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I perched one cheek on the very edge, but Jax had other ideas. He hooked an arm around my hips and tugged me fully onto the bed next to him. Of course, this made me tense and uncomfortable, and thus stiff as a board.

"Not sure she wants to snuggle you, bud," said yet another giant Alaskan uncle. "Maybe give the lady a choice."

This uncle was ginormous as well, standing easily six-three or -four; he wasn't as heavily muscled as Bax, but more so than Canaan, and he had full-sleeve tattoos on both arms, longish silver-and-brown hair swept backward, and a short, thick beard.

Jax found my hand between our bodies and threaded our fingers together under the blanket, otherwise giving me enough space on the bed that I didn't feel smothered. Which I hadn't known I would feel until it happened, but apparently, he did.

Weird.

"You gonna introduce us or what, son?" Zane said from his place in the far corner, leaning against the wall near the IV machine and monitors.

"Oh, right." Jax raised his voice so it cut through the hubbub—there had to be eight people in the tiny room, which was definitely against some sort of rule, but apparently it didn't apply here. "Lt. Commander Tea Tiernan, this is my family." He pointed as he named people. "There'll be a quiz later, so take notes. Tall guy with arm tats is Uncle Bast. Piece of fuck is Uncle Bax. That's Canaan and Corin."

Corin was an identical twin to Canaan—tall and lean with shoulder-length hair, a lightly stubbled jaw; ripped jeans, tight T-shirts, and patch-studded leather biker jackets announced their status as professional rockstars.

Jax indicated the women in the room next—four of them all together near the window. "That's my mom, Mara, Aunt Dru who's married to Uncle Bast, Aunt Eva who's married to Uncle Bax, and the twins are Tate and Aerie. Tate is with Corin, Aerie is with Canaan."

I scanned the room, reciting each name a few times as I looked at the owner, then recited them out loud for confirmation, although I named them as couples. "Bast and Dru, Bax and Eva, Zane and Mara, Canaan and Aerie, Tate and Corin." I looked at Jax. "Is that right?"

“You don’t have to remember everyone at the start, babe,” Jax said. “There are too many of us. Your brain will explode. This isn't even a quarter."

"Seven uncles plus your dad," I said, ignoring his advice to not try; I glanced up and to the left as I tried to remember what he'd said. "Fourteen immediate, first cousins? Or seventeen?" It came to me, then. "No, twenty-three! Twenty-three first cousins."

"Impressive." This came from Corin. At least, I think it was Corin. One of the twins, at least.

I shrugged. "I've got a good memory. Let's see if I can recall everyone you told me about. Everyone in this room I've already named. Which means there's…um. Lucian, Xavier, ummm…three weird R-names." I blinked, blanking. "Not weird, just…unusual and interesting. Um—Oh! Remington, Ramsey, and Roman. I'm drawing a blank if you've mentioned anyone else."

Jax just stared at me for a moment. "I was kidding about the quiz, you know."

I shrugged. "I know. But your family is important to you. I want to remember who everyone is."

I was struggling internally with all the attention on me. I could tell they all had a million questions, but either Jax had forbidden them from asking or they were restraining themselves out of politeness.

I wish I knew what he'd told them about me.

I wish I were more comfortable around this many people.

Conversations had started up, but confusingly—it seemed like person A would have a conversation with person C across the room, while person B had one with person E on the other wall—it was a lot of chaotic cross-talk all at once, and the volume grew steadily louder and louder. Jax was having a semi-shouted conversation about the score of a game with Corin while Canaan and Baxter kept trading increasingly vulgar and unhinged insults…

Jax glanced at me, frowned, and then traded a look with his dad. A second later, Zane clapped his hands twice, the sound sharp and loud, and the room fell silent. "I need the room, fam. Clear out."

No one said a word; instead, everyone shuffled to Zane’s side of the bed to hug Jax, then filed out. I made to slide off the bed, but Jax held me in place.

"Not you," he murmured in my ear.

I frowned. "Then why—"

"You were getting overwhelmed," Jax said. "And honestly, so was I. I'm still woozy from the meds, and it was getting loud.”

Zane circled the foot of the bed and perched near my foot, resting a giant hand on my ankle—I could see where Jax got his hand-size from. "I also wanted a second in private with you."

I shifted, uncomfortable. “Oh. Okay."

"I hear I have you to thank for my son being alive."

I snorted. "You’ve got that backward, Mr. Badd."

"Zane, please. And what do you mean?"