Weeks had passed since my arrival in New Orleans. The construction of the house I was meant to live in with my husband was finally complete, yet I had no desire to be anywhere near it. I hadn't stayed there since it's completion, instead opting to stay in a room at my brother's home. It was the only place I felt any kind of peace. The only place that could even attempt to keep my mind occupied. Bonnie, Nik, Grey and Avril all doing everything in their power to keep my spirits high and my mind occupied.
I tried my best to put on a happy face, but found myself curled up in my room, or perched on a bar stool at one of the bars in the city more and more often. My husband was gone, back in Mystic Falls helping the woman who turned him into a vampire, the woman who nearly tore my family apart hundreds of years ago by playing games with my brothers, and that same woman had also stomped all over his heart and turned him into some broken man, who was now feuding with his brother. And yet, I felt nothing about the situation. I should have felt angry, or sad or at least felt something, but I felt nothing. There was an emptiness, one I recognized, but not the one I should feel for my husband. It was true that I had loved many times in my thousand years of life, but none was ever as intense as my very first.
Sage. The ache I felt, the emptiness was for him. The last time I had seen him had been the hardest of my life. I had to let him go. I couldn't stand the thought of hurting him ever again. My father was getting closer and closer to finding my brother's and I, and if Sage were with us he'd kill him too. Just the thought of that caused me more pain than I could ever explain, and so I let him go. I missed him more than I ever thought it possible to miss someone, but at the time it was for the best. Though, now that my parents were both gone, the deep seeded need to be near Sage ate at me every day.
Even with my family close, trying to cheer me up, I felt only partial happiness. The emptiness I felt seemed to take over everything. I distanced myself from my family, something I had never done before. I fought back tears, drowning my sorrows and numbing my emptiness with bottles of liquor. The amber liquid burned down my throat and I reveled in the feeling as I tipped back my second shot, quickly followed by a third.
"It's a little early isn't it, Rebekah? Not even ten in the morning yet," Camille's judgmental tone invaded the silence causing my gaze to sweep up to meet her matching azure hued oculars.
"I suppose it is, guess it's a good thing I can hold my liquor. You may as well get another bottle ready. I'll have this one polished off in no time," Already flushed cheeks dimpled lightly as I flashed Camille a tight lipped smile before throwing back another shot.
Camille's brow creased, the corners of her lips turning downward. Her and I weren't on the best of terms, but her genuine ability to care for people took over. "You really don't look good. Should I call Klaus or Marcel? Elijah?"
I studied her, her right hand lifting to smooth her golden tresses before falling to rest on her hip. I shook my head, my own golden waves tumbling over my shoulder. "No. None of them can help me. Only one person can help me, and he's not going to come..." I trailed off pouring myself another shot.
I stiffened mid pour, a familiar scent invading my senses, a million things running through my mind all at once. Sage. He was here. I could feel his presence and smell his intoxicating scent. My mind was in a whirlwind, trying to grasp all the different things I was suddenly feeling all at once. "Surely you know better than that, Rebekah," My name rolled off his tongue deliciously. Oh how I missed the sound of his voice.
My eyes closed. I was afraid to open them, for fear it was a dream and he wasn't really here. When I heard the bar stool next to me scrape across the floor, I willed myself to open my eyes. It felt like the wind had be punched out of my lungs and rushed back all at once. There he was. Sage. Suddenly everything seemed brighter, louder, more alive. My blood pumped rapidly in my veins and my heart seemed to have jumped started and took off running. "Sage..." His name was all I could manage, my hand lifted, fingertips brushing his stubbled cheek lightly. "How'd you find me?"
The corners of Sage's lips twitched slightly as he leaned into my touch, his own hand lifting to caress my cheek with long thin fingers. "I always find you, mon amour." His smile widened, a soft chuckle rumbling in his chest at his own words. "You didn't really think you'd gotten rid of me did you?" Sage quirked a brow, shaking his head at me.
I shook my head, soft laughter shaking my shoulders. The emotion was foreign to me over the past few weeks, but so natural now. As if nothing had been wrong in the first place. My emptiness, gone. "I don't ever want to be rid of you. Even when I push you away, all I ever want to do is pull you back and hold onto you forever... I'm glad you found me..." I whispered my words, my body absentmindedly leaning closer to Sage as I spoke until our lips were mere inches apart.
Sage's lips tipped up into that perfect half smile of his that I loved so much, his thumb brushing over my cheek lightly. "I'm glad I found you too, mon ange." His gaze lowered a moment, his shoulders lifting in a deep breath before he drug his gaze up to mine once more. "I've missed you, Rebekah."
Sage lowered his hand slowly, running it down over my shoulder before placing his hands on the bar, taking the bottle of bourbon I had been consuming and pouring us each a shot. "I've missed you too, Sage. So much."
