Contents

Title Page
Copyright
1 - Quinn
2 - Evan
3 - Quinn
4 - Quinn
5 - Quinn
6 - Quinn
7 - Quinn
8 - Quinn
9 - Joshua
10 - Quinn
11 - Quinn
12 - Quinn
13 - Cole
14 - Quinn
15 - Quinn
16 - Joshua
17 - Quinn
18 - Quinn
19 - Quinn
20 - Evan
21 - Quinn
22 - Quinn
23 - Quinn
24 - Quinn
25 - Quinn
26 - Joshua
27 - Quinn
28 - Quinn
29 - Cole
30 - Quinn
31 - Quinn
32 - Quinn
33 - Evan
34 - Quinn
35 - Joshua
36 - Quinn
37 - Quinn
38 - Quinn
39 - Quinn
40 - Quinn
41 - Cole
42 - Quinn
43 - Evan
44 - Quinn
45 - Quinn
46 - Quinn
47 - Joshua
48 - Quinn
49 - Quinn
50 - Quinn
51 - Quinn
Epilogue
Sharing Second Chances
About the Author
 Baby for the Mercenaries

A Military Reverse Harem Romance

Krista Wolf
 Copyright © 2023 Krista Wolf

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may

be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form
without prior consent of the author.
Cover photography by Wander Aguiar.

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~ Other Books by Krista Wolf ~
Quadruple Duty
Quadruple Duty II - All or Nothing
Snowed In
Unwrapping Holly
Protecting Dallas
The Arrangement
Three Alpha Romeo
What Happens in Vegas
Sharing Hannah
Unconventional
Saving Savannah
The Christmas Toy
The Wager
The Ex-Boyfriend Agreement
One Lucky Bride
Theirs To Keep
Corrupting Chastity
Stealing Candy
The Boys Who Loved Me
Three Christmas Wishes
 Trading with the Boys
Surrogate with Benefits
The Vacation Toy
Nanny for the Army Rangers
Wife to the Marines
The Switching Hour
Secret Wife to the Special Forces
Secret Baby for the Navy SEALs
Given to the Mercenaries
Sharing Second Chances
Baby for the Mercenaries

Chronicles of the Hallowed Order

Book one: Ghosts of Averoigne

Book two: Beyond the Gates of Evermoore
Book three: Claimed by the Pack
 One

QUINN

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to come in?”

My voice was virtually a whisper now, and that’s because our faces
were practically touching. Evan held my gaze, his green eyes boring hotly
into mine. I could feel the heat from his face. It radiated toward me with a
whiff of leather, musk, and steel…
“I shouldn’t.”
If he was playing a game, he was playing it well. The butterflies in my
stomach began ricocheting like little rockets.
“It’s only a drink,” I lied through my teeth. “And if you don’t want
alcohol I could make coffee, or—”
He shifted ever so slightly forward, and his lips brushed mine. I
sighed in exuberant triumph.
Yes!
My eyes fluttered closed, waiting for that first rapturous moment that
our faces would come crashing together. Already I could imagine his hands
on my hips. In my mind’s eye I could see those massive shoulders rolling
forward, his deliciously-tattooed arms flexing as they took hold of my body,
to do with it whatever he damn well wanted.
But as the seconds ticked by, nothing happened.
I opened my eyes to a barren, empty street. Evan was gone. I was
standing on the threshold of my building’s front door, well after midnight,
totally and completely alone.
 Huh?
He was the hottest guy I’d ever been on a date with, and that was
saying a lot. Evan was unfathomably tall, with luxurious dark hair you
could lose your hands in and a V-shaped back that could carry the world.
He had the arms of a superhero. The face of a supermodel. The ass of a—
What the FUCK?
I still couldn’t believe the street was empty! We’d had dinner at a
beautiful Italian restaurant, then drinks at the cutest Irish pub in all of
Boston. We’d flirted and held hands while walking through Christopher
Columbus Park, picking our way through the flower-lined trails. Hell, we’d
even stopped for ice cream.
And now he was gone, without so much as a goodbye — much less a
first kiss. Much less even more than that, because between our incredible
sexual chemistry and my long stretch of unwelcome celibacy — not to
mention my current hormonal condition — I was pretty much willing to
throw myself over the nearest piece of furniture and let him do absolutely
anything.
“This is fucked.”
My words fell flat against the humid night air, especially in the wee
hours of the morning. Somewhere off in the distance, a dog howled
mournfully. It seemed fitting.
“Yeah, right back at you.”
I turned and stepped into the lobby of my apartment building; a black-
and-white tiled foyer of dirty open space that was even lonelier than the
empty street. I had four flights of stairs to climb. I could’ve taken the
elevator, but it would’ve taken three times as long. Besides, each trip in that
rickety deathtrap was like rolling the dice with the Grim Reaper himself.
Putting one foot after the other, my body still surged with the
adrenaline of what might have been. My libido was extremely unhappy with
me.
Twice in one week, Quinn?
Through tightly clenched teeth, I let out a heated sigh. Yeah, I guess
so. Give or take a day or two.
Maybe you’re losing your touch?
 I passed the mirror on the third floor landing, taking quick stock of
myself for the first time since the bathroom of the Italian restaurant. My
hair had fallen a little, but my makeup still held up. My best ‘night out’
dress still hugged my many strategic curves, which at this point were still in
all the right places.
For now, anyway.
No, I definitely looked sultry. Sexy. Maybe even irresistible. Which is
why it was so surprising that not one, but two different men had left me
dangling in the wind. Both had been beautifully built to the point of being
genetically gifted. And both of these heartbreakingly gorgeous specimens
had taken me out on whirlwind dates.
I’d given the signals. I’d given the signs. I’d even received many of
those signs back, which led me to believe the runway was wide open and
we were cleared for landing.
Yet both of them had left me standing at my doorstep, wondering if
my lips were poison.
I reached my door, clicked the lock, and pushed my way into my
woefully empty apartment. The sound of my keys clacking against the
counter was the loneliest sound in the world.
Dammit.
The situation wasn’t just dire, it was confusing as hell. Which meant
there was only one thing left to do:
Take Meghan to lunch.
 Two

EVAN

There were a few sounds you never really forgot, no matter how much
you wanted to. For me, unfortunately, it was the almost musical rattle of
teeth clattering across pavement.
“UnghhhHHH!”
My attacker rolled sideways across the darkened alley, his ruined
mouth now a fountain of blood. I couldn’t see the knife anymore. And that
worried me.
“Who are you?”
He’d been following me for the past several blocks. Or maybe even
following us. That part worried me most of all, because if it were true it
meant he knew who she was. Or rather, what she might be to us.
And that was something that simply couldn’t fucking happen.
“Who SENT you?”
He was still on all fours, fingers splayed, gasping for air. Spitting
blood, and froth, and probably more teeth.
“Nothing?”
I reared back to deliver a hard kick to the man’s ribs. To his credit
though, he was a tiny bit faster. Or rather, he’d played up the whole ‘wind
knocked out of him’ thing to the point of making me complacent.
And I hated being complacent.
What the—
 In one swift movement the man grabbed my ankle, sprang upward,
and twisted hard. I had to twist with him, or my ankle was history.
And that meant rolling through the garbage-smeared river of filth.
FUCK.
The knife flashed again — a glint of moonlight on mirror-sharp steel.
The thing wasn’t a knife so much as a long, curved machete. A fucking
short sword, even.
It rang like a bell against the old cobbled pavement.
CLANGGG!
The man’s face contorted in anger and misplaced vengeance. If I
hadn’t continued rolling he would’ve buried it firmly in my sternum.
Apparently we were playing for keeps.
I swung my leg in a lightning fast arc, catching him in the side of the
ankle. It wasn’t enough to break anything, but it knocked him off balance
enough that I could scramble to my feet.
“Alright,” I spat acidly. “We’ll do it your way.”
Six blocks. That’s how far I’d gotten. Six blocks from dropping my
beautiful ‘date’ at her doorstep and having the willpower to walk away,
despite every nerve ending in my body telling me to stay.
Only I couldn’t stay. Not in a million years. Crossing that threshold
was an impossibility, made even more complicated by—
The man lunged, and in lunging he made his final mistake. I twisted
sideways, grabbed his arm in two places, and forced it in a direction it was
never meant to go. A grim satisfaction stole over me as it snapped neatly at
the elbow.
“AHHHHHGGGG!”
His scream of agony split the silence of the alley with all the impact of
an air raid siren. Somewhere in the chaos the knife clattered to the ground.
“Tell me!” I snarled again, yanking him close. “Who do you work
for?”
Tightening my grip, I continued twisting him unmercifully. I could
feel the grinding of bone on bone.
“I— I—”
 His lips formed a single, pain-induced word. I couldn’t make it out.
And that’s because the shadows in the alley shifted, and my attention was
diverted to the two new men bearing down on us from the opposite end.
Shit.
Even in the darkness I could see that the men were dusk-skinned and
dark-haired. The same as my attacker. The same as we’d feared for nearly a
month now, despite trying not to be paranoid or read into anything.
But it was reading into things that had kept us alive all these years to
begin with.
“Run.”
My would-be attacker and now temporary prisoner had grunted the
word, sneering evilly through a mouthful of broken, bloody teeth. He was
brave, I’d give him that. Even if he was stupid.
“Fuck you.”
I jerked his arm again for good measure — or maybe revenge, really
— eliciting another sharp cry of pain. Then I shoved him face-first into the
filthy cobbles and took off running in the opposite direction.
Damn.
Just when we’d wondered if things could be normal again, too.
 Three

