Sage pulled him back, effectively stopping him. “Wait.”
He turned. The annoyance clear.
Sage moved closer, facing Garridan. He lifted onto his tiptoes and kissed Garridan’s lips once. He pulled away and then did it again. And then again. In all that time Garridan never moved, although he did kiss Sage back.
“Can I kiss you like I want?” Garridan asked.
Sage bit his lip. “Just…um…just…yes. Okay. Let’s try.”
Garridan took a step back, shaking his head. “I won’t scare you.”
“You don’t. I’m just nervous. Really nervous. Please. I want you too.”
Garridan nodded and then leaned against the wall. He tugged on Sage’s hand, silently asking him to come closer. It was sexy the way Garridan stood there with his legs apart, waiting for Sage to settle between them. When he did, arms came around his waist, holding him.
Garridan watched him for long seconds.
“I’m comfortable. Not scared at all.” Sage wanted Garridan to kiss him more than just about anything.
Garridan nodded, but still didn’t move.
The longer they stood there, the more the anticipation built, making him antsy. Sage brought his hands up to trace around Garridan’s lips. Garridan’s mouth curved into a small smile and Sage was mesmerized by it.
Why Sage was scared of the man, he had no idea. The last thing Garridan would ever do was hurt him and he wasn’t going to force him into anything, including bonding.
Garridan cupped the nape of Sage’s neck and leaned forward. The slow way Garridan’s lips settled over Sage’s made him melt.
Sage also got hard. That whole time he thought the vampires had broken him, made mating impossible. His boner told the truth, though.
Sage kissed Garridan back.
He felt Garridan’s hard length against his own. Even through the fabric of their clothes, it turned him on in a way that he thought he’d never experience again.
Garridan licked at the seam of his lips and Sage opened his mouth, letting him in. He moaned and wrapped his arms around Garridan’s neck, pulling him closer.
The longer they kissed, the more Sage felt a frantic desperation to bond, to mate with Garridan. Sage wanted to crawl inside him and live in his skin. He wanted everything Garridan could give all at the same time.
He felt his teeth drop down and figured his eyes had changed, although they were closed so he couldn’t tell.
There was a knock on the door, even though it was open. Sage pulled away, turning to whoever interrupted them. His eyes narrowed when he saw Bennett and Lucas standing in the doorway, grinning. Well, Lucas was, anyway. Sage hissed at them and then buried his face in the crook of Garridan’s neck. He took a deep breath, smelling Garridan. His scent just made him harder than he already was. Sage kissed Garridan’s skin, right where he wanted to bite. Every mating instinct he had hit him all at once and it was hard to hold back. It was as if his instincts were making up for lost time. They had been dormant for so long that it felt like a speeding truck hit him. Just wham.
“You wanted to see me before I left,” Sage heard Bennett say. Apparently, Lucas couldn’t resist doing Garridan’s bidding after all.
“You need to stay here, where I can protect you. Your Alpha needs to stay here too.” Garridan rubbed a hand up and down Sage’s back.
“I’m capable of taking care of myself, Uncle Garridan,” Bennett said. It was weird to hear Bennett call him Uncle, not because of the fact that Garridan looked about the same age as Bennett. Sage had lived with that sort of thing his whole life. It was how shifters were. They didn’t base someone’s age on their physical appearance. No, Sage was weirded out because if Garridan was Bennett’s uncle then that meant Sage was too. Creepy.
“Stavros cannot get to you, Lucas, or Sage. I need to protect you. The Alpha too.”
“I agree,” Ramsey said from somewhere nearby. “Lucas, call Forrest, Kristin, Vaughan, and Owen. Tell them to pack a bag and come back home. Tell them I’ll explain when they get here. Bennett, go home and pack a bag. I’m going to call Gabriel, tell him what’s going on around here. This is where the entire family will come every evening. ”
“How’s Shawn?” Lucas asked. The vampires had held Shawn prisoner. Gabriel had held back to rescue him. Sage had heard Ramsey talking about it with Mother Estelle, so he knew Gabriel had rescued Shawn. Gabriel was still lurking around the vampire coven, trying to gather specific information. What type of information Sage wasn’t sure, but he knew it had to be something helpful if Ramsey was keeping him away from home. The family was close and didn’t like to be away from each other for very long.
“He’s mated to my insensitive brother. So probably frustrated. Physically he’s fine. He’ll be here soon,” Ramsey said.
The door clicked shut a second later.
“They’re all gone now, mate,” Garridan whispered.