Hours passed, day turned to night and Sage and I remained at the bar, having shifted from our seats to the back corner of the bar, the same bottle of bourbon now almost empty. My fingertips lightly brushed over the prominent veins that were raised on the top of Sage's hands. I took careful note of the way his breath hitched with each pass of my fingertips and the occasional shift in his position made me smile. We talked for all those hours, catching up on all of our lost time, until a comfortable silence fell between us. The silence making the obvious tension tangible. I could have reached out and sliced it with a butter knife.
I couldn't hold it back any longer, the urge to kiss him, feel his lips on mine again. Slowly I leaned forward closing the small distance between us, my lips lightly brushing Sage's. My heart skipped at the contact and my lips tingled. The warm sensation of completeness spread through my body like a wildfire, scorching my skin and bringing me back to life in a whole new way.
Sage responded immediately, his strong, muscular arms came around my slender waist, pulling me against him. My hands slid up his arms and around his neck, my fingers sliding into the short hair at the nape of his neck. I deepened our kiss slowly, my tongue slipping into his mouth to caress tenderly over his. The way he kissed me took my breath away and when he pulled away it always left me wanting more. Sage's arms tightened around me, his palms splayed on my lower back, pressing me against his muscular form. My skin scorched with need and I could feel every defined muscular contour of his body. His arousal strained against his jeans, pressing against my stomach. A hushed moan elicited against his lips, followed by a low groan from him. The corners of my lips twitched.
The heavenly moment was short-lived as Sage pulled back slowly, both of us breathless. My eyes fluttered open slowly, meeting his hooded gaze. His green eyes now dark with need. "I think we should resume this little reunion of ours back at my apartment." Sage muttered huskily.
Without a word, I hooked my index fingers into the belt loops of his jeans, pulling him away from the wall. My gaze never left his as I walked backwards out of the bar. Releasing Sage's jeans from my grasp, I took the hand he offered, lacing our fingers together. "I really have missed you. I've been so miserable, you have no idea. I'm so sorry, Sage." I held his hand tightly as we walked, not wanting to let for fear he'd push me away and tell me my apology was too late. "We don't have to run anymore... both of my parents are dead..." I mumbled, biting into my bottom lip, glancing up at him from the corner of my eye. "How far is your apartment?"
Sage remained silent a few minutes, finally breaking the agonizing silence as we rounded the corner to a nearly deserted street. I was afraid I'd upset him, again, but a moment later my back was against a brick wall, his lips on mine, devouring me with a passionate kiss like no other. "It's two more blocks up, mon amour. We're almost there." He whispered breathlessly against my lips between hard passionate kisses.
Reluctantly Sage restrained himself, pulling away from my lips slowly, his breathing labored as he grabbed my hand. He flashed that smile I loved so much before tugging me away from the wall and pulling me with him. We walked quickly, Sage holding onto my hand tightly, almost as if he were afraid I would yank it away and run off in the opposite direction. That thought tugged at my heartstrings. There was never any doubt, ever that I loved him, and yet I had managed to hurt him so much. For his own safety or not, I still hated that I had put him through so much hell. My thoughts were interrupted once again with a viciously delicious invasion of Sage's lips, my back now against a large mahogany door. I welcomed the kiss, parting my lips to allow his tongue to invade my mouth as his fingers fumbled with the keys, quickly unlocking the door and skillfully pushing the door open causing us to stumble inside.
Melodic laughter exuded from parted lips as we stumbled to stay upright, but failing and falling over the back of the couch, landing on the floor with a loud thud. I landed flat on my back, Sage landing directly on top of me. I laughed against his lips, scrunching my nose. "Ow. My bum." The comedic aspect of this situation was not lost to me as I rubbed my behind when, Sage pushed off of me laughing as he stood up and pulled me with him.
"I'll help nurse it back to health... later." His lips slid into a devious smirk as he yanked me towards him by my hand and bent to scoop me up in his arms, quickly padding back the corridor to his bedroom.
I pretended to struggle in his grasp, scrambling to my feet when he tossed me on his bed backing himself up against his bedroom door to close it. Canting my head to the side, I stood beside his bed eyeing him curiously with an equally devious grin set on my swollen lips. No matter how much time he and I spent apart we were so attuned to each other that it was easy to predict the other's next move. I studied him carefully as he did me, noting my chance, his break in concentration as I ran my fingertip across my bottom lip. Grinning, I lunged forward, launching myself at him, petite hands gripping the hem of his shirt and yanking it over his head. My hands of their own accord, traveled the familiar map of his muscular torso. My head snapped up, meeting his gaze the moment his hands grasped my wrists to stop me. He released my hands almost immediately, quickly settling his strong hands on my hips, allowing them to slip around to my backside where he squeezed gently, grasping firmly as he effortlessly lifted me against him. His hands slid down my legs to wrap them around his waist.
Walking forward, Sage tipped me back to lay me on the mattress, but I refused to let go, causing us to fall onto the mattress together in a tangled mess of limbs. Chuckling, he kissed me hard, pulling back quickly to gaze at me. His darkened emerald eyes drank me in as he pulled me up, supporting me with his arms. "We need to get this dress off of you, beautiful." He whispered huskily, shifting us around and setting me on my feet.
