Page 67 of The Mountain
But I don’t. I’m thoughtful like that.
“Good shower?” he asks, his lips quirking up.
I narrow my eyes at him and subtly flip him off, making sure to angle my body so that Lily can’t see. “Great,” I deadpan.
“Eddie!”
Lily squirms out from the man-sandwich she’s currently pressed between, until she’s sitting up in the middle of the bed. Her teeslips down low, exposing one golden shoulder, and her damp hair is mussed.
“Come sit with us.” She holds out a hand, palm up in invitation, and gives me one of those bright, dazzling smiles. A real smile, like the one she gave me when we dropped into backcountry together, when her laughter had danced around me like snowflakes come to life.
I swallow and eye the bed dubiously. I’m not squeezing in close to Antoine, even if that would get a rise out of Liam. And Seth is built like a brick shit house, so the only way I’d be fitting on that side is if I sprawled myself on top of him. Which, no.
Matty gives me a sheepish smile, then shuffles over to make room at the foot of Lily’s bed.
“You could sit up too,” Liam mutters, shoving at Antoine’s shoulder. “Then there might be more room for the rest of us.”
I bite back a grin and climb onto the bed next to Matty. Lily casts Antoine and Liam an amused smile, her eyes bright, then pulls her knees to her chest, slipping her foot from Matty’s grasp but creating more room on the bed. Antoine huffs, reluctantly pulling himself up to a seated position so that Liam can climb on the bed as well.
Only Seth remains sprawled out, taking up at least a third of the mattress, his hands behind his head, those massive biceps on display, and a soft fucking smile on his face. But I’m not going to give him a hard time about it. Because as useful as the Terminator version of Seth can be, I think I prefer this version.
The way we’re sitting, all in a circle on Lily’s bed, it feels like we could be about to play cards. Like we’re teenagers hanging out in someone’s room, getting ready to play a couple rounds ofKings and Assholes or something, instead of a polycule with the questions ofAre we? Will we?hanging in the air.
Lily lifts her hand, chewing nervously on the edge of her thumb as she glances around us uncertainly, her smile faltering.
And just like that, all my nerves rush out of me, leaving an almost overwhelming sense of relief in its place. Lily has no idea what the fuck she’s doing. None of us do. She’s just as shit scared as I am—more, probably, because she has to worry about five other people. I just have to worry about her.
Which, to be fair, is more than I’ve ever done before. Normally, I just worry about myself.
“So, what’s in our stockings, Santa?” I ask Matty, knocking his shoulder with my own. “Did you get more condoms? Or maybe a pair of those fluffy handcuffs? I bet you’d be into that.”
Matty’s ears go red, dimples flashing as he laughs at his lap. Where, I notice, he’s still just wearing the towel from earlier, nothing else. I feel my eyebrows raise, but I’m not really that surprised. On anyone else, I’d think they were expecting to get laid. But I’ve seen Matty flounce around in the condo in nothing but his towel at least a couple times a week, occasionally giving us glimpses of way more than we want to see.
“Don’t tease him,” Lily chides, kicking one foot out to nudge against my knee.
I capture her foot, locking my hands around her ankle as if it’s a fairly won prize. She gives it a little tug, then narrows her eyes at me when I don’t release it. I just shoot her a teasing grin, but can’t help casting a nervous glance in Seth’s direction. Since I know without a doubt he’d probably beat me to a pulp if he thought I’d so much as mildly upset Lily.
Lily wrinkles her nose at me, then gives Matty a soft smile. “I think what you did was nice,” she murmurs. “I’m really excited for Christmas tomorrow.”
I snort at that. “Yeah. I bet Liam and Antoine are pretty excited too.” I waggle my eyebrows at Liam. A mistake, since he’s sitting right next to me. Right in striking distance.
“Shut the fuck up,” he grouses, clipping me on the back for the head. “You’re just jealous.”
Lily laughs, that sweet, playful sound that always has something weird twisting in my chest. Like floating and falling all at once. Like dropping off a cornice in backcountry, right before your skis hit the powder.
I grin, then stroke the arch of her foot, determined to make her laugh again.
“Eddie!” She giggles, squirming in my hold. I don’t let her go, grinning as I hold on. “Oh my god, Eddie! You’re such a pest.”
Before I can decide whether or not to be offended, she surges toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck and pulling me back toward her, toward the middle of the bed. I’m forced to release her ankle or fall flat on my face.
It’s more wrestling maneuver than seduction. Still, an almost unbearable wave of lust rushes through me at the feel of those warm arms wrapped around my shoulders, her breasts pressing against my chest, those strong legs banding around my own as she pulls me on top of her. I groan, a faint, embarrassingly guttural sound that catches in my throat, and feel my cock instantly harden against her thigh.
The whispers of our laughter fade. Her eyes go wide, and she’s close enough I can see the flecks of gold and green in her eyes, can see her pupils dilating, can see a flush deepening across that smattering of freckles on her nose. I know I must be staring back at her with a similar expression as our breaths mingle, hot and tremulous.
“Missy.” The word comes out in a growl, a warning.
She tightens her legs around my own.
