The Winter Games

by Sharp, Dr. Rebecca

  “I hope you know Mick is the nice one.”

  I chuckled.

  Now, I knew what it felt like to be on the other end of…me. And for a split second, I felt just a little sorry for Wyatt and Emmett—especially Emmett—for how much protective-brother shit I gave them over Channing and Ally.

  They’d kill to see me in the hot seat now.

  Which is why I planned on leaving this part of the story out.

  “Oh, Miles.” Jessa huffed and rolled her eyes.

  I didn’t look at her, instead, I kept my gaze steady and head-on with his.

  “I hope you know that being a dick won’t stop me from loving her,” I replied confidently.

  He drew back slightly, surprised by my blunt statement, before his lips tipped into a small, but impressed smile.

  “Fair enough.”

  With that easy truce, we joined Mick in line to grab coffee.

  Almost an hour later, we’d met almost everyone in the establishment.

  From the old man owner, Larry Ocean, to the younger man helping him behind the counter, Eli. Apparently, Larry was a close family friend to Eli who, according to Mick, was a very well-known contractor in this area, but who also helped out at the coffee shop because weekends like this were too busy for Larry to handle himself.

  We’d also met the local baker, Josie, who was responsible for the five blueberry muffins we devoured, the plumber, George, who Mick and Miles had worked with on one of the jobs they’d gotten out here. And then George’s two sons, Ace and Dex, who ran a private security firm just outside town.

  In the span of forty-five minutes, I felt almost as much a part of this town as I did Aspen.

  “How was everything?” Eli approached our table and asked, somewhat rhetorically as he cleared off our empty plates.

  “Delicious,” Jessa assured him with a smile. The arm I had slung around her waist tightened ever so slightly.

  “So, I’ve seen you guys around… seen some of your work,” Eli continued, looking at the two brothers. “Where are you working now?”

  Mick cleared his throat and spoke. “Haven’t been here that long, so we’re still just lookin’ for whatever we can get at the moment. I have a meetin’ with the resort next week about some possible renovations, so we’re hopin’ that pans out.”

  Eli nodded, impressed. “Well, Larry said you are good guys, and honestly, with having to help him out here,”—he paused and looked over his shoulder—“I’m looking to add a few more guys to my crew to help handle the load.”

  “Really?” Mick asked, taken aback

  “Shit,” Miles mumbled at the same time.

  The look in their eyes said both felt the same emotion—shocked excitement at the sudden, promising offer.

  “Really.” Eli laughed. “We close up at five tonight, if you want to swing by then, we can chat. I actually have a job starting this week I could use the help on if you’re interested.”

  I felt Jessa tense against me, her excitement for her brothers infectious and about to burst.

  Immediately, the brothers glanced at each other before looking to Jessa, and if she hadn’t spoken up, they would’ve declined, not wanting to leave their sister and me since we were their guests for the weekend.

  “They’ll be there.”

  “Jessa—” Mick broke in.

  “It’s not a big deal if not, there are plenty more jobs—” Eli began, realizing the situation and not wanting to make them feel obligated.

  “I will drop them off myself,” she cut him off and assured him with a wide smile.

  “Great.” The drop in his shoulders suggested the man had definitely bit off more work than he could handle, and honestly, I wasn’t going to complain about a little time alone with my woman.

  “You didn’t have to do that, Jess. You’re only here for the weekend—”

  “And this could be a huge opportunity for your life here,” she chided. “Plus,”—she tapped on her wrist as though there was a watch there—“give us about another hour and you know the three of us will need a break from each other, for all our sanity.”

  The brothers glanced at each other with a nod of agreement before they all broke into laughter.

  “You should’ve seen the three of us when I lived at home during college,” Jessa told me with a devious expression in her eyes. “The things we would do.”

  “I can only imagine.”

  “Really?” She looked to Miles with a cheeky but loving smile and completely ignored the warning glare he sent her as she said, “Can you imagine him with pink hair? Because I think I still have photos.”

