Page 3 of Naughty & Nice

Asshole.

He sits back and pulls the seatbelt around his stupidly big body.

Hendrix and Wilder are identical twins, but in only a few months of training with the Trinity Royal Titans, his already ripped body has only grown, becoming more powerful, and more… sinful.

My cheeks heat and I twist back around, wishing I could extract myself from this situation.

Hendrix can’t say no to Wilder. Not that I think he should. Deep down, I know that we can’t leave him here to spend the holidays alone. Wilder isn’t a bad person, he’s just… a lot.

If I thought leaving him here wouldn’t mean him being alone, then I might push for it. But with Lori and Kian away, he doesn’t have any other options.

“Wilder,” Hendrix sighs, predictably coming to the same conclusion that I have.

“It’s fine,” he says dejectedly.

The click of the seat belt unlocking rips through the air before it rolls back into place.

“I’ll go. A couple of the guys are staying. I’m sure they’ll have me. Can’t cook for shit, though,” Wilder mutters, making a show out of shoving the car door back open. “It’s not like we have any childhood traditions to uphold or anything.”

My heart aches as memories from our former years hit me upside the head once again.

“Get back in.” My voice rings out around the car and for a couple of seconds, it’s met with nothing but silence.

I don’t look back to see Wilder’s reaction. I can’t.

Whether he’s rocking a smug smirk or an expression of disbelief that I’ve caved, I don’t want to know. I’m too busy mourning the loss of what I had hoped the next few days would be like.

I guess our plans really were too good to be true.

“Are you sure?” Hendrix asks in shock.

“We can’t leave him here alone. It’s the holidays,” I say, cringing because he’s listening to every word I’m saying.

Why can’t I be more cutthroat?

We should leave him behind. This is our vacation. Our plans.

But… he’s family.

With or without the colossal mistake I made a few weeks ago, he’s still one of the closest people I have in my life, even if it isn’t really by choice.

“She’s right and you know it, Bro,” Wilder says when Hendrix pauses as if he’s about to argue.

Wilder’s arrogance makes my teeth clench, but I guess it’s something I need to get used to, because now we’re stuck together for the next seven days.

On two thirteen-hour road trips, there and back, and in a small, remote log cabin.

My stomach flips.

This is a disaster.

“This is going to be so much fun,” Wilder says, wrapping his arms around the front seats and sticking his head between them.

His fingers brush my shoulder, and despite the fact I’m wearing a thick hoodie, I can’t catch the sharp intake of breath that turns two sets of identical eyes on me.

“Everything okay?” Hendrix asks. There’s nothing but concern in his, whereas, when I glance at his twin brother’s, all I find is mirth and excitement.

I really should just get out of the car and spend the holiday lost in books. It would be the most sensible thing to do.