Page 13 of Purgatory (Devil Dogs of the Apocalypse #1)

Fuck, Cole is hot as hell too! I mean, that’s obvious, given the nature of my interrupted dream.

His slight ginger scruff, cropped copper hair and inquisitive, green eyes the color of a forest after a long spring rain.

I can get lost in those emerald gems and wind up in Oz or Ireland messing about with all different kinds of little people if I’m not careful.

We don’t even need to say how toned they are.

They probably have a gym hidden around here somewhere and just spend hours a day adding muscle to muscle.

What else do they have to do every day besides rescuing damsels like myself and working out like fucking Spartans?

Not eat cake, that’s for damn sure! Let's face it, I don’t stand a chance against all of the sexiness hiding in this house and I haven’t even met the last one yet. .. Jax, right?

Girl, calm your tits. You JUST met them. You can’t jump their bones already.

“Yeah? That’s what you think. I’ll do what I want with the sexy beasts...”

Cole turns towards me, an inquisitive brow raised, second guessing if he heard that right. Chuckling softly, he asks “uh...come again?”

Oh, I'll come as many times as you want me to, Doc...NO dammit, control yourself and your damn hormones you slutty wench!

I look up at him, feigning innocence, “Huh? I didn’t say anything...” then dart my eyes away for good measure. He can’t tell if I'm fibbing if he can’t look into my eyes... right? RIGHT? I sneak a look back at him to see if it worked.

OMG, he’s smiling now.... he fucking heard it.... son of a BITCH! I’m never going to live this down...

“Ok, darlin’... You ready to head down?” He chuckles a little as he asks before offering me a hand to move out of the bed.

With a sigh, I take his hand and stand up, immediately drawing a gasp from my lips and making my eyes widen when I remember I'm wearing nothing but my bra and shorts. He’s already seen me like this, so I shouldn’t be so concerned, but I still can’t help but try my best to cover up my top half and look to Cole for some help.

He doesn’t though. He just stands there like a Roman statue, staring directly at my tits.

My lack of social interaction must be firing on all cylinders today because, as if I’ve been carved from marble myself, I, too, freeze at his ogling.

Just the two of us, standing motionless like we’re in some freaky art exhibit at The Met. Fabulous.

Something must have zapped his brain right that second, however, because he snaps out of it, shaking his head and runs to the dresser to retrieve a t-shirt without looking.

It's not mine, which is clearly still folded neatly on top of the dresser, and is a little big but, whatever, it’s clean and will do.

“Here you go.” He hands over the shirt with an outstretched hand, stalls for a second then turns around to.

.. offer privacy? Little late but I’ll take the act of chivalry, thank you.

“Thanks...” I toss the shirt on. It's made of that super soft cotton fabric that just makes you want to wrap yourself in it and groan at how good it feels on your skin. Oh, it's the little luxuries, I tell you.

I edge out an “O.K.” and Cole turns around, taking in the shirt he gave me and letting out a little smile.

I look down, suddenly self-conscious, and see what he’s reacting to.

The shirt he gave me has a picture of two sad, little baby T-rexes with the phrase “If you’re happy and you know it.

.. oh no...” I giggle to myself and any lingering anxiety dwindles to nearly nothing.

Cole leads me out of the bedroom and down the hallway, gesturing to a few of the other doors on our way to the stairs.

He makes a note of his and Hawk’s bedrooms across the hall from the one I was in, a bathroom and a linen closet before he stops at the landing and points to the far end.

“Before we go any further, that room next to yours,” Cole points down the hallway to the very last room, “...is Jax’s room.

Do yourself a favor and stay away from it.

Don’t go into it. Don’t even look at it.

Just leave it alone. He likes his space. Think of it like his sanctuary.”

I nod. Filing the danger zone in the back of my head for future reference.

“If you need anything just knock on either my or Hawk’s door. We don’t mind.”

“Got it. No going in the West Wing.”

He lets out laugh, “Good one. Beauty and the Beast, right? Well, I can definitely see that.”

Oh, damn. Noted.

We make our way down the stairs but he doesn’t even need to lead me to the kitchen. My nose does a good enough job of showing me the way.

“Wow, that smells amazing,” I groan.

I enter the kitchen and take a seat on one of the stools at the island as Hawk places a huge bowl in front of me.

“Bon Appetit. Jax made it from scratch. He’s sort of the unofficial chef of the house. Hope you like it.”

I take a hearty spoonful of the thick, rich stew and let out a moan of appreciation. “Oh, my gravy, this is so good. Is Jax around so that I can thank him for the meal and everything?”

Hawk makes a small wince and side eyes Cole.

