of an army of four.” Avery was part of the team, even if he didn’t fully believe it yet. Felix turned in Jude’s embrace. “There’s room for one more.”
Jude smiled. “Shouldn’t you ask your friends first? Rocky hates me.”
“He’ll come around when he gets to know the real you and not the awful picture I painted.”
Jude groaned. “How bad did you make me out to be?”
“I told him the truth as I knew it,” Felix said, adding a careless shrug, sending pain screaming through his body.
“You told him the truth you found easier to believe,” Jude countered.
Felix quirked a brow. “Are we going to fight or fuck?”
Felix had his answer when Jude stepped back and started unbuttoning his stained shirt.
“Looks like I owe you two new shirts.” A part of his brain was already picking out the colors.
“You owe me nothing,” Jude countered, slipping his shirt down his shoulders and arms, letting it fall to the floor. He quickly divested himself of his shoes, socks, and pants while Felix just stood there gaping at Jude’s masculine beauty.
“Forgot something,” Felix said, pointing to the boxer briefs with the noticeable bulge.
“I’ll take them off when I’m out of reaching distance.”
Felix snorted and thought Jude changed his mind when he closed the distance between them and yanked Felix’s gym shorts down his legs. He’d chosen to go commando instead of putting his dirty underwear back on.
“Get in my bed and make yourself comfortable. I won’t be long.” Jude turned and headed into the bathroom with a purposeful stride.
God, the man had an incredible ass. Round and firm. Felix wanted to sink his teeth into both cheeks. He turned down the sheets and got into bed. He’d always been a belly sleeper, so lying on his stomach to avoid agonizing pain was a no-brainer. Exposing his ass to Jude for the taking was a bonus.
Felix’s hard-on was sandwiched between his stomach and the soft bed. It wouldn’t take much friction for him to blast off, so he lay still and watched Jude showering through the open door. The sound of trickling water was so relaxing, and watching Jude run soapy hands over his hunky body was mesmerizing. The remaining tension in his body drained, and Felix sank deeper into the mattress and pillow. His ten-ton eyelids fluttered once, twice, and finally slammed closed.
A shrill sound woke Felix from a deep sleep. What was it? The neighbor’s vicious peacocks shrieking in the bushes outside his window again? No, that wasn’t the right noise. By the time it sounded again, Felix was wide awake and fully aware of what had woken him.
A phone.
To most, a ringing phone in the dead of night was a bad thing. To a reporter, it was the sound of opportunity and possibility. Would this be the story that brought them fame and notoriety? Any reporter who claimed not to want those things was full of shit. They either were lying to themselves or just everyone around them. Felix was many things, some of them unpleasant, but self-delusional wasn’t among his attributes or flaws. He knew who he was, what he wanted, and what it took to make it happen. He didn’t lie to himself or anyone around him.
It was the only way to live.
Felix retracted his right hand from beneath his pillow. He reached for his phone but connected with a second pillow where his nightstand should’ve been. Wait a minute. He was on the wrong side of the bed. That alone wasn’t enough to induce panic, but the sleepy voice answering the phone from his normal side of the bed was.
Oh God.
The events of the evening assailed him—one earth-shattering, technicolor image after the other. It wasn’t his phone ringing. He wasn’t even sleeping in his bed.
Fuck. Oh fuck. What have I done?
Felix had fallen asleep before Jude came to bed, and instead of waking him, Jude had covered his body, turned off the lights, and gotten in bed beside Felix. He’d slept through it and lost precious time.
“Yeah, he’s here.” Jude’s sleep-roughened voice interrupted Felix’s pouting.
Felix could hear a male voice coming from Jude’s phone, but he couldn’t make out who it was. Fear momentarily spiked through him. Was it Mercy calling again? Felix nearly laughed out loud at his silliness. Mercy wouldn’t warn them before striking again. He’d just do it. Gulp.
Jude made a snarly sound. “Kiss my ass, Jacobs.”
“That’s my job.” Felix’s protest was ignored while Jude continued to argue with Rocky.
“Of course, you can talk to him.