Chapter 6
Brody
Seeing Heath so tortured is fucking hilarious. I devour my pancakes and start cleaning up the kitchen.
The sliding door to the rear deck opens and closes. I lean back to see a light brown ponytail escape the house. Violet’s outside. Only one reason for her to be there—the hot tub.
I rush through clean-up.
How am I going to play this, though? I’m interested in her. I’m ninety percent sure she’s interested in me—in Heath, too, if I was reading her right.
Which means I have to make sure she knows it’s okay. And I have to do that without scaring her off.
I scrub a hand over my face. I probably should’ve shaved—my beard makes me look older.
Fuck it. Little Violet’s in the hot tub, and I don’t want to miss my chance.
I snag a few towels from the bathroom on my way out.
She’s already in the water, twisting her ponytail into a bun so it won’t get wet. Her forest green bikini is trimmed in white and red. The symbolism isn’t lost on me—her tits are a fucking Christmas present.
“Oh! Um, I didn’t know you wanted the hot tub.” She moves to get out.
“Stay put.”
I didn’t mean to command her to do anything, but goddamn if she doesn’t sit her ass back down in the water.
If there was any question in my mind about her submissive nature, that question is answered.
“I’d like to join you.” I set the towels on a low table near the tub. “Is that okay? I don’t have swim trunks.”
Her soft brown eyes get even better. “It’s—yeah. I mean, we’re all adults, aren’t we?”
“We very much are.”
She waves a hand, imperious. “Then go ahead.”
“Look away if you don’t want to see me naked.” I keep my eyes on hers in a challenge. What she does next will impact everything going forward.
She holds my gaze. She blushes the entire time I strip out of my sweats and long-sleeved T-shirt.
But she doesn’t look away.
And when I step into the tub, her gaze flicks down to my cock.
I sink into the water, letting the heat ease my muscles. Some tension remains, though—in the way I want to move closer to Violet, but I have to keep my distance.
For now.
I reach for the tub’s control panel. “Mind if I put on the jets?”
A shrug that causes her breasts to rise above the water momentarily. “It’s fine with me.”
“So, your dad didn’t know you’re using the cabin this week?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. I didn’t think he’d invite anyone else to use it, or I would’ve said something.”
“What are you doing up here all by yourself? Isn’t Christmas in, like, two days?”
“Dad and Retta are in Florida. My best friend wanted to do something special with her boyfriend, and I wanted to do something special with mine.”
“You have a boyfriend?” My words come out sharper than I intended.
Violet flinches. “Not anymore.”
Sounds like there’s a story, but I won’t push for it yet. I don’t want to talk about her ex—I want to talk about her.
“Are you still in college?” I shift positions and accidentally nudge her leg. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.” She moves away—but not too far. “I graduated from SEU in the spring. I already had a job lined up. I’d been doing a paid internship—sorry. I’m talking too much.”
I shake my head. “Keep talking. I asked because I want to know.”
Soon, she’s telling me all about her job at a powerhouse accounting company. She talks about how much she loves the work, how the numbers make sense, and when they don’t, it’s because they’re telling her there’s a problem.
“And then”—her face lights up—“I get to solve the problem.”
She goes on. I don’t understand half of what she’s telling me, but I love to listen. Mason never told us he had a genius for a daughter. Violet’s mind is magical and fierce.
She asks me questions about photography, about how Heath and I met. I tell her we met in college as roommates. I leave off how we started sharing our girlfriends and soon realized we like sex and relationships best when it’s the two of us with one woman.
Every now and then, one of her legs slides against mine. Neither of us acknowledges the touching.
I’m beginning to think she’s doing it on purpose.
She pushes a wet lock of hair back from her forehead. “You and Heath are always together, the two of you. I almost wondered if you were…partners.”
“Partners? Like romantically?” I shake my head. Maybe it’s time to tell her a little more about how we do things. “You wouldn’t be the first to think that. But no. We have a different relationship—we date women, but we date them together.”
The blush in her cheeks isn’t only from the heat of the water. “Wait, so…”
“Two men,” I say. “One woman.”
I watch while she works out the problem.
“It’s complicated math,” I joke.
“It isn’t complicated. Oh. That was sarcasm.” She sinks down in the water like she wants to hide her face.
I lean forward and touch the bottom of her chin with the tip of my finger, drawing her back up again. Our faces are so close, her lips right fucking there. Plump, wet, warm. Kissable.
Someone stomps on the deck. Violet jolts away, startled.
I bite back a curse when Heath lurches into view, kicking snow from his boots. His arms are full of firewood.
“You’ve been busy.” Violet tries—and fails—to sound casual.
He nods. He’s either not picking up on the sexual tension in the air or, more likely, purposely ignoring it. “Thought it would be best to get extra firewood, in case the power goes out. We probably have a couple hours before the storm rolls in. See it out there?”
Violet and I follow his pointed finger to the angry gray sky to the west.
I catch his eye and flick my gaze toward Violet, who’s still watching the incoming storm. “You should take advantage of the hot tub while we still can.”
He frowns, but sets the wood down. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Trust me.” I give extra weight to the words. “It’s a good idea. Don’t miss your chance.”
A long moment passes while he searches my face. I can see his own conflict—this could ruin our friendship with Mason. Violet’s too young for us. But the reward of being with Violet far outweighs the risks.
Then I say, “Violet, don’t you think Heath should join us before the storm comes in?”
She looks back at us, away from the approaching clouds. “Yes. He should. We won’t have much more hot tub time.”
“Yeah, all right.” Heath reaches for the zipper on his coat, then looks directly at Violet. “This is okay? I don’t have trunks.”
She blushes again. “Yeah. Um. It’s fine.”
It’s hard to hold back my grin of victory. Deep in my soul, I know this is happening.