Chapter 10- Dare me

"Oh no!" Sophie quickly knelt, attempting to grasp the diamond and pearl that were bouncing around the polished oak floor in all directions. "Oh, no! Sh*t, sh*t!"

"Relax, they're not the crown jewels." He came to a halt, his taunting expression gone as she lifted her head, and he saw she was in tears.

"Just leave! okay? Damn it!"

Sophie hissed angrily. "I couldn't care less. They're all mine. My treasure."

With a grimace, Beta Sage kneeled beside her, sitting on his heels. He noticed the shaking in her shoulders and felt something hard twist in his chest.

He did his best to ignore it, telling himself it was either indigestion or the threat of tears that had caused it. He’d never liked seeing women cry.

"She left them to me," Sophie muttered beneath her breath. "She wore them all the time, and now they're destroyed! Everything has been wrecked..."

"Who gave you this?" Sage inquired.

"It's none of your business, just leave!"

Sage wanted to roll his eyes and just ignore the woman, but he halted as he gazed into her sad, lonely eyes. On all fours now, Sophie reached to recover a gem that had dropped beneath a chair, but it bounced away as her finger touched it.

"F*ck it! No way, I just can't! Why the hell was it too hard to—"

"What we require is a system. An inch-by-inch hunt. What is it called—a finger hunt? "

The image in her mind was of his fingertips moving slowly, but the surface they were exploring, the secret nooks they were uncovering, had nothing to do with the hardwood floor! What was going on with her? She must be really out of her mind for thinking such unrelated things?

"You count, and I’ll retrieve," Sage proposed.

She struggled to drag her thoughts back to the present. The process felt like swimming through warm honey. There was a horrible temptation to taste it. She sighed and closed her eyes for about a minute. "That really isn’t necessary," she managed finally, her voice carrying nowhere near the level of conviction she was hoping for. "I’m really not that sentimental."

Sage had already hoisted the thick, freshly ironed linen tablecloth when she made her remark, and he looked back over his shoulder. "Yeah, you are, and that's all right. Make yourself useful and keep this going. There are some beneath here."

"No, it's really fine."

After a brief pause, she did what he asked, lifting the thick, crisp white linen cloth while he delved beneath. A few more diamonds were thrown into her open hand a bit later.

She looked at him through her eyelids. His dark hair was dishevelled, and there was a filthy smear on his jacket's dark lapel. She reached out without thinking to brush it away. "You know, you don't have to do this."

"I know."

She'd never seen anything so beautiful as his eyes; they were captivating. She battled a short inner conflict and dropped her hand away, gazing up through the tangle of her eyelids to avoid the full force of his eyes. "Oh, thank you; I think that's all of them," she finally murmured, closing her hand, which was now encrusted with flawless pearls and diamonds.

Sage stood to his feet in front of her and extended his hand. Sophie took it after a little hesitation and let him bring her to her feet. Her stomach dropped unexpectedly as her quivering nose caught a whiff of his warm body, clean aroma, and maleness. And something so extraordinary, unique, and dreamy

He halted and looked at her intently.

Sofie tensed as her eyes suddenly began to slide back. She was standing next to the Robinson's Beta one second later, and the next she was in a dimly lit space. Shaking and alone.

She questioned herself. Was she having yet another vision, or were Sage's past or memories coming to life? She was curious regardless. After all, it was her secret; she was not only a pack doctor but she was also a seer. Someone who could see the past and the future, yet she could never see hers.

In the back of her mind, she knew these feelings, those dark tunnels. It was Sage's mind—his thoughts from either the past or the present.

Sophie followed her desire to see it. Her curiosity won. She noticed a light in the distance that was shimmering, golden, and enticing. She knew she was witnessing Sage's memories, but why did it feel like it was also hers?

 *****

It was a magical room, and then, in a moment, she was inside. It was like she was moving a camera in her head. Like she was watching television.

She looked around. It was a chamber.

Most of the guests had either retired to bedrooms in the massive house or, like Landon, were passed out in the family room.

Sage went back to the chamber and watched a woman sleep. He got her some covering, a down-filled duvet, and threw it over her so she wouldn't get cold. Then he studied her face as she slept.

