He straightens his bad leg, drawing in a deep inhale against the discomfort. I’m tense with fear, until I realize it’s only so he can slip into the water with me. The air around us feels different when he pulls me into his arms. Lighter, more sustainable. I tighten my hold around him, burrowing into his hard chest as the thud of his heart becomes my universe.
He rests his lips against my hair.
“Then we find her.”
CHAPTER 3
Diamond bright, how you sparkle
Rich indulgence you spread delight
Diamond bright, how they clamor
To plunder your unguarded treasure
Those parasites
Those thieves of light
Those borrowers of others’ dreams
They’ll claw and smother until you’re just another
rock
OLIVER
Who’s the girl in the mirror? I have no damn clue, but I sure as hell want to know her more than the tipsy party girl who met me after I came out of the bathroom. I don’t have time for games. Never have, and with six family members relying on me, I’m definitely not starting now. My stakes aren’t just high, they’re non-negotiable, so yeah, even Genevieve Fox wasn’t going to tempt me into playing. Except when she drops the act, she’s mesmerizing. Is she beautiful? No. She’s fucking breathtaking. Long, dark red hair, almost violet. Vibrant green eyes. Hell, if you look close in the sun, you can see flecks of brown that draw you in and make it impossible to look away. So when she turned them up at me a minute ago, glistening beneath a sheen of tears, I was hooked. Yep, felt the line catch and jerk me right to the edge of the pool where that sharp sucker dug into my soul and dragged me through a busted knee down to the ledge.
Who’s the girl in the mirror? She’s now the girl in my arms.
I run my fingers through her hair as she clings to me. When’s the last time someone held her? The way she’s clutching my back, I suspect the answer would make me sick. Maybe angry. Okay, yeah, I’m angry that she’s been mangled to the point where she can’t even face a mirror. Where she actually believed she had to put on a show to get my attention. Because this woman doesn’t need to do anything to get a man’s attention. Walk in a room. Breathe the same air. Turn her head in my direction, and I was riveted. It wasn’t until she made herself into something else that she lost me. And now? Heaven help me. She’s triggered every protective bone in my body, and with four younger sisters, god knows that’s pretty much all of them.
“You okay?” I ask gently. Honestly, I could stand here all day. She’s right: the water is warm. Her body is pressed into mine, and she smells like starlight. Starlight? I don’t know. Radiance. Bright and blinding. I close my eyes to breathe in more of it.
“I’m sorry, Oliver. I’m so sorry,” she murmurs. The heat of her breath sears into my chest. The brush of her lips against my skin sends a shudder through me.
“For what?”
“All of this. We don’t even know each other and—”
“And it’s too early for something real?” I pull back enough so she can see my smile. She sends a weak one back.
“I’m not used to real.”
“I can tell. But I don’t have much patience for anything else.”
Her smile spreads into real, and I pull in a sharp inhale at the effect. “I can tell,” she echoes.
It almost hurts, her real smile. Plunges into your gut and lodges deep. That beam will scar me. I already feel the burn of eternal heat.
What hope do I have as I brush a few lingering tears from her cheek? So soft. So perfect like everything else about her. It’s ridiculous that she called me perfect when I’m broken ligaments and scar tissue. She’s the universally accepted standard of perfection. Is there a publication that hasn’t splashed her image beside a headline about her beauty? I’m a hockey player who can’t play hockey. An elite athlete who can’t even fucking walk right.
I clench my jaw and plug the negative spiral before it starts. Camille would be pissed if she heard me say something like that. I almost laugh at the thought of my sister’s glare when we video-chatted earlier. She may be two years younger, but she’s more like Mom than Mom half the time. Don’t you ever talk about my brother like that, Oliver Levesque. He’s the best person I know.
I usually respond with something like, if that’s true, you should get out more, which earns me another glare. Secretly, though, it’s shit like that that makes you get up at five-thirty every day, jump on the elliptical or into the pool, and fight through the pain. Take the abuse and beg for more. It makes you eat the most disgusting food, drink the most disgusting shakes, and pass on temptation after temptation because there is no universe where I will look Camille in the eye and tell her I gave up. That I’m less than she believes, because they all deserve a brother and a son who believes as well. I deserve that, and so does Genevieve Fox.
She drops her arms and steps back, shaking slightly. Is she cold? The thought makes me tense.
“Tell me about your favorite sibling,” she says. The pretense is gone, replaced with a longing that squeezes my heart.
“I don’t have a favorite,” I say, propping my elbows behind me on the pool deck as I lean against the edge. Her gaze travels over me slowly, covetously. She licks her lips and a spark of awareness fires straight to my groin.
“Come on. Yes you do.” Her grin grows at my smile. “I knew it. Tell me about that one.”
“Fine. You’re going to get me in trouble one day, I can tell.”
“Your secret is safe with me. Pinky swear.” She wades forward, holding out her hand.
“Pinky swear?”
She leans in, looping her little finger around mine. The contact sends a rush of heat through my blood. Her eyes darken with awareness as they lift to my face.
“You’ve never done a pinky swear?”
“Is that what this is?” I ask, gently shaking our connected fingers.
“Yes. It’s a sacred oath.” She tugs our hands until they’re hovering between us. A symbol. An invitation. The simmer becomes a blistering surge. Instinctively, my other four fingers entwine with hers. This time when I pull my arm back to its resting place on the edge of the pool, Genevieve comes with it. The heat of her registers first. Then the softness. Then… my lungs suck in a heavy breath. Her other hand brushes over my stomach, climbing slowly. Exploring. Her gaze locks on the path of her palm, hungry and fascinated.
“Her name is Camille,” I force out. My voice is strained now, and her fingers sink into my chest.
“That’s beautiful.” Her tone is pained as well, and I search her face. Is the longing for me or for family? Both, I think. She’s an intoxicating blend of fire and sadness right now. “Tell me about her,” she says. Her hand moves again, torching my skin wherever it touches. Up my shoulder, over my neck—streaks of flames. Her fingers snake into my hair and lock in a gentle grip.
I hiss in a breath when she tugs and forces us closer. Her body, magnetized and imploring, strokes mine in all the right places. Her chest lifts in shallow pants, her eyes wide and beseeching. There was a question in all of this. I vaguely remember a conversation that started innocently enough. She releases my hand to slide her fingers along my jaw, her gaze locked on my lips. Her other hand clenches harder in my hair. I’m granite now, rigid with anticipation and need. My focus drops to the swell of her breasts pillowed against my stomach, nearly exposed. Suddenly, she surges from the water, locking her legs around my waist and clinging to me. Her hips hook into mine and slide against my erection. Her sigh—completely paralyzing. I can’t move, can’t look away, can’t breathe, as she opens up in a direct invitation. She shifts further into alignment, digging her hips deeper against me. I breathe in her scent, overwhelming as I tighten my grip on her thighs to hold her in place. She’s light. Delicate, but firm at the same time. She must work on her body as much as I do.