His back was covered in an enormous tree; branches reached across his shoulders, covered in new shoots as if spring wasbringing it back to life. Its thick, gnarly trunk ran down his spine and roots covered his lower back, disappearing beneath the waistband of his sweats. It was stunning. I’d never been with a man with even one tattoo, never mind a body full—although you’re not getting with this man either, Fern. Pull yourself together.
As he turned back toward me, I knew I shouldn’t stare, but I took a moment to take in the curve of his biceps, his thick corded forearms, his hairless chest, and the perfectly stacked indent of his abs. I let my eyes dip lower, trying to hide my blush, when I saw the clear outline of his cock pressing against his joggers.
Trying to shake my new obsession of staring at his perfect body, I focused on our conversation. Charlie might be a selfish dick normally, but his words tonight made sense. I shouldn’t conform to make my family happy when they didn’t give two shits about my feelings, and I didn’t care if they threw me out or cut me off. And dressing like myself would give me more protection from James. I couldn’t be the old, weak version of me and stand up to him, but the new Fern—the one I’d spent six years crafting—she could face off with him and make sure he knew his place.
Oblivious to my staring, Charlie held out his hand. “Come on, Princess. Let’s see what goodies are in those trunks.” I placed my palm in his and let him lead me across the room.
Chapter 7
Charlie
I woke feeling weird. I knew I was in a strange bed, in a strange house, but something else felt off.
It was Fern’s hair brushing against my chest that I noticed first. Then I felt her warm skin under my palm as I realized it was pressed to her stomach, where it had buried itself under her top, settling inches away from her breasts. At some point in the night, I’d wrapped myself around Fern, pulling her to me like I needed her to stay afloat.
I thought about moving. I probably should have. Especially since my morning wood was nestled against her ass. But I didn’t. Instead, I closed my eyes and breathed in her vanilla scent and let my body relax for the first time in… well, maybe in forever.
I must have fallen back asleep because when I woke again, Fern was walking out of the bathroom wearing some white leggings and an oversized Cosmic God sweater.
“Happy Christmas,” she beamed.
“Happy Christmas, Princess.”
“Come on, get up. I have a niece to spoil. Can you give me a hand with her presents? You might want to put a top on. If your shirt caused a stir last night, your tattooed chest is going to cause someone to have a heart attack,” she laughed, pushing her glasses up her nose.
I jumped out of bed and pulled a t-shirt and a hoodie from the case I’d not bothered to unpack, tugging them on before following her from the room. As we closed the door, we heard raised voices from down the hall. Before we could work out what Elise was saying to an angry sounding James, a young blond woman appeared in front of us, carrying a little girl in her arms. She was already wearing a dress, with a giant red bow clipped into her thin, short, fair hair, even though it wasn’t even 7 am.
“Ari,” Fern cried, reaching her arms out to her niece, but the tiny person wasn’t impressed; her lip wobbling before she burst into tears.
“We’ve only ever met over Zoom or Facetime,” Fern sighed sadly.
As I looked between a heartbroken Fern and a sobbing baby, the shouting in the bedroom got louder, so I pointed to the stairs. “Why don’t we go see if Santa’s been?” I suggested, wrapping my hand in Fern’s and dragging her with me.
The sound of a thud made my body seize, but Fern didn’t seem to notice, so I decided to focus on the problem at hand, rather than stepping into a situation I had no right to get involved in… yet.
At the bottom of the stairs, Fern led me to a less formal living room with three huge sofas all facing a fireplace that was alreadylit, and a huge Christmas tree decorated with white lights. Ari was still unsettled, obviously overwhelmed by the early start and the unfamiliar situation. She looked at me with her big brown, tear filled eyes and I couldn’t help pulling a silly face. She paused, unsure how to react, so I pulled another one, reaching for her feet and tickling them. She giggled, and the sound was so addictive that I did it again, pulling a louder noise from her. The nanny looked relieved, handing her over and then virtually running from the room.
“You’re used to being around babies?” Fern asked, sitting on the floor near the gifts we’d brought down.
“Nope. Never been near one, but Archer is a baby at heart, so I just pretended she was him.”
Fern laughed, making Ari turn with interest to find the source of the noise. When she realized it was Fern, she wriggled in my arms until I put her down and she crawled the short distance to Fern. Pulling herself up on Fern’s arm, Ari stood on wobbly legs, offering a gummy smile.
“Pass me that red present,” she instructed, pointing at a large box.
I pulled it over, and the three of us tore off the wrapper. Inside was a rocking unicorn that made Ari scream with delight, and the focus of our attention for the next thirty minutes was rocking this tiny person on it until she overflowed with happiness.
“What’s going on?” a voice boomed out behind us, making a happy Fern and a contented Ari both freeze.
I looked up from my spot on the floor, finding James towering over us, dressed in a suit, shirt, and dress shoes as if he was heading to the office.
“Santa came. Merry Christmas,” I replied, while still rocking Ari.
“Where’s the nanny?”
“She’s fine with us. I’m her aunt,” Fern barked, glaring at him.
“Not bothering to dress for breakfast, I see Fe. I think your boyfriend is a bad influence. Thank God you came home, so we can remind you how you should behave.”