Standing in front of me, he smoothed his hands up my arms, his thumb and forefingers clasping each strap of my dress and slowly sliding them down my arms. Releasing the straps, he reached around me, tugging the zipper down with exaggerated slowness. My breathing was already erratic and my skin burned like I had been laying under the sun for a week under his intense stare. Lost in my own thoughts, I hadn't even realized my dress was now pooled at my feet until I felt the softness of Sage's lips pressing to each one of my hip bones as he slid the thin lacy fabric down my thighs.
Closing my eyes for a brief moment, my fingers absentmindedly running through his soft disheveled hair. Every nerve ending in my body was ablaze with desire. Opening my eyes, I gazed down at him, smiling lovingly as I pulled him up by his hands. I released his hands once he stood, slender fingers, immediately falling to the waist of his jeans, making quick work of removing his belt before thumbing out the button and slowly sliding down the zipper. Sage's pants pooled at his feet, my fingers swiftly hooking into the waist of his boxers and pushing them down as well. He was definitely a sight to behold. The most stunningly beautiful man that I had ever set eyes on. Stepping out of my dress and shoes, I kicked my clothing aside as I moved forward, lifting onto my toes to press my lips to his softly.
Sage's arms coiled around me, hauling me against him and squeezing me tight as he buried his face in my hair. As he lifted me off the ground, I wrapped my legs around his waist once more, my head buried in the crook of his neck, inhaling his familiar scent. No words needed to be spoken, we both knew what the other was thinking. We wanted to savor the moment we'd both been waiting for, anticipating. Inhaling deeply, I lifted my head, cupping his face in my hands, resting my forehead against his. My lips brushed his lightly as he shifted, turning back towards the bed and laying me down in the middle. He crawled onto the bed, settling between my legs, trailing slow, tender kisses from my hip bones up my stomach, over my breasts.
His lips lingered on each sensitive peak, teasing each nipple until they were so stiff it was nearly painful. Blissfully painful. His nose dipped into the hollow at the base of my throat before following the curve of my neck and along my jaw. Feather-light kisses setting my skin on fire until they finally reached my lips. My arms wrapped around him, finger tips trailing up and down his spine as he kissed me hard and deep, pouring out every ounce of his pent up frustration and pain. His hips flexed as he lowered himself onto me completely, supporting himself with only his elbows. His erection pressed against me, eliciting a low moan from my lips. I shifted slightly, lifting my hips against him. My need for him grew with each agonizing second that passed. "Sage..." I murmured breathlessly against his lips.
Finally complying, he reached between us, positioning himself at the entrance to my sex, pushing himself in slowly. A mutual groan expelled from both of us, my arms tightening around him to hold him as close as possible as his hips flexed again, and again. The exquisite sensation spread through my body like a wildfire, my senses coming to life like never before. My entire body tingled, his lips brushing mine slowly. My hips lifted to meet his, rolling into his slow thrust, causing pleasure to thundered through my veins. Our eyes locked, we held each other's gaze as our bodies became reacquainted, slowly settling into an all too familiar rhythm of pleasurable passion. I breathed out against his lips, moaning into his mouth as the sensations took over my body. His hips flexing to a new angle, my insides tightened, flexing around his impressive thickness.
My nails scraped lightly across his back with each flex of his hips. His eyes closed and he moved his lips from mine, kissing along my jaw slowly until he was at the base of my neck, our bodies moving rhythmically together. My eyes rolled back in pleasure the moment I felt the familiar pinch at my neck, Sage's fangs piercing my skin as he drank from me slowly, holding our pace. I cried out in pleasure, his name on my lips as my fangs descended over my canines, piercing his neck. Oh how I missed his angelic blood. In that moment everything collided perfectly, our bodies moved perfectly in sync and the euphoria of our blood sharing tipped me over the edge, sending me spiraling into the most deliciously intense, coming apart at the seams orgasm.
I drank from Sage slowly, savoring every drop of his blood until he too spiraled out of control, pouring himself into me. Retracting my fangs, my tongue darted out quickly, licking up the small droplets of blood that still seeped from his puncture marks. Collapsing on top of me, Sage retracted his fangs, burying his head in my hair that fanned out on his pillows. "I love you, Rebekah." He whispered lifting his head to gaze into my eyes. His hands moved to cup my cheeks, his thumbs smoothing over my cheekbones.
My heart swelled at his words, my own hands moving to cup his cheeks, mimicking his actions, my thumbs smoothing over his cheekbones. "I love you too, Sage." Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips to his softly, holding him tighter to me. "I'm so sorry I pushed you away." I whispered against his lips, but he silenced me with another kiss.
"Shh. Don't apologize, mon amour. Just stay with me." Sage whispered, pulling out of me slowly, shifting to lay on his back, pulling me to rest on his chest. My head rested over his heart, my hand splaying on his hip, fingertips absentmindedly tracing the ink lines of his tattoo that I knew was there even though I couldn't see it. The both of us slowly drifted off into a comfortable sleep, nestled safely in each other's arms.