Page 19 of Purgatory
Between getting caught spying on Jax this morning, seeing the guys naked at the lake - albeit it was from a distance but still, I saw naked man toosh, it counts! - Jax’s interloping on my naughty shower time and Hawk’s not so subtle wandering eyes afterwards, I’m a mess. I have no idea how I’m supposed to act right now.
Let the awkward shenanigans begin!
I meander into the kitchen with a little wave and a bite to the lip. I’m not exactly sure where I should go so I head over to the side of the island and perch against it. “Thank you, it smells really good. I’m Alessandra, by the way. Thank you for taking me in.” I say to Jax. I’m not really sure if I should offer my hand out for him to shake or what so I just awkwardly stand near him. He turns his face towards me and gifts a curt little nod before resuming his mantle at the stovetop, stirring the pot.
Ok...
Accepting that as his way of greeting, I turn on my heel and start to move to the island. I don’t even get a step in before he reaches out and grabs my arm.
“Sorry, uh, Alessandra... Nice to meet you, I’m Jackson, but you can call me Jax, everyone does. And, um... you’re welcome...” He looks like he's about to say more but he remains tight lipped and decides to turn back to the stove, busying himself with the meal preparation.
After a few confusing minutes, Cole takes it upon himself to break up the silence.
“So, how was your day?”
How was my day. Um, well... I saw your dicks? No... I shouldn’t start with that. Jax walked in on my playing with myself. GAH!
Setting those thoughts aside, I focus on everything else.
“Uh, it was good. I walked around the house more. Found the trails that run down by the lake.”
“Oh yea? The lake is great. See anything you like out there?” Hawk pipes in.
Erm, yea, a sexy man parade all for me!
Memories pop into my head of this afternoon, making my cheeks flush. Hawk eyes me curiously, a smirk coming to his lips. Jeez is this guy psychic or something? I can’t seem to hide anything from him. I silently tell myself to reign it in.
“Um, yea, the sunset was stunning.”
Hawk’s smirk grows even more smug. Shit, he knows. I gotta shut this down before I say anything I regret.
“I haven’t fully been able to relax long enough lately to really enjoy anything so it was nice. I can see why you all lovethis place.”
“Jax really has a little slice of heaven here. I’m glad you’re feeling better and were able to see it.” Cole says.
Jax quickly swings his gaze towards Cole in acknowledgement before announcing, “Food’s up.” He lifts the large pot of what I now notice is tomato bisque, made from scratch, and places it on the island beside Cole’s salad and the bread Hawk sliced.
We all dig in. As the sounds of contentment and appreciation surround us while we fill our bellies, I think back to what Cole said. About Jax having a little slice of heaven. I can see it. Feel how true the sentiment actually is. How, for so long, I felt like I was drifting in between two different planes of existence. Neither here, nor there. Neither dead nor living. Stuck in limbo. But then, these guys found me. My angels. Delivering me to their kingdom in the woods. Away from death, away from the sprawling desert of oblivion, and instead to an oasis hidden in the middle of it, where life and happiness and love flourish amongst these three.
I look to each of them, in turn. My gaze holding a few seconds before I move onto the next. Finally, I look to Jax and notice he is looking right back at me. How long has he been staring at me? His eyes are soft and his voice just as soft and gentle as he asks, “What are you thinking about?”
I take a second to think but the only thing that I can respond is, “Just... thank you...” They all give small smiles and nod their heads, returning to their meals. I find the solemn drop of the dinner conversation a bit overwhelming. The desire to hear them laughing as they did before I arrived pulling at me so I take one for the team and lay myself over the coals adding, “especially for the show I got at the lake...” I let it linger on the air. Letting it wind through their brains until-
There it is. Each of their eyes suddenly light up and thekitchen fills with their ruckus laughter. Hawk points at me.
“IKNEWyou saw us. Beautiful sunset my ass. Yeamy assis more like it!” and he erupts in a belly wrenching fit of laughter, along with the rest of us.
“Gonna have to keep an eye onyourwandering eyes, darling. I’ll be watching you.” Cole jumps in. A sly smile taking over his lips and drawing my eyes to them. Yea, he knows what he’s doing, making himself look all delectable over there with his threats and his promises. I see you, Doc.
Jax is quiet, too quiet. I turn my head to glance his way. He’s still staring at me. His lower lip between his teeth as he bites down on it. His eyes glancing down at me and then back up to my face, just like he did earlier. His traveling gaze sending goosebumps down its path as his stare lingers. I can feel it on my skin. Like a finger, softly caressing me on its travels across my body. My mouth opens on a soft gasp and without any preamble, the moment ends. His head pops back, the spell is over. He shakes it a little and goes back to his food as if he didn't just mentally undress me in front of everyone.
I take a deep breath, taming the arousal that had taken hold of me at just a simple look, and turn back to my food again, trying my best not to find myself trapped in his gaze for the rest of the evening.
Chapter 13
Jax
This girl is going to be the death of us all. When I came back from the lake, all I wanted was to say to hell with this day and turn in. Between doing my normal stuff and then adding chopping up the tree that fell down the other day into firewood, I was wrecked. But as I came up the stairs and heard the water running and her barely muffled moans filtering out from the guest bathroom, I couldn’t help myself from stopping just short of my door.