QUINN

“And this other guy… you say you went out with him twice?”
Meghan dragged her triangle of warm pita bread through a sea of
olive-topped hummus. I watched as she ate it ravenously, heedless of how
she looked in the crowded restaurant.
“Three times actually,” I admitted glumly. “If you count the first time
we met and had coffee.”
My friend sighed in a grave disappointment that wasn’t directed at
me.
“And he never made a single move on you?” she squinted.
I shook my head.
“No hand-holding? No kiss goodnight?”
“Once. On the cheek.”
“Are you sure you didn’t miss any signals, or—”
“Trust me, it was purely platonic. I know that for a fact.”
My friend tilted her head to one side. She was still skeptical.
“And how do you know that?”
“Because he walked me to my apartment door and shook my hand,” I
said, wincing at the memory.
“Ouch.”
Meghan considered me carefully while tearing another pita in half.
Staring back into those wise emerald eyes, the background noise of the
restaurant melted away.
“So you’re telling me you met these two guys in the street — under
some very unusual circumstances — and they both took your phone
number.”
“Yes.”
“And then they both took you out on dates.”
I shrugged. “They sure seemed like dates.”
“And you said there was chemistry.”
“A fuck-ton of chemistry,” I agreed. “Yes.”
“And these men walked you all the way home, you invited them
up…”
I knew where she was going. I rolled my eyes.
“… and somehow neither of them wanted to fuck you.”
And there it was. In stark, perhaps unnecessarily succinct terms.
“I’ll tell you what happened,” sighed Meghan. “If you really wanna
know.”
Now she really piqued my interest.
“What?”
“Either you found the only two straight men looking for a female
‘friend’ in all of Boston…”
“Or?”
“Or it’s been so long since you got your buns crushed that you’ve
totally lost your touch.”
She laughed, stuffing a dolma into her mouth. Which happened to be
my dolma, since she’d eaten her own five minutes ago.
“Buns crushed…” I said glumly. “Real nice.”
“Or your pipes cleaned,” Meghan shrugged, “if that’s a bit clearer. Or
your cave explored. Or your donut filled—”
“Ewww!”
My friend laughed even louder, and her laughter was lilting and
playful and absolutely infectious. Even as the butt of her joke, I couldn’t
help but laugh with her.
“Quinn, listen, I don’t know what the hell is wrong with these guys,”
she said consolingly, “but it definitely isn’t you. You’re hot. You’re fit.
You’re practically glowing. And on top of all that—”
“You don’t think they sensed my… condition,” I mused aloud. “Do
you?”
“Not a chance in hell,” Meghan shook her head vehemently. “It’s way
too early. And besides, there’s a huge subset of men who very much
appreciate a woman in your ‘condition.’ Especially since a woman in your
condition—”
“Gets horny at the drop of a hat,” I added for her.
My friend beamed back at me happily, raising a fork in salute.
“Touché.”
Meghan tore back into her chicken souvlaki platter, while tapping the
blade of her foot on the restaurant’s tiled floor. I followed that blade up to
the knee, where it disappeared almost seamlessly against a tan, shapely
thigh. My friend had lost the limb while snowboarding, suffering through
an agonizing avalanche that tore it violently away. Either that, or there had
been a shark attack in Belize. Or an alligator had played tug-of-war with it,
deep in the everglades on some hovercraft tour.
The story of Meghan’s leg all depended on who was asking, but each
time it was different and more creative. Once, I watched her tell a sexy
bartender she’d lost it to a boat propeller, while doing a Hawaiian Tropics
photo-shoot. Right before she took the guy home and screwed his brains
out.
“Look, why don’t you just go on Tinder?” Meghan suggested. “You’d
find some hot guy to pile-drive your cannoli in ten seconds flat. No strings
attached.”
The visual made me laugh. But it turned me on, too.
“Or I could just lend you Dante for a weekend,” she winked.
“Dante?” I gasped. “Your ex?”
“Sure, why not?” my friend grinned. “Shit, he was always going on
about how cute you are. He never shut up about you.”
 For a few long seconds I was torn between being shocked and
flattered. Dante was hot. Dante was big. Dante was—
“Don’t you think that’s a little… incestuous?” I asked.
Meghan crunched down on a piece of lettuce and shrugged again.
“Only if you want it to be. I mean, it’s not like we’re together or anything.
I’m dating Brian now.”
“Yeah, but you make up with Dante like once a year. You’ve dated
him at least four or five times.”
“Probably,” she chuckled.
“And what if you actually married him?” I pressed. “And I was a
bridesmaid in the wedding party, and—”
“Maid of honor,” Meghan interjected.
“—and he became your husband,” I went on. “And then the two of
you would always know that he… that he and I—”
“Swept out your chimney?”
I flushed another two shades redder. Only Meghan affected me like
this.
“Well… yeah.”
“Look, that’s not gonna happen,” my friend protested. “And even if by
some miracle that did happen, it wouldn’t be a problem because we weren’t
together at the time. Besides, you’re like a sister to me. If I’m going to
share my favorite toys with anyone, it’s going to be you. You’re someone I
love and respect.”
For the second time in as many minutes I didn’t know whether to be
astonished or flattered. I decided to go with the latter.
“And how is your condition, by the way?” Meghan smiled, changing
the subject. “Are you feeling okay?”
“Yes,” I admitted. “Great, actually.”
“Good.”
“Everything’s pretty much the same, I guess. Except for the cocktail
of hormones racing through my body, begging me to drag one of these
handsome, hunky guys upstairs with me.”
 “Why pick just one?” Meghan grinned devilishly.
“Meghan!”
She giggled. “What?”
“You’re an insatiable bitch!” I cried. “You know that?”
My friend leaned forward and stole another of my vanishing french
fries from my plate.
“Oh, I’ve already been told,” she winked.
 Four

QUINN

“You ready?” the woman smiled. “This is my favorite part.”

She pressed something on her keyboard, which beeped twice in rapid
succession. And then all of sudden, loud and clear, there it was.
Pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew!
A strange warmth stole over me, radiating outward from where the
technician’s wand touched my belly. The feelings that followed were
unexpectedly overwhelming.
“T—That’s the baby’s heartbeat?”
“Sure is,” the woman beamed. She was blonde and pretty. Probably
too young to be a mother just yet, but these days you never really knew.
“Why is it so fast?”
“The smaller the organism, the faster its heart needs to go,” the
woman answered. “You ever hold a rabbit? Its little heart goes a mile a
minute.”
I shook my head solemnly. “Whoa.”
For several long moments I just sat there, listening to the steady pulse
of static from the sonogram machine’s speaker. A heartbeat. A life. And not
just on the black-and-white screen either, but growing inside me…
Damn, I couldn’t believe it.
Seriously? The voice in my head chided me. What the hell did you
expect?
 In retrospect, I guess I hadn’t really thought about this part. In making
the decision to become a surrogate, I promised that I’d distance myself from
any sort of attachments, to make the transition easier later on. The baby in
my stomach wasn’t mine; it belonged to someone else. Or someones else,
according to the lawyers of the trust I’d been dealing with since the very
beginning.
Well, technically that’s not true.
Technically? The word seemed somewhat dangerous. Alarms went off
in my mind, telling me to push that word away.
Technically the baby is half yours, no matter what happens next.
Biologically, anyway.
Initially, I’d thought it would be different. I imagined myself carrying
a child to term for a loving couple who, for whatever reason, couldn’t do it
themselves. They’d provide the embryo. I’d provide the womb. I’d help
bring new life into this world — a beautiful, wonderful gift all its own —
while getting paid for my time and sacrifice. Helping to create a family was
win-win, as far as I was concerned. I couldn’t wait to do it.
And then I found out the clients had needed an egg as well. For that,
they were willing to pay handsomely. Maybe even more than they’d paid
for the team of private doctors, nurses, and obstetricians I was instructed to
visit, far removed from normal medical circles.
Maybe even more than they paid to remain totally and completely
anonymous.
“You okay?” the technician chuckled.
“Yeah,” I replied reflexively. “Of course. I just… well…”
“I know; it’s a little overwhelming.”
I laughed weakly. “Maybe a little.”
“I see it all the time,” she went on. “Knowing you’re pregnant is one
thing, but hearing the baby’s heartbeat makes it real. It puts things in a
different perspective.”
I watched as she reached behind her and swung her arm forward.
When she did, she was holding a yellow envelope. The same kind I’d
received once a week for the past seven weeks.
“The clients send their regards,” the woman smiled cheerfully.
 I took the envelope reflexively, a little surprised. The first six had
come by mail. Each one contained a short, printed letter asking me to take
care of myself, not to miss any vitamins, and to avoid certain foods. A few
got even more personal. Like the one asking me to stop staying up late and
get plenty of sleep.
Which was kind of eerie, because I had been staying up late that
week.
“If it’s okay, they asked for copies of the sonogram pics,” the
technician said. “But of course you have final say.”
“That’s fine,” I allowed. “Not a problem.”
The woman’s smile widened. “It’s a great thing you’re doing, Ms.
Logan. The most unselfish thing in the world, actually.”
I nodded numbly, my return smile a washed-out version of actual
happiness. The truth was, I wasn’t unselfish. Not by a longshot. I was
getting paid extremely well to carry a child for some mysterious,
anonymous couple. I was doing it not out of charity, but solely because I
had plans for the money.
Big plans.
“You’re all set then.”
A few minutes later I was dressed and back on the street, ready to
resume my complicated life. I had three different jobs: I worked as a soux
chef at two different restaurants; I taught culinary classes every weekend at
a local kitchen; and I was taking business management classes at Bunker
Hill Community College.
All that would have to wait though, at least for the next hour. Because
first… pizza.
 Five

