Page 41 of Deadly Obsession

She lets out an adorable giggle before standing and walking to one of two floor-to-ceiling windows. With her hands flat and nose smashed against the glass, she watches the rest of the sunset over the Brooklyn Bridge. I don’t even care that she’s leaving smudges. It only makes my cock jerk with thoughts of fucking her against that glass, leaving more smudges with her ass.

Once the food arrives, we bring it into the living room and sit on the floor. I lay out spring rolls, dumplings, pad Thai, drunken noodles, and fried rice on the coffee table in front of us.

Sage’s eyes widen when I lower the TV screen from the ceiling, covering the window wall that overlooks Lower Manhattan. I hand the remote to Sage, and she picks outsome reality baking show on one of the many streaming apps I have but never use.

We eat in silence, aside from the chatter on TV, and by the time we finish our food, Sage is relaxed and on her second glass of the red wine I chose to pair with the Thai.

I can’t remember the last time I sat down and watched anything. But now, hearing this beautiful woman snort when the contestants reveal their poorly made cakes, yelling ‘nailed it’ when they didn’t, in fact, nail it makes me want to steal her away and forget about this life of crime.

While the episode is in its final round, I clear off the plates and takeout containers from the coffee table, storing the leftovers in my near-empty fridge.

I fill up a glass of ice water and return to the living room. Sage has moved up to the couch and has her long, thick legs tucked underneath her. She scrunches her nose when I hand her the glass, letting me know she’d rather have more wine, but she drinks it anyway.

Good.

I can’t have her getting drunk when I plan to properly bed her.

We’ve fucked in my office and in a hotel lobby’s bathroom, but Sage deserves better than that.

When the show finally ends, and she’s had her second glass of water, she picks up the remote and shuts off the TV.

I’m sitting on the other end of the couch, and she turns to me.

And stares.

I’m nursing a glass of whiskey on the rocks and raise a brow before taking a sip.

She rolls her eyes.

“How did you become…” She waves her hand up and down my body.

“Sexy?”

She scoffs, her hand flails around the living room getting more dramatic.

“Rich?” I offer.

She huffs and I laugh, the sound rattling deep within my chest. It almost startles me because I can’t remember the last time I’d been so amused by anything let alone anyone.

“A mafia boss?”

“Yes, you big oaf!”

I laugh again and Sage smiles with me. It lights up her soft, tanned face. My eyes fall to her pouty red lips before returning to her inquisitive gaze.

I shoot back the rest of the whiskey before setting the glass on the table beside me.

Inhaling deeply, I prepare myself for these memories. The ones that haunt me when I sleep. The ones that remind me how dangerous my life is and how I brought this woman into a world she doesn’t belong in. But maybeSagedoes belong.She has secrets. I need to know why she’s hiding behind a false identity.

Does Noah not know her best friend is lying?

Chapter 11 – Sage

Watching this massive, scary man transform into a puddle of vulnerability has me fighting the urge to pull him into my arms and cradle him like a baby.

“I took over the QBM when my father died. I was twenty-two,” Elias says.

“How did he…?”