Page 23 of Purgatory (Devil Dogs of the Apocalypse #1)
I take a second to fully take in what he was telling me. He’s right. I wandered off to an area I’ve never been to, without telling anyone, without any protection, nothing but frolicking headspace. Stupid. That’s what it was. He put his life at risk out there to save me. He didn’t have to.
As I look up at this man, my third savior, I start to see him.
Really see him. The passion he has for keeping those around him safe is ingrained in him.
Like a dark knight with an ironclad purpose.
My breath hitches at the thought as well as the feeling of his thumb, which is now drawing soft, delicate circles on my waist. My fingers move to link with his above my head.
His face turns back toward me, his brows dipped, studying my face.
He has the most gorgeous eyes. Some people say that brown eyes are the boring ones out of the bunch.
Not his. Swirls of chocolate and caramel form his sinful gaze.
Simply put, they can be described with one word: captivating.
His eyes captured your stare and held it.
Caressed it. Inevitably rendering me to putty in his hands.
It’s my submission to his lingering movements that spurs something dark in him. His pupils turn almost completely black in the span of an instant. It’s like a demon takes over. The atmosphere around us electrifies with anticipation as the question in his eyes is answered.
All of a sudden, his lips crash against mine with a passion unrivaled.
Completely different from the one I had a little while ago.
Hawk’s kiss was caring, like one you would expect Prince Charming to deliver.
Kissing Jax is like kissing the devil. Hot, dark, protective and with the promise of vengeance to anyone who would do any of us harm.
Jax groans as we open our mouths, tangling our tongues together.
I respond with a breathy moan, pushing my body further into his, leaving no room for even the shadows to cling to.
The world around us vanishes, our want and need and craving for something bigger than ourselves, concealing us from everything else. We ride the high of it until...
The air shifts. A gust of wind screams through the trees, crashing our lusty cloud of fog to the ground.
The spell is broken. Jax freezes his movements and then takes a quick step back, running his hands roughly through his hair, pulling at the roots.
His eyes begin darting this way and that.
Frantic in their movements. My own emotions begin to twist the chaos, embarrassing inadequacy taking a front seat to whatever it is going on between us.
“ What the hell did I do this time?” my inner self questions.
He must have heard my inner monologue because he rushes back over to me, taking my face between his hands.
He runs one softly through my hair, soothing me and my panicked thoughts.
His eyes return to mine, misty and frantic as he speaks softly.
As if he hardly has the breath to make the words come to life in the first place.
“We can’t. I can’t. I can’t do this again.
It hurt too much last time. It will kill me this time.
I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I keep doing this to you.
You don’t deserve this. You are so beautiful and sweet and stubborn as hell and.
.. fuck...” He turns away slightly, seemingly talking to himself. “Just like her...”
Her?
He looks back to me, his eyes glassy now.
He looks so sad and I feel as if I missed the bar completely.
... Did he lose someone? My mind begins running circles around itself to rival Olympic track stars but before I could go careening off to the left, he speaks again, his eyes vacant, as if he was reliving a dream.
“I was in a relationship, not long ago. Just after all of this started, she was here. With me. Before the guys came. It was still early on, but the virus came through like a plague and wiped out most of the town. A week or so came and went and the new horde of soul-less bodies left. Or so we thought. We were going to scope out the town. See if there were any others that survived and stayed after. She wanted to make a quick trip down to the grocery store, find some chips or whatever other shit she wanted to help take her mind off of everything. I watched her go into the store while I stayed in the truck. Like it was any other normal day. Like an idiot. I should’ve followed her.
I should’ve paid more attention. I didn’t even see her leave the store to go across the street.
Within minutes, I heard the screams, and I immediately recognized them as hers.
I raced in the direction they came from as fast as I could, but it was too late.
The bites were evidence enough. Jagged, red and gnarly running down her neck.
The light in her eyes was there one second, and the next, I could see it starting to fade.
Replacing vitality with vile, repulsive death. ”
He blinks the nightmare out of his eyes and focuses on me again.
“The ironic part about both of your stories.... she left the supermarket, to run to the bookstore, probably to get me a new book to add to my collection. She always knew how much I loved to read. I only got a glimpse of its red cover before I needed to get the hell out of there. A simple gift, from her to me. Just like you, it seems. Trying to run off and gather your little red gifts for us.”