Chapter 6 Tigerlily
Chapter Six: Tigerlily
The bed shifts.
I wake with a racing heart, an instant spike of adrenaline that comes from feeling movement where there shouldn’t be any. My eyes fly open, but I don’t move. Don’t breathe. Just listen.
Someone’s next to me.
In the bed.
My brain scrambles to catch up. Where am I?
Jax and Zephyr’s house.
The guest bedroom.
Zinnia’s at home.
And I stayed to avoid a fallout with my dad. But I climbed into this bed alone last night, and Jax closed the door behind him.
The person next to me groans.
My pulse hammers in my throat. I turn my head slowly and see the outline of a body under the sheets. Broad shoulders. Dirty blonde hair. A man.
Oh my God.
I look at his side profile. This isn’t Jax or Zephyr.
What the hell?
I don’t know him. I don’t recognize him. How did he get in here? When did he—
He moves again, and I freeze. My whole body locks up. Every muscle tenses. I’m ready to run. No, I’m going to scream. But my voice won’t work. It’s stuck somewhere in my throat, unable to come out.
Then he jerks awake.
His eyes snap open, and he sees me. For one second, we’re both just staring at each other. Then his face goes from confused to horrified.
He screams.
High-pitched and panicked, scrambling backward so fast he nearly falls off the bed, yanking the sheets with him. He stays on the edge of the bed, staring at me with wide eyes.
“What the fuck!” His voice cracks as he clutches the sheets. “Who the hell are you?”
I can’t answer. I’m pressed against the headboard, my heart slamming so hard it hurts.
He clutches the sheet to his chest like it’s going to protect him, eyes wide, breathing hard. And I realize he’s just as terrified as I am.
Which doesn’t make any sense. He’s the one who crawled into my bed. He’s the stranger. Why is he screaming at the sight of me?
“I—” I start, but my voice is barely a whisper.
The door explodes open.
Jax charges in, and the look on his face makes my blood run cold. His eyes are wild, his jaw is clenched, and his fists are already curled.
“Callum! What the fuck!” He’s across the room in two steps.
Zephyr’s right behind him, both of them yelling.
“What the fuck are you doing here!” Zephyr shouts.
The guy in the bed—Callum—drops the sheet and throws his hands up.
His bare ass cheeks clench.
“Whoa, whoa, chill! I didn’t—”
My heart’s in my throat. He’s naked.
Not just shirtless. Not just in boxers. Naked. Every inch of him exposed, and my brain short-circuits trying to process what I’m looking at while Jax and Zephyr are lunging forward, grabbing him by the arms.
They slam him against the wall so hard the whole room shakes.
“Did you touch her?” Jax’s voice is lethal. Low and controlled in a way that’s more terrifying than yelling.
Callum’s pinned, both of them holding him, and he’s still trying to explain.
“What? No! I didn’t even know she was there!”
Zephyr’s grip tightens on Callum’s other arm, and I see the way his knuckles go white. They’re not playing. This is real. They think he did something.
My brain finally catches up.
“Jax, stop!” I scramble off the bed, my legs shaky, and run over. “Stop!”
Jax doesn’t look at me. His forearm is pressed against Callum’s chest, holding him in place, and the muscle in his jaw is ticking.
“If you fucking touched her—”
“He didn’t!” I grab Jax’s arm with both hands and pull. He barely moves. “He didn’t touch me. I swear. He didn’t do anything.”
Callum’s laughing now. Actually laughing, his head thrown back against the wall, and I don’t understand how he can find any of this funny when Jax looks ready to break him in half.
“This is insane,” Callum says through his laughter. “You guys are fucking crazy.”
Jax shoves harder. “Shut up, Cal.”
“The bed was big enough,” I say quickly, desperately. “I didn’t even know he was there. He didn’t touch me. Nothing happened.”
Jax finally looks at me. His eyes are so dark, and I can see the war happening behind them. Belief. Doubt. Rage.
Then he steps back.
Zephyr lets go a second later, but he’s still watching Callum like he’s waiting for an excuse.
Callum straightens up, still grinning like this is the best entertainment he’s had in weeks. He’s completely unbothered by the fact that he just got slammed into a wall. Or that he’s still naked.
“You know, Jax, maybe don’t let your girlfriends sleep in the guest bedroom.”
“I’m not his girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
Callum raises his eyebrows, that grin spreading wider, and I realize my mistake a second too late.
My eyes drop.
I don’t mean to look. I’m trying not to look. But he’s right there in front of me, and he’s—
Oh my God.
His body is all muscle and golden skin, and between his legs, hanging heavy and thick and hard, is his dick. It’s not small. It’s definitely… something. And the way it just hangs there, so casual, so present, makes heat explode across my face.
