Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
I close my fingers around the smooth glass. It’s warm from where he’s been holding it.
Liam goes next. He hands Knox a small object wrapped in a scrap of fabric torn from one of the dishtowels. Knox unwraps it slowly, revealing a wooden snowflake about three inches across. The edges are uneven, clearly carved by hand, but the pattern is intricate—six points, each one detailed with smaller branches radiating outward.
“Made it with a kitchen knife,” Liam says, trying for casual. “When you two were sleeping.”
“How did you even . . .” Knox turns the snowflake over in his hands, examining each carved line.
“I told you. I’m good with my hands.”
The look that passes between them makes my stomach flip.
Liam hands me a carved snowflake that is slightly different, but means just the same.
I hand them both their bracelets. Simple things, just braided string in three colors—red, green, and white. I found the string in a craft box under the bathroom sink and spent yesterday afternoon weaving while the boys argued about escape routes.
“So we match,” I explain, holding up my wrist where I’m already wearing mine.
Liam puts his on immediately. Knox stares at his for a long moment before sliding it over his hand.
“We look like we’re at summer camp,” he says.
“Sexy summer camp,” Liam corrects.
“There’s no such thing as sexy summer camp.”
“Clearly you went to the wrong camps.”
I laugh, and it comes out watery. This is ridiculous. We’re locked in a cabin by a woman who’s obsessed with a diamond I buried in frozen ground five years ago, and we’re sitting here exchanging handmade Christmas presents like we’re in some twisted Hallmark movie. But it doesn’t feel ridiculous. It feels like the truest thing that’s happened since we got here.
That night, after the record player has gone quiet and we’ve moved to the couch, Liam props himself up on one elbow.
“We need to talk about it,” he says. “Christmas Eve. Marlena’s deadline. What we’re actually going to do.”
I press my face into Knox’s chest. “Tomorrow.”
“Hailey—”
“One more night.” I reach back, finding Liam’s hand and lacing my fingers through his. “Give me one more night of this. Of pretending we’re just three people who found each other. Tomorrow we have the hard conversation. Tomorrow we figure out how to survive. But tonight . . .” I squeeze his hand. “Please.”
Silence. I can feel them communicating over my head, that wordless thing they’ve started doing.
“Tomorrow,” Knox agrees.
Liam’s body relaxes beside me. His arm comes around my waist, and I’m sandwiched between them, warm and safe and pretending that’s enough.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Hailey
I lean back against the couch, letting my gaze linger on Liam’s lips before shifting to Knox’s intense stare. “Kiss me. Both of you. But make it count—no holding back.”
Liam’s eyes sparkle with mischief as he moves first, his finger trailing up from my collarbone to tilt my chin toward him. His mouth captures mine in a slow, teasing kiss that has me leaning into him before I even realize I’m doing it. My hand finds the back of his neck, pulling him closer.
Then Knox’s grip on my thigh tightens, and he leans in, waiting until Liam pulls back just enough. His kiss is different—hungrier, more demanding, like he’s been holding this in all night. I gasp against his lips, caught between them, the world narrowing to just the three of us and this heat building between us.
As Knox deepens the kiss, his hand slides higher up my thigh, fingers pressing into my skin with a possessiveness that makes something low in my belly tighten. I break away for a breath, only to find Liam watching us with that infuriating grin. He doesn’t wait for an invitation; instead, he leans in again, this time brushing his lips against my neck while Knox claims my mouth once more. It’s almost too much—Liam’s gentle nips along my collarbone, Knox’s tongue demanding everything I have.
I arch into them, my hands roaming freely now, one tangling in Liam’s hair, the other gripping Knox’s shoulder for stability. “More,” I murmur between kisses, the word barely escaping before Liam captures my lips again, his free hand slipping under my shirt to trace the curve of my waist. The heat between us builds with every touch, every breath.
Knox pulls back slightly, his breath hot against my ear. “Tell us what you want next, Hailey,” he whispers. I meet his gaze, then Liam’s, feeling bold and more myself than I’ve ever been. “Everything,” I say, pulling them both closer, ready to lose myself in whatever comes next.
Their hands are everywhere now, no hesitation left. Liam’s fingers trail along my skin under my shirt, inching upward until they brush the lace of my bra, his touch light but insistent, drawing a soft moan from my throat. Knox, not one to be outdone, mirrors him on the other side, his palm sliding up my thigh to the hem of my shorts, teasing the edge as if testing my limits.