“I love you, December,” he rasps hoarsely, nuzzling his face against my throat.
Smiling stupidly, I run my fingers through his damp hair. “How long will it take for you to get it up again? I want to do this all night.”
He lifts his face and narrows his eyes at me, giving me his best glare.
“Okay,” I mumble, grinning lazily at him. I hold his face in my hands, tracing his brows, nose, and full lips. “Danny, I love you. So much that I’ll yell it to the heavens while you let me have my way with you. I want you on your back, captain.”
He gives me an easy smile, shivering slightly. “I’m all yours, bad little kitty.”
Danny makes sure we stay connected when he shifts onto his back. His hands run down the length of my hair and down to clutch my waist, and then he grasps my hips.
He surges upward, thrusting deep.
Groaning, I bend over and clutch his chest.
His dark eyes glint wickedly. “Let me hear you scream it.”
“I love you, Danny,” I shout, tossing my head back in pure ecstasy.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
THE PAST
Danny, age twenty-six
December, age sixteen
I’ve been ignoring Danny for two weeks. He’s been calling me nonstop. He even shows up at my house. But I refuse to talk to him. Every day I go without talking to him, he leaves a red rose outside my front door. Danny doesn’t know I know he left me to be with Piper. He thinks I’m upset because he left me on my birthday without a word or warning.
How little he knows.
Today is his birthday, and we’re at the cabins. The Tying Ceremony is an hour away. I didn’t want to come this year or the years ahead, but I didn’t want to disappoint Papa Pete. I called him before to tell him I wasn’t coming, and he asked me why. I told him I wasn’t in the mood to be tied to anything. He told me that it’s difficult to face the world adrift and not attached to anything. I was breaking his heart, so I decided to put my selfish sulking on the back burner and come.
Here I am.
I’m hiding out in July and Jarvis’s cabin. They’ve been giving each other The Eye and singing softly to each other all day. Now I’m feeling queasy. I’ve also been avoiding anything romantic. If I don’t, then I’ll puke. I’m so not in a mood to feel warm fuzziness and to have butterflies. I’m in the mood to set every rose Danny gave me to ash. In fact, I think that’s what I’m going to do.
He didn’t send me a rose today; he sent me a bouquet.
Today is special.
“Can I have a lighter, Jarvis?”
He nods, patting his pockets. “You smoke?”
“No,” I say as he hands me a red lighter. “But something will be smoking.”
His mismatched eyes drift to July, and she shrugs.
Stomping to the living room, I snatch the glass vase of roses and move them to the kitchen countertop. Then I set the petals on fire. All the flowers catch fire instantly, burning in yellow hot flames. A cloud of billowing thick smoke rises to the ceiling.
I laugh, watching the fragile flowers wilt and melt to nothing but a smothering angry smog cloud.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Jarvis shouts, carefully lifting the burning flowers and cautiously holding it away from his body, and then he throws the vase of flaming roses in the sink.
The sound of shattered glass is wonderful to hear, because that’s how I feel inside.
I’m broken glass now.
“Have you lost your mind, December?” July asks, frantically spraying the scorching flames with water.
“No.” I shake my head but smile hard enough my cheeks hurt. “I have gained my mind.”
Jarvis scowls at me and glances at July. “I think your sister is batshit crazy.” He looks at me again and taps his lip ring thoughtfully. “But she just inspired a new song.”
***
Everyone is already down by the lake. I’m finally making my way down to the hill. Danny is at the altar, waiting for me. He’s dressed in a white suit, his hair brushed back from his handsome face. He looks like a noble knight. When his brown eyes hit me, all the air is knocked out of my chest.
Damn it.
He still affects me.
I’m knocked off my feet with a simple smile.
I hate him more for it.
Danny looks into my eyes and vows some words he doesn’t mean to me, and Papa Pete joins our hands with a long white ribbon. I can’t help but think how childish I am in his eyes. He thinks I can’t get over the fact that he left me. I wonder if he would feel the same if Josh and I were spread out on a couch.
