Race the Storm

Chapter 12

Willa lay in the bed, trying not to think about how many people had slept her before her, then trying not to think about Jax currently in the shower, then...

UGH. Stupid pregnancy hormones. She was totally blaming them.

But she couldn't help the giggle that escaped her as she pictured Jax's face earlier when she'd basically called him out on his ripe odor. He'd been shocked that she'd gone there.

Yeah, she totally let down her inhibitions when she was tired.

"What's so funny?"

Willa's eyes darted over to the bathroom door and she accidentally groaned out loud when she realized Jax had heard her laughing at him, even if he didn't know exactly what she was laughing at. But then her mouth went dry as she realized she was looking at a damp, shirtless Jax, subtly glowing in the dim bathroom light spilling out from the door. Even worse, his muscles were shifting smoothly under his skin, defining themselves as he rubbed a towel through damp hair that looked almost black right now. It only served to highlight those bright blue eyes even more.

Willa couldn't have stopped the soft, breathy sigh that escaped her if she tried.

"Umm..."

"Ummm?"

"You."

One eyebrow popped up. "Me?"

Willa propped herself up on her elbows and nodded vigorously, biting her lip before looking away to try and gather her thoughts. "Your facial expressions..." Ugh. She flopped back down on the bed and threw her arm over her eyes. "Nevermind."

"You're thinking about my facial expressions in bed?" Oh, there was definitely amusement in his voice.

Could a hole open up in the floor and swallow her now, please? "Nope," she muttered stubbornly, quite aware that she wasn't making any sense at this point. A small, loopy giggle escaped her as she laughed at herself. God she was so exhausted. "You can't get me to admit anything, soldier."

"I don't think I want to even try," Jax muttered back as his footsteps sounded, passing by her bed to go to the other bed closer to the door.

She lowered her arm and flopped it back on the pillow, looking up at the old popcorn ceiling. There was a dark brown water stain in one of the corners. It was a far cry from the fancy, clean atmosphere of the Estate. It reminded her more of home than she wanted to admit.

Tossing aside the memories, she turned toward Jax. He stood near the door, arms crossed, looking at the door.

"Are you going to sleep?"

"Huh?" He glanced back over his shoulder. "Yeah. I was thinking."

"You should sleep while they're out there," she said, meaning his friends. Battle buddies. Fellow soldiers? "Unless they're traveling with us...?"

"Probably just us," he said. He sat down on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping down. "We'd be more memorable if there are four of us, and Diego will need to get back to the others."

"How many people are on your team?"

"Just ten." He rubbed his hand across his face and messed up his short wet hair. Willa's eyes shot back to the dark spot on the ceiling. "Only guys in our group."

"There aren't women with powers?"

"There are, just not on our team," he said. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him lay back onto the bed, head hitting one of the almost flat pillows. "They don't really explain why they do things. They just do them. And we go with it."