Chapter 141: Happy Birthday, Salvete_Mortem

Chapter 141: Happy Birthday, Salvete_Mortem Even in sleep, she haunted him. In the dream, she was laughing. Her blue eyes sparkled as she leaned back on his bed, wearing one of his shirts, and nothing else. She crawled toward him, teasing him with that mischievous smile she always wore when she was trying to get under his skin. But this time, she didn’t stop there. "Still pretending you don’t want me? I know you do, Jax. Nothing is stopping you now." she whispered. He reached for her. Touched her. Her skin was like fire. Her mouth tasted like sin. She pressed herself into him, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him like she knew exactly what he wanted. His fingers were tangled in her hair, and his hand was on her waist, tugging her close, groaning into her mouth as she straddled his hips and whispered his name. "Jax..." Jax moaned her name softly in response, and his brow twitched as he sank deeper into the dream. "I want you, Mari." He wasn’t fully conscious, but his body reacted all the same— tight with want, heavy with heat. And then something shifted. Jax stirred slightly, pulled from the depths of sleep by the feel of something soft and warm solidly pressed against him in ways that made his body ache. A small sound escaped his throat as he shifted, realizing that there was a feminine body curled against him. He blinked slowly but didn’t open his eyes fully. He wasn’t ready to wake up just yet. His body was warm and he was enjoying his dream too damned much to want to wake up before doing anything meaningful. For a second, his drowsy mind thought maybe Diva had slipped in during the night like she sometimes did. That was the only explanation. Wrapped in the warmth of the moment, his hand slid instinctively along the shape beside him, tracing the curve of a waist and the softness of a breast. He pressed himself closer, his hips aligning naturally with the body against his, and he nuzzled forward, brushing his lips against the smooth skin of her neck. One arm slipped around her waist while the other drifted downward, traced a slow path from the dip of her waist to her chest, curling around the warmth of her breasts. She was warm and soft in his palm as his thumb brushed lazily against her through the thin fabric of her top. Still half-asleep, he let his palm cup her breast gently, his thumb brushing lightly across her nipple through the fabric of her top. His body reacted immediately; hard, needy and insistent as it pressed against her lower back. Although Mari had been awake from the moment she heard her name and felt something poking into her lower back, her breath caught now, and her eyes fluttered open when she felt his hand sliding across her chest. Jax was touching her. She held still, unsure if he was awake or sleep-touching like sleepwalking. Did he know it was her? Or did he think it was Diva? Her body tensed for a split second... but curiosity wrapped its fingers around her, pulling her back down into the moment. His thumb brushed her nipple, and a tiny gasp escaped her lips. Was he touching her because he thought she was asleep? Or because... he wanted to and didn’t mind her waking up? She didn’t know. But whatever the reason was, she didn’t want him to stop. She had always been curious about everything. About sex. About men. About what it felt like to be touched like this but she had never been interested in anyone enough to find out. And now here she was... wrapped up in a man’s arms, being touched so intimately. So she stayed still. Barely breathing. Just so she could see what he’d do next. Her fingers curled against the sheet, her body tingling under his touch. The warmth of his palm moved lower, slipping toward the waistband of her pajama shorts— A soft, involuntary moan slipped out of her lips as his hand slid inside, and then he paused. Jax’s body froze. Still not opening his eyes, his brows drew together in a slow frown. Something felt... off. Why was Diva wearing clothes? She never wore clothes to bed. She liked crawling into bed with nothing but a pair of lacy panties or most nights nothing at all. But this body... this girl in his arms... she was clothed. She felt smaller, warmer and softer. Something was wrong, he thought as he sniffed her. She didn’t smell like Diva. This scent was... Mari? No. That couldn’t be. The fog of sleep peeled back. Wait. Wait. Jax’s eyes flew open and the haze of sleep scattered instantly. He pulled back slightly to get a better look and what he saw