Page 101 of Pulse

Gentle as he could, he scooped her into his arms and carried her out of the bathroom. Her eyes fluttered and opened about halfway to the bed. “Sorry,” she whispered.

“Don’t apologize. I’m thinking I might carry you around everywhere we go. Seems like something you’d be excited about.”

Talia’s chuckle was heavy with sleep. “You know me well.”

He set her down next to the bed. Once he was sure she was steady on her feet, he stripped off her clothes and then followed with his own. They crawled into bed and reached for each other like two powerful magnets.

Neither had the energy for more than sleep, but he’d never felt anything better than holding her beneath the warmth of the blankets with their bare skin touching from toes to noses.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

“TALIA, WOULD YOU mind slicing these strawberries for me?” Brooke asked as she thrust a large carton of whole strawberries at Talia’s chest.

“Yeah, that sounds like something even I couldn’t screw up.”

Chuckling, Brooke retrieved a large cutting board from a low cabinet. “Not much of a cook?” she asked as she slid the board across the counter to Talia.

“Definitely not. I think I’m solely responsible for my Door Dasher’s down payment on their new house.” She set the strawberries on the cutting board and then accepted the handle of a sharp knife Brooke held out.

“Liv isn’t either,” Kelsie said with a smile. “But we still find plenty of jobs for her, so no worries. There’s always some way to contribute.”

“Just slice them up. Doesn’t need to be perfect,” Brooke said. “They’re topping for the pancakes Harper is working on. These guys don’t give two shits what the fruit looks like.”

Laughing, Talia grabbed a berry. “Yeah, I can’t imagine Jinx being picky about the cut of his strawberries.”

“Exactly,” Brooke said with a smirk.

Brunch at the clubhouse was an event like no other. No store-bought pastries and cereal for these people. They made everything from scratch and had enough food to fuel an army. Nerves had hit hard when Pulse told her the club was planning on having brunch, and it was an all-hands-on-deck kind ofsituation when it came to preparing the meal. She wasn’t lying when she said she didn’t cook. She could barely boil water.

But, like most things with this club, brunch preparation was a chill, judgment-free affair.

The best part was how no one harped on what had happened last night. After ensuring she was okay, everyone went about their tasks like a typical day. Either they were used to flying bullets or understood she needed to focus on something else for her sanity.

Probably a bit of both.

Her knees stung like a bitch and looked like raw meat, but her palms were in much better shape. Aside from some shallow scrapes that had scabbed over already, they didn’t look bad and weren’t holding her back from getting things done.

Like cutting strawberries.

They chatted as they worked, getting the meal whipped up quicker than Talia expected. Liv’s absence left a hole in their group, but she’d called hours ago to say Spec made it through surgery and had received a blood transfusion. She’d refused to leave his side despite him ‘growling at me like an angry ogre’ to go home and rest.

“So,” Harper said as she pushed herself onto the island next to where Talia was adding champagne to a large pitcher of peach juice. “Liv’s going to kill me for asking this when she isn’t here to get the deets, but I can’t wait any longer. What exactly is going on with you and Pulse?”

“Oh, yes, I’ve been dying for details,” Jo said as she strode into the kitchen. She’d been finishing some work at the shelter, though Brenna theorized Jo wanted to avoid kitchen duty. The ladies claimed she often had something important pop up during meal prep.

Talia’s face heated as all the ladies stopped what they were doing to stare at her.

“Oh, man, it must be hot,” Jo said with a chuckle. “Your face is redder than those strawberries you’re butchering.”

If she could have crawled into an empty champagne bottle, she would have.

“Jo, leave her alone. Not everyone likes to blab their personal business,” Kelsie said as she opened the oven. Immediately, the scent of apples and cinnamon filled the kitchen.

“Too bad,” Jo said with a smirk. “I want details.”

Harper rolled her eyes but was grinning and hadn’t moved from the counter. “Come on,” she pleaded, giving Talia her best puppy-dog look. “We all know you’re together. We just want to know if it’s a serious thing or more casual.”

“Yeah,” Jo added. “We’d like to keep you, so if it’s casual, we’ll do our best to convince you to make it more.”

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