Chapter 14 Henrik
HENRIK
She gapes up at me, her eyes wide. Then she splutters, “Which makes even less sense! Why would you say that about having sex in front of him, then, if it wasn’t a joke?”
Leaning back in my chair, I give her a lazy, casual smile. “I don’t mind sharing. I simply refuse to be anyone’s second choice.”
She scowls at me and crosses her arms over her chest. “That makes zero sense.”
“You chose me first. You let me take the first shot. I’m not opposed to Ren getting a taste now because I know where I stand. Hell, I’ll even cut him a giant piece of dessert and serve him myself if that means you’ll stay.”
Her cheeks burn bright pink, her eyes sparkling like sapphires. “I’m not interested in sharing.”
I narrow my eyes and give her a stern, dark look. “Don’t lie to me, Darby Barclay.”
She stiffens like I goosed her. “I’m not. I’d never lie.”
“Sure, babe,” I drawl out, softening my glare to burning intensity. I saw the way her gaze lingered on Ren right before I told them to leave. “I reserve the right to test those words another day. This is me declaring my intentions and making sure you know where I stand on the matter.”
“No one-night stands. No second choice.” Her eyes narrow too, which sends a spurt of delight through me. “I reserve the right to test you another day.”
Ah, I love the challenge burning in her eyes. “Be my guest, babe, because that means you’re still here, giving me a chance to convince you to stay.”
“Maybe one more day.”
“I’ll take that. For now.”
Her gaze slides down my neck, shoulders, and chest, and it’s all I can do not to flex and rip the thin cotton with nothing but muscle. Fuck, I love the way she looks at me. I don’t mind being the biggest man on the team if she has such heat in her eyes every time she looks at me.
“It’s still snowing anyway,” she murmurs, leaning forward to brace her forearms on my chest. “Right?”
“Sure.” I knead her hamstrings, slowly working my way up from her knees. Giving her plenty of time to change her mind or tell me to stop. My thumbs trace the delicate creases where her thighs meet her buttocks.
Her voice catches on a moan, and she shifts restlessly on the ridge of my dick. “Isn’t it?”
My hands are too full of her perfect ass for her words to compute. “What?”
“Snowing.”
My gaze flickers over to the windows behind her to check. Snow blows through the trees, piling up against the house. But that’s not what catches my attention.
Ren stands outside in the snow, staring up at us like he’s experiencing an earth-shattering revelation. His eyes burn with yearning, and he mouths, “Please.”
To his credit, he’s not skulking around, trying to hide behind either of the larger trees in my back yard. He doesn’t give a fuck that I see him.
That’s not the problem.
She’s unaware of our audience. Given the discussion we just had about sharing, I don’t think she’d be too keen on having a voyeur watching us, especially without her permission.
But it’s Ren. My brother, not by blood, but by decades of friendships through heartbreaks, family loss, career ups and downs, injuries, and hardships. The man who always got every woman he ever wanted without even trying. Without even caring.
He cares now. I can see the emotion burning in his eyes despite the snow and wind tearing at his clothes. He’s not jealous that she chose me. He’s certainly not trying to steal her affection or interest.
He knows. Everything.
He knows how I feel about her. Never mind we just met. Never mind she’s leaving as soon as the storm breaks. This is real. The first real thing I’ve ever had outside of our brotherhood.
He covets her. This.
Because it is real. Despite all the careless relationships and casual flings he’s had his entire life, he’s never had something like this. The instantaneous knowledge this is meant to be. Nothing else matters except keeping this woman happy and safe and loved.
Right here. Right now.
My dream, yeah, but it’s bigger than just me. He wants to be included, not just for a hot three-way one night. He wants to be a part of this family. This closeness.
This love.
The way we always wished it could be.
The very reason we were all pushing forty and single.
I drag my gaze back to her face and open my mouth to tell her we have an audience, but she seals her mouth over mine.
Her tongue slides into my mouth. Her hands tug at my pants.
Pulling my dick free. Her heat wraps around me, and I’m drowning in sensation.
She groans and whimpers softly, working her hips, taking me deeper.
The hottest fucking sounds I’ve ever heard in my life.
I gotta tell her. I muster two brain cells to fire together. Break her hungry kiss enough to murmur, “Babe.”
She presses her mouth to my throat, tasting my skin, digging her teeth in like Skadi stripping rabbit bones clean. “Hmmm?”
I glance at the window again, trying to decide how to tell her.
But Ren’s gone.
I tip my head back, offering up my body however she wishes to use me. “Never mind.”
REN
Snow up past my knees. Wind chill freeze-drying my nostrils and crystalizing the air in my lungs. Don’t fucking care. An inferno burns inside me.
I can’t tear my gaze away.
Even though I really can’t see much. It’s a PG-rated sex scene. Darby sitting in his lap. Henrik’s hands are beneath the shirt, bunching it up on his arms. I barely get a glimpse of her soft thighs and the curve of her buttocks.
But it’s the hottest, most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life.
Maybe it’s because I know how fast it happened. How unlikely. Two strangers, one of them my grim, silent beast of a friend. I’ve never seen him so absolutely smitten.
His gaze locks with mine. He catches me staring.
I don’t—can’t—hide. I let the desperation burn in my eyes. The hunger. “Please.”
I’ve fucked around most of my life. I never gave a damn about anything but whatever present high I could embrace. I threw myself into any reckless, stupid situation without even understanding why. What I was looking for. What I needed.
It took losing everything to understand I’d never had what I most wanted anyway.
This. For me. My friends. A sweet, warm smile. Effortless affection. Immediate trust.
Henrik deserves it, man. Way more than me.
He focuses back on the woman in his lap, and I know what he’s saying to her. He’s going to tell her I’m out here watching. She’s going to tense up. Maybe get upset. She blushed fire-engine red before he told us to leave.
She scowled at me the very first time I smiled at her.
I can’t fuck this up for him.
It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life, but I shove my hands in my pockets, duck my head into my collar, and trudge away through the snow. I don’t head back to the front of the house. I need the cold to clear my head and cool my body. Besides, it’s only a ten-minute walk to my cabin.
The wind whistles through the trees instead of howls.
Thick white mounds and piles deaden the normal hollows of the forest, but we cut clear paths to each of our places ages ago.
Snow still falls but it’s not the white-out of a blizzard any longer.
Damn. No reason she can’t leave tomorrow if she wants, especially with Big Bertha at her command.
I’ll plow her a road straight over the mountains if needed.
Though I don’t want her to leave. Ever.
But it’s not up to me. It’s up to Henrik to earn her love and keep her trust.
Which is why I have to stay far, far away.