Would Danny hate me if I slept with Josh on the day of his birthday, on a day that’s supposed to mean everything to him?
Papa Pete blesses us in an old language I have no clue about, but his words are beautiful. I want to cry, but I fake a smile through it all.
When it’s all over, Danny wraps his arms around me, smiling like I made every star shine in the night sky. I reach up to stroke his cheek and then scratch his mole with the tip of my fingernail, leaving a thin trail of blood.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, reaching up on my tiptoes to kiss the red whip on his beauty mole. I play it off like an accident.
It’s not.
And I think he knows. Despite this, he smiles at me, and it’s pure and genuine. “It’s fine. Time heals everything.”
“Yes, time does,” I murmur sinisterly, stroking the scratch I gave him.
Danny doesn’t know that this is the first of many wounds I will give him.
I hate Danny, so much I want him to hurt.
He will feel my pain.
Danny has turned me sour inside.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
THE PRESENT
Today is Danny’s birthday. He’s spending it with all of us. We’re all in Papa Pete’s cabin, eating the biggest breakfast under the sun. There are three different types of pancakes, and there are eggs, grits, bacon and sausage, muffins, and tons of fried fish and shrimp.
Papa Pete always goes above and beyond for his boys. Everyone is at the grand oak table. My mom can’t help herself from gloating. She helped Papa Pete cook. She doesn’t cook often, but when she does, it’s a cause for celebration. Tonight is the night of the Tying Ceremony.
I look at all my sisters around me and sigh inwardly. I love spending time with them, even if they are a bunch of crazy hags. January is in a teal-blue sundress with a loose white cardigan draped over her arms, her thick and shiny hair spilling in soft waves down her back. May is wearing a flowy black pantsuit, her long hair sleeked into a ponytail. And July is dressed in one of Jarvis’s graphic T-shirts and very loose jeans. Her blonde hair is short and choppy but so cute on her. July’s clothes used to be fitted and display her small curvy body, but not anymore. She’s been dressing like she doesn’t want any attention from anyone, as if she doesn’t want to be noticed. July even chopped her long locks. She loved her hair. I don’t know what inspired this drastic change, but she can’t hide her beauty. It shines through her vivid grey irises.
As for myself, I’m dressed in my usual jeans and sweater. Though, I have a thick black scarf wrapped around my neck. Danny’s hand severely bruised my skin. I have large, angry purple marks around my throat. I told him that I’m not ashamed of what happened and he shouldn’t be either. But he was worried about Bliss’s reaction. Danny didn’t want her to be afraid, so he insisted I wear the scarf.
“How are the muffins, December?” my mom asks, studying my face as I chomp on one.
“Pretty good, Mom.”
Her dazzling brown eyes twinkle. She seems satisfied, and then she turns her sights on my sisters. “July, are the eggs fluffy enough? Is there enough cheese?”
July scoops more on her fork and stuffs it in her mouth, making an effort to please Mom. “Mmm. So good.”
“Your eggs are the shit,” Jarvis says in earnest.
“I’m delighted. Coming from a rock star, that mea
ns something,” Mom says joyously.
Bliss’s eyes get comically huge, popping out of her little head as she looks around at each of us like we didn’t hear him curse. “Uncle Jarvis said a bad word.”
“Watch your mouth, boy, in front of Bliss,” Papa Pete mutters, shaking his head as he digs into his pancakes.
Danny and Miles reach out to smack Jarvis against his shaggy head.
Gray snorts, snatching up everything on the table and piling it on his plate. “He should go to time out, right, Bliss?”
Before she answers, Jarvis playfully yanks one of her pigtails and leans down to whisper loud enough so we all can hear. “If you send me to time out, then I won’t buy that skateboard we’ve been talking about.”
“He can stay,” Bliss says coolly, as if she suddenly changed her mind and she isn’t being blackmailed.
Gray takes the last blueberry muffin just as I’m reaching for it.
I scowl at him. “Not fair, Gray.”
He shrugs and takes a big bite, eating half of it. Then he hands it to me. “You can have the rest.”
