Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Oakley
I usually loved the holidays. Being surrounded by family, good food, and presents. Plus, I was a big fan of the snow. This year should have been no exception, but…
“Sorry, did I steal your spot?” Ember smiled at me and I had to swallow the lump in my throat before I could reply.
She was curled up on the window seat with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and a book held open in her lap with one hand.
The snow beyond the window was a pale wash over her skin, making it glow and her blonde hair seem almost silver.
I’d taken too long to reply, dazed by her smile, and she’d started to stand, freezing when I waved her off. “No, no. Sorry. You’re all good. I’ll just…” I gestured behind myself awkwardly and jumped when she grabbed one of my hands, her skin unnaturally warm from the hot drink she’d been cradling.
“There’s room for us both.”
She didn’t mean anything by it, just friendly good-heartedness, because she was Ember and she was in love with my brother.
Unfortunately.
I shook the harsh thought away, annoyed at myself. Nick deserved every happiness. I just wished… Well, it didn’t matter what I wanted. Not where she was concerned.
Off-limits.
My body didn’t get the memo though, accepting the slight tug on my hand as Ember tucked her legs under herself and pulled me down onto the seat beside her.
I hadn’t even noticed her blanket until she lifted it up and draped half over my lap, awarding me with a glimpse of her legs under the long sweater dress she wore.
I dragged my eyes away from her stocking-clad legs and felt myself twitch against my zipper. God, it was fucking ridiculous how gone for her I was. Worse, nobody else had this effect on me — and trust me, I’d tried my best to get her out of my head.
“Thanks,” I rasped, suddenly grateful for the thick knitted blanket on my lap so she couldn’t see my utter lack of self-control pushing against my jeans. She sipped her drink, the pale pink of the mug looking pretty against the flush on her cheeks as her eyes closed in bliss.
…And I was staring.
Again.
“You know, I forgot, I think I have to go and—”
“Did I do something wrong?” The words were a little quiet, small, and the sheen in her eyes nearly killed me.
“I thought we had a good time when you visited Nick and me last — that we were friends, but you haven’t been around much lately and I haven’t heard from you…
and now you’re desperate to avoid me. Or am I wrong?
” Ember watched me closely, her lashes fluttering slightly when she blinked, and I heaved out a breath, pushing my hand through my hair.
What should I tell her? That she was imagining things? That I wanted to be her friend, but my brain hadn’t got the platonic message?
In the end, I sighed and smiled, hoping it didn’t look as strained as it felt. “Everything’s fine, Em. I’m sorry, I’ve just been busy.”
“Promise?”
Our eyes met and I softened. “Promise.” Needing to break the tension, I glanced down at her book and relaxed back against the pile of cushions that cradled the window. “What’re you reading?”
To my surprise, she blushed, her entire face flaming pink. “Oh, just a, um, holiday romance. ‘Tis the season and all.”
It was an innocuous answer, but her deepening flush told another story. “Oh yeah? Just a holiday romance?”
She nodded and then gasped, eyes flying wide, when I snatched it from her side and flicked through the pages while holding the book out of her reach.
My stomach dropped as my eyes scanned the page and I couldn’t help my grin. I tried to curb it but she saw anyway, groaning. “Is this a dirty book, Ember?”
“It’s a romance,” she protested, reaching for it to no avail.
““Touch him,” Julien demanded and I eagerly obeyed, running my hands over Drew’s muscular chest and down over his stomach until I reached the trail of hair that ran down to his—”
“Enough! Enough!” Ember shrieked, lunging for the book as I chuckled, finally surrendering it after taunting her. Her chest rose and fell quickly, face so close to mine that I could count each of her eyelashes before she pulled away.
“I’m going to need to borrow that one when you’re done with it,” I whispered and smirked when she blushed harder.
“You can’t handle this one,” she muttered. “Start with something more… simple.”
I snorted. “I do know how to read, Em.”
She rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I meant.” When I stayed quiet she sighed like she regretted asking me to join her. “This is a high heat book. You should probably start with something a bit more tame.”
Ember bit her lip, the plush dent from her teeth drawing all my attention and I replied before I could think too much about it. “I can do high heat.”
