What a fucking joke.
Clearly, Sage had outstayed her welcome. She could catch a hint.
Okay… Sometimes she could catch a hint. When Adonis had stepped through the trees and she saw him for the first time… She shivered at the memory. His eyes had been so intense. Wild, bright blue even by candlelight. His long blond hair gave him a sense of savagery when paired with those ebony horns. Sage had wanted to jump his bones right then and there—and then he'd gotten mad at her because he was having some supernatural performance problems.
Didn't it happen to all guys eventually? Well, not the cursed by a god part, but the trouble getting it up? It was a perfectly normal thing.
Unlike horns and hooves. And satyrs and nymphs.
She still couldn't believe she was a nymph. Thinking herself a witch seemed easier somehow, but she would concede to the satyr's assessment and assume he knew what he was talking about, even if he was a surly old man trapped in a young man's gorgeous and flawless body.
Old as dirt, and she still wanted to jump his bones. It wasn't fair. And now, as he obviously had zero interest in her, she wouldn't stay a moment longer.
Since the ground was soggy, Sage decided to run across the squishy, wet terrain between the field and house. She never should have stayed the night. Had she really tried to seduce a satyr? Repeatedly… Somehow, as he'd continued to reject her, the totality of her actions started to become clearer. What was she doing? She was as good as harassing him, and she was better than that. Not to mention, his living circumstances seemed shady.
Was it even his house, or was he squatting? She supposed if she were a satyr, she might squat in vacant houses too. Sounded like a legit thing for a satyr to do though. Hide. Wait for naked women to appear in the woods.
Oh, wait. Until that backfired and got neither of them anywhere.
This is so lame.
Not to mention, she still found herself horribly attracted to him even when he snapped at her like a cantankerous old grizzly, and now she was muddy.
As she reached the tree line, she almost tripped when Adonis shouted her name. Why even bother going after her if he didn't want her? He didn't want to talk about the gods, he didn't want to make her his nymph-bride, he didn't want her to help with his curse—which she'd be completely down for because it sounded sexy as shit being, like, the one to break a centuries-old curse. So why keep her around if he didn't want that?
Sage wasn't the smartest girl in the world, she owned up to that, but she could tell when someone hid something from her. Adonis needed her for a reason, but he didn't want to tell her the whole truth about it. That concerned her. Honesty was everything. So, she had waited for him to turn his back, changed into her dress, grabbed her things and split.
"Sage!" Adonis yelled again. He sounded…hurt? She almost stopped and turned around, but it would do her no good. She couldn't be empathetic to him or she wouldn't leave. Her curiosity about him and his plight were far too alluring.
Never should have stayed.
Fumbling in her bag for her keys, her flip flop got stuck in the mud and she landed on her hands and knees in a puddle. Her bag fell off her shoulder and dropped directly into water.
"My phone!" Her panic eased slightly as she remembered this bag was waterproof. Allegedly. Hopefully…
"Sage?" He was closer now.
She tried to get up and slipped again, falling on her backside. Her shoe had come completely off and was lost to the mud. The traitor. Well, this will be embarrassing.
"Where are you—are you okay?" Maybe the pain in his voice from before had been in her head. She didn't detect it now. Faux concern, perhaps.
"I'm fine."
Far too much humor colored his tone as he stated, "You don't look it."
Sage preferred it when she was the one needling him. "Leave me alone."
Adonis stepped into the puddle and leaned over her. His looming form served only to make her current predicament more mortifying. She was a sexual creature from myth and lore, and she was having her ass handed to her by a puddle. Good thing she wasn't a water nymph, or this would be plain sad.
"What are you—" He scooped her up as she made a mad grab for her bag, barely getting a good grip on it. "Ack! Put me down!"
He chuckled, grating her nerves. "I thought you wanted me to touch you?"
Ugh! Was he seriously going to taunt her now? He ran hot and cold faster than anyone she'd ever met. "Not when I'm all muddy and gross. I need a shower, and I lost my shoe."
"Weren't you just bathing?" he teased and she didn't know how to take it.
"You know what I meant."
"You're in luck since I have running water." He ignored her annoyance as he bent to grab her flip flop and then proceeded to carry her out of the puddle, and she repositioned her bag to rest on her chest. Seriously though, why the change in demeanor? What had her trying to leave stirred up? "It'll be cold, unfortunately. But, to be honest, you could probably use it." His grin didn't help matters.
Oh, hell no. He was enjoying her dilemma far too much. "Put me down. Now."
"We're going to talk, for real this time. No more aggravating each other for kicks."
Of course he wanted to talk when he had the upper hand. Typical man. "We tried that, and every topic I brought up you didn't want to discuss."
He met her gaze and paused before exiting the woods. A car engine filled the silence as someone drove by. Once it passed, Adonis stepped out into the field. "With good reason. Aphrodite broke my
