Jax’s lips brushed the back of my neck, and before I slipped back into sleepy land, I heard him say for no reason at all, “You’re beautiful, babe.”

When I woke up, I knew something was different. Jax wasn’t behind me, tucked as close as he could get. I rolled into his space, catching the faint scent of his cologne, and blinked until my vision adapted to the darkness.

The green neon light from the clock on the nightstand said it was three in the morning.

Sitting up, I looked around the room. There was no light peeking under the closed bathroom door, but the bedroom door was open. This was strange to my sleepy brain. I couldn’t think of a time where I’d shared his bed that he’d gotten up in the middle of the night. Granted, we hadn’t been sharing beds that long.

I sat there for a moment as my mind started to come back on line. I knew that a lot of people who’d seen battle had problems with sleep and Jax had said that when he returned, he had trouble with it. Concern tugged at me, waking me up. Was he having a bad night? Since we hadn’t been sleeping together that long, it was possible he had them and I didn’t know.

Throwing the cover off, I slipped off the bed. His shirt settled around my thighs as I stepped toward the door left ajar. That’s when I heard his voice.

“Not now.”

My brows furrowed as I opened the door and walked the short distance to the top of the stairs. From my vantage point, I could see down the whole stairwell and I could see the front door. It was opened, but no one was there.

Then I heard the second voice.

“I know I should’ve called.”

My heart stopped in my chest—stopped like it had hit a brick wall. That was most definitely a female voice. In the house. At three in the morning.

If Jax responded, I didn’t hear him, but I heard the girl again. “I was out and I missed you, baby. I’ve missed you so much.”

Oh. My. God.

I reached out, grabbing the wooden ball carved into the top of the banister to steady myself. I had to be dreaming. It was not three in the morning and some girl, who sounded vaguely familiar, was not in Jax’s house, telling him how much she missed him and calling him baby. No way.

I heard Jax then, but it was only bits and pieces of what he was saying. “. . . now isn’t a good time . . . no time . . . call first, but . . .”

Ice drenched my veins.

From what I could hear, it was pretty obvious. Call before you come over, because there might be someone else here. A second later, my theory was confirmed.

“Is someone here?” The voice rose.

Oh God . . .

Then I heard Jax loud and clear. “Keep your voice down, Aimee.”