“Keep it down, asshole. That’s not something I care for her to know.”
He grins in response, putting his eyes on her and brushing a strand of her hair from her cheek.
I run my hand down my face. “I don’t know what happened. It’s like it was in slow motion, and then everything went black. Next thing I know, you’ve got me in a headlock, and I’ve beaten his face in.”
“I get it, Grey. She’s our girl. Nobody fucks with her, and that shit wasn’t cool. He deserved what he got. It could’ve been worse.”
“How do you figure?” I question, flexing my hand and pulling it into a fist.
He runs his hand over his shorn head and smirks.
“I could’ve let you go. Not stopped it. Trust me, I thought about it, but she was so worried about you.”
I let out a breath, and we sit there in silence. This night has been unexpected to say the least. But even now I’m content. Donovan rolls over toward Liam, tucking her hands under her cheek. He scoots down on the bed so he’s face-to-face with her and stares.
“She’s beautiful when she sleeps.”
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