made his heart stop. It wasn’t Diva. It was Mari. Lying beside him. In his bed. His hand on her breast. His hips pressed into her backside like a man who’d been dreaming of her, which he had. "No," he muttered, jerking back immediately. "This has to be my dream." His eyes widened as he stared at her, horrified. His heart jumped, then skipped again as he realized it wasn’t a dream. She was real. The dream had turned real. But it wasn’t supposed to. Sweet. So, he has been sleep-romancing her because he was dreaming of her, Mari thought, feeling both a mix of amusement at the situation and disappointment that he stopped. Mari turned her head slowly, blinking up at him with a frown. "Why did you stop?" she asked, her voice husky with sleep. "I was enjoying it." Realizing that she had been awake and aware, Jax shot out of bed like the sheets had burned him, his heart pounding wildly in his chest. "What the hell are you doing in my room?" he barked, eyes filled with disbelief and panic. Mari blinked slowly at his sudden movement. Her hair was a mess, and her eyes were still hazy with sleep, but she looked relaxed. Even comfortable, like she belonged right there. She tilted her head. "That felt reeeaaally good," she drawled like he hadn’t asked her anything. "You..." He stepped back another inch. "Why the hell are you in my bed?" he growled, breathing hard, heart slamming against his ribs. Mari sat up lazily, her pajama top slipping off one shoulder. She tugged it back into place, blinking at him with feigned innocence. "I was bored. So I came to find you. You were asleep, and I guess I dozed off." "You guess you dozed off?" Jax repeated, his voice sharp with disbelief. "In my bed? Are you crazy?" She rolled her eyes. "You didn’t seem to mind a second ago." Jax scrubbed a hand down his face, feeling the heat of shame clawing at his chest. "Only because I thought you were Diva!" Mari scoffed. "That’s a pathetic excuse," she said with a little smirk. "Even an idiot can tell the difference between me and her." "I wasn’t awake!" he snapped. "Well, that does explain the wandering hands..." Jax’s fists clenched at his sides. "Get out." Mari blinked. "Huh?" "Out," he growled. "Don’t come in here ever again." "Seriously?" "Yes! Leave now." "Why are you acting like I climbed on top of you and took advantage of you?" Mari asked in disbelief. "You were in my bed! Uninvited!" he roared. Mari arched an eyebrow. "Still, I’m not the one who touched someone in their sleep. I kept my hands to myself." "I won’t be touching you in the first place if you weren’t on my bed! You don’t belong here. Get out!" "You don’t have to be embarrassed. We are both adults. You touched me and I liked it. I wasn’t grossed out by it. So, it’s fine," Mari said reasonably. Jax’s throat worked as he swallowed tightly. "Leave," he said again, this time through gritted teeth. Mari tilted her head, looking at him curiously. "So you really don’t want to continue what you started?" He pointed toward the door and gritted his teeth. "Out." His body was aching with frustration. Not just at her but at himself too. Maybe if he hadn’t enjoyed his stupid dream so much, he would have woken up before laying a finger on her. Mari gave him a scowl, "Well, your loss, not mine," she said as she stood up slowly, lifting her arms to stretch as she did. Jax looked away as the pajamas top stretched over her taut nipples, reminding him of the feel of them a moment ago. "You know," she said, walking toward the door, "most guys would’ve shown a little gratitude that I didn’t wake up yelling or hitting them. I deserve a thank you for calmly letting your wandering hands do their thing." "I’m not most guys," Jax muttered, jaw clenched. Mari turned back at the doorway. "No. You’re not. You’re just the guy who dreams about me... then freaks out when I’m giving him permission to make his dream a reality," she said with a sweet smile. His eyes darkened. How did she know he had dreamt of her? "Don’t flatter yourself." Mari smiled sweetly. "I don’t need to. I know you want me and you know it too. What I want to figure out now is how long you’ve been dreaming of me. Was tonight the first? Or has it been since the first time we met?" She asked with a knowing smile. Without responding, Jax stormed toward the door, fist clenched as he opened it and jerked his head for her to leave. "Have it your way then," Mari said with a roll of her eyes as she headed for the door but before she could get to it, Diva appeared at the doorway and stepped inside.