December (The Oliver Brothers Book 1)

by Watson, Q. M.

  With Danny, I lose myself. With Danny, I am nothing but a light outside my body, and my only link from floating away is attached to him.

  He pulls back to bury his face in the side of my neck, nuzzling me with his nose and mouth.

  I laugh deliriously, drunk off his lips again. Both of our breathing is ragged, our chests heaving.

  “I’m in love with your lips,” I murmur, laughing softly.

  “I’m in love with you.”

  I jerk and immediately tense.

  He lifts his face to look at me. “What’s wrong?”

  “You don’t love me, Danny.”

  His brows furrow, the muscle in his cheek jumping. “How could you say that when you know I do?”

  This is when I spew the poison.

  I shove hard against his chest, and he goes nowhere. “How can you say that when you left me to fuck Piper on my birthday?”

  His dark gaze hardens. “Who told you? Josh?”

  The first of my tears spill down my cheeks. “You’re not even going to deny it, are you?”

  “How do you know?” he whispers, wiping at my face.

  “I saw with my own eyes, Danny,” I shout at him. “I came by to share my cake with Josh, but before I reached the door, I saw you and Piper on the couch through the windows. You were making love to her. You left me to be with her. So no, you don’t love me.”

  He shuts his eyes, resting his forehead on mine. “I do love you, December. And I’m sorry you saw that. Jesus. I fucked up. I’m so sorry. God, I didn’t know you saw.”

  I burst out in tears. “You’re sorry I saw, but you’re not sorry you fucked her on my birthday.”

  He holds my face in his hands, his eyes watering. “If I could have done things differently, I would have. There are things you don’t understand, December. It’s what it looked like, but there is so much more to that story. Piper and I are complicated.”

  “You love her?”

  “I don’t hate her, little lady.”

  My tears fall harder, creating a small torrent down my cheeks. I push violently against him, getting nowhere. “Go be with her, then. God, I hate you from the very bottom of my soul. You disgust me, Danny. I don’t want to be with you. I don’t want to love you. You kill me. Go away. Go away.”

  “Shush,” he whispers, pressing little kisses to my lips. “Calm down.”

  I thrash in his arms, sobbing incoherent curses.

  He only holds me tighter, securing me firmly to him. I’m smothered with his spicy scent, with the heat of his body, with his impossible strength. Danny has me in his clutches, and he isn’t letting me go. The worst part is I don’t want him to. I cry until I have no tears left to shed. I’m weakened into nothing but a pile of quivering flesh in his arms.

  He lays me on the couch, cuddling close to me. He kisses my forehead. “I’m not going anywhere, December. I love you. You’ll see how much. Just give it time. We’re going to make it as a couple. I need you to have faith in me. I’m going to be the man that gives you forever.”

  I nod against his chest, but I don’t trust him.

  I don’t think I ever will.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  THE PRESENT

  It’s Monday, and I’m back at work. It’s a new year, but some things don’t change. Josh still ignores all my calls and messages. I even went to his apartment, but his truck wasn’t in the lot. I’m at a loss at what to do, and I have no idea how to fix this or make it better. I just want to see Josh.

  I’m on my lunch break, laughing with Mia as we munch on pizza. My office door opens, and Piper walks through with a box of cupcakes in her hands, dressed in a pale purple top and matching skirt the color of cotton candy with bright pink heels. Her thick, glossy locks hang down her back like waves of gold. I grimace at her, and Mia stiffens in her chair, making a face that screams YIKES!

  She smiles at me, her eyes bright. “Hi, guys.”

  “Hey, Piper,” Mia greets sincerely.

  I glare at Piper, lifting my brows.

  What the hell is she doing here, and what does she want?

  She lifts the box in her hand. “I brought a peace offering.”

  “Oh, let me get one of these bad boys before I leave,” Mia says, hopping out of her seat to lift the lid of the box and snatching up a frosted pink cupcake dusted with pink sugar crystals. “You make them so pretty, Piper. And they taste even better.”

  I scowl at Mia as she eats a chunk of the cupcake.

