Chapter 1
Jessie Karnes sat on the narrow bed in her dorm with her new best friend and roommate, Naya Thompson. They’d only just met at the beginning of the fall term but had quickly bonded and become inseparable. They were discussing their first winter break as college freshmen.
Naya claimed she didn’t want to go home because it would be boring as hell and she couldn’t stand half her relatives. Jessie was excited to go but didn’t want to make her friend feel bad, so complained along with her just for show.
“I have an idea,” Naya said excitedly. “Let’s make up a game to pass the time, so neither of us are bored out of our minds.”
“What kind of game?” Jessie asked.
“It has to be something fun, sexy, and challenging,” Naya replied as she tapped a finger to her chin. Just then, she spotted the worn copy of the romance novel sticking out from under Jessie’s pillow and grabbed it. “And hot.”
She held the book up, which was one of many smut novels Jessie had been devouring lately.
“How can we do that when we’ll be stuck spending all our free time with family?” Jessie asked, snatching the book from her and shoving it back under the pillow.
“That’s the challenging part,” Naya said before her expression turned wicked. “Extra points if you seduce a family member.”
“Ew, gross,” Jessie complained a little too much.
No one knew how dirty her fantasies had been lately, and Naya’s words struck a dirty chord that vibrated through most of them, making her shame rise. It threatened to paint her face in red evidence, so she fought it down quickly.
“What? I’m not saying they have to be blood-related,” Naya said with a laugh. “Don’t you have any hot uncles married into the family or some step-cousins?”
“Maybe,” Jessie mumbled, though she didn’t.
The only family she’d ever known were all blood-related, aside from her aunt, and she was not into girls.
“But that’s only for bonus points, right?" Jessie asked. "It doesn’t have to be a relative?”
“No, but can you imagine the thrill of sneaking around with a relative during the holidays? All those people in the house, increasing your chances of getting caught?” Naya asked, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree.
“I suppose,” Jessie said. “I guess my family’s just smaller than yours, so you’ll probably win.”
“Oh, come on. Just be creative,” Naya dismissed with a wave of her hand. “The whole point is to turn the dreaded holidays into something a lot more fun and exciting.”
It wasn’t like she had to do it just because Naya was. Jessie relaxed with that reminder.
“You’re right. So, how are we supposed to score this?” she asked.
“Okay, let’s use a point system,” Naya replied. “Obviously, the most difficult members get higher points. Step-uncles should be a solid five points, and step-cousins can be three. But if you have closer step-relatives, those would be the highest. Like ten points for a stepdad and eight for a stepbrother.”
They both plugged that information into their phones. Jessie hesitated using the word ‘step’ since it didn’t apply to her family but decided to add it anyway so she would remember the points for Naya’s results.
“I’m starting to worry that you have an incest fetish,” she remarked, not necessarily joking and definitely projecting.
Naya laughed. “I just hate the holidays like you would not believe, so I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make them more bearable.”
“Or whomever, apparently,” Jessie smirked.
Naya busted up laughing and gave her a high-five. “Good one.”
When Jessie arrived home, her house was already full of some of the best people in the world. It reminded her of how much she’d pretended in front of Naya to spare her feelings.
The truth was that Jessie loved her family. They were loud, boisterous, and fun-loving. The men were total Alphas, and that was probably why she’d been having dirty fantasies while reading her romance novels lately.
Football was already the hot topic of discussion, which was the norm. After getting bear hugs from her dad and Uncle Jack, she wandered into the kitchen.
Her Aunt Trinity and cousin, Heather were already baking cookies. Heather was three years older than Jessie, so had a glass of brandy-spiked eggnog close by, just like her mom.
“Hey, there she is!” Aunt Trin beamed, ditching her rolling pin to hug Jessie.
“Thank God,” Heather said, hugging her next. “We’re getting way outnumbered by boys this year.”
“Only because someone decided to invite their boyfriend without discussing it with her family first,” Aunt Trinity pointed out.
It was obvious by the roll of Heather’s eyes that it was a matter of contention between them, which was yet to be resolved.
“You’re only upset because we want to sleep in the same bed—like the adults we are—not because he’s here,” Heather argued.
Aunt Trinity looked at Jessie, appealing for an ally. “Do you think I’m wrong to find that a little distasteful and disrespectful? I mean, this is your house. Do you want to listen to your cousin and her boyfriend going at it all night?”
“Oh, my God, Mom. You act like we can’t go five minutes without sex,” Heather complained. “And what does a house have to do with anything? Do the boys hear you and Dad going at it every night just because you're in the same house?”
