She met his rhythm and rubbed her clit, rocking her hips forward and back, building up her own orgasm until it couldn’tbe denied. She stiffened and squeezed him, crying out, while he grasped her hips and murmured that she was sexy.
Canyon seemed to know when she’d wrung all the pleasure she could out of her release. He folded her to the bed and entered her with purpose, building up rhythm, focused on his own pleasure. He kissed her shoulders and neck and combed his fingers through her hair, then plunged deep and shuddered, groaning lightly, warmth spilling through her.
Canyon relaxed for a moment, then got up and disappeared into the bathroom. He returned with two towels. He handed her one and said, “Shower,” and returned to the bathroom.
Sage lay in the bed relaxed and wrung out, alone with her thoughts and not sure how to feel about any of it.
68—Goodbye to the Wolf
Sage fastened the choker necklace around her neck and looked at herself in the mirror one more time. Canyon had showered quickly, hadn’t said much, and had gone straight to work on his phone, leaving the shower free for Sage. She’d showered and dressed, dried her hair, and put her face on.
She left the bathroom, gathered up her purse and phone, then went out into the suite where Canyon sat, typing on his phone, while it dinged regularly with notifications. Sage checked the time—they had five minutes to be out.
Canyon nodded at her. “Give me a sec,” he said, his attention on his phone.
Sage wandered near the door to study the painting there, showing a female commanding wolves from atop a boulder. The female had living, auburn hair, silver eyes, bare feet, and was wearing no jewelry and a simple white shift dress. This painting… it did things to her, making her feel several emotions, mostly a deep longing. She could believe this was the goddess Rhen herself, somehow glimpsed by avod.
Across the room, Canyon put his still-chiming phone in his pocket. He checked out using the hotel phone, placed the key cards on the table, then he strode her way, taking her hand and pulling her close at the doorway. He kissed her and opened the door at the same time, then he broke the kiss and nodded to her. She walked out into the empty hallway, her gift on her neck and her purse slung over her shoulder, feeling different than when she’d walked in—more mature, more adult, more in commandof her own life, and certainly more powerful. She’d spent three days with avodvodand lived to tell the tale… not that she could ever tell anyone.
At the elevator, her newfound confidence faltered and she contemplated hiding before the doors opened, in case anyone was inside. She steeled herself and held her head high, breathing through her fear. Canyon pressed the button to call the elevator, and he also produced his baseball cap. He put it on her head. She smiled at him and pulled it low, wondering what he thought about it. He didn’t spill his opinions often and she liked that about him, but it also made him a mystery.
The elevator arrived, the door opened, and the car was empty. Thank goodness. Canyon backed up against the door so it couldn’t close, then motioned for her to come to him.
“Maybe we should say bye here,” he said. He turned the cap around backwards and put it back on her head, then took her in his arms. “I had a good time with you.”
“Back at you, cowboy,” Sage said, feeling sadness threaten. She kissed him to hold it at bay, then she broke the kiss and said, “Goodbye.”
“Only for three days,” he said.
Sage’s insides quivered, butterfly wings tickling her stomach and throat, making her wonder if she was really going to see him again.
He let the elevator door close. She stood next to him against the wall, holding his hand. When they neared the first floor, she turned the cap around and pulled it low over her face. Canyon led her to his truck and opened the door for her. She climbed inside. Canyon got in the truck and drove down the long drive, past the carved wolf statues, out onto the road. The drive didn’t take long, and before she knew it, they were pulling into the rear entrance of the Renway Parking Garage.
Canyon stopped at the gate to get an entrance ticket. Sage felt nervous during the drive and now she was more nervous as each second passed, like eyes were on her from every shadow. She pulled her hair over her shoulder and tied it in a messy bun next to her face, trying to hide behind it. Then she took Canyon's cap off and tossed it on the dash. He got his ticket and the gate went up.
Sage scrabbled for the door handle. “Thanks, but I can walk from here. I know where it is.”
He looked at her, puzzled, while she opened the door.
“Ah, thanks for everything,” she babbled. She got out, slammed the door and speed walked to the stairs, up them to the second floor. She found her car quickly, unlocked it and got in the driver’s seat. Nothing was out of place. She sat still for several moments and took deep breaths to calm herself.
“It's okay,” she murmured. “No one knows. No one saw me.”
She started her car and drove away.
***
Sage paced through her cabin at the Inn. It was Saturday afternoon. She’d switched shifts at her job to have the weekend free and had worked Thursday and Friday to keep her mind off Canyon. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t called or texted yet. She’d expected to hear from him that morning, or maybe the night before, and she was getting antsy.
She picked up her phone and pulled up his messages. All that was there was the smiley face she’d sent when she’d put her number in his phone.
She sent a text.
Hey.
She put her phone down and paced through the apartment again, waiting. After a few minutes there was still no response. She turned on the TV and flipped through the channels, settling on Orange is the New Black.
She watched it for a while, her mind on her phone. She picked her phone back up, looked at that word, hey, just sitting there with no response.
