Page 29 of My Three Mountain Men

Brooks

Simone’s giggles drifted into the kitchen from the living room as I worked on hot chocolate for the three of us. I was silently pleased that Knox hadn’t disappeared the minute we’d returned from our little outdoor adventure, as I’d assumed he would, but he seemed to be enjoying Simone’s company as much as I was.

Now we just need to show Ryder that’s she’s not the devil incarnate, and the next few weeks will be blissful.

I poured steamed oat milk into the waiting mugs and hesitated, looking toward the back stairs. I wasn’t sure where Ryder had gone, but I thought about searching him out to see if he wanted to join us.

The house isn’t that big. He can hear us. If he wants to come out, he will,I decided, ignoring the urge to ask. I was having too good an afternoon to have it ruined with Ryder’s surliness.

Setting the mugs on a tray, I headed across the foyer and into the living room, where Knox and Simone stood next to the fireplace, nudging the freshly lit flames with a poker.

“See?” Simone said. “I can light a fire at least!”

“I’ll give you that,” Knox agreed begrudgingly, stepping back.

He caught sight of me out of the corner of his eye and cleared his throat, setting the poker back in its place before setting himself down on the L-shaped sectional. I set the tray on the ottoman coffee table, and he reached for his cup.

“What? No marshmallows?” he complained, and I rolled my eyes.

“You know where to find them,” I replied.

Simone sashayed back toward the sofa, her feet tripping over the cuffs of the track pants. Even drowning in the too-large clothes, she was so sexy. I kept envisioning her, pinned to the kitchen table, her ankles locked around my hips.

I turned abruptly, lest my cousin see my erection.

“I’ll go get them,” Simone offered, but I stopped her.

“He doesn’t need marshmallows,” I reassured her. “He’s being a shit.”

Knox grinned wickedly. “Maybe a little bit.”

Simone joined him on the sofa, and I sat on the opposite side of my cousin, the heat of the fireplace already warming the room. I handed Simone her cup, and she offered me a grateful smile before accepting it, settling back to curl her feet underneath her ass.

“Don’t you guys get bored here?” she asked, raising the mug to her lips. A line of brown painted her lips before her rosy tongue jutted out suggestively to lick it away.

Knox glanced at me. “We keep busy,” he replied evasively.

“With all your crime fighting?” she joked.

Knox’s brow furrowed, and he scowled lightly. “You told her what we do?”

Simone’s grin faded slightly, and I grimaced.

“Wait, you were serious about that?” she said, sitting forward and placing her drink on the ottoman, her eyes widening. “You guys are really vigilantes?”

“Shh!” Knox urged her, whipping his head toward the doorway. “Ryder is going to lose his shit when he finds out you told her, Brooks.”

I raised my shoulders indifferently, even though he was right.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Simone pressed. “What kinds of things do you do?”

Knox exhaled, an expression of resignation overtaking his face as if he recognized it was too late to do anything about my loose lips now. “Whatever needs to be done.”

Simone glanced from me to him and back again. “Like?” she pressed.

“This is a secluded area, so things around here are usually pretty quiet. But we are here to help when needed,” Knox muttered.

“Okay, but what do you help with?” Simone asked, unwilling to give up.

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