she’d been that close to saying yes.
How stupid would that have been? Especially with Matt working tonight? To invite a stranger to her home while she changed – idiocy like that could have landed her on the evening news as a statistic: another Las Vegas murder victim.
But she’d had the sense to walk away. Achievement unlocked! If this had been game night, she’d have earned herself a badge of honor. When Matt came home, she was definitely telling him about this triumph. How many girls could walk away from a dangerous hottie like that? And live to tell the tale?
Patting herself on the back, Sage rounded the corner to her apartment complex. She radiated pride, holding her head high. And even better, she hadn’t asked his name. No attachments. No connections. She’d toss out his card the minute she got inside. No need to dwell on it any further.
Though she had given him her number. Damn.
Well, she didn’t have to answer her phone to unknown callers, so not a complete loss.
Men were a distraction she didn’t need at the moment anyway. She had Matt in her life and his awesome boyfriend Josh. Between the two of them, there was plenty of testosterone to go around.
She unlocked the after-hours security gate to the apartment complex and took the short path to her building. Kids were swimming in the communal pool, laughing and splashing each other. Some of her neighbors were taking their evening strolls now that the brutal heat of the day had cooled. For the first time in all the long day, she could take a deep, cleansing breath. Everything was as it should be.
“Sage Cynwrig?” A man stepped out of the shadow of her tiny front porch. His face was partially hidden from the lamps. He stood at least a head taller than Sage, making her crane her neck to try to get a better look at him. What little she could see was not a face she recognized. But then how the hell did he know her name? Even worse, how did he know this was her apartment?
Her heart kicked into overdrive, and she scanned around to see if there might be more men hiding in the shadows.
Dammit! She screamed in her head. Because of course this night had to end with more oddities.
“Who’s asking?” She scrutinized what little she could see of him. The path lights were on, but he was standing just out of their glow. For a moment she’d worried the guy from the bar had followed her somehow, but this man was entirely different. With a black fedora cloaking some of his head and a leather duster over a dark shirt and black pants, he was camouflaged within the shadows. The only light resided in his eyes, pale turquoise that had a hint of familiarity she couldn’t quite put a finger on.
With a growl of frustration, she met his eyes with an annoyed glare, balling up her fist ready to fight like Devon had been training her to do.
“Are you Sage Cynwrig?” he asked, with more force this time.
“No,” she lied. “And this is private property. If you don’t leave the premises, I’ll call security.”
He reached out faster than she could react and took hold of her left hand, flipping it over to reveal her birthmark.
Her instincts kicked in and she twisted her wrist, breaking his flimsy hold and rounded on him, sending her fist flying at his face.
Quick as she was, he was faster, and he blocked her strike with ease. “We need to talk.” He stepped into the light and held his arms up in surrender.
She’d been ready to hit him again but caught sight of his wrist. He had the same birthmark. Her eyes lit with as much shock as many before had evidenced when they first looked on her deformity. She’d believed that only she and her mother shared this special marking, but now she knew that to be a lie. And suddenly the turquoise eyes made sense too. Was he family? Some distant relation she’d never been told of? He not only shared the same eye color as her mother, but also the same deformity. All the way down to the crown of leaves above what appeared to be a tree shaped out of broken veins.
“I’m not here to fight with you.” He lowered his hands slowly and spoke in a whisper that forced her to pay attention to hear him. “I’m here to help.”
“I don’t need any help.” She relaxed her fighting stance. The alarms that had gone off at the bar when she’d dealt with those other gorgeous blue eyes were silent now in the presence of this equally dangerous-looking guy. What the hell was going on? Her instincts should have been telling her to run. She should be screaming for help or calling the police. Normal people didn’t skulk in the shadows. But standing in front of this guy, who clearly wanted to look like a dangerous bad ass – he’d have to lose the fedora if he hoped to achieve that – she felt only curiosity.
“You might not think you need help just yet, but you do,” he replied. “Can we go inside and talk? I can explain.”
“We can talk out here.” She crossed her arms in front of her.
“No. We can’t. Too many ears listening.” He nodded upward. Sage turned to look in the direction he’d indicated and saw someone drawing curtains shut in a second-story apartment. “You and I share the same symbol. Aren’t you the least bit curious what it means?”
Sage opened her mouth to say yes, but the word refused to come. That was exactly what he would want her to say.
“Does the name ASSET make a difference?” he whispered again.
That word threatened to bring her to tears. She didn’t want to say it out loud, but if he knew about ASSET, then he had to know about her mother. Maybe he was connected to her family in a way she’d never known. “F
ine,” she groaned, hoping she wasn’t about to make the stupidest of all mistakes by allowing him inside. “But I swear, if you put a hand on me again...”
He smirked. “I have no interest in putting my hands on you.”
“Good,” she responded quickly, though not too certain what he meant by that comment. Either way, she was making a beeline for the kitchen to grab a knife.
NINE
“Really? A knife?” The stranger sounded amused rather than frightened by her hasty attempt to arm herself, but that didn’t stop Sage from gripping her weapon tightly. She already felt stupid for letting him into the house. But he shared the same mark as she and her mother. And as someone who had been plagued by questions her whole life about the deformity, questions she never had any answer to, curiosity won over common sense.
“There’s a strange guy in my kitchen, who appeared out of the shadows and demanded to be let inside my house. If I had a gun, I’d have grabbed that.”
“And yet you just revealed, to this stranger, that you’re weaponless. Not exactly the brightest bulb, are you?”
Annoyed by his mocking tone, Sage clutched the knife tighter. “If you’re just going to insult me, then get the hell out.”
“You going to make me?” His eyes narrowed on her face in a taunting glare.
How dare he force his way into her home and insult her, acting as if she were just some idiot woman? She twisted the knife in her hand, one snarky comment away from sheathing it between his ribs. “You want to test me?”
“Okay truce.” He held his hands up in surrender. “Can we just relax for a moment and talk?”
“Go ahead, say what you need to say.” She stood firm, one hand on her hip, the other keeping the knife ready.
He walked to the kitchen table and took a seat before removing his hat. Underneath the dark fedora was a mess of dirty-blond waves that fell loosely around his head. Under better circumstances, she might have thought him cute. There wasn’t a woman alive who didn’t secretly harbor a thing for bad boys, and he had the look for sure. But as she waited in silence for him to finish making himself at home, his level of attractiveness faded.
A Weapon Of Magical Destruction Page 6
