Page 99 of Save Me

“You’re so fucking beautiful like this,” he growls into my ear as his hand moves to my throat, pressing firmly against me, as his hips thrust harder and faster against me.

He bites my shoulder and I come undone as pleasure and pain mix, and I shatter around him as euphoria overwhelms every cell in my body. I can feel him grow harder, thrust deeper, inside of me, until he finds his own release.

“I love it when you come inside me,” I whisper in his ear, biting playfully at the lobe.

“Christ—” He drops his head as he catches his breath. “Say that again and we’ll never leave this place,” he purrs, and I laugh.

“What, no willpower, Mr. Turner?”

“Not when it comes to you, love… You’ve got me wrapped around your finger.”

*

I squint againstthe bright light as we walk outside, the glare of the sun a stark contrast to the dark hallways we just walked through.

Ryan is reclined on his bike in the same spot we left him. He raises an eyebrow at Jax who gives a small nod in response, their unspoken words clear among us.

“Good, good,” he says as he sits up.

I don’t miss the way he looks between us, his eyes no doubt noticing my messy hair and flushed cheeks.

“Please don’t tell me you fucked in front of dead bodies,” he says with a sigh.

I can’t help it as I throw my head back, a full body laugh making its way through me, and Jax laughs beside me.

“I never thought I’d have to say this, but I can confirm we did not fuck in front of any dead bodies.” I smile.

“You look lighter already,” Ryan says casually as he walks towards us, his gaze assessing.

“You should have seen her in there.”

I look at Jax, unable to miss the note of pride that crosses his face as he looks at me.

“So what now?” I ask tentatively, unsure of what the future has in store, unsure of what exactly life looks like now that this chapter is finally starting to close.

“We go home,” Jax says calmly.

EPILOGUE

‡

Six months later

My heels clackagainst the wood floor as I walk slowly around the room, stopping every few feet to admire the paintings on display. Jax is a few steps behind me and Garrett is wandering around the other side of the room, pausing in front of the paintings one at a time. The space is exquisite with huge windows that allow the natural light to flow in, illuminating the white walls and the artwork on display. It reminds me slightly of my old apartment, if my old apartment was on the good side of the city.

I try to keep my emotions locked down as I look at one painting in particular, but I can’t; art has always had a way of bringing the emotions out of me, whether when I’m creating it and trying to make sense of what I’m feeling, or looking at it and being swept up into everything the artist managed to capture on a canvas.

“This one is my favorite,” Jax says as he steps behind me, slipping his arms around my waist and pulling me in closely.

“It’s definitely something special,” I murmur in agreement as I stare at the canvas, at how the colors seem to be battling against the darkness, how there’s a fight that’s been depicted without any solid figures being present—the thick strokes of black colliding with the starbursts of bright, shimmering pink, blue, orange, white, and even yellow.

“We should buy it,” Jax suggests, and I turn my head to look at him.

“We can’t.” I try to rationalize. “It doesn’t work that way.”

“I think we should buy them all. It’s not like we don’t have enough space in the house.”

I huff a laugh. “It’s not about the space. What would be left in this gallery if you decided to empty it today?” I challenge.

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