Page 79 of Close to Heaven

She sat up and glanced at the clock on the nightstand. It was just after two in the morning, around the same time she’d knocked on the wall the night before. Had Jax come to her door and then left? Maybe he’d gotten up to use the bathroom and wanted to check on her.

Now that she was up, she decided to use the bathroom too. She shoved off the covers and crept softly across the wood floor. Maybe she’d imagined the footsteps outside her door, and she didn’t want to wake anybody up with her own. Luckily, she still had on her fuzzy socks, and they muffled the sound.

She slowly cracked open the door and looked both ways down the hall like she would at a traffic stop. Nobody. Then she tiptoed across the hall into the bathroom and softly closed the door. After she used the facilities, she glanced at herself in the mirror while she washed her hands. Her hair looked a mess, and she used her wet hands to smooth it down. Not that anyone would see her like this…

She almost laughed at her foolishness, but she stifled it just like she had as a child in church. After quickly drying her hands, she opened the door and stepped into the hall.

Go back to your room. Do NOT turn left. Go straight. Go straight.

But what did she do? She turned left and padded over to Jax’s bedroom door.

I’ll just listen for a minute, and then I’ll go back to bed.

She cupped her right ear and pressed it to his door, alert for any sounds. However, the only sound she heard was Dakota’s soft snoring drifting up the stairs. She was just about to turn away when suddenly the door opened and she crashed into Jax’s hard chest.

“Oomph.”

He quickly covered her mouth with his hand, pulled her inside, and shut the door behind her. Then he removed his hand and motioned her further into the room—his room.

She glanced around and tried to catch her breath. She couldn’t see much aside from the shapes of his dresser and king-sized bed. Then Smoky popped his head up from his place at the end of the bed, and she realized they weren’t alone.

“Hi,” Jax whispered.

“Hi.”

They eyed each other for a long, sizzling moment before he spoke again.

“Trouble sleeping again?”

“I thought I heard footsteps outside my door. Was that you, by any chance?” She gazed up at him, but there was hardly any light, and it was difficult to see his expression.

“Yes, it was me.”

She took a step closer. “Why didn’t you come in?”

“I didn’t want to disturb you.” He reached out and touched her hair. “It’s wet,” he said, sounding surprised.

She giggled and then clamped her hand over her mouth. “I didn’t want you to see it looking like a rat’s nest.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.”

His gaze roamed over the rest of her, taking in her T-shirt and fuzzy socks. “No sweats?”

“I put them in the hamper this morning. I’m worried Dakota’s on to us.”

Her mention of his sister seemed to give him pause. “You probably shouldn’t be in here.”

“I know.” Yet she couldn’t make herself leave.

“I tried to sleep, but I kept thinking about you in the next room. It was torture.”

She loved the sound of his voice in the dark, and she closed the remaining distance between them.

“I’m here now.”

He sucked in a breath. Then his hands went around her waist and he tugged her forward. He was dressed only in boxer-briefs, like the other night, and she felt the distinct ridge of his erection pressed against her.

She trailed her hands up his bare chest, looped them around his neck, and breathed him in. He slowly tipped his head down and captured her lips just as a sigh escaped them.