Sage thought, "she's a real beauty." He wasn't the sort to go to human strip clubs. Landon was more into that. Then there was that moment, when he'd come striding through the crowd and she'd pulled off her bra and flung it at him... He wouldn't be a man if he hadn't admired that extremely feminine form. Those curves, that aliveness, that whole sense of being in the moment

He'd felt so alive for a split second. Really alive. And that moment had made him realise how rarely he'd felt that way in the previous few years. All he'd really been focused on for as long as he could remember was building his name as the black sheep of the pack. And of course his business.

Sage considered all this as he watched her sleep and thought about the wedding that would take place in the morning. His brother is getting married to the woman he— it wasn't his business to envy Landon.

There was a part of him that resented having to be responsible for his brother. Even though he was a close ally, he'd wondered why Landon was so afraid of marrying Sophie and was so nervous about giving up his bachelor status.

Sage had always believed that once you knew it was right and that you were eventually with the perfect woman, everything else would just naturally follow.

His brother was the least enthusiastic about Sophie being his mate and the future Luna.

Sage groaned. Life could be challenging. On the plus side, Landon had just puked his guts out and was dozing off on the sitting room floor, so he no longer had to take care of his brother. He was completely out of it as he lay splayed on the carpet next to the pool table. Sage, the best man, was confident that he would get his brother to the wedding tomorrow afternoon and get him there on time.

The duvet by the couch fell to the floor as the woman who resembled Sophie Savannah sighed and stretched. She cast a quick glance her way as her highly mascaraed lashes fluttered open.

She asked in a hushed voice at the time.

He murmured back, "Right around two in the morning."

She made an attempt to stand up before returning to the couch. "Holy shit."

Sage gave her a chocolate cake and then said, "You need something to eat."

"Marvellous," she exclaimed and gave Sage a beautiful, alluring smile. "I'm hungry! Thank you. I need this."

He observed she didn't use the white plastic fork he'd given her, instead picking up a slice of chocolate cake with her fingers and biting into it. She completed it in record time. He stared, enthralled, as she licked the icing off her fingers and then smeared some of the thick frosting on the paper dish and onto her finger. Then he slowly licked that finger, apparently loving the taste.

The unintentionally sensual movement and the genuine pleasure she exuded turned him on completely. She was bursting with energy. He couldn't believe he was having such sexual ideas. How could he be so taken with a woman he'd previously despised?

"Do you have a way home?" he asked, watching her. Watching the way her eyes moved to the side, the way she couldn't quite meet his gaze.

"Sure."

"You're such a liar," he whispered.

"Oh yeah?" She finished the cake, licked the last smear of frosting off the paper plate, and set it down on the coffee table to the side of the leather couch. "What makes you an expert?"

Sage didn't say anything, wondering why he had the urge to be so rude with her, to get her going. He found that he liked arguing with her.

"How about a little game?" she said.

He liked the way her eyes were sparkling. This woman radiated fun. "What kind of a game?" The images in his head were totally X-rated.

"Truth or Dare. I have a go first," the woman smiled and winked at her. 

"Fine." He'd never been one to turn down a dare.

"Were you pissed off, having to babysit Landon?"

He hesitated. The quiet honour between brothers warred with the truth.

"Truth," she added softly.

"Yeah. I was."

"Good." She smirked. "I was pissed too because I'm not supposed to be here, yeah?"

He stared at her. "Are you some kind of exotic dancer?"

"You could say that."

"Yes or no. Truth."

"Yes." She smiled up at him, and he watched as she moistened her lips with her tongue. Those thoughts of his are definitely X-rated.

"Are you attracted to me?" she said, her voice barely above a whisper.

He didn't even hesitate. "Yes."

"Do you want to kiss me?" she said.

He hesitated.

"Truth," she said.

"Yeah," he said.

The silence stretched between them until she said, "Well, we've done the truth, so how about the dare part?"

"What do you mean?" he mumbled. His heart was pounding heavily, slowly speeding up. This woman was absolutely incredible. A fantasy comes true.

No, make that his fantasy.

"I dare you," she murmured, her eyes never leaving him.

"Dare me, what?" he asked, clearly curious now.

"I dare you, to kiss me."