Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Declan

Awakening on New Year's Day with regrets was hardly new for me, but instead of a pounding head and hangover, all I had was deep-seated dread over seeing Jonas. I probably needed to prepare an apology for being so sharp when he hadn't wanted to read last night. I'd acted more than a little spoiled, and being disappointed was hardly an adequate excuse.

My bad mood started from being cooped up on New Year's Eve, but being pressed against Jonas in the blanket fort had been torture. And I said that as a professional in an extreme sport who pushed my body to the limit. But apparently, my body had never run into someone quite like Jonas. I'd been hyperaware of his every shift in movement, the brush of his leg against mine, the flex of his arm, the rise and fall of his broad chest. And he'd smelled amazing. I'd been half-hard most of the movie, and even a very cold shower after hadn't alleviated that thrum of arousal. I'd been horny before, but nothing like Jonas inspired.

I'd also left Rowan and Wren's festivities in a huff, and I likely owed them an apology too. Gah. Living in a group house was far harder than chilling alone in a trailer or hotel room somewhere.

However, I was hungry, and the scent of something sweet and carby had reached my room. Hunger won out over my desire to hide from awkward conversations, and I dressed in easy-on sweats and a loose T-shirt from a moto event a few years back.

In the kitchen, I discovered Jonas manning a giant skillet of bacon while Wren hovered over a griddle full of pancakes. Oz had been lying on his bed by the window, but he roused himself long enough to come greet me.

"The pancakes are edible today," Wren announced solemnly as I made my way to a stool at the breakfast bar. Oz flopped down next to my scooter.

"Sometimes they aren't?" I asked, trying not to sound too suspicious.

"Often." Maren, the oldest of Eric's teens, who was home from college on winter break, breezed into the kitchen. I'd only seen her in passing thus far, but she helped herself to two cups of coffee and plopped next to me like we were old pals, sliding one cup to me. "Please don't ask how my New Year's Eve went."

"Same." I grinned at her. "Thanks for the coffee. And actually, my night wasn't terrible. Wren and Rowan went to a lot of trouble. I was the grumpy one who went to bed early."

"Darn. I was hoping to hear about a New Year's Eve kiss." Maren laughed merrily, but I choked on something. "Jonas could use one."

"Maren." Cheeks bright red, Jonas used a warning tone. "Declan is Sean's kid. And straight."

I frowned, hating his use of the word kid as well as the reminder that he was my dad's friend first and foremost.

"And?" Still laughing, she shrugged her slim shoulders. She had the same eyes and build as Rowan. "You know hot wounded messes are totally your type. And Declan needs a?—"

"Breakfast." Jonas set plates in front of us with a loud clatter.

"I'm not a mess." I ignored my food in favor of mulling over her tease.

"Yeah, you are." She patted my shoulder like she was the older one despite me probably having three years or more on her. "But don't worry. You'll fit right in here. We're all different flavors of hot mess."

"Speak for yourself." Wren leveled a skeptical stare at Marren. "I have an A average, several successful ongoing experiments, and my room is organized to my satisfaction."

"Congrats." Maren reached over to ruffle Wren's frizzy hair. "I guess I'm the one with all the drama."

"That would be Rowan," Wren said right as Jonas asked, "New Year's Eve party drama with Diesel?"

"I said not to ask." Maren adopted a haughty tone as she scooped up her plate and coffee. "I think I'll take my food to go."

"Well, at least she was accurate about bringing the drama." Wren nodded as they filled a plate.

"Be nice to your sister." Jonas issued the reminder as Wren headed to the table in the dining room.

"I probably deserve a reminder to be nice too." I seized the opening. Might as well get my apology over with. "I was kind of an ass last night."

"You were in pain and?—"

"Don't make excuses for me." If anything, Jonas being so willing to forgive made me feel even worse. "I was rude. Full stop. And I ruined my chance to hear the next chapter of our book."

"You didn't ruin anything." Jonas held my gaze, hazel eyes darkening with some unspoken message.

"So we can read more?" I asked as Rowan flew into the kitchen, gesturing wildly at the back door.

"It's snowing!"

"Doesn't that happen around here a lot?"

"Maren and I grew up near the coast with barely any snow before the dads adopted us. I still haven't gotten over how pretty snow makes everything."

"I get that. Growing up in Seattle, I'm not super used to snow either." The winter wonderland outside was rather pretty. The snow must have been falling for a while because the ground was already covered with a thick white blanket. Snow always reminded me of our sporadic family trips to the mountains near Seattle or to my grandparents here in Mount Hope, making me feel cozy and warm, like I'd had another cup of Rowan's hot chocolate from the night before. "I like it though."

"Me too." Rowan sighed happily.

"Better think twice about being a big Hollywood star." Coming back into the kitchen, Wren set their plate in the sink before joining Rowan at the window. "It doesn't snow in LA."

"Yeah, but he'll be able to afford Aspen." Some of my better-paid acquaintances and their minor celebrity hangers-on came to mind. I'd always used the off-season to train in warmer climates, but there was plenty of winter partying to be had as well.

"Exactly. Thank you." Rowan gave a regal nod. "And all the more reason to enjoy this round of snow rather than get bogged down in more college applications."

"Put the effort in. You want to make sure you pick well." Jonas sounded like a guidance counselor, making Rowan roll his eyes.

"Come on. Who wants a snowball fight? Build a snowpeople family?"