  Don’t eat them, Mia. They’re enemy cupcakes.

  She shrugs when she glances at me, as if she read my mind, licking the pink frosting off her lips. “So good, Piper.”

  “I’m glad you like them. I’ll drop you off a dozen later today,” Piper says, soaking up the happy rainbow joy that the both of them are spreading.

  “That’s nice of you, Piper. You’re so sweet. No wonder your cupcakes are scrumptious.”

  I think I’m about to puke up honey watching the two of them together.

  The sweetness is making me sick.

  “How about you take the whole box, Mia. I don’t want them,” I say, smiling sharply. “They’ll just go to waste here.”

  “You don’t have to ask twice,” Mia says happily, taking the box from Piper. “Later, December.”

  I glare at the back of Mia’s head as she exits my office, closing the door behind her.

  Piper pushes thick blonde strands behind her ears, taking Mia’s vacant seat.

  This woman has balls of steel.

  Piper has humongous balls of steel.

  The gall of this woman.

  “What can I do for you today?” I ask, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “I have a few things I need to clear up and get off my chest,” Piper starts, her vivid blue eyes lifting up to mine and drawing out the breath I’ve been holding.

  “Go on.”

  “When I told you I wanted you to stay away from Josh, I think you misunderstood what I meant. I truly think you’re lovely and unbelievably beautiful, December. You’re wise and loyal to a fault, and you’re a hothead with a temper most should fear.” She gives me an easy smile. “I don’t think you’re a bad influence on Josh. Not at all. I know you love my brother. And my brother loves you. He loves you so much that it frightens me. I feel helpless, knowing he’s in pain and there’s nothing I can do to make it better. I’ve been taking care of Josh all of my life. He’s all I know. He’s all I have.” She pauses to dab at her tears.

  “I’m sorry, Piper,” I say, wiping at my own tears.

  “I overstepped my boundaries with you, December. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again. Josh is pissed at me. His wrath is hurting me like nothing else.”

  “He shut you out, too?” I say, smiling for the first time in a while.

  “Yes, after I told him what I said to you.” She laughs softly. “Josh doesn’t simply shut you out; Josh freezes you out—God, am I cold.”

  We both shiver and laugh. “Me too. I miss him, but he doesn’t want to talk to me right now.”

  “You should keep pressing him. You’ll break through.”

  I lift a brow at her, a little skeptical. “You’re giving me your blessing?”

  “By all means, my blessing is yours.”

  “Good to know.”

  “I also what to tell you about me and Danny. I know I’ve caused a rift in your relationship with him and you’ve been kept in the dark about me, about us.” She takes a deep breath and then releases it. “I’m dying, December. I’ve been dying for a while it feels like. I have cancerous tumors in my brain.”

  I open my mouth to say something, but she waves me off to shut me up.

  “The first night I found out, I went to a lawyer and filed for divorce. Danny is a good man. Danny is a kind man. He was the man of my dreams, December. He was the man that I needed, everything I had hoped for. But I couldn’t be married to him knowing my survival rate wasn’t in my favor. Danny wanted kids and a wife that would be there to help l
ove and raise them. I couldn’t do that to him. So I divorced him.”

  My heart drops to my stomach. I feel genuinely sick. “Oh my God. Piper, I didn’t know—”

  “I didn’t tell Danny the real reason why I wanted the divorce. I couldn’t come out and tell him the truth, tell him that I was slowly dying. He wanted answers, and I gave him none. Not until the night of your birthday.” She gives me a mournful smile as the tears pour freely from her eyes. “On that night, I received a call from my doctor. He told me the cancer was spreading. I didn’t know what to do. I was frightened to think I could die at any moment and leave Danny with so much resentment. I didn’t know what to do except come clean. I called him and told him everything.” She releases a shaky breath, staring into my eyes. “He dropped everything and came over. He was with me, being the hero Danny is, and I couldn’t control myself. I wanted what we shared together one last time. I wanted to be selfish one last time, and Danny, bless his heart, let me.”

