AllFreeNovel
Share Us
12
PHOEBE
I rubbed my eyes a little as I awoke to a large, hot clump of man flesh in my bed. Looking over my shoulder, I saw it was Dominic holding me like a stuffed animal.
He groaned, not wanting to wake up. “You’re so warm. Definitely the best pillow of all time. And you never take my morning wood seriously. There’s no one better to sleep with than you, sassy pants.”
“Oh, you remembered! It’s been so long I thought you would have forgotten that nickname, Dom,” I said flipping in bed, “and how much I hate it,” I growled pinching him. “Take that, you fiend!”
“Ow!” He surged forward and tickled me to get me to stop pinching.
Ransom threw the door open looking pissed. “Get outta her bed, you fucking dickwad! And get your hands off her.”
I was so startled by the vitriol in his voice, I stopped.
Dominic did too, lifting his brow. “Whoa, still as grumpy in the morning as ever. Didn’t you sleep well in the guest room, babycakes?”
Ransom took another step toward Dominic with a growl. “Get out of that bed.”
Wobbling a little at the sight of Ransom looking like an Adonis, I fell out of bed. I didn’t know what was going on with them, but I needed a second away from the massive quantity of testosterone emanating from him. Excusing myself to the bathroom, I braced myself on the vanity and stared into the mirror. Why did Ransom sound jealous of Dominic? That was laughable. Dominic was my irritating little brother. He called me sassy pants for fuck’s sake. We tickled and pinched, and occasionally he slept in my bed. Mostly because he was always cold and I was always warm. It meant absolutely nothing to either of us.
After I washed up and brushed my teeth, I noticed it was quiet. Like deadly quiet. That was never good in a house of two brothers who were always bickering. They loved each other fiercely, but they were also incredibly competitive. I knew better than to think whatever that was had been resolved.
Creeping out of the bathroom, I listened for signs of struggle or the crinkling plastic of a tarp for cleanup. Nope. Nothing. Tossing on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt over my sleepshirt, I jammed my feet into my hippo slippers and raced to the kitchen. Nope. They weren’t there either. I took the stairs to the basement, but the sounds I heard down there weren’t from inside the house. What were those idiots doing outside?
I pushed out of the walk-out basement French doors and saw the two brothers rolling in the snow half-naked. Holy shit. Ransom’s pajama pants rode low anyway, but they were barely holding onto his hips while they tackled each other. And while I thought their punches used to be a little less real, they looked like they were really going after each other.
I ran over to them. “Hey! Stop it, guys!”
But the punches kept flying. With the snow and ice, they slid down a small hill, moving too close to the lake.
I screamed louder this time, panic coating my voice. “You fucking morons! You better not end up in the fucking lake!”
Ransom turned to me, finally hearing me. But his loss of concentration gave Dominic an opportunity he couldn’t refuse. He landed a particularly brutal punch to his jaw, snapping his head back. With a thud, Ransom fell like lead.
I started running before I could even think. “Ransom!”
Dominic shook out his fist. “Goddamn, you have a hard jaw.”
But he underestimated me. I wasn’t running to help Ransom. Slip-sliding my way through the snow, I bypassed Ransom and clobbered Dominic.
Shaking out my hand, which felt a little throbby after connecting with his hard abs and jaw, I laid into these idiots. “What the fuck is the matter with you two?”
Ransom grunted. Dominic groaned from where he’d fallen in the snow rubbing his jaw.
I narrowed my eyes as I looked back and forth between them. “Is this about the company?”
Dominic chuckled. “Nope, didn’t even get to that yet.”
I threw up my hands. “Then what? What has you two acting so fucking stupid?”
Ransom pushed to his knees and checked his jaw. “Nothing.”
I surged forward screaming. “Nothing? You’re out here freezing your tits off for shits and giggles?”
When he pushed to his feet, he wouldn’t meet my eyes.
I tossed my hands on my hips. “Well, no one’s laughing, Chief. So, what’s worth fighting for?”
