Chapter 32: Naughty & Nice: Chapter 32

I walk into the living room to find Noelle and Hendrix cuddled up on the couch, watching reruns of an old sitcom they’ve always loved.

The thought of spending a quiet night watching the TV doesn’t sit well with me. I was meant to be having the vacation of a lifetime with my boys right now, not being third wheel to my brother and his girl.

I hesitate for a few seconds before inspiration strikes.

Bingo.

I march across the room without any doubts over what I’m about to do.

“What the hell?” Noelle barks the second I plunge us into darkness. Only the brightness from the screen illuminates the room.

“Turn it off,” I demand as I connect my cell to the speaker and hit play on one of my favorite playlists.

“No, we’re watching it. You can’t just⁠—”

“Turn it off,” I say again. There’s no room for question in my voice, and after a second, Hendrix reaches for the remote, sensing that I’m not messing about.

“I’m not spending another night sitting in the dark,” Noelle complains. “Not when we could be—” Her words falter as I light the candles littered around the room, giving us a warm, soft glow.

My skin tingles with awareness as I move around the cabin, but I don’t explain myself. Not yet.

Finally, I come to stand in front of them.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t want to come on this vacation,” I start.

“Oh, you should have mentioned,” Noelle deadpans.

“But, I didn’t want to spend the holidays alone. The holidays suck. You both know that as well as I do.”

“That’s not fair,” Hendrix interrupts. “Lori has made them good.”

I raise a brow.

“As good as she was able to.”

Shaking my head, I continue with my point.

“Without her making it bearable, I didn’t want to be a part of it. And then my plans went to shit, and the thought of enduring it alone was unthinkable.

“But… I’m really glad I gatecrashed. I know you’re probably not. I know you’d have preferred to do this without me, but I’m grateful you let me tag along.”

“Wilder—”

“Let me finish,” I say when Hendrix tries to interrupt again. “I know things have been… different, and there’s every chance you’ll look back and regret what we’ve done here, but I really hope you don’t. I hope that after we’ve returned to normal life, you’re able to see this for what it was. A bit of fun and the beginning of you two building your life together. You deserve it. Both of you. More than anyone else I know. All I want is for you to be happy, and for that to happen, you need to be together. I was just getting to the point where I wasn’t sure either of you was going to figure it out.”

Silence follows my confession, and I instantly regret opening up. Sure, it’s easier in the dark, but it’s still a weird thing for me to do.

“We don’t regret it,” Hendrix finally says. “Or at least, I don’t.”

“I don’t either. It’s been… memorable.”

Both Rix and I laugh at her choice of word.

Memorable.

“As touching as this has been, why are we sitting in the dark for it?” Rix asks.

I let out a heavy breath and comb my hair back from my brow, suddenly uneasy about the proposition I came over here with.

“It’s our last night. I don’t want to sit around like losers.”

Noelle scoffs, and I smirk at her before reaching for her hand and tugging her to her feet.

“How do you feel about one last rodeo, for old time’s sake?”

“Old time’s sake?” Hendrix asks, sounding amused. “Not sure that saying is appropriate here.”

“What? What we’ve done is now in the past, and I want to remember just how good it was. Don’t you?” I ask, tugging Noelle closer.

She gasps as we collide, and I stare down into her big green eyes.

She rolls her lips between her teeth before swallowing thickly.

Her answer is clear in her darkening gaze, but she’s not quite confident enough to confess it.

Briefly, she glances over at Hendrix, and the second their eyes collide, she relaxes in my hold.

He’s on board with this, and knowing that makes her happy.

Ducking my head, I let my lips brush against her ear. “What do you want, Noelle? This is your last chance to live out this filthy little fantasy of yours.”

It’s like someone takes a bat to my chest as I hear my own words.

Last chance…

Sucking in a deep breath, I force my own feelings aside and focus on her. That’s what all of this has been about, after all.

Her.

Her and them.

None of this has been about me.

I was okay with that when we first started. All I wanted was the high, the pleasure.

Now, though…

Now… I have no fucking idea what I want.

Part of me wants to go home and get back to normal life so I can put all of this behind me and crack on. The other part… that fickle, stupid part wants to stay here and keep this little haven we’ve created together.

Noelle’s eyes drop from mine, and a rush of coldness goes through me.

Sensing her unease, Hendrix stands and reaches out, tucking his fingers under her chin, giving her little choice but to look at him.

“What do you want, Elle? It’s okay. Whatever it is.”

She thinks for another moment before she looks at me, and then back at Rix.

“I want… both of you.”

Hendrix doesn’t react, and I can’t help but wonder just how good an actor he really is, because there’s no doubt that my reaction is clear as day on my face.

