Surviving the Pain (A Baby Saved Me Series Book 1) (16 page)

“But you said you had to be cautious because of Hudson, and I agree with you. I didn’t say all this to you for you to think I was pressuring you. You need time, and I get that. Take all the time you need, I’m not going anywhere.”

Ember couldn’t stop the loud burst of laughter that escaped. She laughed until her sides hurt and tears fell from her eyes. It wasn’t until she saw the pain in Sage’s eyes that she realized her mistake. Clearing her throat, she searched for the right words to tell him to make him understand that she actually meant what she said. In the end, no words were going to be good enough, proof enough. So she went with fire. The fire that has been burning inside her since he showed back up.

Leaning forward, she took the box from his hand and set it on the couch between them. Sage looked down at the box and back at her confused. Ember simply smiled and leaned in kissing him soundly. It only took Sage a few seconds to overcome his shock and kiss her back. Just as quickly as they had when he’d come home the night of Grey’s breakdown, things intensified. Only this time, Ember wasn’t letting him stop them. This time, they were going to finally have what they both have craved for a long time.

Sage’s hands massaged every inch of her back, arms, waist, and up to her breasts. Her skin tingled with awareness and love. This man has always been able to bring out the very wanton woman that lived deep inside her. No other man had ever made her feel desired – not even Grey… Ember quickly pushed those thoughts aside and focused on Sage. She, too, took her time reacquainting herself with his body. Though he was still the same Sage, his body had changed. It was more muscular, more ripped, more delicious. Making short work of their clothes, Sage lifted her in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

After laying her so tenderly on the bed, he stood back and stared down at her. His eyes roamed her body from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, lingering a little longer in some areas. Every inch that his eyes covered, the more her body heated.
The things this man could do to me
, she thought as she sighed when his eyes finally met hers.

Sage
wasn’t exactly sure if he was awake at this point, but he damn sure hoped so. His mind was still whirling with her whispered yes and everything after that he almost lost the thread of control he had. Ember deserved to be treasured, just as Sage had when they were first together. He’d show her that she was all he ever wanted. Then, and only then, he’d figure out if she was serious about accepting his marriage proposal was what she really wanted to do or what Ember felt she had to do. But not before she knew exactly what she meant to him.

“You are so beautiful. I thought you were sexy as hell when you were fifteen, but now… now… Damn babe, I can’t even think while I’m looking at you like this.”

“Then don’t think. Love me. Let me love you.” Her voice was just above a whisper, but he could hear the lust in there, but even more the love. That emotion alone was what broke him from his trance and he moved on top of her, kissing every inch of her body on the way up.

Bracing himself on his hands, he looked down at her. “I love you, Ems. I always have and I always will.”

Lowering down, his lips met hers in a kiss unlike any other. It wasn’t rushed. Nor was it so intense that the moment was lost or rushed. The kiss was simple, sweet, loving and damn addicting. Her lips, her body, her everything, Sage would do whatever it took to make sure she was his for the rest of his life. Whatever it took.

Moving to his elbows, he cupped her head within his forearms and hands. The kiss continued to get more passionate and without a single word shared, Sage pushed inside of her. The second he was seated to the hilt, he tossed his head back and moaned loudly. God, he missed her. Meeting her gaze, a small smile spread across her kiss-swollen lips.

“Sage, I was telling you the truth out there. I want to marry you, to spend the rest of my life loving you. Hudson deserves you around twenty-four hours a day seven days a week. But more selfishly, I want to feel you in my arms, in my bed… Inside me like this, for the rest of my life. I want to be loved by you the way we dreamed of and beyond it. I love you, Sage Jacobs. I’ve never stopped.”

Without another word spoken, Sage leaned down and took her lips back in a passionate kiss. The words he was afraid he’d never hear again just fell from her mouth. Even more, she really wanted to marry him. He had his son, he’d soon have his wife… Life was better than Sage had ever guessed it would be.

Ember
felt the tears hit her face. At first, she wasn’t sure if they were tears of sadness or happiness. But then he started to thrust into her, in slow, deep, unrushed movements that spoke to her more than words could explain. They were tears of happiness. That assumption was only confirmed when he whispered – in an emotionally choked voice – how much he loved her. This moment between them was so much more than sex. It was so many things rolled into one that it became too much too quickly. Soon, Sage was picking up the pace. Though he’d increased in speed, it wasn’t out of control either. It was still somehow loving. Every inch of their bodies touched, and it only served to heighten the moment. She wanted this feeling, this moment, to last forever.

Sage’s continued whispered words of love between intensely consuming kisses were what sent her over the edge long before she wanted to fall. The climax was so intense that Sage cursed loudly and followed behind her. As he lay on top of her breathing just as heavy as she was, she thought how wonderful it felt to have him like this again. There was a long while there that she thought she’d never have happiness again. She thought she’d be forever alone with only her son as a reminder of how good things could have been.

Running her hands down his back and hugging him tighter to her, she let her tears of joy slip from her eyes. “I love you, Sage. I love you so much. Please don’t break me. I wouldn’t be able to survive that pain.”

Lifting up on his forearms, he brushed the hair from her face. “I’m not going anywhere. You are all I’ve ever wanted. The only place I ever want to be is with you and Hudson.”

