Falling for my boyfriend's Navy brother Chapter 141

The party’s getting louder. Someone’s turned up the music, and empty beer bottles are starting to pile up on the coffee table. A couple of guys from the football team are playing some sort of slap game that’s left both their forearms red and swollen. Zoe’s standing on the couch, doing something that looks vaguely like a striptease but without the coordination. Tyler’s clapping and cheering her on, sloshing his beer everywhere, clearly way past the point of being just buzzed.

I glance down at Penny beside me, her legs tucked under her, small hands wrapped around the cup of water I made her take earlier. She’s looking at everyone with a furrowed brow, lips parted in mild confusion. Like she’s never seen people act like this.

I catch her eye, and she blinks up at me, those wide green eyes locking onto mine. She leans a little closer, voice a quiet hum under the chaos. “Mr. Special Agent Ghost,” she teases, “or... I guess dead body, technically.”

I smirk, raising an eyebrow.

“Would you be mad if I said I want to go back to the cabin?”

I chuckle, the sound low, just for her. “Not at all. I’m about five minutes away from strangling someone.”

Her smile brightens, a tiny, relieved sigh slipping past her lips. “Okay. Let’s go.”

She stands, brushing off her leggings and adjusting her hoodie. I stand too, grabbing my jacket from the back of the chair. She glances over at Tyler, clearly trying to catch his eye, but he’s now in the middle of what looks like a very intense arm-wrestling match with one of the soccer players.

She hesitates, and I see the flicker of disappointment in her eyes before she looks back at me. “Ready?”

“Yeah.”

We head for the door, grabbing our boots and jackets. The cold air outside is sharp, biting at my exposed skin as I push the door open for her. She steps through, pulling her hood up and tightening the strings around her chin.

We make it about fifty feet down the path before I notice the crunch under my boots feels different. I pause, frowning down at the glistening, frozen path. The snow from the day must’ve melted just enough under the sun to turn this whole stretch into a slick, glassy death trap now that the temperature’s dropped again.

I’m just about to tell her to be careful when her foot slips. Her arms flail, both feet kicking up from under her.

I react on instinct, one arm snapping around her waist, the other grabbing her forearm, yanking her close before she can hit the ground. She gasps, hands clinging to my jacket, her nose inches from my throat.

She lets out a breathless, nervous laugh. “Can you tell I’ve never been ice skating?”

I huff a small laugh, still holding her. She’s trembling slightly, either from the cold or the near faceplant she just narrowly avoided. I can feel her breath against my throat, warm and a little shaky.

“Alright,” I mutter, bending down onto one knee. “Get on.”

“What?” she squeaks, her fingers still gripping my jacket.

“On my back,” I repeat, tilting my head back to meet her eyes. “Come on.”

“No way. I’m too heavy, and you might slip too, and—”

“Penny.”

She blinks at the firm tone of my voice. I don’t break eye contact, just tilt my head a little more, giving her a look that says don’t test me.

She hesitates for another second, then huffs a tiny breath and clambers onto my back, her legs wrapping around my hips, her arms slipping around my shoulders. She’s so small, I barely feel her weight.

Once I stand, her chest is pressed against my back, her breath warm on my neck. She clings a bit tighter as I adjust my grip under her thighs, my hands wrapping around her covered skin just over the hem of her leggings. Her whole body stiffens for a second, and I feel her face press into the side of my neck.

“Comfortable?” I murmur, starting to walk again, my boots crunching steadily against the ice-covered path.

“Um... y-yeah,” she stammers, fingers tightening in the fabric of my jacket.

“Good.” I can’t help the small smirk that tugs at my lips.

We walk in silence for a while, the only sounds the distant laughter from the lodge and the sharp crunch of ice beneath my boots. I adjust my grip on her legs, feeling the smooth, toned muscle there, her thighs flexing instinctively when I shift my hold.

She lets out a tiny, shaky breath near my ear, and I feel my chest tighten, my pulse kicking up a notch.

I keep walking, one step at a time, feeling her heart beating fast against my back, her breath warm and uneven against my neck. I want to say something, crack a joke to break the tension, but I can’t.

Because the truth is, I like the way she’s clinging to me. I like the feel of her legs wrapped around my hips, the way her arms tighten around my shoulders every time I take a step over a particularly slick patch of ice.

I shouldn’t. But I do.

Finally, the cabin comes into view, its small windows glowing warm against the dark, snow-covered trees. I adjust my grip again, fingers flexing against her thighs, and I feel her whole body shiver.

I don’t put her down until I’m at the cabin door, leaning forward so she can slide off my back. She stumbles a little when her feet hit the icy ground, her hand grabbing at my shoulder to steady herself.

“Thanks,” she whispers, voice breathless, eyes wide, cheeks pink.

I meet her gaze for a long second, my heart still hammering, my hands still tingling from the feel of her skin.

I clear my throat. “No problem, princess.”