Lawless

Chapter Twenty

It's been five days since I arrived in Lawless. The days have begun to mesh into one. A routine had formed between Sage and I. I always went to sleep by myself and woke up in an empty bed, Sage getting up hours earlier to work out. He'd come back as I was waking up and shower before the both of us went to breakfast. Throughout the day Sage would be with the other men in the house or with Serge working. I had been told to stay in the bedroom during the day, and to begin with I didn't have a problem it, there was no chance of running into Stephan. Sage would then come get me for dinner and afterwards I'd go to bed, Sage coming into the bedroom in the early hours of the morning.

It was unbeknownst to me how Sage ran off so little sleep, the only sign being the slight dark circles under his eyes but other than that, no one would ever know he rarely sleeps.

On occasion I'd wake up throughout the night and find Sage leaning on the balcony railing, his upper body naked as he smokes a cigarette.

Other times I'd wake up and find him next to me, his side touching mine or his nose in my neck. It's the closest we had been since the moment we shared on the bed earlier in the week. Not once did Sage put his arms around me and as much as I wanted to put mine around him, I couldn't work up the courage.

"Axel!" I hear a loud shout, the voice vibrates the walls. I had just woken up, my eyes still struggling to adjust to the bright light shining through the windows.

I duck under the blanket as the bedroom door slams open. My instant reaction is to cover my bare legs, my shirt struggling to cover everything.

A flash of brown scraggly hair flashes into the room, ducking into the closet. I don't have time to process what had just happened before a guy is standing at the bedroom entry.

His eyes connect with mine straight away before flashing down to my chest and then swiftly diverting.

"I-uh-I-I-Axel, you need to get out before Rage comes" he stutters, eyes to the ground and his feet not stepping an inch over the threshold.

I look down and see that my nipples are visible through my shirt, the cool wind from the open windows causing it. I cross my arms over my chest quickly.

Loud boots stomp closer; I glance at the time and notice it's 8 o'clock, the time Sage usually returns from the downstairs gym.

Axel sticks his head out the closet, his mouth agape and eyes shinning with excitment as they meet mine.

"Axel!" the guy in the doorway hisses under his breath.

"What are you doing?" I couldn't see him but I knew by the tone of Sage's voice that he wasn't happy about the situation he'd just walked into.

I sit up, doing my best to spy Sage behind the door but am unsuccessful.

"Sorry Rage, Axel ran into your room" the guy explains, his voice extremely apologetic and slightly shaky.

Sage grunts and then pushes his way into the room. He looks around quickly, eyes falling on me before they drop to my chest where my arms had fallen from my breasts.

Sage's eyes remain on my chest as Axel knocks something over in the closet, the sound giving away his position. Sage's nostrils flare and his hands clench tightly, the veins popping along his arms.

I lift my arms to wrap around my chest again when Axel draws his attention away from me.

"Axel!" Sage's voice booms throughout the room. He marches into the closet; I hear clothes being pushed roughly along the railing as he searches for Axel.

Axel makes a break for it and runs out the closet before Sage can catch him. He manages to duck past the man at the door, his laughter fading as he runs away.