Page 76 of Purgatory
“I guess that settles it. Snuggle buddies for life.” She puts her hand up in a fist bump as he meets hers with his, a small laugh quaking under his breath. “Snuggle buddies for life.”
Feeling sentimental by their words and a bit mischievous, I put out my fist towards Cole, wiggling my eyebrows and smirking. He knows what I want and puts his fist to mine.
“Right, ok you high maintenance asshole. I call big spoon, though,” He says, pointing his finger at me. I laugh and accept my baby spoon position as Jax and Aly join us laughing like we hadn’t just had the biggest heart to heart in years. Free therapy from a truth or dare session. Who knew?
“Right,” Jax says. “Enough of the heavy. Let’s get some more drinks and really end this night on a high note. Hawk? Where’s your tunes?”
My ears perk up at that. We never use the speakers. But now that those assholes were gone and the horde moved on, I guess there’s nothing actually stopping us from a little revelry. Fuck yes. I hop up, grab my player and hook it up to the old speakers. “Tonight, Tonight” by the Smashing Pumpkins starts playing. The music immediately getting into my bones as I moved toward Aly, offering her my hand and lifting her out of Jax’s hold.
Both he and Cole jump up with us and together we dance like tomorrow didn’t matter. We have tonight. We have this moment right here. We have each other. And, dammit, we’re gonna dance the night away in paradise.
Chapter 48
Alessandra
I wake to a light noise filtering into my ears. It’s not harsh or jarring. It’s soft. Familiar. Then, it dawns on me. Birdsong. Such a peaceful concept but one I had taken for granted far too often in my old life and never got the chance to enjoy in my new life. Until now.
Slowly, I open my eyes, taking in the soft sun rise coming in through the gauzy windows in Jax’s room. The air’s getting cooler and goosebumps form on my exposed arms before I tuck them beneath the blankets, into the inferno the boys created.
Looking to my left, I see Jax. The ever-constant furrow to his brow almost nonexistent as I look at him now. The serious truths and secrets revealed last night seeming to have purged his subconscious of their destructive hold on him. There’s only a small wrinkle remaining and I lift my hand to rub my finger lightly on the line, smoothing it instantly at my touch. Suddenly, a low sound, almost a purr, releases from my broody giant making a smile creep onto my lips.
To my right is Cole. My rock. I never seem to feel out of control when he’s nearby. Rather, everything is just clearer, easier, simplified. Even when he lets his commanding side out, it’s like releasing the breath I didn’t know I was holding onto. I’m lighter with him and he steadies me. The tether to my balloon. I’m like a kite dancing in the wind without a care in the world, him holding me steady all the while.
Some of his hair had fallen down over his eyes so I lift my hand and gently move it off his forehead, granting me a sleepy smile from him as he wraps his arms more securely around my waist and pulls me in tight. Unfortunately, for him, I can’t to go that far... because of Hawk.
I lift the blankets up to look down at my slumbering joker and laugh under my breath at him. He's positioned on his belly, face first on my lady bits. His warm, wet breaths sending shivers down my spine as they hit my core on a steady, slow rhythm. His arms, wrapped under my thighs, curling around so his hands rested on my hips. It’s as if he started to go down on me and fell asleep because he was so comfortable there.
Thunder thighs for the win!
I reach my hands down to stroke his hair and lightly massage his scalp. Hawk returns my affection by squeezing my thighs more and nuzzling his nose against my clit before dozing off again. He doesn’t make it that far to slumberland, though, as a light moan falls from my lips, sending shockwaves of lust through all three of them. My marines at attention almost instantly for me as they gaze on me with desire filling their eyes.
“Good morning, beautiful,” says Cole as he draws me closer for a kiss.
“Mmmm, morning, baby doll,” Jax says as he angles himself over me, nibbling my neck, making my back arch.
“Oooh, breakfast is served,” Hawk groans as he dives head first into my pussy and feasts like it’s his last meal.
I’m officially spoiled. I’ll admit it. These boys know what to do, how to do it and when to do it. And I’m here for it. If this is what the rest of my life could look like, sign me up.
I move to flip over, positioning myself to straddle Hawk’s face while preparing to go down on Cole’s rather large wakeupcall when alarm hits Jax’s face, stopping me in my tracks. I look to where his eyes are glued and see Sadie standing ridged, hackles up, ears back and staring intently at the closed bedroom door. She isn’t moving. I’ve never seen her have this reaction before but Jax seems to know exactly what’s going on.
“Jax?” I ask cautiously.
He slowly gets up out of the bed, kisses my forehead and moves to look out the window for a moment. He curses under his breath at what he sees before crossing to where Sadie still remains. A stern concentration overtakes his face, making his jaw tick as he looks to the men still beside me.
I follow his gaze to see Hawk and Cole having the same reaction as they take in Sadie’s cue. Silently, they each stand, getting dressed without a word and kissing me before joining Jax. Their stoicism wracking me to the bone. Ok... I’m terrified. What the fuck does this mean?
“Jax?” I ask again.
He turns slowly as Hawk and Cole move to stand beside him. “Baby, stay here. It’ll be ok.”
Erm… what???
“What do you mean it’ll be ok? What’s going on?” My eyes bounce back and forth between the three before Jax looks down to his pup.
“Sadie is trained. Not only as my therapy dog, but to recognize threats like when we were overseas.” He points down to her, sighing and looking back to me with determination in his eyes. “This cue is only presented when a threat is near and she can sense them. Right now? We have company we need to deal with.”
I stand up when he finishes explaining, quickly throwing on my discarded clothes and walk over to the window to see what we might be facing. My heart jumps andmy breath catches in my throat at what I see outside.
