Chapter 9: Naughty & Nice: Chapter 9

“Fuck,” I breathe, wrapping my hands around the sink as I hang my head in shame.

It wasn’t my fault.

I didn’t do anything.

Well… not that time, I didn’t.

This is a mess. A ticking bomb just waiting to go bang.

I can practically see the fuse getting shorter and shorter in my mind.

“Fuck,” I hiss a little louder this time as I spin around and rest back against the wall. My hand lifts and my fingers dance over the delicate skin of my throat where his calloused hand just was.

My eyes flutter closed as I remember how it felt.

No one has ever touched me like Wilder has.

Something inside me burns red hot as I remember each time we’ve collided.

I need to put a stop to it. But…

“Fucking hell, Noelle. You need to get a grip,” I mutter to myself.

A shriek passes my lips when there’s a knock at the door.

Sucking in a deep breath, I try to force down the feelings that Wilder has ignited within me.

It’s not going to be him on the other side.

It’ll be Hendrix coming to check that I’m okay. Every time he looks at me, I fear he’s going to be able to see the truth written as clear as day in my eyes.

I count to three with my eyes closed and then reach for the door, pulling it open before I have a chance to talk myself out of it.

A loud gasp rips from my throat when I discover I’m wrong.

To many others, Hendrix and Wilder will look completely identical. But to me, they’re totally different people in every way.

Yes, there was a time when they were able to pull the wool over my eyes and trick me with some twin-switching. But that hasn’t happened for many years.

“What?” I snap.

It’s not often that Wilder looks bothered by anything, but as he stares back at me, guilt and concern are more than obvious in his expression. The sight makes my breath catch. He looks so much more like Hendrix right now.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

“We’re going to hurt him,” I state, knowing without doubt that I’m right. “And I⁠—”

“We won’t,” Wilder says firmly, cutting me off.

“How? How won’t we? This,” I say, gesturing between us. “It never should have happened. It shouldn’t still be happening. That out there,” I say, throwing my hand out in the direction of the kitchen. “It was… it was⁠—”

“Hot?” Wilder asks with his signature smirk appearing on his lips.

“That is not what I was going to say,” I say firmly.

“You know it was,” he says, ignoring everything I just said.

“What do you want?” I ask, holding the door as tight as I can in fear he’s going to force his way inside and make this whole situation even worse.

“He wants you. You know that, right?”

“Wilder,” I warn.

“I’m not playing games. My brother is so madly in love with you that he can barely see straight. I might have fucked up back there, but did you see that look in his eyes? He wouldn’t hesitate to hurt me if it meant protecting you.

“You are the most important person in his world. And something tells me that you feel exactly the same.”

My eyes bounce between his as my heart rate picks up.

“You two are fucking idiots.”

“But—”

“There are no buts, Noelle. You two are it. Fucking happily-ever-after shit.”

I stare at him, unable to believe what I’m hearing.

“Sometimes, you’ve got to live on the wild side and just take a chance,” he says before taking a step back. “Think about it, yeah?”

Slowly, I close the door behind him, my head spinning as I struggle to match up the advice I was just given with the man who delivered it.

I work on autopilot as I fill the tub and pour a generous amount of bubble bath into it.

Stripping off Hendrix’s hoodie, I can’t help myself, and before I drop it, I gather up the fabric and hold it to my nose.

Wilder is right. Hendrix is the most important person in my world. Has been for a long time, and I’m pretty sure there is no one else on the planet with the power to overtake him.

But does that mean I could risk it and take our relationship to the next level?

I want to. Holy hell do I want to.

But could I?

Unable to answer my unspoken questions, I lower Hendrix’s hoodie to the floor and shed the rest of my clothing before stepping into the bathtub.

A contented sigh slips from my lips as I sink into the just-too-hot water.

My skin prickles as it burns, but I figure after what I’ve done this morning, I deserve it.

I lose myself in my thoughts, and another knock on the door startles me.

Refusing to guess which Kemp twin is standing on the other side this time, I call out and hope for the best. Although, if I’m being honest, I’ve no idea which option is preferable right now.

“Is it safe to enter?” my best friend asks through the crack in the door.

“Don’t even pretend like you’re hoping it’s not,” I tease.

