“Aunt Darcy’s house. She’s letting me crash and the opportunity couldn’t have come at a better time. I can’t stay in the same space with my dad anymore.” His jaw flexes as he stares ahead at something only he can see. “Besides, now I can be with you without anyone barging in on us. Well, maybe except for Haddock.” He flashes me a grin before he hops out and walks around to open my door.
“Who’s Haddock?” I lift an eyebrow.
“The sixteen-year-old that lives here.” Mars is still smirking when we walk up to the front door. I frown as I shrug my purse up on my shoulder. I don’t want to share a space with anyone else but Mars, it doesn’t matter how nice Haddock might be.
We walk into the house and a beautiful cat teeters over, rubbing against Mars’s legs. He reaches down and strokes the furball between the ears and even I can hear the purring.
“Sage, meet Haddock. He’s an old man, but he’s pretty easygoing as long as you keep the good food coming.” Mars gestures to the cat and I tip my head back and laugh. I laugh until my sides ache and instantly I remember why there’s nobody else for me besides him. I can’t remember the last time I laughed so hard.
I swat at him playfully then bend down to see if Haddock will let me pet him. He inspects me with a curious sniff first, then deems me acceptable to pet him, and I do until he saunters away swishing his tail. I stand and look around the quiet house.
“This is nice.” I smile, clasping my hands together. Really, anywhere I am with Mars is nice.
“Yeah, it’s perfect,” Mars says. When I look over, he’s staring right at me and it makes my stomach do acrobatics. He dips his head low and kisses my lips, pulling each one into his mouth before slipping his tongue inside of my mouth.
“Stay the night,” Mars says when we break apart.
“Like I could ever say no to you.” I’m grinning so hard my cheeks burn, but I’ve never been this happy so I don’t mind.
Mars gives me the grand tour of the three-bedroom, two-bathroom house and we end up in the guest room where he’s staying.
“I’m going to take a shower and then we can find a movie to watch,” I tell him. I run my fingers through my hair, gunky with product that desperately needs washing, and toss my purse on his bed. I fish out my comfy clothes and peel out of my red dress. I can’t wait to scrub my face free of makeup.
“Sounds good.” Mars tips his head to the side and stares at my naked body before smirking and walking out of the room. “I’ll grab you a towel,” he calls from the hall. The way he looks at me makes my knees wobble. For once, I actually feel beautiful.
I take a nice long shower and wash my face over and over, until I’ve scrubbed off all the corrections Mom made with makeup. I wash my hair until all the product rinses down the drain.
Now, I feel like Sage.
I cut the hot water off and step out of the shower. Mars materializes with my towel hanging from his index finger, and when I go to grab it, he snatches it away and I stumble forward a few steps. He laughs at the glare I shoot him before finally handing the towel over.
“If I had my way, I’d keep you just like this,” he says. His blue eyes map out my slender frame and I don’t try to shrink myself or hide. I like the way his eyes feel on me. They only pale in comparison to how his hands and mouth feel on me.
“Glaring at you?” I ask.
“No, naked and wet.” He pulls me against his body and kisses the top of my damp head. My growling stomach breaks up our cute moment and Mars looks at me. “You haven’t eaten?”
“They had food at the party but I didn’t want any. I didn’t want to be there,” I tell him.
“I’ll go see what Aunt Darcy has in the pantry. You get dressed.” I get lost watching him leave the bedroom. Mars might be tall and lean, but I never get tired of watching the muscles in his back move.
I get dressed in a T-shirt, and nothing else, then I make my way to the kitchen where Mars is rooting around the cabinets and pantry. He sees me when he looks over his shoulder and he smiles. Damn, that smile melts me every time.
“I’m gonna have to grab some groceries but we have ramen noodles.” He holds up two orange packs of noodles, and I stare at him with a puzzled expression. His lips fall into a frown. “You don’t like ramen?” he asks.