I carefully open the door and grip her shoulder before she tumbles out. The movement wakes her, and she yawns, looking around while I unclip her seat belt.
“Finally, we are home,” she stretches.
A stupid smile spreads across my lips. I like that she calls the pack her home.
She climbs out of the car and walks over to the main door, leaning against the concrete wall waiting for me to open it. I place my hand on the panel, listening to the locks groan, and open it.
Sage wastes no time heading straight for the room while I switch the alarms off, so they don’t go off later when Zane comes in. I silently follow her upstairs.
When I walk into the room, I notice she hasn’t bothered changing, just flopped face down on the mattress.
“She is more tired than usual,” Donnie mutters to me.
“Pack training. Also, she left the house for the entire day. It could be a bit too much for her considering she doesn’t usually go anywhere,” I tell him as I head over to the bed and tug her shoes off her feet.
Sage tries to kick me away and crawls up the bed. The next moment, she jams her face in my pillow and inhales hard, her body shuddering and a grin spreading across her lips. I leave her to go shower, but when I come back, she is wearing only her shirt and panties. Sage has somehow kicked off the rest of her clothes, and now she’s sprawled out on her stomach like a starfish as one of her legs dangles over the side of the bed.
“She is a bed hog,” Donnie announces as I duck into the closet to retrieve some shorts.
I slip them on and consider going downstairs to make myself a coffee, but quickly drop the idea. It seems rather stupid if I can choose between a bit of sleep next to Sage or a cup of coffee. Besides, I’m positive I have some time to rest before Zane wakes me at some ungodly hour when he brings the rogue in.
“Where are we supposed to lay? At her feet like a pet?” Donnie continues, still upset there’s no room.
I chuckle at his words, but still wonder how someone so small can take up so much space.
I slide onto my side and try to steal my pillow back, reaching over to try to grab hers and gently push her over to her side, but since that doesn’t work, I give up and decide to suck it up.
“We aren’t built for small spaces,” Donnie grumbles.
I roll my eyes at him and try to roll Sage over again. Eventually, I get her to roll onto her side.
“Think she will freak out if I spoon her?” I ask Donnie.
Sage is pretty much dead to the world, but she is also only wearing panties and a shirt. Usually, she sleeps with more clothes on, so I’m unsure if she might mistake a simple cuddle from me for trying to make a move on her.
“Only one way to find out,” Donnie suggests, excited as ever.
I roll into her, but she rolls at the same time to face me and tosses her leg over my waist. Sage buries her face against my chest, and does the same kind of inhale and grin move she did to my pillow.
I tuck her a little closer before I close my eyes, I smile and think of how much I like this position and the ability to have her this close to me.
I sleep well for the most part until the door downstairs closes and Zane’s voice booms through the mindlink.
“Tied and gagged, ready for you, Alpha,” Zane announces. It takes me a good minute to realize that Zane is leaving, not coming in.
I quickly toss the blanket back to get up, but Sage has moved and is half laying on top of me. I try to slide out from under her, but she grabs the waistband of my pants and I freeze.
“Don’t go,” she mutters.
Panic surges through me. I can’t move a muscle, even as I try. What if she hears how Zane brought the rogue in?
I lay back down and take a few deeper breaths. I will ask Casen to train with her in the morning, and I will deal with the rogue then. If I get up now, there is a chance she may wake up and come looking for me. No fucking way am I risking that.
Sage
I slept like the dead, for some reason, I am exhausted. But now, I am too lazy to move and comfortably snuggled against the warmth of my mate.
Andrei moves slightly, and the movement makes me roll, and I realize I am actually laying on him. I slide off, hitting the mattress.
His arms wrap around me and I find myself facing him.
He is still asleep, but he moves and grabs my bare thigh to lift it over his waist. I try to remember coming home, but the evening remains a blur, and I definitely don’t remember getting out of my clothes.
I lift the blanket, relieved to see that my shirt is still on, and I can feel I have panties on, so I am not completely naked. When I lift my head back up, Andrei’s eyes are cracked open, scaring the living daylights out of me.
My heart beats so frantically I can hear the thumping in my ears. But thankfully, in no time, it settles and returns to the regular rhythm.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.” I whisper the weak apology.
“You took them off, I didn’t undress you,” Andrei reassures me as he presses his face into my neck and pulls me closer.
His presence and closeness don’t bother me so much, and I now welcome his touch. I run my fingers through his hair, and I can feel the soft puff of his breath against the hollow of my neck, his stubble tickling the skin on my chest.
“That feels nice,” he murmurs as my nails rake across his head.
“Hmm,” I hum back at him, enjoying touching him when he suddenly rolls onto his back away from me. My leg, which was on his waist, now moves up to his stomach, and his hand rests on my knee, holding it there.
I try to move my leg, but Andrei’s hold on my knee tightens, so I decide to just leave it there for now. Clearly, he isn’t bothered by the position.
“You should go back to sleep, it is 4 am,” Andrei whispers, looking over at the alarm clock on the bedside table.
“I’m not tired,” I pout like a child, which makes Andrei chuckle.
Nevertheless, he just nods and speaks up. “Yes, you have been asleep for a while now. If I recall correctly, you went out like a light before the sun even set, and that is probably why you’re not tired anymore. I think it’s for the best if you try to get some more sleep,” he insists.