Chapter 18 #3
A deep chuckle rumbled through Xander’s chest, the vibration traveling through my body where we were pressed together. “Says the one drowning in Jaxson’s shirt.”
In the rearview mirror, Jaxson’s eyes flickered to meet mine, dark amber with something I couldn’t—wouldn’t—name.
But it looked too much like how he’d gazed at me last night, when his hands were on my skin and his mouth was teaching mine the language of desire.
The connection between us seemed to pulse with each glance, that golden warmth stretching between us like an invisible thread.
“Hey, Jaxson.” Nico looked up briefly from his game. “You missed the turn for the mall. Are we going in circles?”
“I’m taking the scenic route,” Jaxson muttered, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.
“Scenic route?” Xander’s eyebrows shot up as his thumb traced absent patterns on my knee, each small circle sending sparks of awareness through my body. “Since when does—”
“OH MY GOD, I FINALLY BEAT THE BOSS!” Nico’s victory cheer made me jump, which somehow resulted in Colt’s hand sliding under the hem of my shirt, his palm hot against my bare skin. “Guys, you have no idea how long I’ve been stuck on this level!”
The car swerved sharply, and physics—being the cruel mistress she is—decided that simply sliding against my stepbrothers wasn’t embarrassing enough.
No, I had to somehow end up sprawled across both their laps, my face practically in Xander’s chest while my legs draped over Colt’s thighs.
The position was mortifying, not least because I could feel exactly how solid Colt’s thighs were beneath mine.
“Jesus Christ, Jaxson!” Colt’s hands gripped my waist, steadying me. His fingers dug into my sides, firm but not painful, keeping me from tumbling onto the floor. “Watch the road!”
“I am watching the—” Jaxson’s words choked off as he glanced in the mirror, his eyes widening at the sight of me sprawled across his brothers’ laps.
“Cool!” Nico exclaimed, completely oblivious to the tension in the car. “That’s exactly how my character looks when they get hit by a stunning spell! Though usually there’s more sparkly effects and—oh man, is that a rare item drop?”
“You okay there, Lan?” Xander’s voice rumbled through his chest, where my face was still pressed in mortification. His hand had somehow ended up on my back, warm through the thin fabric of the borrowed shirt, his fingers splayed wide like he was trying to touch as much of me as possible.
“Kill me now,” I mumbled into his unfairly nice-smelling shirt, my voice muffled by the fabric.
“Now, now.” Xander’s chuckle vibrated against my cheek, the sound low and intimate. “If we did that, who would model that charming shirt for us?”
The borrowed shirt had ridden up during my impromptu acrobatics, exposing a good portion of my lower back. Colt’s hands felt like brands against my skin as he tried to “help” me sit up, his fingers tracing the curve of my spine in a way that couldn’t possibly be necessary for stabilization.
“We’re here,” Jaxson announced abruptly, the car swinging into a parking space with enough force to send me further into my stepbrother pretzel impression.
My body was pressed against Xander’s chest, my legs still draped over Colt’s thighs, and I could feel every inch of contact with crystal clarity.
“Already?” Nico looked up, genuinely confused. “But I just started this level—”
“Out.” Jaxson’s voice carried the kind of authority that made my knees weak—which wasn’t helpful when I was still trying to untangle myself from his brothers’ laps. “Now.”
“So demanding.” Xander chuckled, but his hands finally stopped their wandering. Well, mostly. His fingers trailed one last time down my spine as I struggled to sit up, the touch lingering like he was memorizing the feel of my skin.
Colt’s hand slipped from under my shirt with deliberate slowness, his palm dragging against my skin in a way that couldn’t possibly be accidental. “Careful,” he murmured as I nearly banged my head on the roof in my haste to get vertical. “No need to rush.”
I reached for the door handle, but Xander caught my wrist, his fingers warm around my pulse point. “Hold still,” he said, voice warm with amusement. “You look thoroughly… debauched.”
“I what?” I squeaked, heat flooding my face at the word choice. It was too close to how I’d felt last night after Jaxson’s hands and mouth had thoroughly claimed me.
“Your shirt,” Colt explained, fingers brushing my shoulder as he adjusted the collar. Again. The casual touch sent shivers racing down my spine. “It’s… everywhere.”
“Like when your character’s armor gets damaged in battle!” Nico helpfully contributed, finally putting his phone away. “Though usually there’s more health potions involved—”
“That’s because you two wouldn’t stop—” I bit my tongue before I could finish that sentence. Wouldn’t stop what? Helping? Touching? Making my brain short-circuit with every casual brush of their hands?
The passenger door yanked open, flooding the car with sunlight and Jaxson’s barely contained… something. His eyes were dark amber, intense, tracking over me with a hunger that made my breath catch in my throat. That golden warmth surged between us, stronger than ever.
“If you’re done,” he said tightly, his voice rough around the edges, “we have shopping to do.”
I practically fell out of the car in my hurry to escape, only to have three pairs of hands catch me at once—Jaxson’s on my arm, Colt’s at my waist, and Xander’s on my shoulder. The triple contact was overwhelming, each touch burning through the thin fabric of my borrowed clothes.
“Careful, Lan.” Xander steadied me with a hand on my waist, his fingers curling possessively around my hip. “Those shorts are short enough without you giving the whole parking lot a show.”
I yanked at the hem of Jaxson’s shirt, trying to cover more of my legs, only to expose more of my chest in the process. Colt made a strangled sound behind me, his eyes fixed on the newly exposed skin with an intensity that made me shiver.
“Here.” Jaxson shrugged off his outer shirt, leaving him in a thin white t-shirt that clung to his chest like a second skin, revealing every sculpted muscle. My mouth went dry at the sight. “Put this on.”
“I’m fine. I don’t need—”
“Lan.” My name was a warning and a plea all at once, his eyes dark with something I recognized now—desire, barely contained.
I took the shirt, if only to stop him looking at me like that—like he was one frayed thread away from dragging me back to the car and finishing what we’d started last night.
The shirt smelled like him, warm and familiar and dangerous to my ability to think straight. It wrapped me in his scent, his presence, like an embrace. That strange connection between us seemed to strengthen as I put on his shirt, like another invisible thread binding us together.
“Better?” I asked, trying for sarcasm but landing somewhere closer to breathless.
“No,” three voices muttered in unison.
“Hey.” Nico looked between all of us, finally noticing the tension crackling through the air like lightning. “Did I miss something? Because this feels like one of those cutscenes where there’s all this dramatic background music and everyone’s staring at each other and—”
“Nico,” Colt said.
“Right, right. Shutting up now.”