I love storms.
They make life so much simpler. You stay inside with the fire going. You read books, you watch the snow fall. You eat simple meals and go to bed early. No shopping. No strangers. No work. We always lose signal, so no phones or television. It’s good for you. Cleans your brain out. Helps you reset.
Or it did.
The girl won’t stop laughing.
I put down my book for the fifth time, trying to keep my annoyance in check.
I’m used to living with two other men. Riven’s quiet enough, and even though Eli can be loud, at least his voice is low enough for the radio to drown out. I forgot how fucking high-pitched girls’ voices are. Daisy’s laughing, and it sounds like a damn bell tinkling, easily cutting through the cabin’s walls. It’s setting me on edge.
I don’t like her. She’s far too evasive. Last night, when Eli asked her name, she clearly lied to him. She’s refusing to tell us anything about her life. God knows what secrets she’s hiding.
Eventually, the sound dies down. I turn back to my book, flipping a page. I only get a few lines in before Eli must say something hilarious, because she just collapses into giggles again.
Gritting my teeth, I stand up, scraping my wooden stool across the floor. I can’t handle this anymore. It’s too fucking annoying.
I follow their voices to the guest room I set up for her in our old junk closet. It’s pretty simple; just a bed, a chest of drawers, and a lamp. It’s hardly luxurious, but I don’t see how she could need much more than that. They’ve left the door open, and I stop outside to look in.
Daisy and Eli are sitting on the bed, poring over a card game. As I watch, Daisy plays a card that makes Eli let out a long string of swear words. She giggles, shoving at his shoulders.
Jealousy spikes into me. Which is odd. Eli is always surrounded by women. They stick to him like flies. In skiing season, he practically sleeps his way through the ski resort. It was like this ever since we were kids—everyone has always been drawn to him. I’ve never cared before. In fact, growing up, we had kind of a pact: if we needed to meet a bunch of people, he would go ahead and charm them all, so I could slink back into the shadows and wait until we could leave. He knew talking to strangers wasn’t my scene, just like I knew being alone wasn’t his. We fit together well.
But now, watching him grin at Daisy, laughing with her as if they’ve been friends their whole lives—I’m jealous. And I have no fucking clue why.
As I watch, he wraps a hand around the end of her braid and tugs, dipping to kiss her exposed neck. She gasps, biting her lip. I feel my cock twitch as he runs his mouth over her soft skin.
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
It’s been so long since I’ve watched Eli with a woman. Apparently my body is still just as into it. Her breathing picks up as he kisses her, her creamy tits swelling against the low-cut neckline of her tank top. I can’t ignore the ache in my balls as pink flushes up her cleavage. Eli murmurs something into her skin, rubbing his curls against her cheek, and she laughs again, the sound pretty and bright.
I can’t handle it anymore.
I stomp into the room. “Can you please shut up,” I grind out. They both jump, pulling apart. “Your voice is giving me a headache.”
Eli rolls his eyes, looping an arm over her shoulder. “For God’s sake, man—”
“No,” Daisy cuts him off. “No, it’s fine. It’s a good thing you let me know, Cole. Eli and I were about to try some karaoke. God, you probably would’ve died from the resulting migraine.”
I run my eyes over her. She’s practically naked in her summer pyjamas. She shifts under my gaze, tugging down the hem of her tiny shorts.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” I grunt.
She looks up, eyes flashing. “Excuse me?”
“You came on a trip to the Arctic Circle, and bought that?” I glance down at her suitcase, lying open on the floor. It’s full of lacy, frilly things. It looks like she barely packed at all. Just grabbed handfuls of random stuff. I think back to her winter gear. It was brand new, and I could’ve sworn I saw it on an Intersport rack a few months ago. She bought it in Sweden.
“Stop looking at my underwear.” She reaches over and knocks the lid to the case shut.
“Are all your clothes like this?” I demand. “Did you pack for a summer vacation?”
“You guys have heaters in every room,” she points out tersely. “I might even last another hour without freezing to death.”
“I mean it. You didn’t plan to come here, did you? This wasn’t a planned holiday.”
Her cheeks get hotter. “What does it matter?”
“It matters, because it means you lied to us about why you’re here.”
“Knock it off,” Eli says, frowning. “Leave her alone, man.”
I ignore him. “Who are you?” I demand.
She blinks. “W-what do you mean? I’m Daisy.”
“How old are you? Where do you live? What do you do?”
“I told Eli. I’m a teacher.” She fiddles with the corner of the quilt. “I’m from London.”
“Yeah? What do you teach?”
She opens her mouth, then closes it again.
Eli stands up with a sigh, squaring off against me. “I’m serious. Leave her.”
I can’t believe him. We’ve been burned before by a lying woman. And Eli got hurt more than any of us. I can’t understand why he can’t fucking learn to protect himself. “You heard her, right? She practically admitted to hiding shit.”
He shrugs. “She doesn’t have to tell us anything.”
“But—”
“Stop,” he orders, staring me down.
I’m fucking speechless. Eli doesn’t pull shit like this. He’s usually far too easygoing to fight with me or Riv. He raises an eyebrow, then jerks his head towards the door.
“Seriously?”
“Yes.”
A few beats pass. He doesn’t back up.
Jesus. “Just keep it down,” I mutter, turning to go.
I stomp back into the kitchen. Riv’s sitting at the kitchen table on his computer. I set the kettle to boil and clatter through the cupboards for some coffee. My mind is whirring. This isn’t right. It can’t end well. Daisy’s clearly hiding things from us, and that makes her a threat. We should be treating her like a liar, not opening up to her. Certainly not getting attached. I pour two mugs of coffee and bring them to the table.
“Eli’s made a move,” I mutter, setting them down.
Riv doesn’t look up from his screen.
“Riven.”
“And this surprises you?” He holds out a hand for his drink, still tapping at his keyboard with one hand. “Was there any chance of them not hooking up?”
“He’ll get attached.”
“The last time I checked, Eli is more than capable of having casual sex.”
I shake my head. “He’s not having sex with her. They’re like… kissing, and playing games, and shit. He looks really fucking happy.” Eli’s had plenty of one-night-stands in the last five years. He doesn’t usually act so cuddly with them. “He’s too trusting. It’s like he didn’t learn anything from the last time this happened.”
Riven hums.
I clench my fists. “Riven.”
He finally meets my eyes. “What do you expect me to do about it? Shall I lock her up in her room? He’s an adult. If he wants to mess around with her, let him.”
I drop into an armchair, looking out of the window. “I don’t trust her.”
“Shocking.”
“She’s lying about who she is. She lied about her job.” She’s not a good liar. She gets all pink and shifty.
Riv sighs, closing his laptop. “I know. And you can stop worrying. I got a message half an hour ago that the roads to the village are cleared. We’ll go tomorrow, get her car in the garage. She should only be with us a couple more days after that.”
All of the muscles in my chest unclench. Thank fuck. “Why the Hell didn’t you open with that?” I growl.
The corner of his mouth ticks up. “It’s sweet when you worry about him.”
“Fuck off.”
He laughs, taking a sip of his coffee. I slump back in my chair. A few days. Just a few more days, and she’ll be gone. I can stay out of her way for a few days.
Another peal of muffled giggles echoes through the walls. I rub my forehead, making a mental note to pick up earplugs tomorrow.
