Page 38 of Another Christmas from Hell

“It’s late. Can’t this wait until tomorrow?”

“Are you coming to work tomorrow?” Sean asked, blinking at her.

“I’m working from home again,” Cayley said even as she couldn’t help but wonder if the man that she really shouldn’t be thinking about was going to join her again and-

She really needed to stop thinking about Bryce.

“Then, no, it can’t wait,” Sean murmured, looking thoughtful as he took his time selecting his next chip.

“Sean,” Cayley said, slowly exhaling as she reached up and pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on as she struggled against the urge to grab one of the pillows he had shoved behind him and beat the shit out of him, “please don’t make me kill you.”

“Why must you fight your feelings for me?” Sean asked with a heartfelt sigh as she dropped her hand away and-

“Wait. What are you doing?” Sean asked, watching curiously as Bryce, who looked seriously pissed off for some reason, walked into her room wearing a pair of gray cotton boxershorts and grabbed Sean, who released a pained grunt when Bryce yanked him off the bed and onto the floor and then proceeded to drag him into the hallway while he glared at her the entire time.

Not really sure what that was about, Cayley stood there watching as Bryce shoved Sean into the hallway, closed the door and locked it before turning off the light and-

Oh, God, she was about to die, Cayley realized as she stood there, trying to think of the best way to apologize for whatever finally made him snap, only to frown when she found herself picked up and gently laid down on her bed seconds before Bryce crawled in behind her and pulled her into his arms. Admittedly confused, she lay there for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened, only to decide to just go with it when he pulled her closer and pressed a kiss against the back of her neck.

“You were taking too long,” Bryce murmured with another one of those kisses that she had to admit that she liked and-

“This isn’t over!” came the announcement that had her biting back a sigh as she resigned herself to what she knew was coming.

CHAPTER20

“Shhhhh,” came the soft whisper in his ear as Bryce opened his eyes and-

Found himself wondering why the little bastard had his hand over his mouth. With a glare, Bryce reached up, careful not to wake the small woman curled up against him, and shoved Sean’s hand away. With a pointed look at Cayley, Sean stepped away from the bed, his eyes never leaving Bryce as he carefully shifted to sit up only to have the small woman in his arms grumble in her sleep as she snuggled closer.

Biting back a sigh, Bryce leaned down as he shifted again and pressed a kiss against Cayley’s forehead, somewhat appeasing the little bed hog before he finally managed to climb off the bed. With one last curious glance at Cayley, Sean quietly made his way into the hallway, leaving him with no choice but to follow him. He followed Sean into the kitchen, where the annoying bastard stopped to make a sandwich, his eyes remaining locked on Bryce the entire time.

Once he was done, Sean quickly devoured his sandwich before gesturing to the hallway. More than happy to get this over with, Bryce walked into the hallway and-

Released a pained grunt when the little bastard shoved him against the wall and got in his face.

“Start fucking talking,” Sean bit out with a look that told him just how fucking close his brother was to killing him.

“We’re not doing this here,” Bryce said with a pointed look at Cayley’s apartment door.

With a nod, Sean stepped back and gestured for Bryce to lead the way. Grinding his jaw, Bryce did just that and-

“Shit!” Sean gasped in pain when Bryce grabbed him as soon as they walked into his apartment and slammed his brother against the wall.

“You wanna tell me why you couldn’t be fucking bothered to look out for her when that asshole was around?” Bryce demanded, wondering why his brother looked the other way when she was dating that asshole but was getting in his fucking face when they both knew that he was the last fucking person that would hurt her.

“Because it wasn’t going anywhere,” Sean snapped as he tried to shove him back, but Bryce wasn’t going anywhere.

“Two years and an engagement ring and you don’t think it was going somewhere?” Bryce demanded, grabbing hold of his brother so that he could slam him back against the wall, tearing another pained grunt from the little bastard that should have done a better job watching over her.

“It was never going that far,” Sean bit out as Bryce stood there, struggling against the urge to beat the shit out of his brother and-

Fuck!

Realized just how fucking close he was to losing it. Taking a deep breath, Bryce released his hold on his brother and stepped away, ramming his fingers through his hair as he struggled to keep it together. He…was losing his fucking mind, Bryce realized as he dropped his hands away only to glance at his brother to find him watching him.

“You love her,” Sean said hollowly, looking absolutely stunned.

“Don’t,” Bryce warned.

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