  “So that’s why he left me,” I murmur to myself, relieved yet saddened.

  “I begged him not to tell you about how sick I was. I didn’t want your sympathy. I wanted you to be angry with me for what I did on the night of your birthday. Looking back, I could have waited, but I didn’t know if I would live to see tomorrow. I had this urgency inside of me with the need to tell him. It was eating at me. I had to get it out. I’m sorry I caused you and Danny pain. That wasn’t my intention. I wasn’t trying to split you guys apart. I didn’t want to do that. That was the last time we slept together. He hasn’t touched me since. I promise.”

  I ignore the instant relief and ask the question I really want to know. “How sick are you now, Piper?”

  “It’s in my bones. My life expectancy isn’t longer than three months. But who knows. I could live up to three years or die any minute. It’s anyone’s guess at this point.”

  “Does Josh know?”

  She nods numbly, stretching napkin between her fingers.

  My brows draw together. “And he’s still not talking to you?”

  “Like I said, he freezes people out once they screw up.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” I say, frustrated that he’s shunned his sick sister.

  “It isn’t ridiculous,” she whispers, shaking her head. “That’s how much he loves you, December.”

  “I’ll talk to him, even if he doesn’t want to hear a word I have to say,” I vow.

  “I really think you need to. Josh will be taking another photography job. He’ll be gone for a year. He leaves in a week.”

  My mouth falls open, shocked. “But what if you pass within that year?”

  “That’s what he wants,” she says quietly, rubbing her arms. “I don’t mind. He doesn’t want to sit here and watch me die. He should be chasing his dreams and living his life. I want him happy. And if leaving is what it takes, then so be it.”

  I clutch my fists, gritting my teeth. “This isn’t right. He should be here with you.”

  Piper’s blue eyes expand, her expression concerned. “Calm down. You’re shaking, December.”

  Releasing a breath, I sag back in my desk chair, feeling deflated. “This is so fucked up.”

  Piper gives me a small smile. “Welcome to life.”

  ***

  Danny and I lie in his bed, naked and wrapped in sheets. We were in the middle of the best foreplay of my life until I started crying. Piper weighs heavily on mind. I can’t help it.

  “Danny, I don’t like this,” I mutter for the millionth time, nuzzling my face in his chest. “Piper is sweet and kind. Why the hell does she have to have cancer? Fuck cancer.”

  “I don’t know, December. I don’t have the answers to that,” he says, trailing his fingers down my spine.

  “She’s strikingly gorgeous. Piper is beauty beyond words, and to think that she’ll be gone with a snap of someone’s fingers one day has me ill.” Sadness swells inside of me, spilling down my face. “I don’t want her to die.”

  “Piper’s a fighter,” he says thickly. “She’s going to fight this. Everything will be how it’s meant to be.”

  “Is that why you told her good-bye before you left the four years you were gone?” I ask with a sob.

  “I didn’t know if she would still be alive when I came back. I didn’t know how much time she had. I had to do it, December. I would have regretted it deeply if I didn’t.”

  “I understand.”

  He holds me close to his chest, looking into my eyes. “Do you want to know what she used to tell me when I was out of my head sick with worry?”

  I nod, stroking his chest.

  “She told me God sent me another angel to give me the life she couldn’t. She said you and I are fated to be together, December.”

  I cry even harder.

  Danny moves on top of me, pressing a kiss to my lips as he brushes my bangs back. “I don’t want you crying, December. I want to make it better, not hurt as badly.” He grips himself in his hand and spreads my legs wide. His thick length gradually nudges my wetness. He shudders fiercely from the contact. His face and muscles are strained from withholding his strength.

  My breath hitches as he enters slowly in tiny increments, sliding into me inch by inch. His eyes are dark as his lids get heavy.

  “Please, Danny. I need you,” I whisper, pressing hard against him.

  He groans, clutches my hips, and thrusts deep, forcing his erection through the tight spasms of my orgasm. I sink my fingers into his hair, wrapping my arms around his neck. He grips my ass and rocks into me, hitting a sweet spot inside of me that takes my breath away.

