Sage's Mystery by Lynn Hagen Read Free Book Online

commented as he tossed a few small branches on top of the ones Sage had just stacked.
    “I’ll get a hold of him first thing in the morning. Why don’t you go get the meat from the cooler?”
    William nodded and disappeared behind the Dumpster to where the cooler was sitting on the back porch. Sage would have left the cooler in the kitchen, but if the house fell, at least they could eat.
    Sage started the fire while he waited on William. It gave him a chance to take a deep cleansing breath. Working around the small man all day was playing fucked-up games with his cock. He’d never stayed hard this long in his life. Not even when he was a teenager.
    “Here you go,” William announced as he brought the package of meat to Sage. “I also grabbed the spices as well.”
    Smart man.
    Sage lifted his arm up, grabbing the package from William when his fingers brushed the other man’s. His cock jerked fiercely at the contact as a low growl ripped from his chest before he could stop it.
    William snatched his hand away quickly as he ran back toward the porch.
    Great, scare the guy.
    Sage was beginning to wonder if he was going to be the only resident of Mystery by the time his shift occurred. It was looking more and more like it as the days wore on. If he didn’t stop scaring the man, Sage would be alone in his deserted town.
    A smile tugged at his lips when he thought about William. He wished the man hadn’t slept on the other side of the room last night.
    Sage had been looking forward to another morning cuddle session.
    Too bad William tore himself away as soon as he woke up that first morning.

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    It only cemented his theory that William wasn’t gay. If he had been, they would have been rolling around on that floor yesterday morning. He hadn’t even been willing to look at Sage when he stood there with nothing but his boots on.
    He knew it wasn’t his outcast scar. William hadn’t batted an eye at it. That only made Sage want the guy even more. “William?” he called out.
    “Coming.”
    He wished.
    Sage placed the frying pan securely on the fire, waiting for it to heat up as William walked back over to him, looking a little flushed.
    Sage cursed. He hadn’t meant to embarrass the guy. William stayed a few feet away, telling Sage without words to back the fuck off. He got the message.
    “Could you grab a drink for me?”
    “Could have yelled that and saved me the trip,” William grumbled as he walked away. Sage grinned as he looked back at the fire.
    William might be lightweight in the he-man department, but the guy had spunk in him.
    Sage groaned. He had plenty of spunk to give William. Too bad the guy didn’t want it.

    * * * *

    William took a deep breath as he reached back into the cooler.
    Man, that was close. If Sage had seen his instant hard-on when their hands had touched, he would have had an apple stuck in his mouth and been roasted over the open fire.
    Clank.
    William stilled when he heard a noise coming from inside the house. No one should be in there. Sage was in the backyard with the food, and Terror was running around chasing her tail twenty feet away.

    44
    Lynn Hagen
    Clank.
    William’s hand shook as he pulled it from the cooler. He glanced over his shoulder, but the Dumpster blocked his view of Sage.
    “Terror,” William whispered loudly. “Come here, girl.”
    Clank.
    William jumped when he heard the noise again. He’d lived in this house for months, and he never heard that noise before. He shot off the porch, running full-out toward Sage.
    Sage glanced up and must have seen the fear on William’s face because he jumped to his feet, growling.
    Growling?
    “What’s wrong?”
    “I heard a loud clank coming from the house.”
    Sage took off, leaving William to defend himself all alone outside.
    He watched the large man disappear around the Dumpster. Oh yeah, he knew this part real well. Sage was going into the house, but he would never be coming back out.
    “Sick ’em,