Page 6 of Too Sweet
TWO
Nico
IT'S HALF PAST TWO IN THE MORNING when I come back a bit drunk and oddly at ease after spending six hours with my brothers.
The party’s still rampant in the garden, although not as loud. Most kids are gone or sleeping wherever there’s space. I scan the crowd out the living room window, doing my best not to burst into flames at the mayhem in the garden.
Broken furniture, a table at the bottom of the pool, confetti littering the lawn, and an upside-down rent-a-john.
The triplets jump to the beat, surrounded by a wreath of young, sexy bodies. They turned down the music, but the windows in the living room still shake when “TouchIt”byBusta Rhymes blares from the tall speakers. They’re lucky my room’s soundproof, or I’d cut the power and kick out anyone who can still walk. It’s almost three in the morning, anyway. They should be in beds by now.
I leave the car keys on the coffee table, double-check the front door’s locked, grab a bottle of water from the refrigerator, and climb the stairs. A faint streak of light marks the marble tiles in the otherwise dark house, coming from a crack in the guest bedroom door.
Before I form a coherent thought and start fuming that the triplets let someone stay the night, I enter the room, stopping dead in my tracks the second I glance at the bed.
Instead of a drunk guy or a couple in the act, a pretty little blonde lies on her side, facing the door, wavy hair framing her calm face. Her eyes are closed, her cheek pressed into a pillow she flipped vertically and used for cuddling.
She looks even smaller on the California-King-sized bed, her tiny body curled under the white sheets in an almost fetal position. The soft, orange glow of the night lamp bathes her skin, and long eyelashes cast shadows on her cheeks. I guess she was reading in bed because a worn copy of some book lays on the floor as if she dropped it when she fell asleep.
Why is she in the guest bedroom instead of Cody’s room across the hall? Either he’s ashamed of the mess he made there since the maid came round yesterday, or Mia’s too shy to sleep beside him.
Neither sounds right...
Maybe she’s afraid of snakes. Logan’s python came to live with me when Cassidy moved in with him, but the huge vivarium didn’t work in the living room, so Cody happily relocated it, and the fifteen-foot monster, to his bedroom.
I lose interest in pondering the question when Mia stirs, nuzzling her nose deeper into the pillow.
I stand perfectly still. If she wakes up, I’m fucked.
Thankfully, she doesn’t.
I should leave. I read somewhere that the brain keeps a watch during sleep. It’ll be better if I’m not here if it detects my presence and wakes her up.
I flick off the night lamp, setting her book—“Alice in Wonderland”byLewis Caroll—on the side table.
Ten seconds later, I’m out the door, leaving it cracked open like it was before I barged in like I own the place.
I do, but that’s beside the point.
Three steps away from the bedroom, I freeze again. My breath stalls as a loud gasp pierces the silent air; followed quickly by the ruffling of bedsheets, a quiet whimper, and frantic tapping of what I think is Mia’s hand against the bedside table before the night lamp flickers back on.
Music from the garden fills the house. Different music plays in my left ear, but my senses are suddenly so agile I hear every deep breath she takes before the sheets ruffle again, and the room falls silent.
Shit. That was close.
With a deep breath of my own, I take light, silent steps to the second floor. The sweet scent of artificial smoke from the club and the nauseating perfumes of the brunette who hung on my arm whenever I went to the bar lingers on my clothes and hair.
No way I’ll fall asleep smelling like cheap perfumes.
I strip, throw everything in the hamper, and step into the showcase shower. Hot water hits my back, relaxing my bunched muscles and steaming the glass. I rest my arm on the tiles, hanging my head low.
Instead of the tall, slim sex bomb with sleek, liquid chocolate hair I met at the club tonight, my thoughts loop around my brother’s little girl.
My guards are lowered in the comfort of my house, but when Mia’s lips flash before my eyes and my dick turns hard in no seconds flat, I’m beyond confused.
What the hell?
She’s blonde. I don’t care much for blondes.
