“I fucking hate snow clothes” I growl causing him to let out a shocked laugh as I turn and stomp away still muttering about stupid fucking snow and wearing too many clothes.
When I look up from the ground, all the guys are staring at me red faced in their attempts to not laugh, as soon as they see my frowning face they lose it and I cross my arms over my chest. I can’t even do that properly though because I’m wearing so many damn layers.
“Stupid fucking marshmallow arms” I growl and set the hyenas off again.
In a bid to ignore them all my eyes land on Atlas who has taken his snow jacket off and is stood laughing with the rest of them in a red plaid shirt with his axe over his shoulder.
“Damn sexy lumberjack, seriously with this, right now!?” I groan.
They guys fall silent and stare at me and Atlas raises his eyebrow.
“Fuck, I said that out loud didn’t I?”
“Oh yeah Princess” Atlas replies grinning like a smug bastard.
“Fantastic!” I say sarcastically and they all start up like the hyena’s they are. “Well I may as well own it then,” I smirk, “come on, get chopping boy” I giggle as all of them but Atlas start laughing again.
He stalks over to me, seriously how is he not fucking stomping right now? Stupid long ass legs. When he gets to me he bends down and brings his lips millimetres away from mine.
“There is nothing about me that can be compared to a boy” he smirks as my eyes widen, I’m shocked out of my reaction when his lips land on mine and he pulls me closer. I can’t even grip his freaking shirt because of stupid gloves.
Wow apparently I’m slightly needy when it comes to my guys, I want to actually feel them close to me. As soon as he pulls back and I’ve caught my breath, he does things with his tongue that have me incredibly curious about what he could do with it elsewhere, he steps back and I start grumbling again.
“Stupid oven glove hands, I don’t like snow anymore” I grumble and Jensen snorts whilst the others just look at me like I’m cute, crazy mother fuckers.
“Come on lets finish getting this tree down and then Sunshine won’t have to stay all wrapped up like a marshmallow” Riot chuckles, I send him a look and he holds his hands up.
“Alright, sexy lumberjack going back to work” Atlas smirks as I groan.
“Am I ever going to live that down?”
“Nope” Rafe chuckles.
“Probably not, Sweetheart” Trick adds.
“Doubt it, Il mio Cuore” Cash adds.
I huff and enjoy the show as Atlas cuts the tree down. He makes short work of it and it’s not long until the guys have it strapped to the back of Trick’s snowmobile and we all climb back on our own ones and start to follow Atlas back to the cabin. The sun is starting to dip behind the tree’s now casting a beautiful orange and pink glow across everything and making the temperatures plunge. I have to admit I am damn grateful for all the layers I was cursing not that long ago and that Luc is wrapped around me from behind as we ride back, shielding me from most of the wind. I’m still taking as much as possible off without it being indecent though. Not that I think the guys would mind.
I get a wicked idea.
We pull up to the cabin and Atlas follows Trick to the front door to help get the tree inside. The doors bigger than the one leading from the garage and down the hall so it makes more sense to bring it in that way. I follow the others towards the garage and I drive the snowmobile in parking it behind them. The guys all hop off and go to help Trick and Atlas bring the tree in from this side and get it set up. It is pretty damn big, I seem to have slightly overestimated the size of the door despite telling Cash that his choice was too big earlier.
Whoops.
I figure I’m just going to get in the way for that part and decide that actually, fuck it. That little idea I had earlier? I’m going to do it, mainly because I’m disliking my clothes so badly right now it’s almost like an itch I can’t fucking scratch. I go into the kitchen, not wanting to let on to what I’m doing and drawn by the delicious smells, hoping there’s something ready that I can taste I am absolutely starving.
After checking everything on top of the oven, it’s clear that although it’s nearly ready it’s not yet and I’m not about to give myself food poising so I leave it to cook, somewhat reluctantly. As I search the kitchen for whiskey, I steadily start to strip of my bulky clothing until I’m left in my black lace boy short panties that show a pretty decent amount of my ass, my black tank top and my fluffy, black and white striped socks. I take my hair out of the braid I put it in this morning and let it hang down my back in relief after having it up so tightly for so long.
