Page 35 of Give Me Three

I just hoped my husband was right. Because I couldn’t fucking lose Jaxon. Not again.

It might damn well kill me if I did.

CHAPTER 26

Eros

When Jaxon woke up again—this time on his own—his fever had broken a bit, and he seemed a little more alert. He blinked at me, surprise lighting up his eyes. Then, he frowned, his brows pulling together. I gave him a couple of minutes to work through everything and see what he remembered. When understanding dawned on his face, I knew he was, at least, vaguely remembering Zep and I showing up to take care of him.

“Hey,” he rasped, making me smile a little. I pressed my lips to his forehead, letting them linger for a moment before I pulled back to look down at him again. He’d had me worried for a while now. It was good to see him alert. “How long have I been out?”

“A few hours,” I told him. I cupped his cheek, stroking my thumb over his stubble. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” he muttered, his eyelids fluttering shut like he was trying to soak this moment in. It made my chest ache. DamnZeppelin for forcing us apart. “My body hurts. And I’m… sticky. I hate sweating like this,” he groaned.

Zeppelin chuckled from behind him. Jaxon rolled onto his back to look up at Zeppelin. Zep cupped his face and leaned down, pressing a kiss to the tip of Jaxon’s nose. “Hey, baby,” Zep said, a small, tentative smile tilting his lips. “Good to see you a little more alert. We were worried.”

Jaxon’s frown deepened. “I thought you hated me,” Jaxon croaked, his throat obviously still sore.

Zeppelin immediately shook his head, his eyes filling with pain and sadness. It made my chest ache to see him like this. Zeppelin didn’t hurt over much, but for me and Jaxon? He felt everything so deeply.

“No, baby. Fuck no. I couldneverhate you. I…” Zeppelin sighed, looking pained. “I was a fucking dick. I acted irrationally. You were trying to help me, and I was so lost in my trauma and misery that I just… snapped.” Zeppelin closed his eyes, and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “I’m so fucking sorry, Jax baby. Nothing I do will ever make up for hurting you so fucking badly.Nothing. But if you’ll let me, I fucking swear to you that I will spend the rest of my life making up for that mistake.”

“Baby…” Jaxon murmured, reaching up to lace his fingers in Zeppelin’s messy hair.

Zeppelin shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. “Don’t. Please. Don’t try to brush this off. I won’t allow you. Ihurtyou. Fuck, I hurt Eros by extension.” He rested their foreheads together, and my chest tightened at the sight. Jaxon wrapped his arms around Zeppelin—just holding him. “I love you,” Zeppelin rasped.

Jaxon hummed and squeezed his arms around Zeppelin before dropping one of his hands and grasping mine under the covers. My heart skipped a beat at his touch. “I love you, too,” Jax told him. Zeppelin leaned up, and Jax looked over at me, a small, tired smile tilting his lips. He was going to fall asleep again soon. “I lovebothof you.”

I squeezed his hand, my heart in my throat. “I love you, too,” I promised him. Leaning down, I pressed my lips to his cheek. “Can we help you shower? You stink—bad.”

Jaxon grunted, shifting a little and wincing. “I don’t know if I can walk yet.”

I eased off the bed, and Zeppelin followed. Together, we eased Jaxon into a sitting position. He gripped our arms, muttering something that sounded like, “Hold on,” as he squeezed his eyes shut. Zeppelin and I waited patiently, and when he opened his eyes again, he allowed us to finish helping him out of bed and to the bathroom.

Zeppelin supported Jaxon as Jaxon took a leak, and I got the shower going. Once we were all crammed into the small shower, Zeppelin, who was the strongest out of the two of us, leaned against the wall and supported Jaxon’s weight, his arms twined around our man.

Fuck, they looked so perfect together.

“I feel like a child right now,” Jaxon complained, his eyes closing as I began shampooing his sweaty, oily hair.

“Hush,” I gently chided. “You’re sick as hell, and you’ve been out of it for almost twenty-four hours.”

He made a small noise of surprise. “That long? Fuck. Is Spencer?—”

“He’s fine,” Zeppelin assured him, pressing a kiss to Jaxon’s bare shoulder. Our man shivered. “I’ve been keeping him updated. He’s been at your house with Ash, so she hasn’t been lonely either. Just focus on getting better. Let me and Eros handle everything else.”

Jaxon nodded, leaning further back against Zeppelin. Zep pressed a kiss to his cheek and helped me rinse Jaxon’s hair of the shampoo so I could condition it. The rest of the shower was quiet, only the stream of the water hitting the tiled floor breaking the stillness, but it wasn’t awkward.

It was peaceful. Nice.

By the time Jaxon was dressed in the pair of sweats and the t-shirt Spencer had sent with us, he was tired again, though he managed to stay awake just long enough to eat some more soup—which he stomached more of this time—drink some Pedialyte and some water, and take more medicine.

Just like earlier, we sandwiched him between us and held him as he fell back asleep, his lips softly parted and quiet snores leaving his adorable, pouty mouth.

Zeppelin was out getting gas for the SUV we rented so we could drive it home when Jaxon woke up again a couple of hours later. Poor Spencer’s debit card was getting continuously charged. I knew Jaxon was going to feel like shit enough about it as it was when he figured out just how much money he’d spent on thishotel using his son’s card. Two hundred dollars a night probably wasn’t a lot for Jaxon, but it definitely was for Spencer, who was still attending college.

Jaxon stretched, pressing against me, his hard cock sliding along my thigh. I swallowed a groan and gripped his hip, digging my fingers in as a warning. He slowly opened his eyes and then draped his arm over me, dragging me closer before nuzzling my neck.

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