Page 25 of Purgatory
I look to the fish, giving it a death glare for inadvertently cockblocking me, and release a sigh. I return my gaze to the siren of the lake shore as I point to the flopping offender.
“We should probably get that back to the house if we’re gonna prep it for dinner. It's a good catch. You did well, Sweetheart.”
She nods and smiles as a giggle catches in her throat. She then rocks back on her heels before she turns away. Making our way over to the gear, she keeps her head down, avoiding my gaze. Is she just as confused about everything as I was? It’s understandable, no one knows what the hell to make of anything nowadays. But I really hope she feels it too.
There’s a deeper connection simmering between us. Not as simple as lust or primal need. It’s unexpected and new but it’s there. Sure, she might be the only female we’ve seen in months. And you’re Goddamn right she’s hot as sin. But that doesn’t hold a candle to the very core of these feelings developing here, at least on my end. It’s more than her being beautiful. She’s fun. A breath of fresh air. She fits in with all of our quirkiness and bullshit. No, forget what I was thinking. Regardless of her reaction to our kiss, I know she feels it too.
We pack up our things and just as we’re about to start on the way back to the house, she finally looks in my eyes again. Biting her lip suggestively, a blush spreads and paints her face.The smile that melts my insides makes its return, lighting up her face and in turn mine.
I smirk back at her, “Come on. Let’s get back.”
Our hike back is slow, and easy, and refreshing. Unable to stop myself, I reach down to take her hand, linking it with mine. I lift it to my lips and kiss her knuckles, one by one. She immediately turns a shade of red to rival a tomato and lets the tamed giggle loose. The sound goes straight to my heart, making me feel something exciting. Something amazing. I don’t want it to end, so I keep hold of her hand and she lets me. We stay like that, walking hand in hand all the way back and it’s perfect. I can only hope the coming days are as great as today.
Chapter 17
Alessandra
Hawk and I walk in companionable silence the entire way back to the house and it’s everything I didn’t know I was missing. The simplicity of holding hands is enough to give me butterflies, let alone the amazing kiss that we had. I know, right? It’s like I’m in high school again. That’s how touch deprived I am. That something so insignificant, like his thumb softly caressing the back of my hand right now, could make me swoon like a revolutionary era debutante. He was such a good kisser too. Soft, firm lips, caressive and commanding. I can still feel his lips on mine as we part ways at the steps of the house.
“Go and follow that pathway, it’ll bring you to the garden. Cole should be there and he’ll show you the ropes. I’ll go take care of prepping the fish.”
I nod with a coy smile and go to turn down the pathway when he stops me with a hand around my elbow. Turning back to him he’s right there, staring down at me. He gives me a quick kiss, ending it with a bite of my lower lip and a smirk before he turns and heads inside.
Come on knees, don’t fail me now...
Taking a deep breath and mentally pulling myself together takes a second or two, but eventually my head clears and strength returns to my wobbly legs. I take my leave and start to walk down the pathway towards the garden, spending extra time taking in the breathtaking scenery. I don’t care much for when it’s quiet, since it reminds me of what I’ve lost, but here, I could get used to it. There are birds singing theirsongs in the trees, squirrels fighting over their nuts and bolts and best of all, I’m not alone.
The screaming truth of that comes at me full front when I look up from my amble and see Jax and his dog playing fetch. His chest is bare, glistening with sweat and his shirt is stuffed haplessly into the back pocket of his worn and faded jeans. It must be his normal state since that’s, pretty much, the only way I've seen him. Why even bring the shirt with you if you’re just going to shove it in your pocket after five minutes of being outside? His dog catches the ball and trots back to where Jax is sporting a full-face grin and lounging on the grass, dropping it into his hands and starts dancing for him to throw it again.
I don’t get it. Jax seems so content and happy right now, not at all how I left him last night. Although, I guess I can’t question his happiness when I, myself, woke up as crabby as a cantankerous crustacean but, now, I’m as happy as a clam with a pearl necklace.
Well.... we’re still waiting on the pearl necklace...
“Stop it or we’re gonna walk right into a tree. Focus!”
I’m still a little more than curious as to what exactly happened last night but I’m not about to push for answers. The constant swing of his emotions is giving me whiplash.
Taking note, I try to stay to the side of the path where the trees offer some cover so as to not poke the beast any more than I already have. Skirting the edge of the property, I notice red dots confettied amongst the various bushes. With my curiosity peaked, I inch closer to inspect the crimson devils.No fucking way...
Chapter 18
Jax
“Good girl, Sadie. Bring it back,” I call to her as she picks up the ball and prances around, taunting me like she wants me to chase her. Normally, I would. Normally, I’d be happy to chase her all over the yard, wrestle her to the ground and do it all over again. But today is not the day.
I woke up this morning, begrudgingly, threw on some clothes and went about starting my chores as usual. Morning patrol? Done. Slower than ever but done nevertheless. Garden duty? Nothing ready to pick and not even the hint of a weed in sight. Chicken coop? No eggs, just broody as fuck hens. One even tried to peck my hand off when I went looking for some. Gnarly fucker.
It’s like everything was taking a day off but me. But I couldn’t just sit around today, regardless of how much I wanted to. I needed to fill the time withsomething. Something productive. Something intricate enough to take my mind off of everything whirling around in my brain for a little bit. That’s when I remembered the fallen tree I came across this morning. It fell right across a portion of the fence line and snapped the wiring. The tree itself worked as a pretty good substitute for the time being since it was so big so I wasn’t immediately concerned about a breech in security but it did need to be removed and the fence repaired sooner rather than later.
I’m almost finished with my work on the fence but decide to take a quick break. Fuck, I’m sweating bullets, this heat has to go. I’d been working on the fence line steadily fora few good hours so I decided to take a seat, treat Sadie to some ball. She loves this. Me, her and a little fuzzy tennis ball. It's enough to really work out the kinks and stress with its normalcy.Thisis what I needed, I realize. Especially after last night. Last night threw me for a loop.
What, the fuck, was I thinking yelling at her like that? I’m a dick on the best of days but she didn’t deserve that. Not even close to it. Her big doe eyes from the aftermath are ingrained in my brain and I wish I could just take it back. Why did she have to come into my room? The guys told her. Cole affirmed it. So, what was she thinking?
She’s just being human and checking on a person who was in distress, asswipe...
She startled me, when she tried to wake me up. It’s not like this was the first time I was stuck in a nightmare, but itwasthe first time someone else felt its hold besides me. The paralyzing reality of it all being that its hold was from my own treacherous hands. I look at them now, furious at my inability to control it. And the fact that I was so lost to the darkness, I almost hurt her. Let’s face it, who am I kidding? Ididhurt her. My hands were crushing her throat for crying out loud.
But then, as my eyes focused on her surprised face in the dark, all I could see, all I could hear was her in the shower from earlier that night. Those sounds she made and the correlating images I conjured slammed into my brain and I wanted her, needed her right at that moment. Instincts took over and I went feral on the poor girl.
