Page 15 of Pack Down Bad

That’s all I can take. I need to be close to her. Need to sleep with her pressed up against my side all night so that I know she’s safe and not leaving us.

Prepared to throw my morals out the window, I whirl around to face the bed again. The sight that greets me leaves me frozen in place, unable to step closer. She’s fast asleep on the bed, curled up on her side with her face buried in my favorite pillow, my thick comforter still tucked up around her neck so that she’s barely even visible except for an ear and her messy hair splayed over my pillow.

She lets out a soft snore, and I force myself to walk out of the room and leave her in peace. The most painful thing I’ve ever done.

At least I know she’s staying. For tonight. For always.

She’s staying.

ChapterNine

Belle

Crap, I’m awake.

The bed is so incredible, I feel like I’m sleeping on a cloud. All I want is to stay lulled in the depths of deep slumber, but my body has other ideas. Namely, I think I’m quicklydyingof thirst. My mouth is completely dry, and I feel like all of the moisture has been sucked out of the rest of my body as well.

Knox’s bedroom is toasty warm, so I think the house temperature has done me in, and I’m too desperate for water to consider rolling over to attempt to go back to sleep.

“Ugh.”

The soft sheets are tangled around my legs as I shift around on the bed. Once I manage to sit up, I realize what the problem is. Somehow, I didn’t notice that there’s a heater right next to the bed running at full blast. I don’t know if Knox wanted to make sure I would be warm enough or if he always keeps his bedroom at a temperature worthy of hell itself.

Either way, the room is dehydrating me.

Dramatically, I tear the blankets away from my body and throw my feet over the edge of the bed to touch the floor. My head feels fuzzy, but I don’t let that stop me.

I desperately need to hydrate. Hopefully, the guys won’t mind me wandering around their home in the middle of the night for a bottle of water. There’s only a sliver of moonlight shining in from between the gap in the dark curtains along one wall. I use the moonlight like a night light to make my way toward the door.

The wood is cool beneath my feet, a sharp contrast to the rest of the Sahara bedroom. A shiver runs up my spine as I pad across the floor with bare feet.

Halfway to the stairs, my feet adjust to the temperature as the cooler temperature of the rest of the house hits me. The wood floors creak a little as I move, so I tiptoe my way to the stairs and move down them as silently as possible.

Who knows how deeply the guys sleep? And I don’t want to risk waking Knox up from the couch after he gave up his bed for me.

A wall separates the stairs from the kitchen. Instead of being greeted by darkness, there’s a small glow coming from the direction of the kitchen, along with the sound of hushed voices. I pause behind the wall, caught off guard to find anyone still awake.

My intention isn’t to playsuper secret spy, but I don’t want to interrupt whoever is in the kitchen talking, either. As I consider my options, curiosity gets the best of me.

Peeking around the corner, I see the outline of two people locked in an embrace.

My jaw drops.

I should walk away and forget about what I saw, but my feet stay rooted in place. I don’t want to invade anyone’s privacy, but at the same time, I can’t help wondering what’s going on here. I should do anything except stand here in the dark watching them, but my feet refuse to budge.

My eyes adjust to the dimly lit room as I flatten myself against the wall while continuing to peek around the corner. The shadows seem to swallow up everything else around me, leaving me squinting to make out their silhouettes. The kitchen island blocks their lower bodies from view.

I can’t see all of the details, but I see enough to knowsomethingis happening.

Something spicy.

The two figures move against one another passionately, and I start to make out the details of Percy and Knox. Knox’s lips are locked onto Percy’s shoulder. Their chests are bare, and I shamelessly take in every inch of their exposed skin.

Knox grins as he says something that makes Percy groan with pleasure.

Percy’s medium-brown skin is a striking contrast against Knox’s paler complexion. The sight of them together is beautiful, and I’m a monster for intruding on this moment.

An arm snakes around my waist, and I bite back a gasp to avoid alerting the others to my presence.

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