QUINN

You ever have one of those moments where time just stops? Where
something happens that’s so crazy, so bizarre, your mind refuses to
immediately process it?
That was me, standing in the middle of the crosswalk, on one of the
busiest streets of Boston’s North End. Staring through the plate glass
window of some historic old restaurant, where—
BEEEEEP!
The car’s horn sounded the moment the light turned green, which
happened to be the same second during which I flipped the driver off. A lot
could happen in a big city like Boston. Even within the span of a single—
“Lady, MOVE!”
Scowling, I withdrew my finger and retreated back to the sidewalk.
Then I looked again, to make sure my eyes weren’t messing with me. And
they weren’t.
Three hulking men sat seated around a table in what looked to be a
small restaurant or sports bar. They were smiling. Laughing together…
But not for long.
Unfuckingbelievable.
I stormed my way over, scanning them carefully. Not even two weeks
ago I’d been followed home by a scary-looking giant of a bearded man,
who tailed my every move for several blocks. It had been dark outside, and
the streets uncharacteristically empty. I’d been ‘saved’ by sprinting up to a
pair of equally badass-looking guys, who happened to be on opposite sides
of the sidewalk. Together they chased the guy off, or rather he disappeared
into the night. Then they took me out for coffee, to calm my rattled nerves.
Two of those men sat in the restaurant right now, facing the window.
The third one — the one with his back to me — was the scary bearded
man they’d “frightened off” that night.
Bastards.
It just didn’t make sense. There’d been no scam, no set up, no long
con. One man — a sandy blond giant looking very much like Captain
America — had given me his phone number, telling me to text him if I
needed anything. When I texted him that I needed dinner and a movie, he
took me out on a pair of very hot dates. Yet both times he’d shaken my hand
politely and walked away. Both times he’d spun on his size fifteen or
sixteen heel, rather than carry me upstairs and ravage me the way I
fantasized he could.
The other, Evan, had actually taken me out to dinner that weekend. He
followed it up with ice cream, hand-holding, and a slow, romantic walk
through the park.
And then… nothing. Nada. No phone calls, no text-messages, not
even a kiss goodnight. It was like I’d done something cataclysmically
wrong during the course of this date. Because not only didn’t he call me
again, but when I messaged Joshua — the blond giant — to pick his brain?
Even he refused to answer.
Being ghosted by a hot guy who gave off every possible signal he
liked you obviously sucks. Being double-ghosted, even more so. But now to
see all three of these men eating and laughing and happily throwing back
steins of beer like a trio of old buddies?
It was enough to make me want to kick the restaurant’s historic little
wooden door to pieces.
Instead, I slipped inside without being noticed. The place was warm,
cozy, and smelled absolutely wonderful. With my anger reaching its peak, I
dragged an empty chair over and skidded it noisily over to their table.
“Hello, boys.”
Strangely enough, I couldn’t tell if they were even surprised.
 “So you’re friends after all,” I declared, jerking my thumb between
the two men I’d gone on dates with. “Despite that evening on the street,
where you claimed to be strangers.”
Joshua grunted, turning his attention back to his drink. But Evan met
my gaze and refused to look away. For an uneasy moment, my
concentration broke. Those gorgeous blue-green eyes I’d lost myself in
were like a siren’s call.
“And this guy…” I nodded toward the black-bearded monster. “At
what point did you tell him to follow me?”
All three men remained silent. No one answered.
“Was rescuing me from someone who’s apparently your friend part of
the whole ‘getting me to go out with you’ thing?” I sneered. “Or was it—”
“No.”
Joshua spat the word confidently, almost defiantly. But his one-word
answer made me even more angry.
“Then why take me out at all?” I demanded. “The two of you took me
on what were obviously dates. There was romance and flirting. There was
build-up. There was a ton of chemistry—”
In the middle of my sentence the men glared at each other. Or more
accurately, the bearded giant shot his two friends a pair of very dirty looks. I
could sense his breathing getting heavier. One ham-like fist was clenched
now, the knuckles going white.
“You take me out, you take me home, you refuse to come up…” I
sighed in exasperation. “All of a sudden I’m stranded in the friend zone,
shaking nervously like a high-schooler at her first big dance.”
The only looks at the table passed between them now. None of the
men were even looking at me.
My God, I was fucking furious!
“Look,” I seethed, “I don’t know which one of you is interested in me
— if anyone at all — or what the hell your deal is. Maybe you’re a trio of
hyper-competitive jocks,” I shrugged. “Maybe you get off on dating the
same girl, or maybe you’ve got some kind of cheesy rom-com ‘bet’ going
on between you as to who can make me feel the most confused.”
I took a long, heated breath and let it out through clenched teeth.
 “But none of this really matters anyway, now does it?” I jeered.
“Because guess what, you assholes? I’m pregnant.”
It was something I would’ve told them, of course. In time. Maybe
when things had gotten more heated and less platonic. Or maybe when—
“We know.”
Evan slid a drink my way, and it wasn’t one of their beers. It was a tall
glass of ice-cold water, instead. The only one at the table.
“We’re the ones who made you pregnant.”
 Six

QUINN

The word stupefied had always been somewhere in the back of my

vocabulary. I knew it, but I’d never actually felt the word until now.
“You?” I somehow breathed. “You’re the clients?”
Evan crossed his tattooed forearms and laid them on the table. I was
distracted momentarily as all the muscles flexed and danced beneath that
painted skin.
“Yes.”
My eyes flitted from one man to the next. Evan sat there drumming
his equally-tattooed fingers, all eight of which were decked out in chunky
silver rings. Joshua’s sexy blond hair fell over one eye, but the exposed eye
was fixed concernedly on me. And then there was the third man…
Holy hell.
Whoever he was, the third man was absolutely enormous. His close-
cropped hair was jet black, and his accompanying beard was a thick carpet
painted across his square, masculine jawline. He looked utterly formidable.
Dangerous and deadly. All except for his eyes, which beneath his two dark
brows were this breathtaking, crystalline blue.
“Alright then,” I swallowed nervously. “Which one of you—”
“See that’s the thing,” Joshua cut me off. With a shake of his head that
seemed all too familiar, he flipped his hair back. “Actually, we don’t even
know.”
 His answer, as simple as it was, took several long seconds to reach my
brain. It didn’t make any sense.
“I mean, who’s the father?” I asked, thinking they misheard me. My
hand slid subconsciously to my lower belly.
“All of us,” Evan said confidently. “The baby’s going to have three
fathers. And you’re looking right at them.”
I was confused before. But now I was totally bewildered.
“If you’re asking which one of us served as the donor to your egg, that
would be all three of us,” said Joshua. “I know that sounds weird—”
“Weird isn’t the word for it,” I interjected.
“I know,” he acknowledged. “But we’re three friends trying to
accomplish one thing. Three men, all looking to co-parent the same child.
We could’ve picked one of us, that’s true. Instead we all… contributed,” he
cleared his throat. “Your eggs were fertilized simultaneously by all of us.
The implanted embryos were chosen by grade, with no idea who the
biological father will be.”
“So you’re all… living together.”
Joshua nodded innocently. Evan’s mouth however, curled into a smirk.
“She’s not asking if we live together,” he explained to his friend, his
eyes still fixed on me. “She’s asking if we’re together together.”
Joshua’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh.”
“And the answer is yes and no,” Evan added smoothly. “Yes, we do
live together. Always have. Always will.” He tipped his beer back, draining
the big glass mug down to the suds before clapping it back on the table.
“But to answer your other question, no. I’m afraid we’re all very straight.”
The two men closest to me shifted, but the big brute seated across
stayed exactly where he was. He was less scary now that I knew who he
was, and I could see that beneath all that beard he was ruggedly handsome.
But he had something else about him, too; an aura that seemed almost
elemental, like he was part of the wild. Like the blood of wolves ran in his
veins.
“But won’t the baby look like one of you?” I asked, pointing at the
silent giant. “There’s no mistaking those blue eyes.” I jerked my chin
toward Joshua, then Evan. “Or that blond hair. Or that strong, Roman nose.”
 Evan shrugged. “Eventually maybe, sure. But right now everything’s
equal. There’s a chance it could biologically be anyone’s, but it’ll always be
our son, our daughter.” His eyes left mine, dropping momentarily to my
belly. “A child with three fathers. Three protectors. Three—”
“And no mother,” I blurted without thinking.
All three men glanced at each other. Whatever I just hit on, it was
obvious they’d discussed this before.
“I’m sorry,” I conceded. “I didn’t mean it that way, I was just—”
“No, don’t be sorry,” Evan said finally. “There’ll be a mother one day
maybe. If we ever find the right woman.”
Woman…
The word stuck in my head. It seemed intentionally singular.
Woman, not women. That’s what he said.
My stomach dropped like a roller-coaster.
“Look, we’re doing this for some very specific reasons,” Joshua broke
in. “Our current jobs…” his voice trailed off as he endured sharp, sideways
glances from both his friends. “Well, let’s just say they prevent us from
having conventional relationships.”
I chuckled, finally picking up my water glass. “I witnessed that first
hand, when the two of you friend-zoned me.”
The guys on either side of me finally looked uncomfortable. I was
getting somewhere.
“Look, Quinn we didn’t mean to—”
“Date me?” I cut him off. “Take me out several times with absolutely
zero intention of following through?”
They shook their heads vehemently. Both opened their mouths to
speak, but I was faster.
“If that was the case, maybe you shouldn’t have given me that steamy
hot goodnight kiss.”
I tilted my head toward Evan, who went abruptly white as a sheet. The
others shot him a pair of angry looks.
Interesting, I thought to myself.
 “Quinn, I never—”
“Why bother going through all that, by the way?” I demanded. “I
mean, I’m already carrying your child. I signed all the paperwork. I’m
doing all of the things you asked in your letters.”
With that I produced the still-unopened envelope I’d just received
from the sonogram technician. I slapped it on the table and pushed it away.
“I don’t need any more of these, by the way,” I declared. “Just as I
don’t need any more ‘dates.’ And while we’re clearing the air, I especially
don’t need to be followed.”
My last words were punctuated with an icy, across-the-table glare.
The giant bearded man endured it for a second or two before finally
grunting.
“I wasn’t following you.”
“Ah,” I laughed sardonically. “He speaks! Good. I can’t wait to hear
what your excuse might be for—”
“I was following the man who was following you.”
 Seven

