14
Simon
The world stopped pulsing in time to Simon’s pain several minutes after Harlow had left the room, but Simon remained on the couch where Harlow had left him, dizzy not from his injury, but from what had just happened. Seconds ago, he’d been in Harlow’s arms. Harlow hadcarried himinto the room, laid him down, and told him to focus on feeling better.
They’d beentouching.
Simon let go of a dreamy sigh and smiled at the ceiling as his thoughts drifted in comfortable, disjointed ways. How many times had he looked at the same ceiling and seen nothing but stress, worry, and misfortune? Not even the cracks that ran across it seemed ugly anymore. The glow in his soul intensified—he wondered if it would ever fade.
Floorboards creaked. Two sets of footsteps tore Simon from his fantasies. He remained where he’d been placed, both unwilling to trust himself to sit up, and stubbornly married to the idea that if he listened to Harlow and stayed put, he’d garner Harlow’s favor. Maybe, if he played the part of delicate, mortally injured omega, Harlow would swoop in to his rescue and touch him all over again.
Next time, there’d be nowhere left to carry him but to bed.
Shep’s arrival in the living room jarred Simon from his slip back into fantasy. He blinked a few times to clear his mind, then shifted his thighs to try to hide his stirring erection.
“Shep,” Simon murmured, alerting his brother to his presence. “What are you doing here? Aren’t you and Evie supposed to be with Harlow?”
“Change of plans.” Shep stood at the side of the couch nearest Simon’s feet, then leaned forward and supported himself on the couch’s arm with his palms. “Harlow and Jayne are going to join us here, and we’re going to have some Kumbaya moment about… whatever. I honestly don’t know. But before that happens, I wanted to tell you that what you did was a shitty,shittything.”
“What?” Simon squinted up at Shep, uncertain if he wasn’t making sense, or if his injury had gotten the best of him. “What I did? I don’t understand…”
Shep’s expression darkened. “Calling Evie’s dad, telling him she was here, leading him right to her. This was supposed to be her chance to get away, and youstolethat from her.”
The accusation stung. Simon, unsure what to say to defend himself, said nothing.
“Shep…” Evie slotted into place by Shep’s side, frowning. While Shep was furious, Evie seemed far less willing to jump to conclusions. “You don’t know what happened for sure. I don’t want this to be bad for everyone. We’ll… we’ll figure it out, even though this is a setback. In the end, everything will work out okay.”
“I know what happened.” Shep picked himself up, his fury focused on Simon. “I figured it out already. I heard Simon use your dad’s name, and I’ve seen—”
What Shep had or hadn’t seen was never revealed—Harlow entered the room, Jayne not all that far behind him, causing Shep to cut himself short. The anger on his face faded. He stepped away. The change in attitude was astounding, but what struck Simon as particularly incredible was that he didn’t think it was an act. With Harlow around, Shepwantedto behave. Whether it was the way Harlow effortlessly exuded alpha, or the fact that he was physically flawless, or that he was an outsider to the family, Simon couldn’t tell. He wished he knew, because with information like that, it’d be far easier to talk to Shep on his level.
What was Harlow’s secret?
Flustered all over again, Simon let his head drop back on the couch cushion. He stared at the crack across the ceiling. Harlow may have broken his nose, but already he’d stitched Simon back together in ways that more than made up for it. The glow persisted and grew. Where Simon was uncertain, Harlow was sure. The change in Shep alone was worth it—it proved to Simon that there was a way to get through to him—he just had to keep pushing to find it.
“Oh, Simon,” Jayne said with a sigh. Simon turned his head to watch as Jayne made his way around the couch and perched on the edge of the cushion by Simon’s side. He examined Simon’s nose without touching it. “Is it broken?”
“Yes,” Simon admitted miserably. “Harlow set it.”
“I can see that. It looks good.” Jayne raised a brow and looked over his shoulder at Harlow. “Good job. I’m impressed.”
That was it—Simon saw the end spelled out in bold letters before him. Now that Harlow had caught Jayne’s interest, Jayne would swoop in and make Harlow his. Nothing Simon could say and nothing he could do would stop that. Jayne got what he wanted. Healwaysdid.
But Harlow, who stood an arm’s length away, did something Simon had never seen a man do before—he smiled politely at Jayne, then looked away.
He looked right at Simon.
What was left of Simon’s ragged heart wore itself to dust. He puffed out an excited—and thoroughly embarrassing—breath of air, then tried to mask it as a yawn.
The grin on Harlow’s face, radiant like the first true days of summer, told him he wasn’t successful. “It’s not the first broken nose I’ve set, but I hope it’s my last. On days like these, my 18D really pays off.”
“An 18D?” Jayne’s lips twitched, and he rose from the couch and turned his back to Simon to face Harlow entirely. His voice took on subtle notes of seduction that hadn’t previously been there. “I’ve had a few big Ds in my time, but I’m not sure any of them were ever as big as eighteen. Color me impressed.”
“Oh my god,” Shep breathed. He covered his face with his hands.
Evie giggle-snorted.
Shep glared at her, and she giggle-snorted again.
