Rule Breakers (Off Limits #2) - Nicky James Page 0,56

break every one of your goddamn fingers. We have to talk about this dynamic.” He swung a finger among the three of us. “But later. Not now. I need to fucking sleep.”

Then he left. Door slamming. Engine revving. Tires squealing on the road.

The silence that followed his departure was deafening.

A low whistle filled the air, and Uncle Denver tsked. “You’ve done a number on him.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

He laughed, a jolting sound that startled me. “Didn’t do anything? You fucking broke him. He left because he can hardly process what you handed him, Edison. I’m not surprised. If anyone can challenge Harley, it’s you.”

“He went home to sleep.”

“You’re so naïve.”

I scowled. Everyone calling me a child was getting old.

“Do you know what he said to me after your little chat in the kitchen?”

“What?”

“He said if he didn’t walk away right now, he was going to do shit to you you weren’t ready for. He was afraid he wouldn’t be able to control himself because he wants you so bad it’s making him crazy. It’s been fucking with his head since last night. Didn’t you see the way he was with you? The minute he puts aside his fragile self-control and ditches the ridiculous notion that fucking you isn’t right, he’s gonna go animalistic on you. You’re gonna be that sweet first hit of cocaine that destroys his life as he knows it. The minute he gets a taste of you, it will be game over. He’ll be addicted for life, and he knows it.”

“He shouldn’t have run away, then. I’m not a child. I can take it.”

“You don’t understand, Edison. Harley loves you to death. There is nothing in his life more important. He’d do anything for you. He’d kill and die for you. The last thing he wants is to hurt you or scare you off. He’s unraveling, and he needs to regain his control before he even attempts to cross lines.”

I rolled my eyes. “So he left? That’s the answer? That was dumb.”

“He’ll be back. But maybe not tonight, so don’t get your shirt in a knot if he doesn’t show up.”

I huffed and flopped onto the couch. “What did he mean when he left? About a pass? About this dynamic?” I swung a finger in the same way Dad had.

Uncle Denver studied me a long time before leaning forward and balancing his elbows on his knees. “Let me ask you something. When I kissed your dad earlier in the kitchen, when he brushed my fingers and not yours—and yes, I noticed—how did that make you feel?”

As though in response, my stomach pulled tight. I looked away as I considered how to answer.

“That’s what I thought.” Uncle Denver sat back again. “I saw it in your eyes.”

I frowned. “Saw what?”

“It made you jealous.”

“No, it didn’t.”

Uncle Denver chuckled, but when he continued to stare at me like I was ridiculous, I submitted. “Fine. A little. But how can I compete? You two had this a long time before I came into the picture, and I guess I feel like maybe I’m a nuisance or in the way. Maybe you’d rather I fuck off and leave you two alone.”

“You are neither of those things. This isn’t a competition, Edison. Your dad and I had something a long time ago, yes. That was then. It ended. This is now, and what we have now isn’t complete without you. Maybe that’s too hard to understand just yet. It’s new. We’re still figuring it all out. Do you think your dad gets jealous when I kiss you?”

“I don’t know?”

“Did he sound jealous when he walked in on us in the kitchen and I had my tongue halfway down your throat?”

I fought the smile that came with the memory. “Not really.”

“Exactly. Because he’s not. Even though he’s still trying to sort out the you and him part, he doesn’t feel threatened. He understands he is a piece of the whole.”

“Then why did he warn you off me before he left? He threatened to break your fingers?”

Uncle Denver chuckled. “Because I told him we should discuss the dynamic before crossing lines with each other when we aren’t all together. Because some of us…” He stared pointedly, pausing. “Might feel jealous or left out.”

I frowned, examining what he was saying.

Uncle Denver shrugged. “Something to think about. Until we chat, we’ll keep things out of the bedroom unless we’re all together.”

It made sense. Although the idea of Uncle Denver and me doing stuff when dad wasn’t there