Aunt Trin’s face turned beet red, and her mouth popped open. But Heather had a good argument there, and her mom obviously knew it.
“That’s not the point, Heather. This isn’t your house,” Aunt Trinity returned.
“It’s not yours, either. Yet, you and Dad have always shared a bed here—”
“I’m just gonna… go,” Jessie muttered, pointing toward the hallway before quickly ducking out of the room.
Upstairs, she hauled her rolling suitcase next to her bed and plopped onto her back to stare at the ceiling. The sound of male laughter and voices had her rising again. Peeling her coat off, she crossed to the bay window.
A smile spread over Jessie’s face to see the group of guys playing football in the backyard below. The only one she didn't recognize had dirty blond hair and looked like a typical frat jock. Since his hoodie bore the same university Heather would be graduating from in June, she felt it was safe to assume he was the 'bone of contention' boyfriend.
The oldest—and most impressively built—player was Jessie's brother, Theo, who was five years her senior. At twenty-three, he’d already earned his Bachelor’s and was working on his dissertation for a doctorate in Environmental Science.
Despite being the intellectual type, he was just as muscular as any athlete because he also happened to be a fitness nut. Plus, he was still a typical guy under all those brain cells. He loved sports and all the outdoorsy, adrenaline-seeking adventures.
The final two guys enjoying the game were Heather's younger brothers. Jack Junior, who’d been named after his dad but went by Jay-Jay, was seventeen and Benny was right behind him at sixteen.
They both sported the same caramel-colored hair as Aunt Trinity, but only Jay-Jay had gotten her green eyes. Benny’s were more of a gray-green hazel.
Jessie and Theo had gotten the trademark dark hair and blue eyes that ran in the Karnes bloodline. Though, Theo's hair was more of a medium brown, like their dad's.
Their parents had divorced before Theo even hit puberty, and their mom ran off to Vegas to live the life she’d sacrificed by marrying and having kids too young. It had taken a while to get over the hurt of that. But their dad hadn’t hesitated to keep right on raising them with the help of his parents and younger brother.
When their Gramps and Nan had retired just a few years ago, though, they’d moved to the warmer climates of Florida. Now, they only got to see them during the holidays, which was another reason Jessie couldn’t share in Naya’s disdain for winter break.
Her grandparents would likely be rolling in first thing in the morning. Then, their whole family would pack up and head out to the family cabin for the rest of winter vacation because it was the only place large enough for all of them.
There, they would be able to go sledding, snowmobiling, and enjoy the festivities of Kinley: a small town not too far away from the cabin that always went all-out for Christmas.
A knock on her bedroom door had Jessie looking over her shoulder just as it opened and her dad leaned his head in.
“Hey, you okay, sugarplum?” he asked.
She smiled, taking in the scruff that always grew on his face. He needed a haircut again, but it wasn’t too out of control yet. Her dad and Uncle Jack co-owned a landscaping business together, so they were always tan, even in mid-December, and quite muscular because of how labor-intensive their jobs were.
Jessie recalled how the single women in the neighborhood had made a point to stop by and offer their support to her dad when her mother split town. She wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he’d fucked every last one of them. He’d kept his love life away from her and Theo, but he’d certainly gone on his share of dates over the years.
“Yeah, just reveling in being home and on break,” she answered, forcing horribly shameful images from her mind in the process.
He grinned. “It’s good to have you home. We’ve missed you around here. Why don’t you come downstairs and help me sneak some cookies out of the kitchen? Your aunt’s being particularly strict this year.”
Jessie snickered. “Oh, so that’s why you came looking for me,” she teased. “I see how it is.”
“You know I have a sweet tooth, sugar. You can’t hold that against me,” her dad said as he opened the door wider for her to step out and join him in the hallway.
When her dad clamped his hand around the back of her neck in a firm grip, Jessie’s knees threatened to buckle and unexpected arousal shot right through her sex, stunning her.
“Ow, Dad. Jeez,” she griped, quickly stepping out of his hold. “Are you trying to wring my neck or something? I’ll get you the damn cookies.”
It hadn’t hurt a single bit. She was just intensely rattled by her body’s reaction.
“Don’t be such a softy. I barely touched you,” he chided. “But I do appreciate that you feel more motivated to get me some cookies now.”
Jessie snorted out a laugh that wasn’t at all humorous for her dad’s odd choice of words. Since when had he started talking like the Doms in her smut novels?
“Whatever you say, Dad.”