QUINN

Staring back into that hard, bearded face, my eyes narrowed

doubtfully. I wanted to be angry. I wanted to call bullshit on him! But
something told me it wasn’t bullshit. A gut feeling told me he was telling
the truth.
“I didn’t see anyone else following me.”
“Exactly,” the big man rumbled. His expression remained wholly
unchanged. “But I did.”
An icy chill crept up my spine, inch by inch. All remaining doubt was
chased away.
“And why would someone be following me?”
Again the guys exchanged glances. They seemed even less
comfortable than before.
“Talk to me!” I demanded. “Am I in danger? Is there something I did?
Someone I wronged, or—”
“No, no,” Evan assured me quickly. “Nothing like that.”
He reached across the table and took my hand in his own. There was a
time when I would’ve hotly embraced the gesture. Right now it only
confused me more.
“Who are you?” I asked, directing my question at all of them.
They didn’t speak, but once again I got the sense that an inner
conversation was happening between the three of them. One that didn’t
require words.
 “You’re military, aren’t you?”
It seemed obvious, and not just by their size. It was in the disciplined
way they carried themselves, and the brother-like familiarity between all
three of them.
“Ex-military,” Evan finally admitted. “But yes.”
“And you’re watching me,” I reasoned. “Following me around. Not
just because I’m carrying your child, either. You ‘dated’ me for that part,
didn’t you?”
Joshua looked abruptly guilty. “We wanted to get to know you
personally, yes.”
“While still remaining anonymous,” I went on.
“Could you blame us?” asked Evan. “You’re going to be the
biological mother of our child. Who knows where our paths will take us
afterward? It stands to reason we’d want to learn as much about you as we
could.”
“Sure does,” I shot back. “But did you ever think to just ask?”
Joshua’s gaze dipped a bit further. Rather than say anything, he let me
go on.
“You could’ve told me,” I continued. “I can be an asshole sometimes,
but I’m generally pretty reasonable. And at least then I wouldn’t have
thought I was going on a ‘date’ date. I have limited time for that, you know.
Pretty soon I’ll be as big as a house.”
“A ‘date’ date,” Evan repeated.
“Yes,” I said defensively. “One that ends in a goodnight kiss. Or
maybe something even better.”
With that, I winked at the giant sitting across from me. If for no other
reason than to throw all three of them off.
“Look,” I reasoned. “I’m carrying your child. That’s business, for
sure. But my personal life belongs to me. So if I’m trying to meet someone
special before I get visibly pregnant, or even if I just want to have a little
fun?” I shrugged demurely. “That’s not something any of you should be
interfering in.”
 Joshua and Evan exchanged the same appreciative look. Both men
nodded.
“You’re right. We’re sorry.”
The bearded man however, said nothing. He took a frothy pitcher
from the center of the table, refilled his beer stein, then threw it back with a
few mighty gulps.
“You have every right to ask me anything you want,” I concluded.
“I’m fine with that. My favorite movie, my favorite color, what side of the
bed I sleep on — whatever it is you want to know. But just ask,” I repeated
with a wry grin. “Call me whenever you feel like it. And no more
envelopes. Deal?”
“Deal.”
All of a sudden I wanted a drink, and I hadn’t wanted a drink in
weeks. A nice glass of wine, maybe. Or better yet, one of those big steins of
ice-cold beer.
“Now, let’s get to the second part,” I eyed them shrewdly. “What
makes you think someone would be following me? Because if they are, I
really need to know.”
Their silence stretched out unnervingly. After several seconds of it, I
was fed up.
“Nothing?” I challenged them. “Still?”
My chair made an obnoxious scraping noise on the floor as I stood
back up. I was angry. Hurt. Pissed. I was exhausted from having worked a
double-shift the night before, and on top of it all, I was still starving.
“You know what?” I cried, standing back up. “Forget it. Forget all of
it.”
Evan sat eying me with renewed interest, watching with those
gorgeous arms still infuriatingly folded across the table. But not Joshua.
“Quinn…”
“No,” I cut him off. “Don’t ‘Quinn’ me. If you don’t think it’s
important enough for me to know what’s going on, I guess the whole thing
is bullshit to begin with.”
“It’s not that—”
 “Shit, there’s a one in three chance I’m carrying this guy’s child,” I
laughed bitterly, nodding in the direction of the bearded giant. “And I still
don’t even know his na—”
“My name is Cole.”
The voice from the other end of the table was low and gravelly, just as
it was the first time he’d spoken. Exactly the type of voice you’d expect.
“Cole Yearwood.”
The man pushed off the table and stood up. He was an absolute tower.
Yet even as big as he was, he moved with such fluidity and precision it was
actually quite shocking. Almost like watching a professional athlete in his
or her element.
“I’m sorry if I frightened you,” he said genuinely, “or if we
overstepped our bounds. That wasn’t at all what we wanted.”
“Yeah,” I replied carefully, “well… it’s not what I wanted either.”
Another pause settled over the table. This one even more awkward.
“You have a right to know what’s going on,” Cole continued, this time
addressing his comrades-in-arms every bit as much as he was speaking to
me. “And we’ll tell you. We’ll tell you everything.”
Scanning left to right with practiced ease, he leaned forward and
tucked something into my hand.
“But not here,” he murmured, clearing his throat. “And not now.”
 Eight

QUINN

“Goddammit, we’re out of halibut!”

Trey’s face was red, but then again it was usually red. This early into
the night however, it shouldn’t almost be purple.
“QUINN!” he snapped his fingers at me three times in rapid
succession. “Get over here!”
I set down the pan of carbonara sauce I was reducing, and stormed
over. My boss might be in a bad mood, but I was in no mood for his shit
either. I generally went right back at him in situations like this, and
sometimes even harder than he gave it to me. The worst part was constantly
trying to come up with good enough insults. The best part was that deep
down, I knew he respected me for it.
“What level of a brain aneurysm did you have when you requisitioned
the fishmonger?” he demanded.
I stood toe-to-toe with him, and eye-to-eye. It was easy, because
although he’d been blessed with a fiery Italian temper that rivaled any chef
I’d ever worked with, Trey had drawn the short end of the stick when it
came to his height.
“Ain’t my fault,” I shot back. “Your fishmonger probably shorted us.”
“You think?”
“Well he’s only got one good eye, so…”
“Sal’s got glaucoma,” Trey growled. “Don’t pick on him. The man
took shrapnel in Vietnam. He’s in his eighties.”
 “All the more reason he shouldn’t be weighing out portions of fish.”
It was all bullshit of course; I’d shorted the halibut order on purpose
because I wanted to bring in other, more exotic proteins instead. Halibut
was boring as hell, and I made a sesame tuna tartare to die for. Not to
mention when the mood stuck, I could be an absolute fucking sorceress
with a monk fish.
“We ever run out of halibut again and we’re going to run out of you,”
Trey finished chewing me out. “You got that?”
“Yes, boss.”
“Good.”
“I treasure every moment we don’t spend together.”
He paused in the middle of walking away, trying to figure that one
out. Halfway through, his brain shifted gears and he snapped his fingers in
remembrance.
“Oh, and one more thing before you go back to burning that sauce.”
“Shock me,” I quipped. “Say something intelligen—”
“There was a guy sniffing around here for you earlier today,” said
Trey. “And I say sniffing around because he looked like a rat, and he gave
off an equally creepy vibe.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. All residual anger and sarcasm drained
instantly away.
“A really big guy?” I inquired.
“Big? No.”
“By big I mean tall, too,” I added hastily. “Tattoos, maybe? Silver
rings?”
Trey shook his head.
“Or did he have blond hair, or—”
“Look, I didn’t notice any tattoos or rings,” Trey answered, growing
even more annoyed. His expression turned into a scowl. “Why, Ms. Logan?
Is this some kind of relationship drama? An ex-boyfriend stalking you at
work or something, because I swear I’ve had more than enough of that
dumb bullshit with Cara and her—”
 “No, no,” I cut him off. “No ex-boyfriend. Nothing like that.”
My boss eyed me for a long moment, trying to determine whether or
not I was lying. Apparently I passed his test.
“The guy had dark hair and he barely spoke English,” he went on.
“And when he did speak, it was broken English.”
I couldn’t hide my confusion. “Oh.”
“He came here asking when you worked, what shifts you took. What
time you would get in, and when you might leave. That sort of thing.”
My throat tightened a bit. I couldn’t help but stiffen.
“And what did you tell him?”
“I told him to fuck off of course,” Trey grumbled. “No one who really
knows you shows up out of the blue asking questions like that.”
“T—That’s right,” I agreed. “That’s good.”
“But he was a persistent bastard, and I was afraid he’d come back to
bother me some more,” he went on. “So I told him you used to work here
but I fired your sorry ass weeks ago.”
Relief flooded in all at once. “Even better.”
“Which I will,” he pointed with a grubby finger. “If you don’t keep
that fridge stocked with halibut.” His face grew even grumpier — if that
were even possible — as he threw up his arms. “How the fuck do you run
out of halibut? Everybody loves halibut.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Apparently.”
I hadn’t told my boss I was pregnant yet, but eventually I’d have to. I
didn’t know whether he’d go easier on me, or ride my ass even harder. To
be honest, both options sucked. Taking extra shit on top of the usual shit —
while standing on swollen feet all day — seemed like it would be a fresh
new level of hell. Yet the last thing I wanted was special treatment,
especially from someone like Trey.
Eventually he stormed off to go yell at the guy running the salad prep
area, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Someone was looking for me.
Someone I apparently didn’t know.
But who?
A stranger who didn’t speak English.
 A stranger who came here.
Trey’s booming voice was still reverberating off the tiled walls of the
prep-area as I pulled out my phone. A moment later, I’d removed and
unfolded the piece of paper that had been tucked into my case for the better
part of the last week.
The address wasn’t local; in fact, it was over an hour north of the city.
Even if I left the restaurant on time tonight, it would be nearly midnight by
the time I got there.
But I was a chef, and midnight meant very little to me.
And I was willing to bet it meant even less to them.
 Nine

