She's been sleeping for a while, and I'm enjoying just watching her, completely satiated and at peace.
I could have taken her for the entire night, but I know she's still weak from being sick. I've made up my mind that Jax will check on her upon his return, and then I can put my mind at ease knowing that she's okay.
If anything ever happened to her…fuck, I don't know what I would do. The thought of it terrifies me to no end.
Shaking the terrible idea from my head, I dial Jax's cell phone number. He had sent me several texts earlier…with a million emojis, of course…letting me know that he was going to spend the night in the city after picking up Adeline's engagement ring.
Jax answers on the fourth ring. "Have I ever told you that you use more emojis than a fucking teenager?" I growl into the phone while rolling my eyes.
"Well, hello to you too, Luc," he says sarcastically. "And for the record, the poop emoji is freaking hilarious. I don't care what you say."
"Just tell me you got the ring and you're keeping it safe," I whisper, not wanting my sleeping beauty to somehow over hear our conversation.
"Yes, I have it. And it's perfect." After a pause, he tells me, "Adeline's gonna absolutely love it."
I sigh in relief, and it feels like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. "Thank fuck," I breathe. I was worried about not seeing it in person and not picking it up personally…but I hadn't wanted to leave Adeline alone again, considering what happened last time. She feels safe when I'm around, and so I don't want to cause her any undue stress.
"How's the city?"
"Booooring," Jax drawls out.
I can hear some noise in the background, a door opening perhaps and then the sounds of the city in the background. He must be out on a balcony. "Are you coming home tomorrow?" I ask him, but he doesn't answer.
I press the phone harder against my ear, worried. But then I hear something…something familiar…a woman…moaning.
"Are you watching porn?" I hiss in partial curiosity but mostly disgust at the thought of him watching it while being on the phone with me.
"Uh, I think my night just got a whole hell of a lot more interesting," he tells me quickly. "Hey, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow."
He ends the call abruptly, and I roll my eyes again. He probably spotted a couple on the street having sex or something. That would explain the woman's moans I heard.
Leave it to Jax to take his voyeurism skills with him on his mini vacation.
Pocketing my phone, I walk over to Adeline and scoop her into my arms. I carry her to my bed. Where she belongs.
And then we fall asleep with her wrapped in my arms.
But even with her safe and secure in my grasp, I still have a nightmare that night about losing her…
I wake up in the middle of the night covered in sweat and reaching for her in the darkness. My hands find her warm body and pull her close to mine.
"I'm never letting you go," I tell her vehemently.
"Ditto," she whispers sleepily against my chest.
CHAPTER 24
LUCIEN
THE NEXT DAY I'm sitting in the library with my laptop resting on my legs while Adeline sleeps serenely a few feet away in a comfortable chaise lounge in the corner of the room. She was reading for a while, but subsequently fell asleep with the book in her lap.
She's understandably exhausted from our fuck fest yesterday; and she's, unfortunately, still feeling under the weather. I text Jax to let him know I want him home soon so he can check on her, but he's been ignoring my calls and texts all morning.
I'm beginning to wonder if he didn’t participate in his own fuck fest yesterday…with the woman I heard moaning in the background of our phone conversation last night.
It's not like him to not answer my calls or respond to my texts. That combined with the nightmare I had last night about losing Adeline has me on edge.
But having her close to me now, sleeping peacefully while I attempt to get work done on my laptop has me feeling a tiny bit at ease.