It still shocks me how long it’s gotten every time I take my hair down.
“Yes!” I grin as I finally locate the whiskey, I pour myself a shot in a normal sized glass, taking it quickly and another one before pouring myself one last one and topping it up with coke. Yum. Leaning back against the counter I chuckle as I hear the guy’s cursing and yelling at each other as they try to bring the tree in.
Eventually the noise dies down and I figure they’ve either got the tree in and set up or killed each other in rage because they couldn’t do it.
Those whiskeys have gone straight to my head since I had an empty stomach, I’m feeling slightly tipsy.
“Ever!?” Trick calls.
“Not dead then” I mutter to myself as I walk from around the corner in the kitchen where they couldn’t see me and into the main room.
“Hey Princess it’s all set up if you want to start decorating . . .” Atlas trails off as his eyes travel down my half clothed form.
“Fuck” Jensen breathes.
I put my drink down on one of the side tables and launch myself at him. One because he’s closest and B, because it was his kiss that made me hate my snow clothes in the first place so I sort of want to pay him back a bit.
He saw me coming, and to be honest I’ve done this so much now that I think they’d be more shocked if I didn’t just jump at them at odd times. It means that he doesn’t stumble just catches me as his hands automatically go to my ass and he squeezes hard. I dip my head and bite his lip harder than I would one of the others, knowing that he loves it. He groans and I smirk as one of his hands slides up my back and into my loose hair, he grips a handful and tugs, pulling my head back, exposing my throat to him and making me moan quietly as his lips move down my neck. Nipping and then soothing the sting with a kiss.
My hands dive into his dark blond hair and pull hard, making him bring his head up and crush his lips to mine, his tongue plunges into my mouth and I moan as the hand in my hair grips tighter. Eventually our kisses start to slow and when we part I smirk at him.
“See isn’t that better with less clothing on” I smirk and get down as he watches me heatedly go back to my drink and pick it up, grinning at the rest of the guys who watch me just as heatedly.
“Yes, Angel, it was so much better. In fact,” he smirks as he pulls his shirt off over his head, exposing the rigid lines of his eight pack and strong chest, now I want to lick him. His fingers dip to the waistband of his grey sweats, man I love grey sweats.
“Leave your damn pants on man, we all know you're commando under there and I have no desire to see your junk” Luc says raising his eyebrow.
Of course my eyes immediately dip to Jensen’s dick, trying to determine if he really is commando under there.
“Why don’t you come and find out Angel?” Jensen says suggestively before he chuckles.
I debate for a second, total lie I debated for like less than half before I take a step towards him and his eyes widen slightly obviously not expecting me to accept his offer.
“Whilst this is amusing, I thought you wanted to decorate the tree and we are going to run out of time soon if you want to get it done before dinner is ready” Rafe whispers in my ear as he pulls me back against his wide chest.
“Fine” I concede as I turn and give him a quick kiss.
&nb
sp; I blow a kiss to Jensen.
“Did you just blow a kiss to my dick?” Jensen asks incredulously.
“Yep, got to let him know I haven’t forgotten about him” I smirk and he gapes for a moment along with some of the others before grinning and coming up to me throwing an arm around my shoulder.
“You’re something else, Angel. I love it” he says as he kisses my cheek.
My heart soars as my stomach feels like I’ve jumped off a cliff. He loves it? could that mean he loves me?
Ok slow the fuck down Ever before you blurt something that the less tipsy you would regret.
“Why do I feel left out right now?” Riot asks sounding slightly confused and looking towards Trick like he has the answer. To be fair he normally does.
“Dude why are you looking at me?” he asks chuckling.
“I dunno” Riot shrugs which sets us off.
