Chapter 3
Violet
Dad’s friends stare back at me. They’re just as surprised as I am.
“Violet?” Brody shakes his head like he can’t believe I’m in front of him.
“Y-yeah.” My breath clouds in front of my face. It’s cold out here. “Um, what are you guys doing here?”
Heath’s hazel eyes skirt away from me. He doesn’t seem to want to look at me, but I’m not sure why. I’m wearing a sweater and jeans—I changed out of the stupid bustier, skirt, and fishnets hours ago. I was too embarrassed to keep them on, even if they made me happy.
Now, I look down at myself. All covered up. All appropriate. Not one single, deviant, kinky thought here.
All proper, just like Callum wanted.
I’ll never make that mistake again.
Whether I mean Callum or being kinky when I say “that mistake,” I’m not sure yet.
I was hoping to do some intensive thinking during my week alone.
I need to figure out who I really am inside.
If I’m too kinky to have a boyfriend, that’s probably fine; it just means I’ll need to adjust my five-year plan.
“Violet, sweetheart, our balls are freezing off. Can we come inside?”
“The fuck, Brody,” Heath says in a reprimanding tone.
I laugh. Awkwardly, of course. I don’t know how to laugh any other way. “Uh, yeah, you guys can come in.”
But what about my week alone, my week to think about what I want in my life?
Well, surely these guys won’t stay long now that they realize the cabin’s already spoken for.
I open the door wide, and they step inside. They aren’t crowding me, exactly, but they’re so big. It feels like they’re taking up a lot more space. And they smell manly and nice, like fresh snow and wintergreen and pine.
At that moment, my unhelpful brain reminds me that I’ve had a crush on these men ever since I met them—four years ago, soon after I turned eighteen.
They used to work with my dad at a private security firm.
They came over for a Fourth of July party the summer after I graduated high school.
I’d been instantly besotted with both of them, but they didn’t spare me a second glance.
Heath and Brody gaze at our surroundings—the cabin is two stories, with a great room on the first floor, facing directly into the kitchen and dining area.
A large fireplace takes up a good portion of one wall, next to built-in bookshelves and an entertainment system.
Across from that, a short hall leads to a bathroom and one bedroom.
Upstairs is a second bathroom and two more bedrooms.
There’s plenty of room for all three of us, but I wasn’t expecting guests.
The guys seem to figure this out immediately.
Heath nods and claps his hands together. “Yeah, we’ll turn around, head back down the mountain.”
“No, we won’t.” Brody elbows him. “Violet, do you mind if we stay, even if it’s just for tonight? It was a long-ass drive from SE and I’m exhausted. Unless—do you have a guest here? We should’ve asked. We’re not crashing a romantic week, are we?”
Another awkward laugh bubbles from my lips. “No, not at all. No guest. No boyfriend. Just me.”
“Just you.” His smile is wolfish.
The spark of fear it gives me isn’t at all unpleasant. In fact…I like it.
They go out to the car to gather some bags. I start picking up my suitcases and hauling them upstairs. Heck. I brought six giant bags full of sex toys, one with clothes. I stopped for a few groceries.
Groceries. Do I have enough to feed all three of us? The two of them are much larger than I am; they’ll require a higher caloric intake.
Brody brings in a large duffel bag and an even larger backpack. The careful way he sets down the backpack makes me think it contains his camera equipment. I remember that detail about them—they’re very into nature photography. That’s probably why they came to the mountains.
He immediately goes outside again, followed by Heath.
The two start carting in several canvas bags. They carry them straight past me and into the kitchen. I watch, my mouth open, as they start loading up the refrigerator and stacking canned foods and dry goods into the cabinets.
I guess I shouldn’t have worried about food. They’re bringing enough to feed all three of us for what looks like several weeks.
I’m still staring when Brody lights the gas range and puts a pot of water on to boil.
He turns around and winks at me. “I’m making pasta. Hungry?”
“I already ate.” I snag my last suitcase and flee upstairs, hoping they won’t hear the sounds of sex toys jumbling together.
* * *
Heath
Fuck me.
Little Violet has grown up and she’s…fuck. She’s exactly the kind of woman Brody and I would go after at Low Vice. Too young, though. She’s gotta be, what, twenty-two, twenty-three?
I’m thirty-six. Brody’s thirty-two. I don’t need to do the math—we’re too old for Violet.
She doesn’t come downstairs when Brody and I eat.
“I think we scared her away.” Brody smiles as he says it.
“That’s best for all of us. How early do you think we can get on the road tomorrow?”
He eyes me over his spaghetti. “We aren’t leaving tomorrow.”
“Brody.”
“Heath.”
I lower my voice to a whisper. “She’s Mason’s daughter.”
He matches my volume. “And she’s hot as fuck.”
“Which is why we need to leave, dumbass.”
He laughs. Shakes his head. Takes another bite of pasta.
I wish I could be like Brody sometimes. He doesn’t give a fuck. Well, sometimes he does. He gave a fuck about Juliette, same as me. And we all saw how that turned out. Vlad the Impaler would’ve been kinder on our hearts.
“Mason will kill us.”
“Mason doesn’t have to find out. And besides, she’s a frightened little angel. I doubt anything happens.”
“But you hope something does.”
He glances toward the stairs—toward her bedroom. “As I said, she’s hot as fuck.”
I toss a piece of garlic bread at him and get up to clean the kitchen.
Twenty minutes later, I have a towel wrapped around my waist as I step onto the back deck. Steam rises from the hot tub as I lift the cover. I drop the towel and ease into the water.
Perfection. Exactly what I need after the long drive.
I lean back, close my eyes. Tomorrow, if we don’t leave—and if I’m honest with myself, I don’t want to—I’ll strap on my snowshoes and head into the woods.
I’d love to get a photo of a bobcat. I have several, but none are the composition I have in my head.
Nature doesn’t always conform to desire.
A face peers at me from the upstairs window. Violet.
Is that little girl checking me out?
You wish, old man.
I should be charitable. We crashed her weekend, after all. Even though having her here with me will make my dick hard, and I’ll have to hide the fact I’m naked in the water, I wave and point to the hot tub. I gesture that she can join me.
A long moment passes where she simply stares.
Then she shakes her head and disappears from the window.
This is better. It’s better to keep her far out of my reach.
I tell myself I’m relieved.
But mostly, I’m disappointed.