My fingers trace her soft locks that are spread out over the pillow.
“She’s beautiful when she’s awake.”
Liam and I look at each other at the same time. Thinking the same damn thought.
Mine.
“This is going to get complicated. You know that, right?”
There’s no point in beating around the bush. He’s my best friend, but that doesn’t exclude him from being my competition. He nods and pushes back to sitting.
“I do. But if I’m fated to lose, I’ll only do it to you.”
“I won’t even do that.”
Donovan moans lightly, rolling over and snuggling in closer to me. Her hand runs over my abs to rest on my chest as she slips her leg over mine. I motion my head for Liam to leave, smiling at his irritation. Begrudgingly he starts to roll off the bed, but her hand reaches back, grabbing his T-shirt and pulling him back behind her.
“Cuddle.”
Her voice is almost inaudible. It’s clear she’s sleeping, but Liam’s brows raise, and he looks at me as she pulls him closer to spoon. I look down at her beautiful sleeping face and shake my head at him, mouthing, “Get the fuck out,” but he ignores me to wrap his arm around her stomach, tucking her back against him. Asshole.
My left hand finds the back of her thigh and hitches her leg up over my hip while my other is tucked behind my head. I lie there, listening to her heavy sleeping rhythm, staring at the ceiling as my fingers move back and forth against her skin.
“Dude, this is going to be a long fucking night,” Liam whispers, gently shaking the bed with his laughter.
“No, this is going to be a long fucking year.”
Donovan
MY REFLECTION IN THE WINDOW mixes against the dark sky outside as if all the stars are just within my reach. The moon’s gleaming off the lake, casting a spell with its stillness, making me wish I was back outside. Back in that moment—the one I just dreamed—that has me awake and wrapped in a blanket, lost in thought.
I’ve been downstairs in Liam’s lake house for the last twenty minutes trying to wrap my head around how it is I woke up sandwiched between them. Dreaming of being between them.
It’s not really that surprising that my mind would flirt with danger. I’m not a fool. The mutual attraction is impossible to ignore. It’s like embers stoked in a fire every time they touch me, heating me up in all the right ways. But this is exactly the kind of life choice I ran from.
Now, however, there’s nowhere to go. In one direction, there’s Grey and what he said to me tonight, telling me he wanted to kiss me and then fighting for my honor. In the other, there’s Liam, wrapping himself around me like I’m his blankie and giving me permission to enjoy all the bad ideas.
Impossible choices, impossible routes, but the real problem is, I like where I am. I shouldn’t, but I do. This ends badly, Donovan. Shit, I’m getting swept up, caught in the spell of lust and attraction, but I need to remember that, eventually, we’ll wake up. When we do, once the spell fades, they’ll hate me because I’ve broken them. And I’ll be left with nothing.
No Liam. No Grey.
My hands pull the soft cashmere blanket tighter around my shoulders as I gnaw on my lip, still thinking the thoughts I shouldn’t. The dream that woke me replays in my mind, like fast snippets on a highlight reel, chipping away all rational thought.
Liam’s hands running slowly down my sternum.
Grey’s fingers digging into my hips.
My back arching.
Lips on me.
Kisses trailed.
Tongues laved.
Moans. Growls. Need.
“What are you doing down here?”
“Shit!” A yell rips from my body as my shoulders jump. “Grey. You scared the shit out of me.”
He grins, making his way to the fireplace, and flips the switch, bringing it to life. “Cold?”
I nod, but it was rhetorical. Grey shivers as his hand runs over his shirtless body. The fire puts him in its glow, holding my attention and making him look like some kind of heavenly demon. Jesus, my eyes are having a very hard time staying away from the hard planes of his chest and the tight muscles that run down his stomach, but I try anyway.
“Here,” I offer, pulling my warm blanket off. “Take this. I’m good.”
He smiles and takes a few steps toward where I’m standing and takes it from me, sweeping it over him and pulling me in as well. It’s so natural, so welcome. So Grey. But I can’t help but hold my breath for just a moment.
“You keep my front warm, Cherry.”
I laugh and twist around so we’re standing, me wrapped in his arms, my back to him, and look out of the window again at the dark expanse. His arms are locked around me. A warm blush, staining my cheeks from my leftover thoughts, makes me give my head a tiny shake just as the wood cracks in the fireplace.
“What?”
His deep voice rumbles in his chest against my back, and I smile to myself, enjoying my secret.
“Nothing,” I answer.
He doesn’t push, instead kisses the top of my head before he leans down to my ear, tightening his hold. “How come you can’t sleep, Donovan?”
His voice is a taunt, slow and accusatory, instead of a question.
My answer is caught in my throat, so I give a slow shrug, finding the grin on my face impossible to ignore. His lips brush the top of my ear, and I swear it’s like he sees inside my head. Grey has to be able to feel my heart pounding because I can almost hear it.
“Do you think it’s the same reason I can’t?”
Fuck. Did he dream about me too? The way his words drift down onto my skin makes goose bumps spread over my skin, and suddenly I’m hyperaware of every part of him that’s touching me.
“I had a nightmare,” I lie, for the sake of my survival.
His hold loosens as his strong hands run up my arms and back down. And it feels way too good, but I’m overthinking. This is just Grey.
“Are you sure? Because it sounded as good as my own.”
My eyes close as he pulls me back into him, and I swallow hard. “What was yours about?”
When he doesn’t say anything back, my eyes drag open, blinking back into reality. Shit. What am I doing? I twist to look back at his face, and I’m met with the most mischievous and only Grey brand of a smirk.
It says everything without him saying anything. His hands find my waist as he stares down at me. I’m overwhelmed, pulled under by his intention. Doesn’t matter that this is a bad idea, that we’ll regret every moment. I have never wanted something to happen more in my life.
Grey lowers his face down so close that his nose brushes mine as he speaks. “What was yours about, Cherry? I bet I could guess. You talk in your sleep.”
My eyes widen as my heart actually stops. “Lie.”
“My name sounds good moaned from your lips.”
Holy shit. My teeth find my lip as his eyes drop to my mouth.
“We shouldn’t—” Damn, I wished that sounded more forceful.
“Probably.”
Grey tilts his head, biting his bottom lip.
“We can’t, Grey.”
“Mmhmm.”
His tongue runs over his top lip like he’s about to enjoy the meal in front of him—me.