  Mick was the first to snicker before we all burst into laughter.

  “Oh my God, Mick!”

  We stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned to follow where Jessa pointed.

  “That’s it. You have to get it,” she declared, staring at a couch in the window of a vintage furniture store near where we’d parked.

  Mick, Miles, and I shared a glance. Theirs said ‘she’s your girlfriend,’ while mine returned ‘she’s your sister.’

  “Uhh… Jessa…”

  “It’s perfect for your living room,” she spun on him and insisted with a pleading face I knew, from experience, was entirely impossible to resist.

  “Lord, Jessa, it’s orange,” he grunted, planting his hands on his hips.

  Miles covered his mouth, but his laughter was obvious.

  “It’s just like the one from Friends!” she declared. Because that meant it definitely had to be purchased.

  I snorted, and Miles sent me a glare.

  “Can’t help you, man,” I apologized to him with a grin. If there was one thing Jessa loved as much, if not more, than La Croix, it was Friends.

  “Miles.” He looked to his twin.

  “If I had to suffer pink hair, there’s not much I’m goin’ to do to stop an orange couch.” He shrugged, laughter relaxing his features.

  “Right, but it’s—”

  “Perfect,” Jessa declared confidently.

  Mick huffed and stared at the couch in the window. Love for his sister and desire to make her happy clashing with the reality of a single guy having an orange couch.

  “Well, I’m not goin’ to buy a couch just from lookin’ at it,” he grumbled, finding any excuse to delay what I could already tell him was inevitable.

  “I agree! Let’s test it out.” Jessa reached for his wrist and pulled him toward the door.

  “Just agree now. Save yourself,” I suggested with a low voice as he walked by me, Miles and I sharing a good laugh as we followed them into the store.

  The owner of the store, Megan, came over immediately—it was hard to miss a customer with bright pink hair or the giant she pulled behind her.

  After a quick discussion, Jessa forced her brothers to sit on the couch before calling me over to give my opinion.

  “Holy shit,” Miles grunted, looking at the two of them. “I hate to say it, man, because I really wish I could tell you it was uncomfortable as all fuck, but holy shit… this is so comfortable.”

  “Traitor…” Mick grumbled before my girl broke in.

  “See!” Jessa exclaimed, her face lighting up. “I told you it was perfect.”

  Mick tipped his head back onto the edge of the couch. Surprisingly, he didn’t look too massive for the piece of furniture, but I wasn’t going to be the one to tell him about that bonus.

  “Miles would never agree to this.”

  “Damn straight.”

  Jessa laughed. “Which is why I’m begging you.”

  He let out another long sigh before shaking his head with a ‘what the hell…’

  Clapping, Jessa jumped up and called the store owner over who then kindly offered to throw in a matching ottoman for no additional cost.

  I pinched the bridge of my nose, trying not to laugh too hard at the man who’d been suckered into an orange couch for his brand new bachelor pad.

  As Mick handled paying for the furnit
ure set, Jessa eyed me and my laughter smartly, stepping in front of me and wrapping her arms around my waist.

  “You think this is funny, Mr. Ryder?” She licked over her lips.

  “You just guilted your brother into getting an orange couch, J-Bird. That shit is funny as hell.” I smirked.

  She rose up on her tiptoes, her eyelids dipping partially shut as she pressed her body flush to mine, effectively evaporating all humor from my thoughts.

  “I may have left him with an orange couch, but if you’re not careful, Chance, the something blue I leave you with will be far less amusing.”

  I hissed as she subtly rolled her hips against mine with a devious grin.

  “Keep teasing me like that, J-Bird, and the only thing I’ll leave you with is a very sweet, but very red, ass,” I warned, giving that ass a quick tap while both of her brothers were occupied.

  “Oh, you know what, while they deal with this, I want to run next door. I saw some candles in the window that I want to get for the both of them. Mick’s place might smell like cookies, but I have a feeling Miles’ probably smells like beer and bachelor.” She reached up and pressed her lips to mine.

