Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63741 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
If he only knew.
ZEB
Having Ember stay with us is the right thing to do. I know it is. She’s in need, and we’re best positioned to help. Simple.
But it’s fucking with my head.
The very first night, when we get back to the house, it turns out that her roommate hadn’t packed her any pajamas, only underwear and a couple of everyday outfits. So I give her a pair of my boxers and a t-shirt to sleep in, and seeing her in my clothes just about wrecks me.
Once Ember figures out that the house only has three bedrooms, she insists that she’ll sleep on the couch, but we say no. Whatever sense of honor, or chivalry, or who-the-fuck-knows-what lives in us men, we can’t let her do that.
If she were a guy, absolutely, the couch would be good enough. But not for Ember.
Frank has the biggest bedroom, with its own bathroom, and he says she can sleep there, and he’ll sleep on the couch. Then Griffin offers to trade off weeks with Frank—he’ll sleep on the couch, and Frank can sleep in his room. I don’t want to look like a jerk, so I make the same offer.
Ember is not okay with this arrangement, and she tries to back out altogether, saying she’ll find someone else to stay with. But we know she doesn’t have anyone, or she would have called them already.
The day after her first night with us, I ask her for the address of her apartment building, and ride by there just to see how bad it is. It’s an absolute dump; it hasn’t been painted recently, doesn’t have any landscaping, and the balconies look ready to crumble. I can only imagine what the interior’s like.
Back at the house, I try to ask Ember, nicely, why she was living in such an awful place. “Do Kai and Gage not pay you enough for anything better?” is what comes out.
She looks embarrassed and her voice is quiet when she speaks. “I send money back to my family.”
“Your family?”
“My mom and my younger sisters.”
I fold my arms and look down at her where she’s sitting at our dining room table. “So all the money that would let you afford something decent is going to them.”
She shrugs. “Yes.”
My opinion of her, which was already high, goes up some more. I knew she was smart, and hardworking, and strong, and of course hot as fuck. But damn, supporting her family like that? That’s really stepping up.
It also makes me mad, though. She deserves better. “How would your mom and sisters feel if they knew how you were living?”
Her eyes flash. “It’s my choice. And it’s only temporary, while I’m in school.”
I have no answer for that, except to be silently thankful that her building has been condemned and she’s with us now.
Except that having her at the house is making me as horny as a teenager. The past two nights, I woke up with a raging hard-on and had to take care of myself so my dick wouldn’t pop up like a fucking Jack-in-the-box when I walk by her.
I don’t know if she’s having the same effect on Frank and Griffin, but it wouldn’t surprise me.
Speaking of Griffin, he’s been different ever since Ember moved in. Quieter, and almost … cautious? Which is not a word I would ever have associated with the guy.
Right now, we’re at work, cleaning our stations and getting ready to leave, and he’s watching her like she’s a bomb that’s about to go off.
It’s his turn to cook tonight. He and Frank aren’t into it the way I am; they make whatever basic shit they can get away with, which is fine. Griffin usually makes us some kind of pasta dish that I suspect is a dressed-up Hamburger Helper.
While he and Ember head home so Griffin can make dinner, Frank and I take a trip to the mall.
EMBER
As soon as we get in his car, Griffin gives me a look, but I cut him off before he even opens his mouth. “I know what you’re planning to talk about, but you need to remember it never happened.”
“Emmy —”
“Don’t Emmy me. It’s all I can do to keep myself together. I can’t handle any conversation about what we did.”
Griffin reverses out of the parking spot, that familiar troublemaking grin on his face. “So you admit it did happen.”
“Griffin.” I put every bit of warning into my tone, and I’m relieved when his grin softens.
“Okay, Ember.” He emphasizes calling me by my name, rather than the affectionate nickname he used while he was giving me endless orgasms.
I don’t know how I’ve made it through the past few days. I’m incredibly appreciative to the men for taking me into their home, and they’ve done so much to make me feel welcome, but the lie I’m living is eating me up inside.