"It's my roommate. Can't figure out how to explain this to her."
Adonis waved his other hand dismissively. "Met a man. You'll be home in a day or two."
She couldn't figure out what was more annoying: his suggestion or the fact that Darcy would actually believe it based on Sage's history. And now here she was slut-shaming herself. A healthy sexual appetite wasn't wrong. She didn't sleep with married men, and she used protection. She had standards and apparently her sex drive was supernaturally enhanced, so it was more than normal for her. It would do her no good to start feeling bad about her lifestyle because of a man who didn't want her in his bed.
Not a man. A satyr.
The very personification of male sexuality.
And he didn't desire her.
She scowled. The whole situation was insulting, unfair, and it pissed her off. She was his curse Band-aid, nothing more, nothing less, yet she still wanted to have sex with him despite it. Stupid nymph hormones.
Sage glared at him. "I'm not lying to Darcy."
"I'm a man, you met me, and you'll be home in a day or two. Those aren't lies; you're only omitting the stuff she doesn't need to know."
"Omitting truth is still a form a lying," she snapped and nearly stomped a foot. "She'll assume we're sleeping together."
"Well…" He drawled and waved a hand around. "We slept in the same room. So technically…"
"Oh, shut up."
He was way too smug about this, and apparently wasn't done. "Plus, if it's still flooded near the road, you could damage your car."
Like he gave a shit about her car. She was only here so he didn't hurt someone. If he were telling the truth, anyway, and she couldn't see why he'd lie about that. She was torn with her feelings about him, intrigued and fascinated by him, and her libido was still acting all crazy. Proximity to him didn't help.
"I'm calling her back. I don't want to hear one word if you don't like what I have to say."
Adonis raised a shoulder and dropped it back again. One day she would learn that the more handsome the man, the more frustrating they would be in a conversation.
Darcy answered on the first ring, and out of habit, Sage put the call on speaker. She didn't like holding the phone to her ear unless she had to. Besides, she had no secrets from Adonis. "Oh my God, are you okay? Are you hurt? You didn't come home today and then weren't returning my calls or texts."
Guilt speared her gut. She should have at least sent a text last night or this morning so her friend wouldn't be so worried. She hadn't given Darcy a spare thought at all. "I know. I'm shitty."
"Where are you?"
Here we go… "Staying with a friend. It flooded out here last night and I couldn't drive back into town. Got distracted and my phone was on silent." Adonis caught her gaze on the word distracted, and her voice almost cracked.
Darcy herself stayed silent for a long moment. "You're not telling me something."
Far too insightful for her own good. Sage wiped away a bead of sweat. "I overshare. If there was more to tell, you'd hear it."
"Uh huh…" She didn't sound convinced.
Sage sighed. "Oh, come on. I tell you everything. Sometimes more than you want to know." Could she tell her about nymphs and satyrs? Would Adonis let her leave if she did?
There was a brief pause, as though her words had required careful consideration. "Well, at least you aren't downtown. Weird stuff is happening, and I feel better knowing you are safe, even if you aren't telling me something," Darcy accused. "You're not a good liar, Sage."
"Whatever." She blinked down at her phone. "Wait, what's happening downtown?"
"Some people saw a fight in broad daylight between some guys dressed in demon costumes with horns and everything."
Her jaw hung open and she glanced at Adonis' horns. Was it possibly related? "Well, that's horrible. Could have been Halloween costumes though."
He leaned forward and gestured for her attention. Sage hit mute. "What?"
"Ask for more information about the demon costumes. There's a B&B downtown run by satyrs."
"What!" There were more of them in the city? Her city?
Adonis rolled his eyes. "We'll talk about it later. Just ask. Were their horns straight like mine, or curled like a ram's?"
"Uh…okay." She unmuted the call and stared at her phone. "Weird question, Darce…but was there more description about the fight? What did the demon costumes look like?"
"They said it was three guys with tall horns and weird boots that looked like hooves. Like that guy in the rock band, only his horns weren't curly. Ya know. They were ganging up on another guy. When the cops got there, they found some belongings, but the victim and the attackers were long gone."
Adonis stood up, alarm on his face. He pulled his own phone out of his pocket and began texting vigorously.
Concerned with his reaction, Sage gripped her own phone a little tighter. "Listen, I gotta go. I'll let you know when I'll be home in a day or two."
"Okay, but stay safe."
Sage smiled. Darcy was a good friend and a great roommate. Not everyone got so lucky in either department, let alone the combination. "I always do." When she hung up, she glanced at Adonis and raised her eyebrows. "Well?"
Any irritation she had for him faded at the alarm on his face. "Something is wrong. The three men with horns like mine, they're not here for anything good. I am guessing whoever they were after was one of the Arcadians at The Aegean Inn. Maybe they got mad at a human and attacked him, but I doubt they would risk exposure if it wasn't one of us."
"What's an Arcadian?" She really couldn't follow half of what he said without some sort of explanation. "And how do satyrs live
