But why?
It wasn't like they were together, and she couldn't break his curse, so why did he want her to stay so badly? His feelings confused him, and by her outburst earlier, he knew he'd confused her too. His plan was to think things over and clear the air in the morning. Only, by the time he had fallen asleep, he hadn't been able to answer his own questions in order to provide any answers for hers.
A wave of pure lust ripped through him and his hips bucked against the sheet, making him moan at the sensation the light glide of fabric provided. He'd gone to bed nude as he always had, but even that light touch ignited his blood.
He wanted Sage. Wanted to find where she had run off to. Wanted to push her over a chair, a bed, the hood of a car, hell, he didn't care what she used to brace herself for his thrusts as long as her sweet ass was in the air and he could sink into that delicious, wet, hot heat.
Somehow, he'd gotten out of bed and into the hallway. Adonis pressed a hand to the wall and shuddered at the need coursing through him. No one was awake, or at least moving around. Good. That's good. Sage was gone, but he needed to check. Needed to see with his own two eyes that she'd left him. His vision tunneled as he reached the stairs and he stumbled forward, barely registering when he'd ascended the first set, crossed through the lobby and climbed the second set to the third floor.
He reached the door to the room Daphne had put her in. Though he knew it would be locked, he tried the knob anyway. It wouldn't budge.
"Sage," he whispered against the wood, leaning his head against the cool panel and trying to get his body in check. Gods, why did she leave him when he needed her? Didn't she see he needed her? That he was ashamed he couldn't give her what she wanted from him, that he couldn't be a good man for her? She was the only person in his entire immortal life that had ever brought him even a moment of peace—despite her chatter and unrealistic expectations of him.
Without warning, his body went from full throttle to nothing. He let out a shuttering breath and balled his hands into fists at his side. All the lust that had driven him up the stairs, woken him up, disappeared. Poof. Adonis looked down as he palmed himself. No sign of the arousal that had been there seconds ago. A ghost of the sensation remained, hot in his blood, but otherwise…nothing.
She came back.
Wait…
Something wasn't right. He attempted the knob again, shaking it. "Sage?" he whispered. When there was no answer, he called out again, louder this time. "Sage!"
Still no reply, but some kind of commotion on the other side of the wall caught his attention. Pounding? Muffled yelling?
Adonis took a step back, assessed the door a moment, then plunged into it with his shoulder. The wood cracked and strained, ultimately giving way. He pushed the broken panel open and stepped into the room. Sage wasn't in the bed, though she'd clearly been in it at some point. The television was on, and her things and room key were on the table.
So, where was she?
More banging had him turning to the right, and he gawked. Sage stood on the balcony, naked, hammering on the door with her palm. She whirled around and flipped the bird at someone on the street below.
Not worried about the how or why she'd gotten herself into such a predicament, he spanned the room in a few long strides and opened the door. She ran inside, stopped, flipped off the jeering idiots on the street again, and then stormed into the room. Adonis didn't know what to say. So he shut the door and locked it, then pulled the curtains for good measure.
"What—?"
Sage spun around, a crazed look crossing her features, and she looked up and down his naked body. His satyr form didn't seem to repel her even though the fur from thigh to ankle and the bend of his calves were different than a human's. "What are you doing here?"
"You left."
She blinked. "Ah, I forgot you would know that. Sorry it took that to get you to check on me." Bitterness sharpened her words, and he didn't like it.
Adonis clenched his jaw and took a step forward. A floral scent, all too familiar, surrounded Sage, and he stopped dead. Trepidation coursed through him as he became fully aware of the situation. Sage hadn't left; she'd been taken. And he knew exactly who had taken her. "Aphrodite was here."
Memories assailed him of a time when he'd been so naïve to believe in love with a goddess who had cuckolded her own husband. Who cheated on Ares as well with the likes of him. A farmer's son. A goddess who couldn't look at him in his satyr state when all he needed was someone to comfort him and tell him it would be all right. He'd gone through all of it alone. The uncontrollable lust. Being unable to return home to his family. He hated Aphrodite, and if he never saw her again it would be too soon.
Sage growled, actually growled. "If that bitch comes near me again, I'll—"
Adonis blinked, taken aback at her reaction. It was so…visceral. "What did she want?" Clearly it hadn't been anything good, not that it could have been. Fury began to twist its way through his blood at the thought of Aphrodite taking Sage away from him. Gods, was this about her or about him? Did she not want him to move on?