JOSHUA

“And I’m telling you again,” Evan said, his voice gathering
frustration, “when it comes to Ripley we can’t be sure of fucking anything.”
Again he took the shot, and again he rushed it. I watched as his stick
clacked hard and skidded sideways, sending the cue ball spinning off
helplessly toward the middle of the table.
“You really suck at this,” I grinned. “Always have.”
“Fuck off.”
“No, seriously,” I chided him. “A shot like that doesn’t just happen.
You have to really try to make a—”
“Do you think it’s him?” Evan asked, turning around. “Be honest.”
Cole sipped at his double-whiskey, leaning back into the bar. He had
his feet crossed at the ankles, his gaze fixed downward. For a moment I
wasn’t sure he even heard me.
“Yes,” he finally admitted, scratching at his beard. “I do.”
I scattered the rest of the balls from Evan’s missed break with a hard
shot down the middle. A couple went in. I didn’t see which. Not that it
mattered anyway, really. We’d had the pool table for six months now, but
we still hadn’t started keeping score.
“All these long years in hiding, and suddenly he sends an email from a
public computer?” Evan marveled. “In one of the biggest cities on the
planet?”
 “Sydney’s as good a place to hide as any,” I shrugged. “Besides, his
location could be a decoy. He could’ve gotten anyone to log in and send
that message.”
“Yeah maybe,” Evan agreed. “But for what gain? He’s not asking for
anything. He doesn’t want help, or money, or resources, or—”
“He’s in trouble,” Cole cut in. “Big enough trouble that it scared him
out of his cushy little hole.” He downed his whiskey and began pouring
himself another. “He’s probably two continents away from Australia by
now, if I know Ripley. But before he left, he took the risk of shooting us a
warning. And that’s not something we’re going to ignore.”
No, I agreed silently. We’re certainly not.
I thought about what happened to Dawson. To Beckett. To every other
man who’d been there on the day we’d returned from Bolivia. Those men
had been careful, or so they thought. But not nearly as careful as Ripley.
“If they got to Ripley they can get to us,” I said, musing aloud. “He
kept on moving. We put down roots.”
“Ripley lived like a nomad,” Evan agreed. “Traveling constantly,
never staying in one place for too long. The man was a goddamn gypsy.”
I nodded silently, thinking about what our friend had gone through.
False names, fake passports. No contact whatsoever with his previous life.
These methods worked for him, for all these years. But the price had been
high.
“Ripley’s managed to stay safe, I’ll give him that,” Cole agreed
solemnly. “Even so, that’s no way to live.”
We’d decided our own fate long ago, for almost as long as our
brothers-in-arms had been disappearing. Yet the others were careless. They
remained loners, whereas Evan, Cole, and I, had stuck together. All
throughout our service — and well beyond, into our mercenary years — we
had each other’s backs. We’d kept each other safe. Protected. Damn-near
fucking invulnerable.
And we were determined to never, ever run.
“It’s no coincidence that Ripley just happens to be flushed from
hiding the very same week Evan gets attacked,” said Cole.
 “I didn’t get attacked,” Evan protested. “I was the one who did the
attacking.”
“And then she gets followed,” Cole continued, ignoring him. “By the
same people—”
“We don’t know that for a fact,” I pointed out. “Those two events
might not even be related at all.”
I was lying, probably, and mostly to myself. Mainly because I didn’t
want them to be related. I wanted the scumbag who was following Quinn to
be nothing more than a mugger or pervert or simple attacker, rather than
someone in town on a blood vendetta that had anything to do with… well…
Us.
I shuddered at the idea.
Go ahead, say it. There’s a good chance she might be in danger, all
because of us.
Dawson came to mind again. He’d been one of the last of our
company left, until one day he washed up on a Long Island beach.
No, not beach. Beaches.
I shivered again. They found several parts of our friend over the
course of an entire summer, scattered over a five-mile stretch of surf. But
they hadn’t found all of him.
And then there was Beckett, who met an even worse fate. Cole found
him tied to a chair in his second home, bloodied all over, beaten so badly
every one of his ribs was cracked. His phone was submerged in a sink full
of water, a bloody thumbprint on its face. Evan was able to pull up the last
page accessed: his bank account. Only the account wasn’t emptied. It had
only been checked…
Beckett died badly. Dawson too. And each man had one thing in
common: they’d both died alone.
“Damn it, we should never have left her!”
My pool cue clattered to the table as I practically tossed it there. The
others looked back at me in surprise.
“We told you this!” Evan shot back. “You were the one who said she
needed her space! You were the one who—”
 “I know, I know” I cut him off. “And I was wrong. Dead wrong to
believe she’d be safe by herself.” I let out my next breath as a long, heated
hiss. “We can’t leave her alone. Not now. Not with the lives of both her and
our child at stake.”
“And you’re willing to go against her wishes?” Cole asked casually.
“We need to find her. We need to bring her here—”
“Because this isn’t what she wants,” Evan piled on. “It’s actually the
opposite of what she wants.”
“To hell with what she wants,” I grunted. “She doesn’t know the
whole story. She doesn’t know the bigger picture.”
“Possibly because we haven’t shown it to her,” Cole interjected flatly.
For the moment, I shoved his sarcasm aside. It didn’t help that he was
right.
“At worst we’ll be a big intrusive pain in her ass,” I reasoned. “But if
we’re not wrong, and there’s an actual danger…”
Three high-pitched beeps in rapid succession caused us to all look at
each other. The screens around us blinked on, and a black-and-white image
faded in of a car approaching the front gate. It was sharply contrasted in
high definition, even at night.
“Forget about going to get her,” Cole grunted, his sharp blue eyes
scanning the monitors. “Looks like she’s here.”
 Ten

QUINN

The late-night ride was solemn and silent, but I really needed to wind
down. I’d passed from Boston’s big city lights into the busy outskirts, down
through Chelsea and Revere. The northern suburbs gave way to open
highway, winding up past Salem and beyond Manchester by the Sea.
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got to this place. But I needed
answers, and I needed them tonight if not yesterday. There were only three
people in the world who could provide them. Three men sharing a single
address somewhere on the coast, near Ipswich Bay.
And if they were sleeping, too damned bad.
Eventually I exited and the road sloped downward, growing ever more
desolate as it wound its way to the sea. With my window down and the cool
ocean air blowing in, I could actually taste it. The flavor was salty yet
welcoming. At times, even sweet.
It made perfect sense that they’d live all the way out here. Despite
how tight-knit they obviously were, my three pseudo-stalkers gave off
serious loner vibes. Like they’d gotten tired of being around companies and
battalions and whatever the hell else they’d spent the last decade of their
lives immersed in, before military life finally spat them out, changed in
ways that were always permanent.
The piece of paper in my pocket hadn’t given a date or time, just a
place. And that place was now looming before me: a tremendous, almost
mansion-looking structure rising up like a shadow against the moonlit sea.
Holy shit…
 The double gate mounted just ahead was constructed of dark iron,
thick and heavy. By the time my car reached it however, it had
automatically swung open on silent hinges.
There were lights on in the house. That encouraged me. As freakishly
big as the compound was — and it was definitely a compound, I could see
that now — the warm glow emanating from beyond the windows seemed to
soften the harsh edges and sharp features of the immense, stone facade.
I passed through a secondary gate, and into a walled-off courtyard
paved with flagstones. Slowly I rolled up next to a pair of oversized trucks,
killed the engine, and took a long, deep breath.
Well, you’re here.
Yeah, I guess I was. The spacious courtyard seemed unnaturally silent.
It should’ve felt a little eerie in the spectral moonlight, but for some reason
it didn’t. Maybe because the cold stone walls surrounding me made me feel
oddly safe.
I stepped out, and walked straight up to a pair of formidable front
doors. Just like the gates, they were open before I even got there.
All three men stood in the doorway, in various states of casual,
bedtime undress. Joshua and Cole wore sweats and T-shirts; on anyone else
they might’ve looked plain, but stretched tightly across their musclebound
frames they looked obscenely hot. I did my best to ignore the obvious eye
candy, even as I tried not to stare at Evan’s gorgeously-ripped, tattooed
arms. The sleeveless workout shirt he had on made his shoulders pop like a
pair of sexy boulders.
“Couldn’t sleep?”
Joshua’s handsome mouth was curled into something resembling a
smile. If I were in the mood for it, it might even be charming. I noticed he
was still wearing the necklace — or whatever it was — he’d sported on
both of our ‘dates.’ It looked like a worn, five-sided piece of curled up
leather, on a piece of string around his neck.
“It’s hard to sleep when someone’s hunting you down,” I stated flatly.
His smile dissolved immediately. Cole’s eyes narrowed as he shifted
uncomfortably.
“Hunting you?”
 “At work, yes,” I answered. “Some guy showed up at the restaurant
looking for me before my shift. A dark-haired stranger who didn’t speak
English.”
I watched carefully as their expressions completely changed. I had a
hunch they would.
“You know who it is, don’t you?”
They didn’t answer at first, which was disconcerting. But then I saw
them relent. Silently they came to some mutual agreement, and their entire
body language seemed to change. My gaze however, kept going back to the
strange-looking piece of leather around Joshua’s neck. It looked vaguely
familiar. Like I should somehow know what it was.
“You can answer me now or at three o’clock in the morning, I really
don’t care,” I said, suppressing a shiver. “But I’m not leaving until you do.”
The air was colder here at the ocean’s edge, and there was a breeze
now too. Just beyond the doorway however, I could feel a welcome heat
flowing outward from the warmly-lit house.
“Come inside,” said Evan, extending a big, tattooed hand. “And we’ll
tell you everything.”
 Eleven

