Chapter Two

Sage.

The mansion was enormous. Too enormous. Every hallway seemed to stretch forever, every door hiding secrets I wasn’t sure I was ready to uncover. 

My heart was still thinking about that slight second touch of our fingers, but I needed to forget about that, get it completely off my mind. 

I needed air. I needed space to breathe, to gather my thoughts. Slowly, carefully, I crept down the hallway, avoiding the sound of my own shoes on the marble floors. My fingers brushed along the polished railing, trying to anchor myself to something real.

The sliding doors to the backyard were framed in glass, sunlight spilling through, beckoning me like a siren. I hesitated just a moment, wondering if this was really a good idea, maybe I should just stay in my room and unpack. 

But the fresh air called to me louder than fear. I pushed the door open and stepped outside.

The backyard was another world entirely. Lush green grass stretched under the glaring sun, the air smelled faintly of chlorine from the enormous swimming pool, and exotic flowers perfumed the edges of the garden. 

This wasn’t the life I had known, the small apartment with peeling paint and a leaky sink, all this, it was a fantasy. And yet, it all felt alien, untouchable like I was dreaming. 

I wandered along the edge of the pool, my eyes scanning every corner of the backyard. That’s when I saw him.

Andre.

He was in the pool, cutting through the water with powerful, smooth strokes. 

His shirtless chest gleamed with droplets, and the black swim shorts he wore clung to his form for dear life, accentuating every curve, every muscle I didn’t know I wanted to memorize. 

His dark hair clung to his forehead and dripped down his neck as he moved with a casual grace that made my stomach twist.

I froze, unable to look away.

What was I even doing? Watching my step brother like this? My mind screamed at me to look away, to stop. But my eyes betrayed me. He was beautiful. Dangerous. Sin incarnate.

I stepped closer, instinctively ducking behind a flowering bush. 

My hands curled into fists at my sides, trying to stop the trembling that had nothing to do with fear.

Andre finished a stroke and climbed out of the pool, water cascading down his torso. He grabbed a towel, casually draping it around his shoulders, but the way he moved, the confident roll of his shoulders, the lazy lift of his brows made my chest feel like it was going to explode.

I should leave. I should go back inside. But my feet didn’t move, I was still standing there watching him.

He ran a hand through his wet hair, sending droplets flying in slow arcs, completely unaware of my presence. I pressed myself further into the bush, thinking I could make myself invisible, thinking maybe if I stayed very still, he wouldn’t see me at all.

I wasn’t invisible.

A branch immediately snapped under my foot, loud against the quiet hum of the mansion. My heart skipped a beat as Andre’s head lifted sharply. His eyes, those impossibly sharp, piercing eyes locked onto mine across the distance.

I stumbled backwards, losing my balance.

“Aaah!” The high pitched squeak that escaped me sounded nothing like my normal voice, and I cringed immediately.

Andre was moving before I could even think. He strode towards me, his expression shifting from alertness to concern. 

My chest fluttered at how quickly he closed the distance, how close he was getting with every step.

“I” I started to apologize, but my words died in my throat. My foot caught on a root. My balance betrayed me, and I fell backward.

Instinctively, my hands shot out and I grabbed him and I went down with him and suddenly, the world narrowed into the feeling of him on top of me. 

His chest pressed against mine, warm and heavy, the faint scent of chlorine and something uniquely him, Andre filling my senses.

We stayed there, frozen. His hand brushing my hair as he steadied himself, mine clutching at his shoulders. I could feel his breath, slow and steady, and it sent electricity through my veins.

Time seemed to stretch indefinitely. I wanted to tell myself to move, to push him away, to regain some semblance of composure but I couldn’t. My body refused.

His eyes locked onto mine, and something unspoken passed between us a recognition, a charge, a tension that made my blood race and my heart hammer like a drum in my chest.

“Are you okay?” His voice was low, but I could feel it deep in my chest, shaking something loose inside me I wasn’t ready to name.

“I’m fine,” I stammered, my words faltering under the weight of his gaze.

I tried to push him up, to give him space, to regain control, but my hands slipped, and he lost balance completely, dragging him down fully on top of me. 

The world contracted, every sound, every movement hyper aware. 

My pulse raced as I felt the undeniable heat of him so close I could count the freckles on his shoulders, feel the tension in his arms.

For what felt like an eternity, we just stayed there. Breathing, heartbeats colliding, a mix of adrenaline and something far more dangerous, something forbidden.

And then, slicing through the spell like a knife, a voice rang out.

“Sage? What’s going on out there?”

My stomach lurched. I could hear my mom’s voice, laced with concern and confusion.

Andre’s eyes widened, and he finally moved slightly off me, still hovering, muscles tense and ready. 

My face was hot, my mind was spinning, and my body was trembling, not just from the fall, not just from the adrenaline, but from him. From what had just happened.

The moment shattered. Reality slammed back in. And for a heartbeat, the garden felt impossibly small, impossibly hot, impossibly dangerous and he immediately got off me.