Maybe it was the husky quality to my voice, or the way the space between us seemed to shrink without us ever moving, but the air suddenly felt thick, our breaths caught between moments as the snow continued to drift lazily past the window.
“There you are.” Nick’s voice was like a bucket of cold water over my head, making me rear back from Ember and push the blanket off my lap so I could stand.
My brother didn’t even falter, just smiled at me like he had nothing to worry about — because I was his brother and Ember was his girl. “You guys okay?”
I drummed the words into my head over and over as I clapped Nick on the shoulder. “Yep, just talking about books.”
Nick smirked, leaning down to whisper something into Ember’s ear and a flare of hot jealousy made my jaw clench as it burned in my throat.
“Mom was looking for you,” he said, the words a clear dismissal despite the fact that his eyes were firmly on Ember.
“We’ve got a book to read together,” he murmured, smirking at Ember, and I bit down on my lip hard, the small pain bringing me back to myself as I nodded.
Off-limits. Off-limits. Off-fucking-limits.
God, I was so screwed.
I’d managed to stay busy – and out of Nick and Ember’s way – for the rest of the day. But after dinner, there was no escape.
Family board games were a Christmas tradition and everyone had to join in. Usually they were fun, if a little competitive, evenings. This year, they were an exercise in restraint that seemed to have been designed specifically to torture me.
I was trying to be a good brother. Hell, a good person. But there’s only so much one person can take, especially when they’re painfully single and can’t get their dick up for anyone but their brother’s girl. It was becoming an issue.
Of course, Nick and Ember were blissfully unaware of my struggle.
She was perched in his lap as they shared an armchair, his arms draped casually around her like getting to be that close to her was no big deal.
Equally, Ember had an arm around Nick’s shoulders, giggling breathlessly into his neck as he murmured to her and I had to look away.
At first I’d thought maybe I was just jealous of what they had together, but it soon became very clear to me that what I felt went beyond a little loneliness.
I wanted her, and it was useless denying it to myself.
Better that I kept my distance and waited for these feelings to fade.
I cared too much about the both of them to do something selfish.
Though, admittedly, there had been a strange vibe between them at dinner. Pleasant enough, but a little coldness or distance that surprised me given how cozy they now appeared in the chair opposite me.
“Right, are you ready to have your ass kicked?” Mom clapped her hands together gleefully and I couldn’t hold back my laugh at the shocked expression on Ember’s face.
Sure, my mom might appear prim and proper, but she cursed like a sailor most of the time and was generally the furthest thing from stuffy or uptight you could imagine.
“What are we playing first?” Nick raised a brow as he reached for his glass on the table beside them and took a sip.
The drawing room might have seemed ostentatious but was really one of the cozier rooms in the house, with a large fireplace in the central wall, crackling happily, two low-backed leather sofas, and a couple squishy armchairs near the fire.
Long curtains muffled the room, making everything feel warm and safe when they were drawn, but slithers of the snow outside peeked through the small gaps around the side and in the center.
Mom, Dad, and Harper were sitting in a row on the sofa opposite mine, a stack of games in boxes crowding the low coffee table between us.
“Monopoly?” Dad suggested, voice rising hopefully as he glanced between us all. I tried not to roll my eyes. It was always Dad’s first pick, mostly because he always won.
Harper groaned. “Hard pass. Charades?” My nose wrinkled before I could stop myself and Harper caught the reaction and sighed. “Okaaaay… How about a quiz?” She nudged a smaller box into the centre of the table and, when nobody protested, clapped her hands together. “Four teams of two?”
“Alright, but I’m not being stuck in a team with your uncle. He has zero general knowledge,” Mom announced as she stood up and narrowed her eyes on Nick. “Ember, how about you go and team up with Oakley? I’ll work with Nick, and Harper you can be with your uncle.”
“Gee thanks,” Harper muttered as she passed around pens and paper. I barely noticed though, because Ember had stood up and was walking over to me with a smile on her face that made my throat tighten.
The seat next to me dipped, the warmth of her easing over me as the scent of sweet cinnamon and something floral permeated the air. I dared a glance to my right and the brightness of her blue eyes was like a punch to the gut, the low lights making them sparkle as she nudged me. “Dream team, right?”
“Totally,” I choked out and then reached for my cider on the side, gulping half of it back in one large sip before I forced a smile.