QUINN

If the house looked big from outside, the inside was absolutely
cavernous. There were rooms everywhere. Archways gave way to halls cut
with even more archways, many hosting alcoves filled with art, sculptures,
or colorful ceramics.
The ceilings were high-flung, and the beautifully-tiled floors gave
way to a modern, yet Spanish-influenced aesthetic. Everything in the house
was excessive, but functional. From the plush furniture to the large
scattering of Persian rugs, runners, and other accoutrements that tied the
rooms together.
My first thought, as sexist as it sounded, was that there was no way
these three men decorated this place. And yet everywhere I looked, I saw
reminders of them. There was African artwork, carvings, and decorations.
Pillows and lamps with a Moroccan or middle-eastern flare.
They’re filling the house with reminders of the places they’d been, I
realized silently. Maybe they even brought some of these things back.
Everything was a mish-mosh, really. It shouldn’t have worked. Yet
somehow, possibly because the place itself was so cavernous, it actually
did.
“Ah, thank you.”
Resting on an ornate yet comfortable couch in some kind of sitting or
game room, I graciously accepted the mug of hot tea Joshua offered. I knew
it would kill any chance I had of sleeping tonight. Unless they decaffeinated
it on purpose, for the sake of the baby inside me. From the yellow
envelopes I’d received so far, that just seemed like something they’d do.
“The man who came looking for you,” Evan asked. “Was he South
American?”
I shrugged. “I have no earthly idea. Why?”
“Because the man who I saw following you was,” said Cole.
“Colombian, most likely. Just like the man who attacked Evan, right after
he dropped you off.”
“Not attacked,” Evan frowned. “Followed. After all, it was me who
—”
“You were attacked the night you went out with me?” I gasped.
Evan shot his friend a scathing look. But Cole wasn’t having it.
“We agreed we’d tell her everything, remember?” the big man said.
“She’s carrying our child. She’s in this with us, whether we like it or not.”
His incredible blue eyes shifted to me, and for a split second they
roamed a little. I got the distinct sense he was seeing me in a different light.
Not just as someone within their closed little circle, but possibly for the first
time, actually seeing me as a woman.
Cole remained standing, his two corded forearms crossed over his
chest. Evan and Joshua however, sat down on the couch opposite mine.
“You already know we were military,” Joshua explained, “but we had
very different beginnings. I was a Ranger, and Evan a Green Beret. Cole
here dominated BUDS school, and became a SEAL. None of us even knew
each other until JSOC threw us together on back-to-back missions. The
results were outstanding. We ended up working together for a long time
after that.”
He spoke softly, in a midnight voice that still carried through the large
room. But he also spoke with an almost nostalgic reverence.
“In a situation like that, when your lives depend on each other? You
don’t just become friends, you become brothers. And that’s how we were,
the three of us, inseparable. Even after our service ended, and we decided to
go independent.”
I sipped my tea, and discovered it needed more sugar. “Independent?”
 “We took jobs in the private sector,” Joshua explained. “Contract
work. Mostly security, but also some high-threat operations and executive
—”
“We’re mercenaries,” Evan cut him off. Joshua shot him a dirty look
but he only shrugged. “C’mon man, it’s a lot easier to just say it.”
Mercenaries. The word sounded hard. Tough. Fictional. Like
something from the movies.
“Mercenaries,” I repeated, tasting the word. “Really? That’s a thing?”
“Oh it’s a thing,” Evan laughed. “And we did it for a lot of years, too.
Long enough to make a good chunk of change, and to build a life for
ourselves.”
He pointed straight upward and twirled a finger, indicating the house
itself.
“All these things in here,” I said, glancing around. “They’re from
places you’ve been. Places you’ve… worked?”
“Operated,” Evan corrected me gently. “But most of it, yes. A little
reminder of our past, of our history together. Something to remember, even
afterward.”
My eyes narrowed. “So you’re done?”
“For the most part, yes,” Joshua answered. “We still do some cake
work, but nothing like the missions we took before. We ran together in a
pretty dangerous outfit. Worked for a company that inserted us places we
shouldn’t have come back from, but somehow did.”
“You can’t do that kind of thing forever, though,” Evan added. “On a
long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero.”
“Fight Club,” I chuckled.
Evan and Joshua’s eyes went wide. “Really? You know that line?”
“Of course,” I said simply. “Young Brad Pitt? Are you kidding me?
I’ve seen that movie more times than I can count.”
“Then you know that nothing’s sustainable forever,” Evan said
admiringly. His rings clacked together as he crossed his steepled fingers.
“Eventually we semi-retired. Rather than keep rolling the dice until we
ended up pushing daisies, we decided to enjoy the future we’d worked so
hard for.”
“And the one thing we all wanted most,” Joshua added, “was to raise
a family.” His gaze dropped momentarily to where his child — or one of
theirs, anyway — was slowly growing, deep in my womb. His smile was
warm and genuine. “That’s where you come in.”
Silence descended for a few long seconds, and I was actually able to
imagine it. The three of them, fighting their way across the world together.
Cementing bonds. Building a brotherhood that ultimately led them here, to
a big lonely mansion with no one to share it with. No friends. No family.
They’d forsaken a normal life for an extraordinary one, and in the process,
given up the chance at maintaining relationships that could lead to
marriage, or children…
“So where does this guy come in?” I finally asked. “The one who’s
looking for me?”
“He’s not looking for you, he’s looking for us,” said Cole. “But yes.
He’s looking for you because of us.”
My heart sank. A strange lump formed in my throat.
“And that puts you in a danger that’s totally unacceptable.”
 Twelve

QUINN

Risk was something I was familiar with, but not this kind of risk. Not
this kind of danger. It left my mouth dry as I sat there, trying not to show
my fear or my frustration.
“Why is this all happening?” I finally asked.
The men looked at each other again. This time it was Joshua who
spoke.
“As mercenaries we worked in the Middle East and North Africa
primarily, but eventually took jobs in South America.” His voice grew
solemn and a little more serious. “Toward the end, there was this mission.
The mother of all missions, in fact. And things went… well, they sort of...”
“Spit it out,” Cole grunted.
“We were hired for an impossible job,” Evan cut in. “Trying to
retrieve the kidnapped daughter of a high-level Bolivian army captain. He’d
crossed someone very dangerous. A guy by the name of Ferrera.”
Evan’s normally casual demeanor appeared visually stiffer. Even the
name sounded sinister as it rolled off his tongue.
“Ferrera was a local warlord, but we found out he was much bigger
than that. His reach was tremendous, his legacy brutal. Many of the things
he did during his rise to power were reprehensible. Even the cartels were
afraid of him.” The tattooed soldier averted his eyes downward in
discomfort. “What we did next was stupid.”
He paused unintentionally, leaving me hanging there. I couldn’t help
myself.
 “What did you do?”
“We took a squad into the jungle and snuck into his compound,” Evan
went on.
“More like a fortress than a compound,” Joshua added.
Evan nodded grimly. “We thought if we kept it small, we could go in
quietly. That we could get in and out without being detected. But we were
wrong. Very wrong…”
“We lost more than half our men,” Cole said impatiently. Unlike the
others, his gruff voice was steady and calm. “Our squad was decimated, but
we also took them by surprise. Somehow we reached Ferrera, and we
thought we got him too…”
“You did get him,” Evan jumped in. “You shot him right through the
eye.”
“Yes, but the bastard lived,” Cole said bitterly. “And even worse, his
men got him out. The ones that didn’t flee, anyway.”
I was on the edge of my seat now. The whole thing was so crazy, so
unbelievable. “And what about—”
“We got inside,” Cole finished. “We accomplished our goal.”
A chill caused my body to convulse momentarily. “You rescued the
girl?”
“Yes,” Evan confirmed. “She was battered and bruised, though.
Barely alive. But we brought her back. We returned her to her father, who
was so happy and grateful he practically threw himself at our feet.”
An unnatural silence stretched out between the three of them. I knew
enough not to talk this time.
“By then there were only six of us left,” Joshua finished. “We got
back, licked our wounds, and cashed out. The mercenary company we
worked for disbanded shortly after that. We thought that was it, but it
wasn’t.”
“What he means is, we thought Ferrera was finished,” said Evan. “He
was broken and beaten, his place thoroughly razed. But we underestimated
him. Somehow over the years he managed to rebuild his former empire.
And he never, ever forgot what happened.”
 I had a moment of bizarre clarity, where I looked around and
everything in my life seemed suddenly and completely foreign. I was in a
strange but beautiful mansion, an hour from town. Sitting on a couch at
midnight. Six weeks pregnant. Surrounded by three incredible — not to
mention breathtakingly beautiful — men I barely knew.
Their story was exhilarating and frightening at the same time.
Something so far beyond my current reality I could scarcely believe it.
But of course I did.
“We believe Ferrera’s been hunting us down,” Cole said solemnly.
“What makes you think—”
“Of the other three men who were in the jungle with us, two of them
are now dead,” he said flatly. “And the third one, Ripley, is on the run.”
I felt cold again, even in the warm room. Cradling my tea in both
hands, I clutched it closer to my body.
“His men are here, now, right in Boston,” Evan added. “Or so we
think. We never went on the run like Ripley did. It wouldn’t be hard to find
us, especially for someone with Ferrera’s resources.” He paused awkwardly.
“And if they found us…”
“They found me,” I finished glumly.
Evan nodded wordlessly. There was an apology in his eyes.
“So they think I’m involved with you,” I theorized. “They followed
you when you were out with me, and saw us together.”
“Yes.”
“And now… and now…”
My head spun dizzily. My mind was racing a thousand miles a minute.
“Now they’re going to use you to find us,” said Cole gravely. “Or
worse.”
“Which is why you need to stay with us,” said Evan, as matter-of-
factly as possible. “We want you here, where we can keep you and the baby
safe. At least until we get things straightened out.”
The men glanced nervously at each other, then back at me. The silence
was so complete, you could hear a pin drop.
 “There’s plenty of room,” Joshua added hastily. “You’ll have your
own space, your own everything, really. Plus you can—”
“Okay.”
Their combined shock was actually comical. I stifled a grin.
“What?” asked Joshua. “Really?”
“Yes, really,” I answered. “Of course I’ll stay. I’m in obvious danger,
aren’t I?”
“Without question,” Cole said immediately.
“Then yes, I accept your offer. At least until things get straightened
out.”
Settling back, I drained the rest of my tea. My decision wasn’t a
decision at all, really. But they hadn’t been so sure. Even now, I could see
the relief in their eyes.
“My commute into the city is going to be a pain in the ass of course,
but—”
“No, no commute.”
I frowned, but Cole was already frowning back at me, and he was
better at it.
“You’re staying here, remember?”
I laughed out loud. “You think I’m going to hide my pregnant little ass
in this fortress of yours, and not go to work? Just sit here and binge Netflix
until the baby’s ready, or whenever you cut me loose?”
For the first time since our dates I could feel a chemistry again, rising
unbidden between us. Those long sexy arms of Evan’s, flexing and
unflexing. Joshua’s gorgeous mouth, twisted with concern. Even Cole
exuded a beast-like sexuality that radiated from him like some primal,
irresistible charisma. Living with them was going to be bad. Or good. Or
bad, depending upon—
“Look, it’s not that we want you to give up—”
“I have three jobs,” I cut him off. “I go to school. I teach classes. Not
to mention I have… other things I’m working on. And they’re not going to
wait months for you guys to ‘straighten’ things out.”
 Cole grumbled. Even angry, his face was fiercely handsome. “None of
that matters if you—”
“She works,” said Evan, loudly and clearly. “She goes to school. She
does anything and everything she wants to do. Then she comes here, when
it gets dark, so we can protect her. That’s non-negotiable.”
My tattooed hero smiled at me for a moment, then winked.
“But what about—”
“We’ll work out all the details later,” Evan went on. “Just not tonight.
It’s late. She’s tired. Plus, we still have to get her stuff.”
He pulled his phone, punched up a digital notepad, then leaned
forward to hand it to me.
“Here. Make a full list of everything you need from your apartment.”
I blinked. “We’re going now?”
“Why not?” Evan shrugged. “Only we’re the ones going. You’re
staying right—”
I laughed again, long and loud, and my laughter shut him right down.
“I’m very okay with moving in here,” I said, letting my eyes wander.
“And yes, I think we should get my things as soon as possible. Tonight,
even.”
I stood up despite my protesting feet, and set my hands on my hips.
“But the three of you are out of your minds if you think I’m not
coming with you.”
 Thirteen

COLE

“So… exactly how much do you know about me?”