  That was all it took to make it almost impossible for me to let her go.

  “Want to come?”

  I glanced at her brothers, knowing now was my chance.

  “I think I’ll wait and see if they need any help,” I told her. “If they’re going to try and put it in the truck today.”

  Her face lit like the sun bursting from behind the clouds. I knew what it meant to her that I got along with her brothers—I knew because I felt the same way knowing how close she was to my sisters.

  “I love you.”

  “Love you, too, J-Bird.”

  “She’s just checkin’ to see if the ottoman is in the back or at the storage unit,” Mick said as he walked over to Miles and me.

  My shoulder rested on the window, Miles sitting again on his brother’s new couch, as we watched the town walk by.

  With a grunt, Mick sat back down, sagging against the couch’s comfort.

  “Damn, I wish it hadn’t been so comfortable,” he grunted.

  “You didn’t have to get it.”

  Mick chuckled. “Yeah, when was the last time you told Jessa no?”

  “You think we’re going to work with Eli?” Miles changed topics.

  “Do you have a reason why we shouldn’t? He’s the best in town. Right now, we’re just pickin’ up the jobs he’s already turned down, I’m guessin’ now, because he doesn’t have enough time.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Miles brushed a disobedient strand of hair roughly behind his ear, relaxing back in almost the exact same stance as his brother.

  Their conversation began to fade as I took a deep breath. This was it. This was my shot.

  “While I have you both here,” I began, interrupting one of them, judging by the looks on their faces. “And while you’re sitting down.”

  Miles’ lip began to curl and I knew I was running out of time before one or both of them jumped me.

  I took a few steps so I was standing right in front of them, my back to the front window of the store.

  “I wanted to come out here because I wanted to ask you in person,” I forged on. “I want to ask Jessa to marry me.”

  Their eyes bulged.

  “You want our permission?” Miles spat with a tone that already suggested an unfavorable answer.

  My stance hardened. “No,” I replied, meeting his hard gaze. “I don’t give a shit about your permission. I’ve loved your sister for most of my life, and if we’re still standing tall after everything we’ve been through, I sure as hell am not going to be stopped by your lack of permission.”

  Dammit, Pride.

  I was a dick. But I couldn’t stop myself, it was the truth. Jessa was my whole fucking heart, and I didn’t care who told me I couldn’t have her. If she would have me, I was going to marry her.

  Miles was definitely growling though his brother just watched me with interest as I went on. “But it would mean a whole fucking lot to her…and to me…if you’d give me your blessing.”

  They stared at me, then looked at each other, and then looked back at me for what felt like eternity.

  “Have a seat, Chance,” Mick finally said, nodding to the spot between them.

  And then there was always the possibility where they made me disappear rather than let me marry their sister.

  Clearing my throat, I ducked my head and sank into the spot between them.

  “You love her?” Mick asked a minute later.

  I sighed. “Love doesn’t seem like a fucking big enough word for how I feel, man.”

  I caught his nod from the corner of my eye, pleased with my honest answer.

  “Then you have my blessing, Chance.”

  Half the air in my lungs exhaled hotly through my nostrils, the other half stuck waiting on the other, much harder to please brother.

  “Miles…” Mick warned after several long seconds of silence.

  The other man let out a low growl.

  “He has a big heart, but like when you break anything else in your body, trying to use the broken extremity, especially when it hasn’t been set right, is hard and painful.” Jessa’s words echoed in my mind, and I knew all about healing broken bones—and a broken soul.

  I knew it wouldn’t have been possible without her.

  “She’s it for me, Miles,” I told him hoarsely. “She’s it for me.”