I slam my hands over my eyes.
“Oh my God.”
I turn and bolt out the door, down the hall, my face burning so hot I might actually combust.
Behind me, the yelling starts again.
“Put some fucking pants on, Cal!”
“Jesus Christ, man, what the hell is wrong with you?”
I make it to the kitchen and press my back against the counter, trying to catch my breath. My hands are shaking. My whole body is trembling.
What just happened? Who is that guy? Why was he in my bed? And why did I just see his—
Stop. Stop thinking about it. Don’t replay it. Do not.
But my brain is already replaying it. The way Jax and Zephyr burst in like they were ready to kill someone. The way they pinned Callum without hesitation. The protective fury in their eyes.
They barely know me. Why would they do that to their own friend?
And Callum. The way he laughed. The way he looked at me with those eyes, like he was trying to figure me out. And his body. God, his body. I’ve never seen a naked man in person before, and now I can’t unsee it.
I start pacing back and forth across the kitchen floor, my thoughts spinning out of control.
What do I do now? Do I leave? Do I stay? Do I apologize? For what? I didn’t do anything wrong. He’s the one who—
I freeze and turn.
Jax and Zephyr walk out, watching me carefully.
And then Callum walks out of the hallway. He’s wearing shorts now, hanging low on his hips, and nothing else. His chest is bare, abs cut and defined, and I force myself to look at his face. Just his face.
He has a nice smile. I wish he’d put some clothes on though.
I push past him without a word and head back to the guest bedroom. I need my things. I need to figure out what I’m doing. I need to be out of the same room as them.
I grab my bag from where I dropped it last night and pull out my laptop. My hands are still shaking as I open it and immediately turn off my device location.
Dad.
Oh God, my dad.
I didn’t turn off my device location on here. He can’t find me, right? No, because if he had my laptop’s location, he would’ve been dragging me out of this house.
I glance at the time. 5:47 AM. He might still be asleep. He might not have checked the Find My Location for my laptop yet.
Please don’t have checked yet.
I stick my head out the door and ask, “What’s the Wi-Fi password?”
Zephyr looks down the hall and says, “I just shared it with you.”
I grin. “Thanks.”
I shut the door and walk to my laptop. Text messages sync through, and Elle’s name is at the top.
Elle: Are you okay?
The message is from last night. Relief washes over me so strongly that I almost cry.
Me: I’m okay. My phone broke. I’m texting from my laptop. I’ll explain later.
I send it before I can overthink it. Before I can spiral into what I’m going to tell her.
A soft knock on the door makes me jump.
I close the laptop and set it aside.
“Breakfast?” Jax’s voice comes through the door.
I hesitate, but I walk to the door and open it.
Jax is standing there with his hands in his pockets, and the fury from earlier is completely gone. Now he just looks concerned. Like he’s trying not to spook me.
I don’t know what to say. My throat feels tight. I’m in his house. I slept in his guest room. A stranger crawled into bed with me. And now he wants to take me to breakfast like this is normal.
None of this is normal.
“Breakfast?” I ask, self-conscious of my breath.
“We won’t bite,” he says, and there’s the smallest hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth.
“Okay,” I manage to say, but it comes out awkward and quiet.
He watches me for a second longer, then asks, “Do you want to go home?”
The question hits me hard, and my reaction is immediate.
“I never want to go home.”
The words are out before I can stop them, raw and honest and probably way too much.
Jax’s expression shifts. Something protective crosses his face.
“If he touches you again, I’ll hurt him.”
My heart stutters. He says it so matter-of-factly, like it’s not a threat but a promise. Like he’s already decided. I look into his eyes, trying to understand why. They’re darkening again, and it almost scares me.
“Why?” I whisper.
“What?”
“Why would you do that? You don’t know me.”
He’s quiet for a long moment. He tilts his head toward the door. “Let’s go out and eat breakfast before Cal passes out.”
“Okay. Give me a second to get dressed.”
He nods and closes the door, leaving me alone again.
I exhale slowly, trying to calm my racing thoughts.
I grab my favorite sweater from my bag and pull it on. Comfortable jeans. I dab perfume on my wrists, the familiar scent grounding me just a little.
When I open the door, Callum’s standing in the hallway.
“Sorry,” I say automatically, even though I don’t know what I’m apologizing for.
“Don’t be sorry, bed warmer.” He grins, and there’s something playful in his eyes. “I just need my phone. Think I left it in there.”
Bed warmer. The nickname makes my face heat.
I step aside to let him pass.
“I’m Callum, by the way.” He pauses in the doorway, looking back at me.
“Tigerlily.”
He blinks. “Tiger—what?”
I can’t help the small smile that tugs at my lips.