“Aw, do you want me to blow your dick a kiss too?” I smirk and Riot nods as he grins, so I purse my lips and blow a kiss in the direction of his dick, although I can’t help laughing whilst I do it.
“Alright fuckers, before this devolves and everyone is insisting that Ever blows their dick’s a kiss, let’s get this tree decorated. I’m hungry" Rafe says chuckling.
“Agreed, come on guys I’ll kiss all your dicks later” I say without thinking.
The room falls silent and I hear what my whiskey brain said.
“Ok that came out wrong” I admit and can’t help but laugh as several of them groan in disappointment.
Chapter Twenty-Three
“Okay lets change the subject before this conversation devolves completely and the tree never gets decorated” Trick smirks. “Luc we need you to put the lights up in the rafters, the rest of you grab some decorations and start on the tree” he finishes taking completely control and the guys follow his instruction without complaint or argument.
“That was hot” I wink at him sipping my drink, he looks at me slightly startled as Jensen snickers when he walks past us having heard my comment.
“You really do like it when I take charge huh?” he says softly as he walks up to me and wraps his arm around my waist tugging me against his broad chest. My body instantly heats at the contact especially since I’m wearing so little clothes. See clothes sucks, case in point.
His eyes darken with desire as he studies my expression.
“I love it when you take charge” I admit.
He groans and crushes his lips against mine, taking completely control of the heated kiss and making a spear of desire shoot down my spine and pool in my belly. I moan as he nips my bottom lip before pulling back and looking at me with a soft expression. The urge to tell him I love him swarms me again and I dart my eyes away but not before I catch his look softening even more, he gently reaches up and tucks a piece of my dark hair behind my ear. I look back up at him and he slowly dips his lips again, kissing me softly and pouring emotion into it. It makes my heart pound in a completely different way to his last kiss and makes my heart yearn to tell him how I really feel.
When he pulls back he tucks me under his arm and turns me to face the room, like he knows I need a second to sort through my emotions. After I’ve finally stopped my heart from racing my focus goes to the room around me, the guys are all decorating the tree and arguing about the placement of things and Luc is loping the really long line of fairy lights over his shoulder and then under his opposite arm so it wraps around his chest.
“Why did you ask Luc to put the lights in the rafters, how’s he going to get up there?” I ask looking around the room for some sort of ladder.
“Just wait” Trick smirks.
Beyond curious, I sip my drink and wait. Luc catches me watching and shoots me a wink before he steps up on to the back of the arm chair by the fireplace and then up on to the ledge above it, before I can question him he jumps showing an awesome amount of strength as he grabs a hold of one of the beams and swings himself up so he’s sat on top of it.
“Damn” I mutter as I gape up at him in shock, making Trick chuckle besides me.
That was pretty fucking impressive and I’m not going to lie hot, seeing a guy as big as Luc move with such agility and flexibility. Once my shock has worn off and my hormones have calmed the fuck down, I finish the rest of my drink and hand the glass to Trick. He eyes me curiously as I step up onto the chair like Luc did, he finally catches on as I get up on the ledge above the fireplace, his mouth opens, most likely to tell me to get down but before he can say anything I jump, grab hold of the beam like Luc did and swing myself up so I’m sat straddling it. Luc grins at me with heat in his eyes from just over a metre away on the beam opposite the one I’ve land on.
I sit there for a second just catching my breath, it’s been a long time since I’ve done something like that and I forget how much work it takes. It does occur to me for a second that I maybe shouldn’t be climbing in the rafters feeling slightly tipsy from all the whiskey. Only for a second though before I’m distracted by Riot.
“I swear to god Everleigh you are going to be the death of me” Riot calls up from beneath me and I glance down, “I think I just lost years off my life. I need a drink” he grumbles stomping to the kitchen and making me giggle.
“It was hot though” Jensen grins and I blow him a kiss in thanks.
The dork pretends to catch it and my grin turns more genuine.
