I look at the guys, then grab Jax’s hand, interlacing my fingers in his. For some reason I feel like he needs more. More attention. More love. Just more.
“That was pretty freaking cool,” Knox says bouncing up and down as we start to walk back.
Jax just looks at him but doesn’t speak while Emmett and Callum walk up ahead. Tony and Lizzy are behind us waiting for Beckett and Will to catch up with them.
My stomach growls and Knox gives it a little rub. “Do we need to get her fed?”
“Yes. She’s starving.”
Knox walks with us for a few minutes, then bounces backwards to talk with Beckett and Will about something. Still uncertain about Jax, I look up at him and he looks back. “You good?”
“Yea, I’m good.” He smiles.
I nod, wanting to ask more. Wanting to press. But I know that’s not Jax’s style. If and when he wants to talk about it, he will. Last night felt… different, and maybe we pushed him a little too far. Although to be fair, we didn’t ask anything of him, but perhaps the energy… he felt that and was responding to it. Who knows?
“Hey!” Knox announces, running back up to us a few minutes later.
“What?” Jax chomps back.
“Will and Beckett think they can beat us,” he thumbs over his shoulder and we all look at Beckett, laughing.
“Unlikely. Doing what?”
“A race back to the house. They think they are in better shape than us.”
Jax looks at them, then at me. I can’t help but smile, because I know how competitive he is and, selfishly, I just want to see him take his shirt off and be all hot and sweaty.
“You got this, babe.” I pat his butt.
“You won’t be mad at me when I beat your brother?”
“Not at all. It will be good for him.”
He throws his head back, laughing. And my God, is he beautiful? “Fine.”
Knox jumps up and down and we stop, letting Tony, Lizzy, Beckett and Will catch up to us. Callum and Emmett must have heard the commotion, so they walk back towards us with a silent, but quizzical brow.
“What’s going on?” Emmett asks, watching Knox and Jax take their shirts off.
I reach out to grab them. “Beckett and Will want to race Knox and Jax back to the house. SEALs versus firefighters.”
“Good luck to them.”
“That’s what I said!” Knox chimes, more excited than a kid in a candy store.
Jax leans over and touches his toes and, of course, several beach goers have stopped to watch what’s going on. When four insanely attractive guys have their shirts off and start stretching, you know something is about to go down.
“We seem to be drawing a crowd,” Callum says, looking around.
“All the more people to see Becks get his ass spanked.” Knox stretches his arms across his chest.
“Did Will tell you I liked that?” Beckett says, cutting his eyes at Will, who shakes his head.
“Ew,” I cringe.
“Kinky,” Knox laughs, patting him on the shoulder.
“Don’t you dare ew me after what I had to listen to last night. I legitimately thought you were dying at one point. I have never heard something so… so… loud, deep, and squeally all at the same time.”
