Empire

Chapter Fifty Five - Xavier

 Xavier ~

My eyes opened slowly and I realized how hard I had been sleeping. My muscles ached as I stretched them out which meant I hadn't moved in hours and as soon as I moved a small feminine hum caught my attention.

Cassie's hair was tossed over her pillow with her arms tucked underneath as she stirred and moved without opening her eyes.

Trying to be silent, I focused on controlling every muscle in my body as I stood from the bed with careful, calculated movements that wouldn't jostle Cassie.

I noticed a glass of water on her night stand as I pulled on some sweatpants and silently left the room.

I wonder how long it's been since that woman got a full nights sleep?

The smell of coffee already filled the hall once I got closer to the kitchen and I found Raf leaning against the counter.

"Mornin." He grumbled as he sipped his coffee. "How'd she sleep?"

Lifting my brows in surprise that his first concern upon waking up was about Cassie, I poured myself a cup and answered him with a knowing smirk on my face.

"Pretty good. She never sleeps well - night terrors and shit - But none that I know of last night and she's still sleeping."

Nodding with my words, I guess my answer was satisfactory and he glanced down the hall as if he were checking to make sure she was still asleep.

"Starting to grow a soft spot for her huh?" I teased, watching Raf roll his eyes and flex his shoulders as he scoffed.

"She's easy on the eyes and tolerable."

My smile grew as I took the first sip of the caffeinated liquid, hoping it would give me some energy for the day as my brother drowned in his own denial.

"I saw what you gave her last night."

Raf arched a brow at me, but didn't respond verbally.

"The knife."

Breaking eye contact, Raf looked out the bay windows toward the pool at the rising sun and shrugged his shoulders.

"I had a knife and she needed one. Simple as that." His words were flat as if he was trying to force all of the emotion out, feigning indifference that I could see straight through.

"Mmmhmm." I agreed sarcastically.

"Such a fucking softy." Cruz sassed as he sauntered into the kitchen in nothing but his boxers.

"Put some damn clothes on." I snapped, but Cruz wasn't fazed by my harsh words, snatching a cup from the cabinet and filling it with coffee.

"Relax. She's not even awake, I just checked."

"Oh really?" I asked, amused by Raf and Cruz's infatuation with my Cassie, understanding completely why they were so drawn to her.

"Yes really." Cruz snapped, taking a large gulp of his coffee before filling it up again.

"She seemed awfully interested in the doors leading down to the playroom last night when I ran into her in the hall." Cruz added, lifting his brows at me as if I had something to confess or divulge.

"Probably because I told her it was there, but haven't shown it to her yet." I admitted, get a confused and almost repulsed expression from Cruz.

"Why the hell not? That's the first place I would have taken her."

Letting out a sigh, I finished off my coffee and went for a second cup, trying to find the line between explaining the situation I found myself in and betraying Cassie's confidence. She had some serious demons that weren't my place to talk about, not even with my brothers.