“Where did you learn to do that, Princess?” Atlas asks and I turn to face him.
“It seemed like a good idea to use the escape route less expected but those sorts of routes tend to present dangers of their own so I had to train my body to use them safely. It’s saved my ass a few times now” I tell him, watching him cautiously.
I don’t want to lie to him but I also don’t want to trigger him. I told the guys that they could fill him in on my past but I have no idea if they’ve done it yet or not.
His entire body stiffens as rage fills his eyes and his jaw clenches. Trick steps up close to him and says something too quiet for me to hear. Whatever it was though has Atlas closing his eyes tightly and taking a deep breath his body relaxing a tiny amount before he opens them up again and he nods to Trick once.
“You ok Atty?” I say softly.
He looks up at me again and for a mere moment he drops the partial walls he has up around the guys. Behind the rage and need for retribution on my behalf for what he’s guessed I’ve been through if I needed escape routes, is fear, fear for me. Fear that I’m not safe and fear that I’ve been put through some awful things.
“I’m ok now Atty. I’m safe and I’m not nearly as helpless and innocent as I seem. I promise I gave as good as I got” I flash him a savage grin, trying to reassure him and hear Jensen groan somewhere in the room.
“Damn I love it when she gets all blood thirsty” I hear him mutter.
My grin widens and Atlas smirks although there’s still tension in his eyes. He nods once.
“Here you go brother” Riot says as he hands Atlas a tumbler of whiskey, sipping his own and not taking his eyes off of me.
“Hey! What about us?” Cash complains starting to pout and making me smirk.
“I only have two hands and you fuckers can get your own, Atlas needs it more than you” Riot replies, his eyes still on me.
Jensen and Cash grumble as Trick smirks at them and Rafe chuckles, he gives Riot a quick kiss on the way past him towards the kitchen and I get a goofy grin on my face.
“Would you like to try an Irish hot chocolate, Baby? It’s got whiskey in it?” Rafe asks as he tips his head up to look at me.
“Fuck yes!” I practically yell and set them all of laughing at my enthusiasm.
He chuckles as he starts walking towards the kitchen and asks the others if they all want some too.
“Fuck, did I flash you guys when I climbed up here?” I ask suddenly, only now remembering that I’m dressed in very little clothing.
Stupid whiskey.
There’s a beat of silence before
the guys all burst out laughing and I huff.
“Don’t worry Sweetheart we were all too terrified you were going to fall to your death to notice if you did flash us” he chuckles.
I stick my tongue out at him, making his eyes flash with heat as he steps closer, I smirk and swing my legs like the cheeky fucker I am when he realises he can’t get to me.
“You’ve got to come down at some point Sweetheart” he chuckles huskily and my body heats.
Deciding he doesn’t need a reply to that I turn my attention back to Luc.
“That was seriously impressive Luci. I bet you could get me into all sorts of positions, being as flexible as you are” I mutter, his eyes widen slightly in shock but before he can reply there’s a crash and a choking noise from below me.
I glance down to see Jensen sprawled out on the floor looking at me in what could only be described as awe and Atty wiping a hand down the front of his shirt where most of his drink landed when he choked.
My grin widens.
“Is she always like this?” Atlas asks not taking his eyes off of me.
“Yeah pretty much. I think she’s made it into a game now though” Riot replies raising his eyebrow at me.
I smirk but turn back around not giving anything else away. The guys chuckle and go back to decorating the tree and what ever else they were doing. When Luc see’s he has my attention again he locks his feet together beneath the beam and then watches me intently.
“Do you trust me?”
“Absolutely” I reply unwaveringly and without pause.
The smile that graces his handsome features is truly breath taking and he holds his hands out to me, I take them with no hesitation and demonstrating once again just how strong he is, he pulls me over to his beam and I manage to sit facing him, so my ass is between his legs on the beam and my legs are wrapped around him.
Secrets Worth Keeping (Finding my Home Book 2) Page 22