Snatching it from his hand, I bite into the half-eaten muffin, still glaring at him.
I love my family.
***
The energy is electric tonight. My sisters and I are all in my cabin, getting ready. The men are getting ready in Miles’s cabin. Mom and Papa Pete are already dressed, waiting down at the lake for us. The bathroom is a cluttered mess of makeup and flat irons and hot curlers. We are a group of chaotic women, running around in white dresses, turning the cabin upside down as we zoom through halls and rooms.
I stare at myself in the full length mirror. My dress is a sleeveless tulle creation. The style of my dress is soft and feminine, the bodice fitted to hold my boobs up like an offering and the skirt bursting with white tulle like a tutu. I have a bit of glittery silver liner only on my lower lids. My hair is in its wild and natural state of waviness, falling down my chest and back in abundance.
Running a hand over my bangs, I smile at myself in the mirror. I look like a Disney princess—sweet and charming. Oh, how looks deceive us.
January’s dress is a sleek waterfall of smooth satin over her body, and her hair is cascading in deep waves down her back. She has her signature red lip. January looks like a timeless beauty with the matching grace from the fifties.
May’s dress is elegant and flowing. Half of her hair is piled into a soft crown of romantic curls on top of her head, and the other half is down. May embodies the queen she is.
July’s dress is a classic ball gown, but the puffy skirt is mostly ripped away except for the long train of tulle behind her. She wears thigh-high boots that lace up her shapely legs and stop where the small scrape of skirt remains. Her eyes are smudged with thick black liner that gives the illusion of her gunmetal-gray irises popping out of her skull, and her short blonde locks are perfectly tousled. She’s the essence of a rock star’s wife.
My sisters are fucking beautiful.
We finally begin to walk down the hill. Bliss is cuteness amplified in her little white dress and her long ponytail curling down her back. She races down the hill, laughing joyously. White lanterns flicker on either side of the path, illuminating the winding trail to the lake. The fragrant scent of white blossoms and fresh water surrounds us. Stars twinkle in the night sky. The view of the Oliver brothers lined on one side of the massive arch of flowers and gossamer gets closer and closer as we all make our way to them.
My mom is seated in her sole chair as our sole witness, already in tears. She wears a stunning white dress with a little white veil netting coming from her tiny hat that sits right on the tip of her head.
I release a shaky breath when I step to Danny’s side. He’s clean-shaven and polished in his white tux. We stand at the altar that’s dripping with garlands of flowers and draped in clouds of gossamer. Danny stares at me with stars in his eyes. His gaze is awestruck, like he’s blinded by looking at the sun too long.
“I love you,” I mouth silently, smiling hugely.
“Love you more,” he mouths back, grinning widely.
Yes.
This is the man I’m supposed to be with.
Danny is my ending to my beginning.
He holds out his hand, and I take it.
We both turn to Papa Pete, who is dressed in a simple loose white shirt and pants. Papa Pete has white feathers and beads threaded intricately throughout his hair. He begins to bind each of our joined fingers in white ribbon. “You may begin to vow to your love, son.”
“You drive me insane, December,” Danny starts. “I love how much you make me crazy. I love how sharp your tongue is and how feisty your attitude is. I especially love how you stand your ground. You’re the most stubborn woman I know. I love how you make my worst days laughable. I love the woman you’ve grown into. And I love getting to know the woman you’re becoming.”
My heart swells with each vow. My knees are weak, and I doubt I’d be standing if Danny wasn’t holding my hand.
He reaches up with his free hand to wipe at my tear-stained cheeks. “I vow to be a loving man. I vow to be a patient man. I vow to protect you from any harm. I also vow to give you room to grow and space to learn. I vow to give you the best of me. You deserve no less. And I vow to be there every step of the way. I look forward to our future together,” he reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small gold band and then pushes it onto my ring finger, “and calling you wife very soon.”
My heart stops as I stare down at the gold band.
“Oh my God.”
He strokes my cheek softly. “Are you going to give me my ring now?”
