Chapter 53 Sneaking around
Sage's POV
The knock on my bedroom window came at two in the morning.
I was already awake, staring at the ceiling and counting down the hours until noon tomorrow when I'd have to give Diego my official final answer. When Ryder's shadow appeared outside the glass, my heart jumped.
I crossed the room and unlocked the window. He climbed through without a word and pulled me into his arms before his feet even hit the floor.
His mouth found mine and everything else disappeared. The wedding. Diego's threats. The impossible choice I had to make. None of it mattered when Ryder's hands were in my hair and his body pressed against mine.
"We shouldn't be doing this," I whispered against his lips.
"I know."
But neither of us stopped.
He walked me backward toward the bed, his hands already working at the buttons of my sleep shirt. I tugged at his jacket and pushed it off his shoulders. Our clothes hit the floor in a trail and then we were skin to skin with nothing between us.
This felt like the only real thing left in my life. Everything else was lies and contracts and threats. But Ryder's touch was honest. The way he looked at me was honest. The desperation in his kiss told me he felt it too.
"Run away with me," he said against my neck. His voice was rough with need. "Right now. We can be gone before anyone knows."
"Running will get everyone killed."
"Staying will kill you."
"It won't kill me. It'll just break me." I pulled his face up to look at me. "There's a difference."
"Not to me there isn't."
He kissed me again and I let myself get lost in it. Let myself forget that this might be one of the last times I'd feel his hands on my body. That in less than twelve hours I'd have to tell Diego yes and watch Ryder's heart shatter.
We made love like we were running out of time because we were. His touch was gentle and fierce all at once. Every kiss felt like a promise. Every whispered word against my skin felt like goodbye.
Afterward, we lay tangled together in my bed. Ryder traced patterns on my shoulder while I listened to his heartbeat. For a few minutes I let myself pretend this was normal. That we were just two people in love without the weight of the world crushing us.
Then I heard it.
Footsteps in the hallway. Heavy boots on hardwood floors. Moving closer to my room.
I went rigid in Ryder's arms.
"Someone's coming," I whispered.
He was already moving. He grabbed his jeans and pulled them on while I scrambled for my sleep shirt. The footsteps stopped right outside my door.
Then there was a knock.
"Sage?" Jaxon's voice came through the wood. "You awake?"
My heart hammered against my ribs. Ryder moved toward the window but the old hinges would squeak if he tried to open it now. He'd never make it out in time.
"Just a second," I called out. My voice came out steadier than I expected.
I shoved Ryder toward my closet and he slipped inside without argument. Then I smoothed down my hair and opened the door just wide enough to see Jaxon's face.
"Hey. What's wrong?"
He looked tired. Exhausted actually. Dark circles were under his eyes and his hair was a mess like he had been running his hands through it.
"Nothing's wrong. I just wanted to check on you." His eyes searched my face. "I saw your light was on."
"I couldn't sleep."
"Yeah. Me neither."
We stood there in awkward silence for a moment. I was very aware of Ryder hiding just a few feet away. Very aware that my bed was still unmade and probably looked exactly like what it was.
"Can I come in?" Jaxon asked.
"Actually I'm kind of tired now. I was just about to try sleeping again."
He nodded but didn't move away from the door. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. About everything. Kicking you out, the contract, Diego, forcing you into this situation."
"It's not your fault."
"It is though. Dad made the deal but I'm the one enforcing it. I could say no. I could tell the Blood Sisters to go to hell and deal with whatever comes after."
"And get everyone killed or in trouble." I leaned against the doorframe. "We both know that's not an option."
"Maybe it should be." His voice was coarse. "Maybe some things are worth fighting for even if the odds suck."
I wanted to agree. I wanted to say yes, let's fight. Let's tell Diego and Elena to fuck off and deal with the consequences together as a family.
But I couldn't. Not when I knew exactly what those consequences would be.
"Go to bed, Jax. We'll figure it out tomorrow."
He searched my face again. For a second I thought he suspected something. I thought he could see through me to the man hiding in my closet.
Then he nodded and stepped back.
"Goodnight, Sage."
"Goodnight."
I closed the door and listened to his footsteps retreat down the hall. When I heard a door close, I finally breathed.
Ryder came out from the closet. His expression was tight.
"That was too close."
"I know." I sank onto the edge of my bed. My legs felt shaky.
He moved to the window and tested the hinges. They squeaked quietly. Not loud enough to be heard from the hall but definitely loud enough that Jaxon would've noticed if he had tried to leave earlier.
"We have to be more careful," I said.
"Or we could stop sneaking around and just tell him."
"Tell him what? That we're still sleeping together after everything that happened? After everything that is going on at the moment? That we're lying to everyone about me giving you up?" I shook my head. "That'll go over great."
"I don't care anymore. Let him be pissed. Let the whole club be pissed." Ryder crossed the room and knelt in front of me. "I'm tired of hiding what I feel."
"If Jaxon finds out he'll lose it. He barely tolerates the idea of us being together when I'm single. If he knows we're still together while I'm supposed to be marrying Diego—"
"He'll what? Kick me out again? He already did that."
"He'll make sure we can't see each other at all. He'll post guards or move me somewhere I can't sneak away from." I cupped Ryder's face. "This is all we have. These stolen moments. Don't make me lose even this."
His jaw clenched under my palm. I could see the war in his eyes. The part of him that wanted to claim me openly versus the part that knew I was right.
"I hate this," he said quietly.
"I know. I hate it too."
He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. We stayed like that for a while. Just breathing together. Existing in the small space we had carved out for ourselves.
Eventually he pulled back and kissed my forehead.
"I should go before Jaxon comes back to check on you."
I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to let go and face the morning alone. But he was right.
I walked him to the window and helped him climb out onto the tree branch. He paused halfway through and turned back to look at me.
"This isn't over," he said.
"I know."
"I mean it, Sage. I don't care what Diego threatened. I don't care what contracts your dad signed and why he did it. This isn't over between us."
Before I could respond, he dropped from the branch and disappeared into the darkness.
I closed the window and locked it. Then I climbed back into my bed that still smelled like him.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. A text from an unknown number.
I opened it and my blood turned to ice.
The message was simple. Just three words and an attached photo.
"I see you."
The photo showed my bedroom window. Taken from somewhere in the yard. The angle caught Ryder climbing out.
Someone had been watching us the whole time.