  He let out a long exhale. “I don’t believe in fairy tales, Ryder,” he bit out, and I could practically hear the broken pieces of his heart grating along the words. “But I love my sister, and I know she loves you.” He cleared his throat. “And if there’s one person I’d believe in happily ever after for, it would be Jessa.” He pinned me with a hard stare. “And if there’s one person who’s just enough of a cocky asshole to think he can prove me wrong about true love and happy endings, it would be you.” Wait, did he— “So, yeah, you have my blessing.”

  My shoulders shook as my head dropped between them, relief washing through me like a cool breeze and making me laugh even harder at what he said while Mick patted me on the back.

  “Oh, fucking hell…” Miles swore.

  My head snapped up to see Jessa on the other side of the window, her phone out and poised as she took a picture of the three of us—laughing—as we sat on a bright orange couch.

  “What were you guys talking about earlier?” I asked, floating over to Chance.

  After loading the couch into Mick’s truck and bringing it back to his place, we broke apart for a few hours, my brothers heading back to the coffee shop to meet with Eli while Chance and I took the time to explore the beach—and the frigid Pacific Ocean.

  Good thing we were used to the cold.

  His chest rumbled as he reached out and pulled me against him, my legs wrapping around his waist.

  “Me,” he rasped, bending forward and latching his lips onto my neck.

  “You? What about you?” My small laugh faded into a moan as he began to suck.

  “That I’m a cocky sonofabitch.”

  One hand gripping my ass, the other slid up and shoved one triangle of my top to the side so he could palm my bare breast, my nipple already hardened from the cold and sensitive against him.

  “Really?” Using the gentle sway of the water, I rolled my hips against him, the hard length of his cock separated from where I wanted him by only the thin fabric of our suits.

  “It’s the truth.” He massaged my ass and breast firmly—greedily. And it sent desire spiraling down to my core that was already wet and anxious for him.

  I moaned as he pinched and rolled my nipple, another bolt of pleasure sinking right to my clit. “You are a little full of yourself.”

  His chuckle warmed the corner of my neck where he licked and nibbled at my skin, feasting on the array of goosebumps he created.

  “You’re about to be a little full—a lot
full of me, J-Bird,” he promised as he undid one side tie of my bottoms, letting them float out of his way.

  Moaning, I curled my hands into his hair, tipping his head back to cover his mouth with mine. My tongue sank in deep, needing him desperately after today.

  Whatever nerves I’d carried here faded drastically with each and every minute we’d spent with my brothers—each and every minute that proved he fit in just as well with my siblings as I did with his.

  And though I’d take on any obstacle to be with Chance, I was sure glad this wasn’t one of them.

  I whimpered against his ravenous mouth as two fingers pushed inside me, stroking against my front wall in the way he knew would get me off in seconds if he didn’t stop.

  But he did.

  Right when I was gasping for air and an orgasm.

  He pulled his fingers out and I felt them move to undo the tie of his shorts, his other hand still teasing my breast.

  “Fuck…” he groaned as I bit into his lower lip, sucking on the flesh with demanding need as his swollen tip wedged against my entrance, sliding along my wet slit and bumping against my swollen clit as the water moved around us.

  Using both hands to anchor my hips against the movement of the ocean, his mouth clamped over mine as he drove inside me.

  I moaned into his mouth, his hard cock splitting my pussy wide as he sank in deep against my womb.

  “Tell me, J-Bird,” he demanded, his mouth kissing and biting over mine while he pinned my body still with his thickness. “I think being full of me is a good thing, don’t you?”

  He slid out and thrust roughly back inside me, my muscles seizing with the shockwave of pleasure it sent through my body.

  “So good,” I murmured against his lips, my eyes shut because I didn’t want any more input to my senses.

  I only wanted to feel him, his heat, his body inside mine, while we were both wrapped up by the cool ocean.

  “I love you,” he rasped, moving just a little to press the tip of his cock against my G-spot, making my body convulse on the edge of an orgasm.

  “I need you,” I breathed.

  With a savage growl, he pounded into me. The calm waters turned rough with the force of his thrusts and the soothing sound of the ocean was marred by my desperate gasps and moans.