Page 93 of Entangled

Survival tip #59

Avoid people at all costs.

Apart from being dangerous,

it’s usually just terribly awkward.

When I wake, it’s slow and warm and floating in Jayk’s scent. We made it back to camp after our soul-shattering sex in the woods, half-clothed and disheveled, and I didn’t even have to ask for the company—he hauled me into his pallet with him and wouldn’t let me go. I rub my cheek into him, dreamy and romantic after the first full night’s sleep I’ve had in weeks.

Mine, he said. He dragged so many things out of me last night, feelings I didn’t even know were there. I unleashed on him—and he not only took it, he urged me on. Like all my messy, ugly feelings were just some heavy load he wanted to help me shuck.

I can’t say they’re gone. Outside of this contented bubble, trouble awaits, and all my dark thoughts lurk.

But I do feel lighter.

My whole life, I’ve solved my problems myself. Worked through my feelings privately, so they wouldn’t be a burden to anyone... or an annoyance.

Jayk doesn’t find my feelings annoying. He’s hungry for them.

Stretching against him, I smile, slowly taking in the gentle sounds of the camp being packed away. He’s delightfully warm. Deliciously so. I drink in his closeness like the sweetest dream. Snuggle into him like?—

A rough hand claps against my ass, then gives it a coarse squeeze.

My starry haze disappears with thesnap, and I yelp, lifting my head from his lap. Jayk is sitting up, bare-chested in the cool morning air, smirking at me.

In the dim morning light, I see every red mark, every bruise, every scratch I left on him last night. I run my finger over one of them wonderingly, and he watches me, a hint of uncertainty flickering over his face.

I hear someone shift, and I whip around to see Dom and Jasper sitting beside one another on a log next to our low fire, both holding steaming mugs in almost exactly the same way.

Both staring at us.

My cheeks flame, and I pull back, but Jayk grasps me around my neck and yanks me until I fall over him, then plants a long, deep, impossibly thorough kiss on my mouth. I’m panting into him by the time he releases me, and he pats my cheek.

I’m still blinking, dazed, when he gets to his feet, and his arousal is thick and insistent against his zipper beside my head. Proud—and blatantly obvious. Jayk doesn’t seem to care, though Dom’s and Jasper’s eyes follow him as he very slowly pulls on his shirt, then his kit.

Then their gazes switch back to me.

Well, this is just... I work up a tense, uncomfortable smile.

Damn it, Jayk.

I smooth some of my hair back, becoming conscious of just how... sticky I am.

I did what I could last night with a canteen of water and some obligingly large leaves, but what I really need is a vat of boiling water and a scrubbing brush.

“Good morning,” I manage. “Did you both, um, have a good night?”

And I’m impressed with how polite I sound right up until Dom lifts an eyebrow.

“Not as good as Jayk’s,” he says dryly, and I cringe.

Jayk checks his pistol at his hip, then shrugs. “I need to piss a storm. Watch her for me.”

Jasper pauses his cup before it reaches his lips, then throws an arch look my way as Jayk strolls off.

“He has a... surprising charm,” I say awkwardly.

Jasper takes a sip from his tea. “His appeal is boundless, I’m sure.”

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