Rolling over, he pulled her to his chest. She rested her hand over his heart and felt the erratic beat behind his strong, muscled chest. Somehow, some way, they reached the place they were meant to be. It only took five years of pain, five years of trying to forget – to move on. They were here, though. They were on the verge of their happily ever after. Sighing, Ember snuggled into Sage’s solid and protective hold. She knew this was the start of being pain-free.

Jerking awake, Ember almost didn’t know what that distant sound was. It wasn’t until the sleep began to unclog itself from her brain that she realized it was a phone. Her phone? His phone? The ringing didn’t sound familiar. Shoving Sage, she put her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. When his widened eyes met hers, she whispered to him.

“Do you hear that? That’s not my phone.”

Gently, he wrapped his hand around her wrist. Shifting his head out from under Ember’s hand, he kissed her lips lightly.

“Honey, that’s my phone. I’ll be right back.” He moved to climb from the bed.

She reached out and grabbed his arm with force. Sage brought his worried expression to meet her panicked one. But she couldn’t stop the visions of the last time she heard something different. Her body started to shake with each one.

“Are- Are you s-s-sure?”

He looked at the clock next to the bed and smiled. “Come on, sweetheart. I’ll find out what Rufus wants, and then I’ll take you to breakfast. Okay?”

Nodding her head, she never released his arm as she climbed off the bed with him. They walked out to the kitchen where he collected his ringing phone from the counter. Kissing her lips lightly, he held her tightly to his side.

“Hey, man. Sorry, I was still in bed.” Sage answered as he put the phone on speaker and set it on the counter. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his head on hers.

“Where are you?” Came a gruff response from the other end of the line. “Nadine went by your place and said you weren’t there.”

She felt him stiffen slightly at the mention of the woman’s name. “I told her to leave me the hell alone. I didn’t want her any night, I don’t want her now.”

“She said y’all were moving in with each other. Even told us that you’d finally gotten over your Ems and were ready to settle down again.”

“Hell no! Well, at least none of that with her. Do you remember Sasha?”

“Yeah, she’s my niece, of course, I remember her. What’s this got to do with Nadine?”

“Well, I just found out that when she was hospitalized, it was because of her. The bitch put a hit out on her for fooling with ‘her man’. The Fox Crew took the job. I’m not hers, and I never have been. Not even for a night,” he said as he looked directly at Ember.

There was a loud roar from the phone, and it caused Ember to jump. Sage held her tighter and listened to the man scream about her touching his family. Apparently it was not acceptable to go after this man’s family. Sage then told him everything about where he was, who he was with, that he’d proposed – and she accepted – and even about his son.

“Rufus, I need to know that
my
family is safe, especially when I leave to do fights. She can’t be trusted.”

“Don’t worry. If she’s your family, she’s now my family. We’ll make sure she’s safe at all times.”

Sage and Rufus got to talking about upcoming fights in a few months. She busied herself cleaning her already clean apartment. Ember jumped slightly when a loud knock started suddenly on her door. When she looked at Sage, he’d already begun moving toward the door. Ember just shook her head and peeked through the peephole. Sighing, she pulled her robe – that she’d grabbed while cleaning up – tighter around her. After such an incredible night, today was really sucking… already.

Pulling the door open, she forced herself to keep from gagging when the smell of the landlord hit her nostrils. “What can I…”

He cut her off by yelling at her. “Where is rent? Why you no pay it yet?”

“Because I just paid you last week. Rent is only due once a month,” she spoke slowly and calmly, even though she wanted to beat him with his left arm.

“No! You no paid last week. You no pay this month!” He screamed.

“Yes, I did. I paid you with a money order, and I have my slip as proof if you wish to see it.”

He shoved her then. She would have fallen too, she was sure of it, had she not fallen into Sage’s arms instead. Looking up at him, angry tears blurred her vision. Correcting her, kissing her and asking if she was okay, he turned to face the slumlord.

“You
ever
put your hands on my fiancé again, and I’ll rip that arm of yours off, shove it up your ass until you are waving to people through your mouth. You got it?” Sage said, bravely stepping closer to the stench that was Albert Ryder.

“You trying to threaten me, boy,” he said, suddenly talking in much clearer English.

“I don’t make threats, only promises. Now, as far as her rent, she paid this month. However, by the end of the month, she will be vacating the premises to move into a place that actually knows how to run a business or maybe I’ll buy her a fucking house. Now, get the fuck away from her door and never come back here. I will make sure that pictures are taken of how the apartment looks when she leaves, if you try and pull anything… You’ll be seeing me. Got it?”

With that, Sage slammed the door in his face and turned around to face her. “Don’t argue with me. You will be my wife soon, and you
are
the mother of my son. We will be moving into someplace way better than this. Personally, I’d prefer a house, but if you’d be happier in an apartment, we can do that too.”

“Sage…” she coughed as everything swarmed her at once. “I love you. I’d love a house, but can we afford that? I mean I’m barely scraping by here as it is.”

“You let me worry about money. I’ve got us covered baby. You’ll never worry again. Now, I do believe, I offered you breakfast.”

“Wait, I’m confused.” She really was too. So much wasn’t jiving for her. Ember honestly worried that maybe some of what he’d told her might have been lied about.

“What are you confused about?” He asked not seeming the least bit upset.

“Well, you just told that Rufus guy – the one you said kept you from me – all about me. I don’t get it.” Ember knew the confusion was planted all over her face.