Free For All Time by J.M. Powers Page B

furrows creased between his brows. “Ye are mistaken. I am Sir Cade.”
    Sir? He looked about her age, maybe a year or two older. She was not calling him sir. Even if he was a hottie. Tall, pitch-black wavy hair, square jaw. Yep, steamy hot. She glanced at the dagger peeking from his boot, her eyes dawdling at the sculpted muscles in his legs. Damn, was he wearing tights? Didn’t matter. He looked amazing. Must spend loads of time at the gym—without tights hopefully.
    He gave a small bow. “Sir Cade of Surrey,” he said, jarring her out of her appreciative musings.
    “Huh? Yeah well, keep that knife tucked away, Cade.” She pointed at his boot. She’d said Tex was harmless. What was she thinking? Now he’d know she was defenseless. Trying to recover from her previous flub, she blurted, “He’s very protective.”
    “Who?”
    “My dog.” She indicated to Tex, who had promptly attended to licking his private parts. “All I have to do is order him to attack.”
    “Ah, I see.” The corner of his mouth twitched. “Whilst thou grace me with an introduction?”
    “His name is Tex.”
    “I meant thy name.”
    “Oh.” She felt the blush heat her cheeks. “Sage. Like the herb.” She gave a tentative smile. “I think my mom went into labor while cooking dinner.”
    “Sage,” he repeated, pronouncing it Sawge . “It appears an overabundance of ale addled my senses. The last I recall, I was at a New Year’s celebration.”
    New Year’s was six months ago. What was he talking about? “Uh...okay.”
    He squinted at his coat still dangling in the tree. She sidled closer and looked up. His scent made her inhale deeply. Instead of cologne he smelled like maple, and a spicy aroma she couldn’t place. Nice.
    “I suppose my coat is not worth fetching.” He turned, his eyes filled with...regret? Was he worried about the damn coat? “I pray forgiveness for brandishing the dagger,” he said, his intense gaze boring a hole into her.
    Her breath hitched and she nodded, the sincerity of his words hitting her.
    “Does that nod mean I am forgiven?”
    “Yeah, I suppose I’d have done the same thing if I woke up in a tree, fell, and then met a barking dog.” Great play-by-play, Sage.
    He rubbed his chin, his brown eyes filled with a questioning look. “The weather is unusually warm.”
    Huh? That didn’t make sense. Wait... Yes it did. She mentally smacked her forehead with her palm at the realization that the he was resorting to small talk about the weather. She grappled for a reason to broaden the conversation. “Um, Tex and I were headed to the marsh.” She pointed through the trees. “Want to join us?” Maybe she could sway the conversation to a date. Where did that come from? What was the draw to this guy?
    After the initial shock of her breakup with jerk-face a year ago, she’d decided life was less complicated without a boyfriend. And now, out of nowhere, a hottie dressed like an actor in a Renaissance fair drops out of a tree. She couldn’t decide if she was lucky or not. All she knew was interest mingled through every thought. She scratched her dog between the ears. “So, do you want to join us or not?”
    “Ah, ‘tis tempting, but...” He strode to the path and looked both ways. “Mayhap we could walk to Surrey instead?”
    “Sorry?”
    He raised a brow. “Nay, Surrey.”
    She tilted her head and studied him. “I already accepted your apology.”
    He shifted from one foot to another. “My apology?”
    “Yeah.” What was up with this guy? Whatever he was drinking must’ve caused a major hangover. Just last weekend she was a bit addled after too much wine and an unfortunate “hook-up” between her body and the stairs leading to her house. This guy shouldn’t travel alone. She put out her hand. “Give me that knife for safekeeping and I’ll give you a ride.”
    “Where is thy mount?”
    “My mound?” Oh, that was wrong in so many ways.
    “Ah, thy mound?” He scratched his chin as