Unforgivable

III. One Step Closer - Part 6 - I See You

Sage was surprised to see the commitment of Mara's friends to their mission to help and already in the afternoon he was alone with Mara in his father's office. And he didn't know how to start, even though he knew that she had enjoyed kissing him and wanted more. But after five minutes of silence, he couldn't take it anymore and decided to get straight to the point.

"Can I take you out to dinner tonight?" He asked her.

"Why?" She retorted as if it were absurd.

"Because I want you, Mara. I want a real chance with you, my mate. I want to talk about that kiss we shared. More than that, I want to get to know you, to be able to show the world that you're mine and deserve another one of your kisses, at the very least,"

"I'm not sure this is the right time." She murmured not looking up from the document she was reading.

"I disagree. You're here so it's perfect timing." He countered.

"I don't know..."

"Please Mara." He implored her.

She took a deep breath and in a tiny voice asked, "What time?"

"6:30! Thanks Mara, you won't regret it!" He replied excitedly.

He left the office wondering where he could take Mara to surprise her and she would like it. But what did she actually like? He thought he should ask Amaia for advice. Looking for her through the mindlink, he found her playing with Matteo and Orion.

"What can I do for you Alpha?" Amaia asked him when she saw him join them.

"I have a date with Mara tonight, what does she like?" he asked her.

"You didn't waste your time, well done!" Orion congratulated him with a pat on the shoulder.

I've already wasted more than five years, that's already too much. Sage thought in disagreement with Orion.

"Take her to a place you like. Show her who you are and how perfect you are for her." Amaia replied.

"How do you know I'm perfect for her?"

"Other than the fact that I don't think the moon goddess makes mistakes. I mean, look at my mate! Your excitement when you realized there were two Maras." Orion answered.

"He's right, besides push 'Bitchy' Mara out, she'll give in to her urges easier." Amaia announced, whispering bitchy so Matteo wouldn't hear her.

"She's right. Plus your evening will be much more unpredictable and exciting." Orion laughed.

"Okay... Thank you!" Sage nodded.

As he left, he overheard Amaia wishing Mara would tell them so she could help him get ready for his date. This made him smile.

At 6.30 pm sharp, Mara was in the entrance of the pack house. Sage had already been waiting for her for 15 minutes, swaying on her feet impatiently, those minutes were very long. She was dressed in a simple but elegant red dress, with a little touch of natural makeup highlighting her beauty.

"You look gorgeous, Mara, as always." Sage told her.

"Thanks, you don't look bad yourself." Mara replied with a small shy smile.

With their sensitive ears, they could both hear Mara's friends snickering. At least Aaron and his parents were more discreet even though he had no doubt about the facts that they were spying on them too.

"Shall we go?" He offered, holding out his hand to her. She nodded and took his hand.

Sage took her out to eat at a small restaurant where he could reserve a table apart from the others to be quiet. He had planned to take her somewhere very special afterwards but hadn't told her yet. Dinner went pretty smoothly and Sage kept wondering how to get the other Mara to show up.

"I want to see the other Mara." He finally requested.

"Why?" Mara inquired in return.

"Because I want to get to know both of you." He replied simply.

"Do you like her more?"

"No. I love you both." Sage answered without a moment's hesitation.

"Love is a strong word. You don't even know us." Mara retorted.

"I know enough not to doubt the nature of my feelings for you Mara. We are wolves, our instincts are stronger and everything in me tells me that."

"Even without the sparks?"

"The sparks are just a trick to signal that we are mates. I don't need them to know that you are made for me, both of you."

"Aren't you afraid of her or of me? Aren't you afraid that it's too much? That you'll never know which way to turn?"

"It's exciting on the contrary. I have two mates for the price of one, the dream of so many men. I'm rather lucky."

"Exciting...." Mara murmured.

"Sorry! I shouldn't have said that." Sage apologized.

"No, don't apologize. Honesty is important to me. Always be honest and don't be afraid to say something that might hurt. If you want a real chance you should always tell me what you think as you mean it." Mara asked.

"I promise to always be honest then." He promised her.

"I'll never lie to you either even though sometimes it's going to take me a while to tell you things. But I've spent too much time pretending to waste any more time doing it."

"I know... Do you want dessert?" He offered her.

"No, thanks. I'd like to get out of here." Mara replied.

He nodded and proposed that she go directly to the cashier to save time. Once outside he asked her if she would like to go somewhere with him before returning, which she accepted.

"Where are we?" Mara asked him. They were on a clearing in the middle of the forest near the sea as they could hear the waves not far away.

"Home. This is where I want to build our house. This is the land I bought two weeks after I knew you were my mate." He tells her.

"But we were 16..."

"And you told me that you liked to hear the waves and that it always relaxed you." Sage tells him. He had some papers rolled up in his right hand.

"What are these?"

"The plans I drew." He says as he hands them to her.

She walks back to the car to unroll them on the front bonnet. Sage comes to stand behind her, describing the house he dreamed of for them, for her. Mara was overwhelmed by all the little details he had thought of just for her.

She walked around the plot imagining this house.

"Would you have built it for Heather?" She asked him.

"Never." He said softly, following her with his eyes.

"Did you feel anything when you saw me with her? Nothing seems to affect you." Sage asked her

"I was mad with jealousy! The other Mara probably would have made her disappear if she had ever been there." Mara said looking up, in a completely detached tone.

"You are so destabilizing! What you just said turns me on, a lot! But your tone... You blow hot and cold on me every second." Sage stated to her.

He observed a change in her.

"So I heat you up and the other Mara cools you down." Mara commented with a mischievous smile. Her eyes confirmed what he already knew, he was no longer in front of the same Mara.

"You're both warming me up but your eyes show me a lot more than she does." He said, moving closer to her.

He took her face between his two hands: "This fire that burns in you, this passion that shines only in your eyes but that you both share drives me completely crazy and makes me want to do things to you..."

"Show me!" Mara challenged him.

"I'm not sure that's a good idea." He murmured staring at her enticing lips.

"Trust me, we can both handle the worst of you." She whispered to him before shortening the distance between them, her lips brushing against his but not kissing him. Damn, how tempting she was and she knew it!