The truck devoured the nighttime road, rolling smoothly along the
highway. It hadn’t taken long for her to start asking questions. When she
chose to ride with me instead of the others, I knew this was coming. And
that’s because she knew I’d give her answers instead of bullshit platitudes.
“You want everything?”
Quinn continued gazing blankly through the passenger window, into
the darkness. “Sure. Why not?”
She was adjusting fairly well to a fucked up situation, I’d give her
that. There’d been no hysterics, no cries of protest. So far she’d rolled with
the punches and taken everything on the chin. A few questions about things
was more than reasonable.
“You’re Quinn Ann Logan, age twenty-six,” I answered flatly. “You
grew up in Queens, New York, along with five siblings, all older. Your
mother was an ER nurse at Mt. Sinai hospital, and your father was an
executive chef for too many restaurants to even count.”
The windows were halfway down, and with the summer air blowing
her hair left and right, bouncing it against her pretty face, it made her look
like some sexy blonde Medusa. And she was sexy. There was zero doubt
about that. For the past several weeks we’d tried ignoring that irrelevant
little fact, but now that she was here, sitting beside me…
“So far so good,” she prompted me. “Keep going.”
 The others had taken her out on actual dates, even if they weren’t
dates at all. I don’t know how they handled it. The temptation, I mean. I
sure as hell wouldn’t have been able to.
“You took after your father, apparently. Moved to Boston a few years
ago to take a sous chef job at some fancy steakhouse. The restaurant went
under not too long afterward. You stayed in town, though.”
Her eyes were still averted, staring off into the night. Probably
wondering where her life took such a crazy turn, that she ended up pregnant
in the front seat of a stranger’s truck.
“How am I doing so far?”
Quinn shrugged. “Better than average.”
I smiled inwardly. “Our intel is a lot more than better than average.”
“We’ll see,” she sighed wearily. Her voice, her look, even her
mannerisms were sexy. “So what happened next?”
“You started working odd jobs,” I continued. “Lots of them, from
what we could gather. Maybe you were just determined to stay in Boston.
Hellbent on not having to return to New York.”
The subtle way she shifted in her seat told me I’d probably hit on
something. Hell, I didn’t know all her secrets. Some people ran from things,
while others ran toward them. Either way, it was obvious she was done with
New York.
“You definitely love what you do,” I finished. “You work at a
restaurant, you teach cooking classes. You even put in part-time shifts at
that specialty grocer, near your apartment. I’m not sure how you learned
about the surrogacy program, or what even inspired you to join, but—”
“I need the money.”
I drove on wordlessly, letting the words hang for a few moments in
the silent cab. Eventually, she went on.
“I’m saving for something,” she added, tiptoeing around whatever she
was trying to say. After I still didn’t answer, she sighed and relented. “Okay,
I’m looking to eventually open a food truck.”
My expression couldn’t hide my surprise. “A food truck?”
 “Yes,” she said, if not a bit defensively. “Everyone loves a food
truck.”
“True.”
“But I’m going to do something different. Something no one’s really
seen.”
“Like?”
“It’ll be a pizza truck one day,” she said, “then specialize in bacon the
next. Every day I’ll switch it up. The one constant though, is I plan to
feature specialty ingredients. Without being specialized.”
“Is that why you keep clipping ingredients from your third job?”
Her face scrunched into an abrupt scowl. “Just how long have you
been watching me?”
“Long enough.”
I wanted to tell her how I drew the short straw. How I’d only been
following her that day because the others had won the chance to take her
out and get to know her.
“I found out about the surrogacy program through a pair of married
clients,” Quinn continued. “They wanted a baby, but couldn’t conceive.
Eventually they ended up having twins through a third party, and I gently
began asking how much it cost.”
“I see.”
“When I found out their surrogate made well over six figures…”
“You saw an opportunity.”
Quinn finally turned to look at me. Her expression was stoic.
“Sure, I can’t deny that,” she admitted. “But I was also touched by
how grateful they were to their surrogate, and how incredibly happy they
looked as a family. A family that couldn’t have existed but for the kindness
of strangers.”
“Two birds, one stone,” I said.
She dropped her hands in her lap and grew silent. But only long
enough to smirk.
 “And what about you?” she asked. “No wait, let me guess. You’re
enormous, so you were a football prodigy. Got recruited for some ivy
league college. Since that’s exactly what everyone wanted you to do, you
went the opposite direction and joined the military. Or maybe you actually
were up for it, but your grades weren’t.”
I drove on for a while, enjoying the feel of the wind against my face.
If she was taking a shot at me, fine, I guess I deserved it. Somehow though,
it didn’t seem that way.
“I was on the chess team, not the football team,” I eventually told her.
“I had a 2100 ranking.”
“That’s master,” Quinn swore.
“Yup,” I agreed. “I was sort of a big nerd, actually. Math club.
Dungeons and Dragons. Everything I did, I did to the extreme. Eventually I
found my way into a weight room, and I did that to the extreme too. I spent
so much time in the gym they had to throw me out of the place at the end of
every day.”
I had her full attention now, which was kind of funny. She was
certainly looking at me differently.
“I did everything possible in the gym, until I grew to love boxing. I
went undefeated for a while, until I finally got my ass kicked by some ex-
Navy badass who wowed me with exotic stories of far-flung places. I
signed on almost immediately.”
Quinn laughed, and her laugh was adorable. I knew it would be.
“So I had the grades to go wherever I wanted,” I finished, “but what I
wanted was to travel. I ended up in BUDS school.” I couldn’t hide my
smirk. “They’re not much for grades there. But I did that to the extreme,
and being on a SEAL team took me all over the world.”
We sat in silence as the long, empty road spun out before us, winding
left and right. We passed the suburbs, and eventually drove into the heart of
the city.
I thought back to the day we’d chosen her to be our surrogate. There’d
been so many variables, so many little things to consider when looking for
the person who would make up the other fifty-percent of your child. I’d
been opposed to the idea at first. I’d thought it too dangerous, too uncertain.
 But then Joshua had pulled me aside and posed a very simple
question. One I really didn’t have an answer to.
If not now, Cole… then when?
We’d turned thirty together last year, leaving our twenties behind us.
Our service, our soldiering, our mercenary days… practically all of it was
in the past.
All of it except—
“We’re here.”
I pulled up behind Joshua’s truck. He and Evan were on the sidewalk,
shaking their heads. My face curled into a frown.
“You probably should stay in the—”
Quinn had already popped the door and hopped down. Her response
was the heavy passenger door slamming closed.
Or not.
Up the stairs we went, shielding her protectively between us. Her
apartment was exactly in the state I thought it would be. Top to bottom,
room by room, it had been turned totally upside down.
Every drawer had been torn out, every cabinet had been emptied. It
made for a horrendous mess, even with the moderate amount of stuff she
owned.
“Quinn…” Joshua began. “I’m so sorry.”
At first she didn’t respond. She was too busy picking through her own
things, taking what she needed. She slammed an empty drawer onto a worn
dresser, then began piling stuff into it.
“This is crazy,” said Evan. “I know they were looking for her, but
this?”
“It’s like they were searching for something,” Joshua agreed. Gently
he moved Quinn’s upturned mattress, clearing a path into the bathroom. “A
clue, maybe.”
“A clue to what?” Evan asked. “Us?”
No, I thought to myself. Not us.
 Grimly I began looking for another drawer, because the one Quinn
was working on was almost full. I knew exactly what they’d been looking
for. And I knew exactly why, too.
Damn.
“Cole, what do you think?”
I paused intentionally at Evan’s question, then scratched my beard.
“Dunno.”
I hated lying. I hated anything to do with keeping things secret,
especially from them.
“Whatever it was, I don’t think they found it,” Joshua added. “Let’s
just get out of here.”
Evan was standing near a ransacked desk, which was completely
cleared of anything that might’ve been on it. Everything except the pair of
disconnected wires he was holding.
“They took my laptop?” Quinn asked, her voice strangely hopeful.
“Yes. Unfortun—”
“Good.”
“Good?” Evan shot her a confused look. “Why, did you hate that
laptop?”
“No, actually I loved it.”
“So then why—”
“Because we can track it,” I jumped in. Quinn’s gaze swung my way,
and she gave me an approving smile. “As soon as they log in, I’m
guessing?”
“As soon as it connects to any Wi-Fi source,” she agreed. “Yes.”
She was intelligent. We knew that too. We’d poured so many
resources into vetting this woman, I almost felt bad for it. But I also felt like
I knew her, inside and out. I just hadn’t expected… well…
To be this attracted to her?
I shoved the nagging voice in my head backward hard enough to shut
it up for a while. But yes. Exactly that.
 In truth it had been a while — much longer than I liked to admit. And
now I was hopelessly and unfortunately attracted to this woman who I
could never have. A woman who we’d agreed was untouchable,
unassailable. A beautiful but temporary means to an end.
And now she was moving in with us.
 Fourteen

