Shattered Dreams (Boys of Bellerose, #3)(12)
“Me too,” she said with another yawn, snuggling further into me. “It’s working so well. Just need to figure out these nightmares.”
Her last words were near incoherent, and when her breathing evened out a few seconds later, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the moment. Sure, I had a rock-hard dick that was complaining loudly at me, especially since Billie was still draped across half my body, but the rest of me was content to be with her like this.
I had no idea what the fuck had happened to me, but I was going with it.
six
BILLIE
I’d fallen asleep in Grayson’s warm embrace but woke up to Rhett feathering kisses over the bend of my neck. His light caresses sent shivers of pure ecstasy through my body, and I gave a low moan of appreciation.
“G’morning, Zep,” I mumbled, rolling over as I blinked my crusty eyes. “Where’s Gray?”
Rhett’s smile was pure mischief. “Kicked him out. Fucker was snoring when I came back to bed, and neither of us needed that noise.”
A lighthearted chuckle filled my chest. He wasn’t wrong about Gray’s snoring; the big guy was like a hibernating bear. “What time is it?”
“Time to get up, Sleeping Beauty,” he replied, kissing my throat teasingly. “I wanna know if you’ve been naughty or nice this year.”
I must have been half asleep because I didn’t understand that comment at all. “Huh? Naughty, obviously.” That was what he meant, right? He wanted to fuck?
Rhett’s answering chuckle clued me in to the fact that I’d missed the point entirely. “Naughty Billie is my favorite, but in this case I meant… it’s Christmas. Merry Christmas, beautiful Thorn.”
Shock froze me, and Rhett swooped in with a kiss on my mouth. I knew it was Christmas, but I’d just figured we were ignoring the holiday entirely. After everything we’d all been through, it seemed wrong to celebrate. Especially with Angelo still in the hospital.
“Come on,” Rhett urged, oblivious to the guilt swirling through my guts. “Grayson is making breakfast.” He tugged on my hand to get me out of bed, but I pulled back.
“Um, I just need to take a shower and wake up,” I told him with a cringe. “And brush my teeth. I don’t want to kiss you with fuzzy teeth and morning breath.”
He gave me a long look as I stood up wearing just his t-shirt and a pair of panties. “Thorn, I’d never complain about your fuzzy teeth.” He tipped his head to the side, his gaze turning predatory. “Maybe I can help you shower?”
Tempting. Oh my god, tempting. “Cute. If you do that, then breakfast will go in the trash.” Besides, I needed a hot second to get my head straight. To swallow my crushing guilt over Angelo’s situation and my part in his injuries. What if he didn’t make it?
What if he never woke up?
“You’ve got a good point,” Rhett agreed. “But be quick. I really want to show you… uh… something.” His shifty eyes clued me in to some kind of surprise waiting downstairs, and it eased a bit of the sourness in my chest.
Assuring him I’d be fast, I hurried across the hallway to the main bathroom to shower. After my nightmares, I was rocking a stale-sweat smell that had to be as far from sexy as possible, and good god, my breath could knock over a cow.
I took my time working through my brain while I showered, placing all my icky, negative emotions and thoughts into their boxes where they belonged. A little logical reasoning went such a long way, and this was something Dr. Candace had already commended me for being able to do.
Logically, I acknowledged the fact that today was Christmas and no amount of feeling guilty about Angelo’s situation would change that. Nor would he get magically better because I was beating myself up over him being so hurt. Besides, it wasn’t like we were heading out to some ritzy party to drink and dance the night away. Rhett just wanted to have breakfast with Gray—and Vee, too—and we all needed to eat. So what difference did it make?
With that logic in mind, I got dressed and made my way downstairs.
“What the—” I gasped as I stepped into what could only be described as the inside of a snow globe. The entire living area of Grayson’s house had somehow magically transformed into a Christmas wonderland, just like my dad used to do when I was a kid.
“Merry Christmas, Billie Bellerose!” Vee sang out, appearing from the kitchen wearing an apron that looked like an elf costume. She crossed over to where I stood frozen on the stairs and hugged me warmly.
My responding hug was weak as I tried to take in the transformation. Then I looked to Rhett and Grayson, who both stood near the kitchen in matching Santa pants and hats. That was it. Pants and hats and nothing in between besides rippling muscles and glorious ink that begged to be licked…
“Oh geez, didn’t I tell you two to put shirts on?” Vee scolded, then shot me a wink. “I’m going to get you coffee, Billie. You look like you need it.”
She disappeared again, and I took a few steps closer to my smirking sexy Santas. “Okay, someone explain,” I ordered. “What, when, how, who, why?” I gestured around us at the myriad of decorations filling Grayson’s usually impersonal home, right down to an eight-foot Christmas tree decked out in greens and reds with twinkling lights to top it all off.