“What?” I ask, on the verge of sobbing.
Danny thumps the band hanging around my neck. “I was yours from the beginning.”
“This is your ring?” I ask, perplexed as I unclip the necklace, sliding the ring off.
“I had our bands made together,” he says, smiling. “You’ve been wearing mine, and I’ve been holding on to yours.”
I don’t even try to talk through my sobbing as I slide his ring over his finger. Papa Pete says his blessing in a native language I love hearing. I stare down at our tied hands and cry harder. I’ve waited forever to feel this. There is no pain in my heart. The struggle has ended. Surrender has never felt more liberating. I look up at Danny and know he is my forever.
Once the ribbons are removed and our turn at the altar is over, we stand at our siblings’ side as each Oliver says their vows. My heart melts when Miles vows both to May and Bliss as the three of them are linked and tied together.
After the ceremony, we sit on lounge chairs and hang out by the lake. Mom and Papa Pete took Bliss to bed and promised to watch Frozen with her while her parents got adult playtime with us.
Gray pulls some folded papers from his suit pocket. He waves them at me and my sisters. “Girls, have you forgotten our deal?”
“Really, Gray.” July pouts with her best puppy face.
“I don’t care how cute you are. A deal’s a deal, July.” He laughs.
“She is pretty cute, huh?” Jarvis says, cradling her in his arms and kissing her cheek.
She rolls her eyes, giving in. “Fine.”
“It’s simple,” Miles informs us as Gray hands him the papers. “All you have to do is recite the lines, and it is done.” He passes us all a sheet.
I stare down at the words on the paper and laugh. There are a few sentences declaring my undying love for Danny. I wonder if my sisters’ are the same.
July swallows loudly, her pretty face going pale as she stares down at her paper clenched between her hands. Her eyes are wild and frantic when she stares up at everybody. “I’m not saying this. This is bullshit, Jarvis.”
He bites on his lip piercing, regarding her with solemn intensity. “It’s not all bullshit, is it, July?”
What the hell does her paper say?
Her lips part and her eyes widen before she clenches her jaw. “This was a mistake. We
shouldn’t have gone through with the Tying Ceremony. It’s clear you want nothing to do with me. You definitely don’t want to be bound to me.”
He tilts his head, watching her closely with a cruel gleam in his narrowed eyes.
July holds his gaze as she releases a shuddering breath and tears her sheet of paper into pieces. “You win, Jarvis. You fucking win. I get what I did, but what you’re doing is far worse. You like to hurt me. You like me in pain. Go on and tell your brothers how much you get off on my tears.” She crushes the ripped pieces of paper in her balled fist, her eyes watering as she looks at him. “Tell them, Jarvis.”
He lifts a brow, taking a swig from his beer bottle. “You shouldn’t shed so many tears. Learn how to cry on the inside like the rest of us, July. I won’t get off so much then.”
“I’m done,” she says, throwing the shredded pieces of paper in his direction. “I’m done, Jarvis. I refuse to be a pawn in your mind fucks. It’s over.”
He snorts a laugh, shaking his head and scrubbing a hand over his mouth. “I’m afraid not so much, July. The ink is dry on your contract. You’re stuck with me. We have a tour to do. It’s far from over.”
She quickly comes to some sort of resolve, her expression dumbfounded. “So before, when you were being nice to me, was it all an act? Was your kindness a ploy?”
Jarvis simply shrugs, tossing back his beer.
July’s brows furrow; blazing fury brews in her darkening grey eyes. “You seduced me into believing you had changed, that you cared enough about me to want us in a better space. You don’t give a shit about me. You just want to prolong my suffering.”
He smiles slowly at her. Jarvis’s smile is beautiful as much as it is evil. “You shouldn’t be so easy, but that’s you, July. Easy. All it took was a few sugary words and a couple of orgasms. Your soul was solely mine after that. I figured you would have learned your lesson about the consequences of being easy, but I can see how wrong I am.”
December (The Oliver Brothers Book 1) Page 22