He’s wearing a knowing smirk when he enters, holding a mug in his hands.

“You’re never going to forget that confession, are you?”

“Unlikely.”

“I know you said you didn’t want one, but I made you another anyway.”

He places the mug on the side and then lowers his ass to the closed toilet and rests his elbows on his knees.

My heart begins to pound, and it only gets worse when he looks up at me through his lashes.

Hendrix is hot.

Both of the Kemp twins are.

Hendrix is a little softer around the edges, both with his body and his personality. He’s still fit, he works out with Wilder a couple of times a week, but he doesn’t quite have the muscle definition of his slightly younger brother. His hair is a little longer and he doesn’t bother styling it like Wilder.

Where Wilder appears to give no shits about anything but having fun and being… well… wild, Hendrix overthinks everything.

I know hands down that I am safe with him. He would never do anything to put me in danger.

Wilder has shown me how easy it is to cross the line that Hendrix and I have always teetered on the edge of. Would it be so easy with us, too?

“Thank you,” I whisper, the weight of my secrets pressing down on my shoulders, threatening to push me under.

His eyes bore into mine. He has so many things he wants to ask me right now, but he’s holding back.

He’s too scared.

He saw the familiarity between me and Wilder almost as clearly as I felt it.

“Are you… are you okay?” he finally asks, silently begging me to say yes and tell him that what he witnessed out there wasn’t anything to be concerned about.

I mean, it’s not. Not really.

My heart has always belonged to Hendrix Kemp, and I’m confident that it always will.

But what happened on Halloween shifted things.

It opened my eyes and allowed me to think outside the box.

Is Wilder right? Is it just my crazy romance novels that are giving me unrealistic ideas? Or…

My blood heats and my cheeks burn.

“Yeah, of course,” I lie, forcing a smile onto my face.

“I-is there—” My heart jumps into my throat as he cuts himself off. “I’ll leave you to it.”

Pushing from his seat, he stands tall. He makes me feel tiny, but not as tiny when I’m with both of them.

My stomach knots and my mouth runs dry.

Get your head out of the gutter, Noelle.

You have yet to experience things properly with one guy, let alone two.

Brothers.

Twins…

He’s at the door before I find my voice.

“Are you okay?”

He stills, sucking in a deep breath that makes his chest expand and his shoulders rise.

Dread seeps through my veins, and then he makes it worse by looking back over his shoulder.

The sadness in his eyes hurts.

You did this, Noelle. You put that look there.

He sucks in another breath before letting his eyes drop to the floor. He mutters, “I have no idea,” before pulling the door open and disappearing.

My heart plummets as silence rings out around me.

I’ve got to fix this.

But… how?

“Where’s Rix?” I ask when I step into the living room a while later and only find Wilder laid out on the couch, watching ESPN.

“He went out,” he replies absently.

“Out?” I ask, my eyes darting toward the window. There’s nothing but white, fluffy snow as far as the eye can see.

Jesus. How long was I in the bath for?

“But it’s⁠—”

“He’ll be fine,” Wilder assures me, finally pushing himself up and turning around to look at me.

I’m dressed much like I was earlier in one of Hendrix’s hoodies and a set of pajamas. I don’t have much other choice, seeing as I packed with never leaving the cabin in mind.

“Where?”

“Nowhere. Just wanted to clear his head.”

All the air rushes from my lungs and I look up at the ceiling.

“This is our fault,” I whisper.

“He’ll be fine,” Wilder repeats in that uncaring Wilder way of his.

“He’s hurting. We hurt him.”

“Did you tell him?” Wilder asks, watching me as I move to the armchair opposite him.

“No. Did you?”

He shakes his head.

“We need to.”

One of his brows lifts. “Do we, though?”

“Wilder,” I groan. “This isn’t a joke. I’m not just some girl you had some fun with and turned your back on. This is different. We fucked up. We fucked up big, and now we need to fix it.”

When he doesn’t respond, my eyes widen to urge him to say something.

But he just slumps back on the couch like he doesn’t have a care in the world.

“Actions speak louder than words,” he finally says.

My brows pinch. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

He shrugs one shoulder.

“He wants you, Noelle. Give it to him. It is Christmas, after all.”