"I suppose I could be persuaded." Wren bundled up and headed outside with Rowan, followed by Oz, while Jonas started in on the post-breakfast cleanup.

"I'll help you clean." I pushed to standing and arranged my leg on my kneeling scooter.

"You don't have to do that." Jonas waved away my offer, tone distracted as he loaded the dishwasher.

"I'm tired of feeling useless." I rolled up next to him, which was a mistake because I could smell his subtle woodsy scent. The same weird emotions that had led me to prod him about kissing at midnight gathered back in my chest, but I wasn't about to retract my offer to help.

"Okay, how about you rinse and hand me dishes?" Jonas's suggestion kept me right there next to him, painfully aware of how tall and broad he was, how soft his hair and beard looked, and how very much I wanted to touch him.

No matter how much I wanted, I couldn't. Not only for my usual slew of reasons but also because the sting of that kid comment lingered as we worked together. Jonas came up with a few other tasks I could do with the scooter, including wiping the stainless fridge while he did the counters.

As we were finishing up, Wren burst back into the kitchen, bringing a gust of cold wind and snow with them. "Come see what we made!"

"I don't know if this thing has snow tires." I gestured at my scooter.

"You can use the ramp. Our snow installation is in the front yard." Wren's tone said I should have thought of that option. "Please? Come with Jonas."

Jonas was already grabbing his coat from a hook by the back door. If he was going, I was too. I was nothing if not stubborn. I put my too-thin jacket on in the entry hall only for Jonas to arrive behind me, scarf and gloves in hand.

"Here. I'm always losing mine, so I have extras."

Ordinarily, I would have been the tough guy and said it wasn't that cold out, but the chance to have something of Jonas's next to my skin even temporarily had me nodding. "Thanks."

The gloves were a soft knit, a world away from the thick motorcycle gloves I was used to, and the scarf had the same woodsy scent I associated with only Jonas. I waited until I was trailing behind him to inhale deeply, letting myself wallow in the billowy flannel that felt almost like a caress.

Oz ran ahead of us, intent on getting back to the teens who were putting the finishing touches on a snow creature that was definitely not the typical snowperson. I paused at the bottom of the ramp to examine it from a distance. Rather than three stacked balls, this snow thing was long and boxy with a giant plastic horn stuck in what I hoped to God was the head.

"It's a unicorn," Rowan called out. He wore a sparkly purple parka with black fur on the hood. "I had a spare horn upstairs, but the rest is snow."

"I argued for a narwhale, but someone said I lack imagination." Wren shook a stubby finger at Rowan. Wren wore a green trench coat, equally as unsuitable to the weather as mine but somehow perfect for them.

"Your unicorn is…very impressive." I searched for words of praise, but my tone came off a bit confused.

"You both worked very hard," Jonas added as Oz romped around in front of the snow unicorn, digging and flinging snow around.

"Oz sure seems to like the snow." Rowan and Wren were deep in a discussion about whether or not to attempt to dye portions of the snow, so I focused my attention on Jonas, not that my brain needed much encouragement to shift back to where it had been stuck for days now.

"He does." Jonas's tone was fond. "Must have some husky somewhere in his mutt mix."

"Did you get him as a puppy?" I asked as Oz brought Jonas a stick to throw.

"He was closer to a year when I found him at the local shelter." Jonas launched the stick away from the snow unicorn. "I asked which dog had been waiting the longest, and it was this chill fellow. He was my present for surviving my second divorce."

"Pretty nifty consolation prize." I chuckled, already hating both of Jonas's ex-spouses.

"Oh, Oz is no runner-up." Jonas accepted the stick back from Oz. "He's worth a heck of a lot more than my ex, that's for sure."

"He's a good dog." I bent to pet him but forgot I was unevenly balanced on my scooter at the end of the ramp.

"Careful!" Jonas grabbed for my elbow as I lurched toward him, but all that ended up doing was propelling us both into a snow drift along the edge of the porch. The snow was likely cold and wet, but I wouldn't know because all my senses were busy taking note of Jonas underneath me.

"You okay?" Jonas's voice was a husky whisper against my cheek.

"Uh-huh." I could barely manage that much speech. He was warm and solid and bigger than me, which I'd known, but now that we were stacked together, it was rather obvious he had a couple of inches on me everywhere. Moreover, his face was directly below mine, and his beard was every bit as soft as I'd imagined. His gaze was as startled as mine, but there was something else in his eyes. Heat.

I'd seen lust before, but this was the first time from Jonas, and that heat warmed me all the way to my toes. Insufficient jacket be damned because I wasn't moving until spring. Unless it was to move closer. That arousal I'd felt last night was back times a thousand. If Jonas's eyes were heated, mine must be a fucking inferno because my usual ability to mask my emotions was obliterated by Jonas's nearness.

I exhaled, feeling his beard ruffle against my lips. Scratchy. Ticklish. Intoxicating. I did it again. It would be so damn easy to?—

"Here, let's get you back inside." Before I could register what was happening, Jonas sat up, rolling me off him long enough for him to stand. He hauled me up, righted my scooter, and started steering me back to the house, all in a matter of seconds.

"Jonas—"

"I need to get ready for the swing shift I'm covering."

And we needed to talk, but I was no more eager for that than Jonas, so I let him go. Later, I'd let myself remember what he'd felt like underneath me, and that would have to do. Judging from Jonas's haste to get away, I wasn't likely to get a repeat experience.