What’s that about...? Oh yea, he’s the big, bad wolf and I need to keep my little red riding hood ass clear of him.

“You can let him know tomorrow. He’s already turned in. We’re usually so exhausted each day that by now we just head to our rooms and crash for the night.”

I nod but suddenly sadden at the thought that the owner of the house didn’t even have the desire to meet the stowaway currently residing in one of his rooms. Does he not care like the others?

Does he not want me here? A wave of apprehension comes over me, making me feel like an intruder.

A trespasser. I subconsciously curl into myself at the thought.

Cole must notice my sudden demise in morale and changes the subject.

“So, just so you’re aware, tomorrow, we’re going to take off in the morning around 8 or 9 am to finish our scouting route in the town you were staying in.

I would offer for you to come with us, but after your fainting episodes today, I’d like it if you stayed close to the estate to recover and rest some more. ”

“Wait, you guys are all leaving me here, alone?” I ask, questioning their trust in me with my being a practical stranger and all.

“Oh, no. Jax will still be here. He likes to stay back and secure the property as well as work in the garden and keep up with the maintenance.” Cole said.

So, they’re leaving me alone with the guy that they emphatically compared as equal to The Beast, that doesn’t want to know who I am... or even acknowledge I'm here... great...

“Is he going to meet me before you guys go? You know, to break the ice so he doesn’t see me on his property and suddenly have this urgent desire to, I don't know... kill me?” Great, now I’m nervous.

I really don’t want to be left here alone with him.

Especially after all of the warnings. Fuck, the guy could kill me in some paranoid fit, cut me up and make a bonfire out of me all before they returned and they’d never even know it!

Oh God, what if he starts to play Huey Lewis and the News?!... and all that American Psycho shit? Fuck. That. Noise. No thanks! I was made to live!

“Nah, you’ll be ok.” Hawk makes a motion with his hand, waving it around in front of him as if this isn’t the most appropriate time to be freaking out. “He knows what you look like from when we brought you in. Don’t worry, think of him as a big, cuddly teddy bear. You know, one that has RBF....”

“RBF?”

“Resting Broody Face.” Tagging on a laugh at the end. Unfortunately, I’m not fully assured of his assessment.

“Just steer clear of him and his room and you’ll be fine. We’ll try and do more formal introductions tomorrow when we get back,” Cole adds.

“Ok, fine,” I sigh out irritatingly. I guess I have no choice in the matter.

At least I’ll have my baseball bat to protect me.

Wait... where is my bat? I look around, concerned for my missing stuff, but reassure myself when I see all of the cast iron pans staged around the kitchen. I smile inwardly. I’ll be ok.

Cole continues. “Tell you what, it’s been a long day for us and even though you’ve been sleeping for a bit, you should still take advantage and rest some more while you can.”

No worries on this end for that, Doc. I feel like I’ve been hit by a freight train so if I'm able to have more sleep, you won’t be hearing any complaints from me.

“Hell, join me if you want to... cuddle party!”

Both Cole and Hawk breathe subtle laughs as if they’re not sure if they were supposed to hear that. I notice and immediately cringe.

“Shit... I’m so sorry. I’m prone to... God this is embarrassing.

.. ok... I haven’t seen anyone else in a long ass time and I've, kind of... on occasion... to handle the constant silence... taken to talking out loud to myself.” I worry my lower lip into my mouth, biting down to give myself something to focus on.

Hawk responds first. “It’s ok. I think your lack of a filter is kind of adorable, actually.” Ending his sentence with a smirk and a wink.

OK... I’ll take Flirting for $1200, Alex.

“It, certainly, makes it easier to know exactly what you want, when you want it...” Cole says showing off his megawatt smile and licking his lower lip as his eyes trace me up and down.

Well, damn! Let's just double down while we’re at it.

My lack of game is showing, badly, and I let out a giggle and nod, saying “Good to know...”

Thankfully, Cole notices my awkwardness and relieves me of my suffering, “Alright, I think that’s enough excitement for today.

Let’s get to bed. We could all use some decent sleep.

Feel free to use the bathroom in the hallway if you’d like to clean up.

We all have bathrooms in our rooms. Just grab a towel out of the closet. ”

Cole takes and rinses my bowl for me before we all head up the stairs.

“A shower sounds, amazing, actually.” I start towards the closet in search of a towel to do just that.

Hawk comes up closer to me as we walk down the hall, dips his head to mine and whispers, “In case you were wondering... I make a pretty good big spoon... just so you know" before walking off into his room and shutting the door quietly behind him as I stand there, gaping in his vacant direction.