I knew I looked so smug when we walked into the cabin holding hands with a big smile on my face. Caden and Aiden both looked at us curiously while Dante just rolled his eyes at my theatrics. They were all sitting around the Livingroom. Caden and Dante had controllers in their hands and their attention was fixed on the war simulation game they were playing. Aiden watched us as we came into the room. I sat down in one corner of the couch pulling Sage down onto my lap with me. A small, surprised squeak left her throat before she looked up at me and rewarded me with a shy smile.

I watched mesmerized as the waves of her dark blonde hair flowed over the arm I had wrapped around her waist. There was no way I was letting go of her right now. I was too worried about her changing her mind. Though I knew Sage wasn't cruel enough to dangle that carrot in front of my face just to rip it away. I had to remind myself often that she wasn't like the other power-hungry jerks at this school or in my family.

Her cheeks turned a subtle shade of pink as she snuggled into my chest and watched the game the guys were playing. Her head leaned against my shoulder with her legs over my lap feet dangling. The deep vibration of my purr started up and she let out a contented sigh before pushing her face into the center of my chest. Without thought, my hand came up and started running through her hair. I enjoyed the heaviness of her eyelids as she batted my hand away. "You're going to make me fall asleep if you do that." She grumbled.

I pushed my nose into the hair at the crown of her head to smell the rosemary and lavender she always smelled like. She looked up at me then our faces were so close that our noses brushed. Her bright blue eyes seemed to stare deep into my soul. I wanted to pull it out of my chest for her so she could inspect it. I realized there probably wasn't anything I wouldn't do for Sage Fleur. She was relatively new to our group, and I was surprised to find that I loved her. Maybe surprised wasn't the right word. I don't think anyone could keep from loving this girl.

Something in my breathing or posture must have changed because slightly squinted her eyes in concern. "What's wrong?" She asked brows slightly lowered.

I looked at her and sound that I wasn't afraid that she wouldn't return my sentiments. It wasn't about that. I just wanted her to know. If she wasn't there yet, then that was okay. I cupped the side of her face gently. "I love you." I signed with my other hand.

Her breath left her in a rush. I was almost scared that she was upset when her eyes brightened with the effect of unshed tears. "I love you too." She told me softly before leaning in and capturing my lips with hers.

I was still shocked by the fact that she had said it back that I hadn't even processed her kissing me until she was gently biting at my bottom lip. Heat filled me and I suddenly wanted to rip all our clothes off just so our bodies could mold together without anything separating them. My hands gripped her hips lifting her slightly so her legs could straddle my hips. I pulled her as close to my body as she could get. It wasn't enough though. I growled at the frustration of all the fabric separating her from me. I wanted to rip it all off. Destroy every shred of clothing between us so that it would never get in our way again.

She must have felt the same because her hands pushed up under my shirt to drag up the skin of my abdomen. Her nails slightly bit into my skin as the fabric bunched around her wrists and made it difficult to reach more. Our chests were pressed together so tightly that it wouldn't have mattered anyway because there was no room for her hands any higher anyway.

A high-pitched beeping sounded causing us to pull away from each other. We followed the sound with our eyes to see Caden pulling a bag of popcorn open and stuffing a piece into his mouth in front of the microwave. "I'm ready now. You can continue." He said pushing another piece into his mouth.

Sage pushed her forehead against my shoulder before she started laughing. "You are so ridiculous." She finally gasped looking up at him exasperation plain to see on her face.

He shrugged unabashedly, "I'll never say no to a free show."

Sage glanced back over to me and rolled her eyes at his antics. A deep sigh left her before she sat up straighter. I frowned at the distance growing between us. She was still sitting on my lap facing me with her thighs hugging my hips, but it felt like miles separated us now. "We all need to talk anyway."

I gripped her hips and held them there with a low growl when she tried to get up. She looked down at me with one brow quirked. I gave her a simple shrug in response. "It's an instinctual thing. He'll let you up when you stop smelling like you'll fuck any man in a five-mile radius." Dante supplied for her.

I growled at him in response. Her arousal rose though as she looked around the room. "You are the only men in a five-mile radius so it's a legit concern." She gave Aiden a seductive little grin that had him cursing and throwing his head back against the couch cushions.

Caden sat next to his brother popcorn still in hand as she looked more thoughtful than usual. Sage seemed to notice because her eyes flitted around the room but kept stopping on him. "I want to talk about three things. First is more of a group discussion." She told them.

They gave varying nonverbal forms of agreement before she continued. "I want to talk about the option of notifying the Arcane Special Forces of my existence. It might make me a bigger target, but it will also give us more protection. Maddox already told me he thinks we should wait to see how things go with my stalker before we make any rash decisions, but I think it might be worth a try. They are escalating and I can't expect one of you to be with me every second of the day."

Dante snorted, "You should feel lucky we don't follow you into the bathroom after his last stunt. You will never be unattended again." He snarled at the end.

I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement with that. Sage frowned, "But you shouldn't have to."

Aiden finally spoke up, "I think we should do it. The more protection on Flower the better. I mean we can watch her all we want but none of us are trained operatives for a secret government task force." He reasoned.

I found myself nodding my head in agreement with that as well. This made Dante pause as well. He frowned deeply before hanging his head. "You're right. I don't like to admit it but you're right. We're in over our heads here. A five-minute phone call almost got Sage abducted." We were all silent after that.

"So, we report me?" Sage questioned.

"Yeah." The twins said at the same time.

"Yes." Dante agrees with his teeth clenched.

I nod my head in agreement when she glances over at me. "How do we do that?" She asked looking around the room.

Caden was the one to speak up, "I'll text our mom to ask for the number of someone to call who can help." He said pulling his phone out and typing away at his phone before laying it in his lap.

"What else did you want to talk about?" Dante asked while we waited for the their mother to respond.

She sat up straighter before looking over towards the twins, "I'm not mad at you guys anymore. I understand why you did it. It doesn't make not giving me full disclosure first okay. But I do understand." The twins smile accepting that this is the closest to full forgiveness they will get.

"And the third thing?" Aiden asked.

Sage smiled down at me, "I've decided to bond with Maddox, and anyone else in a five-mile radius if they so desire." She glanced at Dante out of the corner of her eye, and he smirked at her.

"Missing my ropes already Flower?" He asked.

The color in her cheeks deepened but she didn't give him an answer. Instead, we all sat up straighter when Caden's phone buzzed with a new message. Things were about to get more serious, and Sage's protection would be less in our control than before, and I knew that would probably torture Dante. I would have to offer my condolences to whoever was tasked with her protection because they would have to deal with him.