He was freaking out in the bathroom earlier, that much was obvious to see. And yet, here he is, encouraging Noelle to live out her fantasy as if it’s no big deal.

It’s just more proof that he really is the better one out of the two of us.

I know he doesn’t feel it. And I get it, I really fucking do. I can throw a football. In many eyes, that makes me something special. But really, it’s all bullshit. Who cares about how hard and fast I can throw when I’m nowhere near the kind, compassionate, loyal, loving person he is?

Those things are important. The things I’m good at are nothing in the grand scheme of things. And it’s fucking bullshit that people like Hendrix and Noelle don’t get the limelight they deserve.

Hendrix has already taken her virginity. He knows what it felt like being inside her for the first time. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to take one of her firsts for myself too.

“Then your wish is our command.”

Without Hendrix’s permission, I grip Noelle’s chin, turn her to face me, and press my lips against hers.

I need something. I need a distraction.

Anything that will get me out of my own fucking head.

Alcohol and sex. Those are my go-to.

But while I might have the offer of sex on the table right now, the temptation of alcohol is far away.

I want to remember this.

I want her to remember this.

After all, it might be the only time she gets to experience it, and I want it to be everything she ever thought it would be.

“Where?” I ask, barely breaking our kiss.

“Anywhere but out here would be wrong now,” she breathes. “In front of the fire, just like everything else we’ve done.”

“Okay,” Hendrix agrees before he steps up behind her and peels his hoodie from her body. She’s bare, other than a tiny pair of panties. The sight of her exposed for us makes my mouth water and my dick hard as fuck.

She visibly shivers as the warm air rushes over her exposed skin.

My heart pounds so hard, I can feel it in my ears, and for some reason, when I skim my hands down her sides, they tremble.

I have no idea why I’m so on edge, or why this feels so much bigger than any other time we’ve been together in the past few days.

But something is different.

Get it together, Wilder.

“You’re a naughty girl, Rebel. And to think, I always thought you were so nice.”

“Then maybe you didn’t really know me all that well,” she taunts, suddenly spinning around to give Hendrix her full attention.

I watch as she wraps her arms around his shoulders, presses the length of her body against his, and crashes her lips to his.

With his hands clamped on her ass, he holds her tight and kisses her as if he needs her more than his next breath.

Seconds pass as my head spins with crazy thoughts about how it would feel to have someone kiss me like that because they needed to, not because they wanted to fuck the football player.

Taking a step back, my eyes catch on the fire.

It’s beginning to burn out, so I head over and put another two logs on while Noelle and Hendrix are distracted.

Hendrix grunts as I stand back to my full height, and when I spin around, I find him sitting on the couch with Noelle on his lap, grinding down on him.

His hands are everywhere as he loses himself in her, and that weird feeling from earlier that I’m refusing to identify only strengthens.

Without saying a word, I silently walk around the couch, figuring that Noelle didn’t really mean what she said a few moments ago and that she’d rather spend the night with Rix. I’ll just hang out in the bedroom and hope I can drown them out.

I’m almost out of the room when there’s movement behind me. My steps falter, but not as much as the moment my brother’s deep voice booms through the air.

“I didn’t think you were the kind of guy who runs away from a challenge,” he taunts.

“I-I’m not,” I stutter, hating that my words don’t come out stronger. “I just… you seemed to be enjoying yourselves, so…”

“Noelle told us what she wanted,” Rix states, making me feel like a douche for attempting to slip away. “Are you turning her down?”

“No,” I say, spinning around to look at them.

Rix is still staring at Noelle, no doubt with little hearts in his eyes. But Noelle’s eyes are set firmly on me.

My mouth runs dry at the depth of the desire darkening them.

“I just didn’t feel… needed.”

Fuck. That confession hurts more than I was expecting it to.

Noelle’s expression softens and a small smile pulls at her lips.

“In one way or another, you’re always needed with us, Wild.”

She sees me.

All the air is punched out of my chest at that realization.

Lifting her arm, she holds her hand out for me.

Unable to do anything but follow her silent command, I walk over and entwine my fingers with hers.

“Last night of vacation,” she says. “Let’s make it one to remember.”

Fuck. She’s right about something.

I am never going to forget this holiday, that’s for sure.

Once I’m close enough, she stretches up for me.

Predicting what she wants, I meet her halfway, kissing her with as much enthusiasm as Rix just was. Only, it’s impossible to miss that there’s a part of my kiss that is fueled purely by desperation.

Desperation and sadness.

For them, going home means the start of something new and exciting.

Whereas I can’t help feeling like I’m leaving something behind.