It’s only ninety percent lie. Tanner definitely texted me earlier for a booty call, which obviously has nothing to do with his family. And I wasn’t considering it whatsoever until things became insufferable in this house.
The emotions on James’s face are locked up tight. Resentment in his eyes is swallowing up the confusion, and all I’m getting is an angry glare made up of more flames than the fire behind him.
“You haven’t mentioned any guy,” he grumbles, jaw ticking visibly through his words. “I asked you last night if you were dating anyone and you said no.”
“I didn’t say no.” I stand my ground, riding this stupid excuse straight to hell. “I said not much. We aren’t exclusive or anything… It’s just fun.”
Okay… That look is a little scary.
His eyes are black, lined with a fury that seems to be puzzling him even more than it is me, as he grips the mug in his hands so hard it looks like it could crack down the middle.
“Fun…” he breathes the word like a threat, then cocks his head to the side. “Absolutely not.”
I can’t help how my brows zip together. “Excuse me?”
“You’re not going anywhere,” he states, as casually as telling someone the time. “It’s Christmas. You’re staying right the fuck here, where you belong. With your family.”
That family has an awful lot of bite to it for something theoretically positive.
Gawking at him like he’s lost his mind, my mouth hangs open in perplexity as he lifts the mug to his lips. He takes a sip, all the while eyeing me over the rim, almost as if he’s daring me to protest.
I have no idea what’s going on here. I thought lying about my relationship and suggesting I leave him alone would help the situation. Give him the out he so clearly wants. But now he’s telling me no…
He wants me to stay?? In this bubble of suffocating awkward tension??
Now I’m really lost.
“I just figured I’d give you some space,” I grumble. “After…”
My voice dissolves when his eyes widen, pleading with me not to mention it, while simultaneously imploring me to clear the air.
But I’m too much of a coward to go there first. I’m fucking terrified, shaking down to my bones. “You clearly don’t want me here. Christmas or not…”
“What would make you think that?” He blinks, sipping once more.
Don’t make me fucking say it… “Look, I just… I don’t know what to say. So I’m gonna go—”
“Hang out with your boyfriend?” He hisses, eyes narrowing into slits.
I gulp. “He’s not my boyfriend…”
“Right. It’s just fun.” He places the mug down on the table with a thunk. “But I said no. You’re fucking staying, Jesse. End of discussion.”
“End of discussion?” I scoff. “What am I? Four?”
“No. You’re eighteen, yet you’re acting like an ungrateful little brat,” he seethes at me, shooting icy rage in my direction.
It’s crippling, but now my adrenaline is jacked up sky-high. I have no idea where this stern fatherly attitude is coming from, but it’s pissing me off. He’s never treated me this way, even when I was a kid.
“Why are you being such an asshole?” My fists ball at my sides. “I just wanted to go out for a few—”
“It’s Christmas,” he says again, like that suddenly means something, even though we’ve barely looked at each other today.
“So?” I huff. “What’s the big fucking deal? I’m an adult, I can come and go as I please.”
He takes a step forward, squinting at me as he holds firm. “As long as you’re living under my roof, you’ll obey my rules.”
What in the name of baby Jesus in a manger??
Apparently, me sucking him off turned him into the stiflingly strict Dad I never had. Or wanted.
“Are you fucking kidding?” An outraged chuckle slips out with my words. The audacity right now, I swear.
“No.” He steps forward once more. “I’m not fucking kidding. I’m deathly serious.”
Fury bounds through my limbs, unexpectedly. I haven’t been this heated since I was thirteen and he wouldn’t let me play PlayStation until I finished my chores. This is beyond ridiculous.
“You’re not my real father…” I mutter under my breath, sounding exactly like that thirteen-year-old brat.
Some sort of realization dawns on his face, and in this moment, he seems to hate it and love it at the same time. He lurches forward, stalking closer to me slowly, like a predator. My pulse is pumping so hard in my ears I can’t tell if I’m struggling for air or breathing too much.
“And a real father would let you go out on Christmas to get laid?” His voice is eerily quiet, eyes alit in their darkness.
Chills sheet my skin as I back up. “I’m not going to… I just wanted to hang out with—”
“Say his name to me,” he taunts, surging closer with threatening strides. “See what fucking happens.”
I’m trembling from head to toe, my eyes wide in a frightful shock. Where is this coming from? This over-protective dominance that’s turned him into some feral beast, coiled and ready to strike.
A small voice, in the back of my mind, throws out a suggestion…
Is he… jealous?
No. No way. That wouldn’t make a lick of sense.
But when my shivering lips utter the response to his challenge, “Tanner…”
He erupts.
Launching forward, he grabs me by the shirt and pushes me backward. I stumble past the Christmas tree, knocking a glass ornament that shatters on the floor by our feet as my back connects with the wall behind me, and I grunt, no time to react before he’s pressing himself into me.
Our bodies are flush, his face mere inches from mine as he practically foams at the mouth, the gray in his irises turning obsidian, iridescent with wrath. Both of our chests are heaving, and I can taste his breath on my lips, peppermint and chocolate, winding me up and sending a jolt directly into my balls.
He uses the grip on my shirt to haul me even closer, mouth hovering over mine. “I told you you’re staying right the fuck here, Jesse. You are not going to see Tanner, do you understand? You’re. Staying. Here.”
“Y-yes,” I stutter, arms lying limp at my sides as I gape up at him. My heart is leaping so hard behind my ribs, I’m sure he can feel it on the solid wall of muscle that’s pressing into me right now. “Fine. I’ll st-stay.”
We’ve become one with the wall. His body is draped over mine, and as cold as I’m sure he was just moments ago, there’s blazing heat moving through us both.
“I want you to want to stay,” he growls, vibrating me with his deep voice and unkempt rage.
“I do,” I murmur, unable to keep the tremors out as I speak. “I want to stay.”
“Do you?” His breath brushes my lips, and I nod quickly. His eyes fall to my mouth. “Why?”
I’m shaking violently, thoughts all fuzzy in my skull. “Because… because…”
“Because why?” He pushes into me harder.