“Why is Colt here?”
I groan, tossing my head back against the pillow. The last person in the whole world I want to deal with today is Colton Whittaker. He’s a fun guy—an incredible fuck, for sure—but him being here is going to put Maddox in a mood, and the only mood I need him in right now is a generous one.
“The fuck we need to have a bonfire for? He was just here a few months ago.”
I kick my feet against the bed, a little bit of a tantrum just to make sure Maddox knows how upset I am by this turn of events, even if it’s not his fault. He sits on the edge of the bed and runs his hand up and down my calf, but it’s obviously meant to placate me.
Maddox lets out a sigh. “Tell Mama I can’t come. I’ve got comp—” He clenches his jaw and I have totuck my lips not to laugh, knowing Jameson must’ve interrupted him. He hates it when people do that. “Okay, if she already knows I have company, then she knows I don’t want to sit around a bonfire with Colt. I’ll see him at breakfast in the morning if he sticks around for chores.”
I pull my leg away from Maddox’s hand and drape it over his lap again with a bit of a stretch. He grabs my ankle before I can use my foot to nudge his hardness, but it doesn’t stop him from appreciating the view of my pussy I’d given him. He bites his bottom lip and then squeezes his eyes shut, taking his hand off my ankle to rake over his face. “Fine. But we’re not staying long.”
“We?!” I squawk loudly enough that Jameson hears me, evident by his distant laughter through the speaker as Maddox hangs up on him. “We?” I repeat through gritted teeth this time.
“I’m sorry, baby.” He leans over me to undo the cuffs, and I do my best to crane my neck so I can bite his fucking nipple off. No such luck. “I have fucked your brother, Maddox. Have you forgotten that? Why on God’s green earth would you want me to sit at a bonfire with the two of you?”
“Because it’ll make Mama happy,” he tells me, like he very muchhasn’tforgotten I’ve fucked his brother and very muchdoesn’twant me sitting at a bonfire with them. “Please don’t fight me on this. If it helps, you can cuss the whole time.”
“Well, that was a given,” I snark, using my newfound freedom to cross my arms. Their little family motto is cute and everything, but it isn’t exactly helpful right now.
Maddox is quiet as he sits on the edge of the bed, tugging me into his lap. I stop fighting him when I realize he’s rubbing my wrists for me. “I was only cuffed for five minutes,” I say gently, touched by his attempt at aftercare, but finding it largely unnecessary. “And they’re padded cuffs.”
“I know.” He sighs again and wraps his arms around me, pulling me against his chest. It’s weird. We don’t hug. Wecuddle, but that’s only after sex, and sex isn’t even going to happen thanks to his annoying little brother.
This is sort of nice though. I rest my head against his shoulder and wrap my arms around his back. “What’s wrong?” I whisper, not sure if I’m reading him right.
He doesn’t answer right away. “It’s stupid. You won’t appreciate it.”
“Tell me anyway.”
His fingers comb through my hair. I don’t pull back to look at him because I hate eye contact when I have to admit hard things, and just in case he feels the same, I can at least grant him this mercy. “I really hate the idea of you being around Colt.”
Fuck the mercy. I pull back quickly and his arms tighten around me, like he’s scared I’m going to flee. I hadn’t planned on it, but that really depends on what exactly he meant by that. “Because I’ve fucked him?”
“Can you stop saying it?” The words are out of his mouth before my sentence is even finished.
I rear back. “I never hid that from you. You knew before we even started this whole thing. If you’re angry that I have a past?—”
“I’m not angry that you’ve slept with other people before me, Austin. Just… nevermind.” He lets go of me but I don’t move off his lap. He looks away, finding a spot on the wall to stare at instead.
“Okay, so you’re angry that I slept with Colt specifically, then?”
“I’m not angry at all,” he says, raising his voice enough that I cut him a look his mama would be proud of. “Sorry.”
His hands go to my waist, lifting me, but I wrap my arms and legs around him and refuse to move. “You’re going to earn yourself a spanking.”
“I won’t, because I don’t consent to one right now,” I argue, knowing he won’t press. “You’re… hurt that I slept with Colt?” I try again.
He rakes a hand down his face. “No, Tex. I’m jealous.”
“Jealous?” My lips twist and I try to hide it, not wanting him to think I’m making fun of him. “Maddox, why would you be jealous of Colt when it comes to me? You’ve slept with me…” I count in my head. “Like, ten times more than I slept with—” He looks at me pointedly, so I stop there.
“I figured. I told you it was stupid.”
“It’s not stupid,” I tell him, softening my tone. I rake my hand through his hair and tug it until he looks at me. “It’s not stupid, but I don’t understand it. You have zero reason to be jealous of Colt.”
He wraps his arms around my waist again, his shoulders slumping. I let go of his hair to rest my hands on them. “Is he better in bed than me?”
I snort. “Not even close,” I promise. It’s the truth. Maddox knows me better than any of my previous partners and I’d never let someone dominate me like he does before. That in itself makes the sex better.
