“And?” Gage asked. “I’m an invalid. The docs said to get lots of rest. And Jez is tired. Look at her.”
“And you had a concussion,” Heath said pointedly, the words rumbling against my cheek.
“Fine,” Tony said, not sounding too upset about it. “I swear, the things I do for this pack.”
“That’s why we love you,” Gage said. “Right, Jez?”
Wait—Gage was sweet-talking Tony now? I lifted my head so I could meet his eyes as Tony helped him slide out of the wheelchair and onto the couch. Had he asked Tony about the two of them having a relationship? My eyes slid to Tony, whose burning cheeks and shy gaze said that he had.
“Are you two together now?” I blurted, since apparently my brain-to-mouth filter was still missing in action. “Oh my god—that’sfantastic.”
Tony’s blush deepened. “He and Heath said you were okay with it?”
“Tony, you’re my best friend! OfcourseI’m okay with it,” I told him, breaking free of Heath’s embrace to hug him instead.
“I’ll make a point of not flashing my cleavage at Knox anytime soon,” Tony joked weakly, wrapping an arm around me in return.
I smacked Tony lightly in the kidney for that, and Gage let out a bark of laughter—the bastard. Instant karma hit him immediately afterward, when he winced and lifted a hand to his busted ribs.
“Ow.”
“Serves you right,” I mumbled, and let Tony go.
“Everyone get down here with me,” Gage said. “We’re napping until dinnertime. No arguments.”
I had no desire to argue. I gently shoved Tony onto the couch with Gage, then plopped down in the mass of pillows on the floor and held out a hand to Heath, drawing him down with me. The door to the nest was still partway open, but I couldn’t bring myself to do anything about it.
I was safe here; I didn’t need a locked door between me and the rest of the world. Not while I was in this house, surroundedby these men. Smiling, I curled into Heath’s body and tried not to think too much about the nagging thrum of leftover sexual desire still singing along my nerves.
It didn’t take long for sleep to pull me under. In my dreams, at least, no one could judge me for what happened inside my subconscious mind. Soft hands caressed my body, the smell of smoke and evergreen needles joining whiskey and orange peel, with a hint of Tony’s beta musk woven into the tapestry.
Bodies moved, pale skin twining with tanned gold and tawny brown. Moans pierced the silence, growing sharper and more desperate before being deliciously muffled. I writhed against the warm body cradling me, rubbing my cheek against a broad chest to scent-mark it, and receiving a rumbling purr in return.
Thick fingers stroked through my hair, my awareness surfacing by degrees. The muffled moans continued in the background as I blinked my eyes open in the dim light.
“Jez?” Heath asked. “You said something about wanting to see Gage and Tony together. Wake up, because I don’t think you’ll want to miss this.”
FIFTY-FIVE
Jez
THE STRINGS OF HANGINGfairy lights illuminated Gage and Tony on the couch, outlining them in a warm glow. Gage had the hand on his uninjured side shoved inside Tony’s waistband, while Tony had his fist crammed into his own mouth, muffling his needy moans.
Gage’s gaze met mine, and his movements beneath Tony’s clothing stilled.