  “Danny.” I groan, squeezing him with my thighs.

  “I’m going to fill you up with so much life, you’ll never want for anything, December.” He whispers in my ear, grinding his hips against mine. “I love you.”

  “Love you more.”

  He grins, withdrawing slowly and thrusting brutally. “Impossible.”

  Between laughing and crying, I melt into the sheets.

  I could spend a lifetime underneath Danny, never getting enough of him.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  THE PRESENT

  Danny doesn’t own a studio. He owns a gym. Oliver’s Gym is plated in huge gold letters above the double glass doors. I’m meeting his boys today. He has them lined neatly in a single row outside the boxing ring as he introduces me to each of them. He pauses when we get to the very last two, the eldest out of all the boys.

  “These are the two Jordons,” Danny introduces.

  “Hey, guys. I’m December.” I yell excitedly, shaking both of their hands a little too vigorously.

  They’re the two most handsome teens I’ve seen.

  “Just call me the Heartbreak Kid or HK,” the one with the dark-brown eyes and bright smile says.

  The other Jordon narrows his brilliant green eyes at him. “You break no hearts.”

  “Don’t mind my brother from another mother, Ms. December. He’s moody. In fact, Jordon is always moody. I think that’s the complete range of his emotions.”

  Jordon shoves HK with his elbow, scowling at him. “Shut up. You talk way too much.”

  “Add angry to the list,” HK mutters, rubbing at his arm. “Yep, moody and angry. That describes Jordon at his best.”

  Jordon flushes, his cheeks blotching with big pink spots. He shoves HK again, and HK pushes him back. They go back and forth, shoving each other.

  “Behave, boys,” Danny commands firmly .

  They both stop and tense with a mumbled, “Yes, sir.”

  “I brought pizza,” I say to them. Then I look to Gray just as he begins to open a box. “Lay off, Gray. It’s for the kids. Don’t you dare take a slice.”

  “Not fair, December. Not fair,” he mutters, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “I love pizza,” HK says, grabbing my hand and leading me in the direction of the tables.

  “I love pizza, too. Pizza is the best food since ever.” I look back at Jordo
n and whisper in a pleading tone, “Will you hold my hand, too? It’d be awesome to hold hands with two handsome Jordons.”

  His cheeks get rosier. He scratches his dark hair. “Yeah, sure.”

  I wiggle my brows at Danny as I’m guided to the table by my new favorite people in the world.

  Danny laughs, shaking his head. “Careful, December. They’re only fourteen.”

  “A girl can dream,” I say with a smile.

  ***

  Finally, Josh has texted me back. He wants to meet at the horses now. I step out of my car once I reach the amusement park’s parking lot. I’m on time, but the lot is empty. Josh’s truck isn’t anywhere in sight. My eyes dart up to the endless black sky. The sky is so dark. I can’t make out the stars. It’s cold, and all the snow has frozen into crunchy ice. The wind howling causes goose bumps to race over my skin. I glance over my shoulder and see nothing. I have an eerie sense of being watched while I stand here defenseless in the graveyard of fun.

  Deciding to get back into my warm car, I reach the handle on my door when suddenly, strong arms lock around me. A hand with a damp cloth seals over my mouth and nose. I involuntarily inhale to scream.

  ***

  Something soft touches my face, and I wake with a jolt. My arms and legs are tied to a massive four poster bed. I yank on the restraints, and the soft rope only tightens. My heart lurches painfully against my ribs. Panic begins to set in when clear green eyes stare down at me. Forcing myself to swallow the hysterical wail building in my throat, I still my movements and try my best to slow my erratic breathing and heart rate.

  I instantly recognize those irises. Luke Malaccan. He’s January’s shitty ex-boyfriend. What the hell am I doing here? This can’t be possible. It doesn’t make sense.

  He sits in a plain wooden chair beside the bed he has me bound to. He stares at me, his eyes watchful and focused on every emotion that runs through me. I blink several times, and he smiles at me.