“I was bored.”
Sage’s eyes shot up to see Tyce leaning against the half wall that separated the spare bedroom from the rest of the apartment. Uncomfortable with Tyce carrying her up the narrow staircase to her bedroom, she’d told him she’d be fine in the spare.
She immediately noticed the smudges of charcoal on his white T-shirt and faded jeans. Sage traced the outline of Connor’s face with her finger, happy to see that the lines didn’t blur. “They are fantastic. How did you seal them to stop them from smudging?”
“There was a tin of clear lacquer under your workbench.” Tyce shrugged. “Thanks to your obsession with framing photographs, I managed to get them all.”
“They are amazing. How long did they take you to do?”
Tyce shrugged. “Not long. I would’ve been quicker but you kept distracting me.”
She distracted him? How on earth? “I was asleep when you did this!” she protested.
“You’ve always been beautiful but I’d never watched you sleep before. You’re simply stunning,” Tyce said, sounding utterly sincere.
Sexual awareness arced between them and Sage pushed her fingers into her hair, thinking that it felt odd to wake up with someone in her home. She felt a little self-conscious, a tiny bit awkward but, mostly, having Tyce in her apartment made her feel protected, cared for. Safe.
Safe? Not possible, Sage thought. She hadn’t felt safe for years, not truly safe, not since before her parents were alive. She was misreading what she was feeling; she had to be because safe wasn’t something she expected to feel, would allow herself to feel, ever again.
Either way, it was time she stopped.
Sage rolled onto her back and winced, using her good arm to push up. In a flash Tyce was at her side, strong arms helping her up the bed so that she could lean against her headboard. He disappeared into the bathroom and came back with a glass of water and two pills. “Acetaminophen—they’ll take the edge off.”
“Thanks.” Sage took the pills, threw them into her mouth and chased them down with a long pull of water. Right, it was time to take back control. She needed her home back, some distance between her and whatever she was feeling for Tyce.
“I appreciate you bringing me home from the hospital, for watching out for me, but it’s time for you to go.”
Tyce just lifted one dark eyebrow in response. “No.”
Sage glared at him. This was her apartment; he was here only because she allowed it. “Tyce, I don’t like having people in my space, in my face.”
“I don’t either but—” Tyce shrugged “—tough.” He pointed at her stomach. “In less than six months we’re both going to have a new person in our lives—a very demanding creature if I understand the process correctly. So maybe we should try to, and get used to, the notion of sharing space so that we don’t die from shock.”
Sage’s mouth dropped open. What was happening? She was trying to push him away but he wasn’t budging. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go! When she pushed people away, most people were polite enough to give her the distance she needed.
Not Tyce.
Then again, she was quite convinced that God broke the mold after Tyce was born. One of him, she was pretty sure, was all the world, and she, could handle.
What could she say to make him leave?
“I’m going to be around for a few days so…you might as well get used to it.”
Crap.
Tyce continued speaking, utterly at ease. “So, while you were sleeping, I answered what felt like a million calls from your family.” Tyce took her empty glass and placed it on the bedside table. He sat down on the side of the bed, lifting his knee up onto her comforter, and resting his hand on the far side of her leg. His other hand gripped her thigh. “I don’t normally talk to that many people in a month, let alone in an afternoon.”
She was trying to keep up with the conversation, she really was, but his hand on her leg turned her brain to mush.
Sage could feel the size and shape, the heat of it through the covers and her yoga pants. If his hand moved a little up, and a little in, he’d find her happy spot—
Aargh! Really?
Sage mentally gave herself a head punch and pulled her focus back to their conversation. “Well, that doesn’t surprise me. You were never chatty.”
“Oh, I can mingle and make small talk when I need to, although it’s very dependent on whether I want to. I don’t often want, or need, to.”
“And, let’s face it, people like your surly and brooding attitude. It’s, apparently, sexy,” Sage muttered.
“Only apparently?” Tyce murmured, leaning forward, his eyes on her mouth. Sage’s breath caught and held as he moved closer and her heart rate inched upward. He hovered just above her, prolonging the anticipation, and then his mouth met hers in a kiss as seductive as it was sweet. There was passion in his kiss, but it was banked, restrained. This kiss was designed to give comfort, to rediscover, to seduce.