QUINN

Sighing reluctantly, I pressed the off button and the digital shower
shuddered to a halt. I counted a total of sixteen jets. Four adjustable
nozzles, two of which were fully detachable to get to those hard-to-reach
areas.
And of course, detachable for other things…
Stepping through the steam, I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around
me. The nozzles were tempting, I had to admit. If the shower belonged to
me, and I were in my own home instead of here, it would’ve been game on
with them. Especially in my current, oversexed condition.
Easy, Quinn.
Currently though, I was still stuck in a remote mega-mansion. As I
had been for three whole weeks.
Stuck, huh? Is that what we’re calling it?
Okay fine, I couldn’t actually complain. Setting aside the incredibly
lush accommodations, living with my three protectors was outright
incredible. The guys fed me, kept me, and watched over me twenty-four
seven. I had a bed that was ridiculously soft. Sheets made of Egyptian
cotton. And then this shower…
Oh my God, this fucking shower!
Shaking out my hair, I rubbed the steam from a large section of mirror
and peered into it. Despite my hectic schedule, I’d never looked more
rested. The guys gassed up my car for me. They stocked the fridge. They
took me back and forth to doctor’s appointments, and once, even folded my
laundry.
Even when I went to work or school, one of them was always there,
hanging around just outside. Waiting and watching patiently to make sure I
never had a single unwanted visitor.
That was the agreement we’d ultimately made. I got to do every last
thing I was doing before — without exception — and in return, one or more
of them would always be nearby. My first instinct was to reject the whole
deal as an invasion of privacy, but the more time I spent around them, the
more comfortable I became. After all, they were looking out for me. And
considering what happened in my apartment, having them at arm’s reach
made me feel safer and sleep better.
On top of it all, I hadn’t counted on the camaraderie of just being
around other people again. Over the years, my schedule had sort of crept up
on me. Whenever I wasn’t working, teaching, or learning, I was sitting at
home by myself, getting ready for bed. But now…
Now there was always someone there with me. There was Cole,
working in the garage, mostly on his truck. Joshua wandering the halls at
night, always up for making popcorn and watching a movie no matter how
late I got off work. And then there was Evan, strutting around the house
with his arms and shoulders eternally out. Making those sexy tattoos dance
almost effortlessly, while challenging me to join him in the game room for
foosball or pool.
It was fun, waking up to the smell of eggs and bacon. Having your
coffee poured and prepared for you before your ass even hit the kitchen
chair. The guys were cute with me, both physically and in other ways. They
took care of me as if I were nine months pregnant instead of not even
showing.
Most of all though, it was just great to have someone to talk with.
You could get used to this.
I could, but I shouldn’t. My situation, of course, was temporary. So far
three weeks had passed and there hadn’t been any other signs of danger.
The people who took my laptop hadn’t turned it on yet, or they knew
enough not to.
 It also occurred to me that whoever was out there might be scared of
Evan, Joshua, and Cole. I knew I would be. They had cameras practically
everywhere, and the place was set up like a fortress. There were alarms.
Triggers. Even traps… or so they said.
With any luck, the assholes who ransacked my apartment fucked off
back to South America by now. I would have this baby for them: a beautiful
child with three loving fathers. I’d raise enough cash to get my business
started. I already had the truck lined up, as well as a supplier who did
custom mobile jobs. I’d arranged for the installation of sinks and ovens.
Every kind of—
“This is yours, I assume?”
Evan stood in his doorway, leaning into the hall. He was shirtless,
probably for the fifth time this week. One of my Victoria Secret thongs
dangled from the tip of a long, tattooed finger.
“Actually, I think that might be Cole’s,” I quipped.
“I’d believe that,” my sexy host went on, “if I hadn’t seen you
wearing them last week.”
Last week… oh yeah. I’d been caught in the hallway half-dressed,
coming from the bathroom that had the mega-shower, of course. I could’ve
used the one attached to my bedroom, but it wasn’t anywhere near as
satisfying.
“Do you remember what I said when I moved in?” I asked.
“Sure,” smiled Evan. “Something-something ‘you hope we’re okay
with a girl who occasionally walks around in her underwear.’ Right?”
“Exactly,” I smiled back. “Like I said, I’m used to living alone.”
He shrugged coyly. “Who said I wasn’t okay with it?”
“And I’m not very formal.”
“Or modest,” Evan winked.
Mustering up my best fake frown, I marched over still in my towel. I
kept my eyes locked on his, refusing to look at his muscles out of principle.
He on the other hand, didn’t mind letting his eyes wander. Especially at the
point where the towel ended, three-quarters the way up my naked thighs.
 “Well thank you for rescuing this,” I said, reaching to pluck my
underwear from between his fingers.
What happened next was electric — like the spark that flared between
us the night we almost kissed. Maybe it was because Evan held onto my
thong just a second too long. Or maybe it was my hand that lingered on his,
either intentionally or unintentionally…
Either way, we locked eyes again. And the wave of intense warmth
that washed over me made the heat of sixteen shower heads feel like
nothing.
“Quinn…”
The fabric of my tiny underwear danced deliciously against his thick,
tan wrist. Sheer black satin, so small and dainty, it looked like a pair of
strings.
I arched an eyebrow. “Yes?”
“I— I wanted to…”
Evan’s normally-confident expression dissolved into something more
complicated and complex. Maybe even a little pained.
“What?” I asked, instantly dropping the sarcasm. “What is it?”
He shook his head and turned away. “Nothing. Forget it.”
“You can tell me,” I urged, trying to be gentle. “I’m right here.”
God, did he have to be this good-looking? And not just Evan but all
three of them! Seeing me in a towel was no big deal; I’d seen them all as
well, muscles bulging, coming and going from the big room they’d turned
into a gym. Always just barely dressed, in the tightest T-shirts or loose-
fitting sweat shorts that, when the winds of chance blew just right, revealed
the outline of some very impressive equipment.
Evan retreated a step into his room and grabbed something, and that
something turned out to be a shirt. I sighed frustratingly as he reached up
and pulled it down over his broad, delectable chest.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
I was still confused, still in disbelief. “For what?”
His eyes crawled my body again, slowly and deliberately. The
resulting sigh masked some sort of cataclysmic disappointment.
 “For agreeing to something really stupid,” he murmured, and closed
the door.
 Fifteen

QUINN

The mansion was always filled with life and laughter, even at night.
But the wee hours of the morning, after the alarms were all set and
everyone had finally turned in?
Well, the place was so remote you could almost hear a pin drop.
I say almost, because the blanket of silence was broken only by the
distant sound of the rolling sea. There were nights when it was deathly
quiet, the tides still. But when the wind picked up it threw the waves
crashing against the shore, creating a pleasant background of white noise
that I could always count on to soothe me to sleep.
Always, except for tonight.
I’d gone to bed more than an hour ago, but sleep still hadn’t come. It
could’ve been because I was short-staffed and therefore the restaurant had a
shit dinner service. More likely though, I was just preoccupied with a
thousand simultaneous things. Sitting up, I turned on the light and grabbed
the notepad I always kept on my night table. Most of my better ideas
popped into my head after the sun went down, and I needed to capture all of
them.
For example, I wanted to scale back the cooking classes to spend
more time here, at the house. One, because I was really growing to love the
guys’ company. But two, the boys had a state-of-the art kitchen, and I had
full access to it.
Full, uninhibited, glorious access.
 The amenities included Sub-Zero refrigeration and freezer storage, a
six-burner Wolf stove, and a pantry bigger than my first apartment. I
couldn’t wait to try new designer dishes. Cook up things that were delicious
and exotic, yet popular enough overall that they’d draw flocks of hungry
crowds to my one-day food truck.
I still didn’t know who was responsible for such a legendary kitchen,
but so far the guys had been using it to boil pasta, grill burgers, and make
the basic American breakfast. Joshua admittedly had some basic culinary
knowledge; most likely because his mother had left when he was younger,
and he’d had to cook for himself. Evan also fended for himself at a young
age, as most of his siblings were already teenagers by the time he was born.
I’d learned little things like this naturally, over the course of bunking
with the guys. Cole grew up in a large family, just like myself, and Joshua
was a military brat forced to follow his father all over the country. Evan
hadn’t planned on enlisting at all, but signed up to take the ASVAB test as a
joke during a high school recruitment drive… and somehow ended up with
a near perfect score.
And there were darker secrets, too. Ones that nearly slipped out from
time to time, when the guys spoke with such ease and familiarity around
each other. They generally stopped short of revealing anything too juicy,
and they hardly ever talked about their time overseas. But I could always
tell when they cut something short. Like there was more to the story;
something important, just beneath the surface.
A noise in the hallway caused me to bolt upright. After a quick look, I
breathed a sigh of relief.
“Hey…”
Joshua was standing there, smiling sheepishly.
“I saw your light was on, so…”
“Of course, come in!” I smiled, patting the blankets beside me.
He entered without hesitation, and sat down on the bed. Originally I
thought Joshua was a night-owl, and he was, to an extent. But I saw him up
all the time, long after he’d supposedly gone to bed. The way he wandered
the empty house, I figured he had insomnia.
“What are you writing?”
 I showed him the blank piece of paper. “Nothing, tonight. But I can’t
shut my brain off.”
His smile widened as he ran five thick fingers though his sleep-
tousled hair. “You and me both.”
Joshua’s eyes shone in the dim lamplight, reflecting a depth I hadn’t
seen before. His normally clean-cut jawline stubbled with a sexy five
o’clock shadow. Or a two-in-the-morning shadow, depending upon how you
looked at it.
Even so, he didn’t look tired. His eyes had this far-away look to them,
but there were no bags under them.
“Hungry?” I asked, hoping he’d say yes.
He fingered his odd leather necklace for a moment. “No.”
“Ah. I wanted to make you something.”
“Oh yeah?” He looked suddenly intrigued. “You haven’t made much
of anything since you got here.”
“That’s because I haven’t had the time.” A night chill sent a sudden
shiver through me. “But I plan on making time, now that…”
My sentence trailed off as he shifted closer, moving his body nearer to
mine. He reached out with two hands. I thought I knew for what.
Oh… oh wow…
But then he lifted the hem of my comforter and brought it up to cover
my shoulders.
“You looked cold,” he said simply.
I bit my lip. “Thanks.”
Fuck. I sucked at reading men. Or rather, I sucked at reading these
men. I used to be so good at this, too.
“Why can’t you sleep?” I asked him.
He paused for a moment, perhaps considering the veracity of his
answer. I could tell by his body language that truth won out.
“Nightmares.”
“Ah,” I said consolingly. “Those.”
“Yeah.”
 Shifting to one side, I threw back the blankets. “Get in here, then.
We’ll cuddle.”
The words slipped out before my brain even had a chance to process
them. Then again, I didn’t regret them.
“Come on,” I cooed. “You wanted to make me warm, didn’t you?”
Joshua stared back at me with his stellar good looks and impossibly
thick hair, looking wholly and completely conflicted. I thought of our dates
together. How he’d always held back. At the time, I thought he simply
wasn’t feeling any chemistry on his end. Only now…
Now I could see just the opposite was true. He was holding back
because of the chemistry he felt. He shook my hand goodnight because he
couldn’t even risk something as simple as a hug.
Even now he inched closer for a moment, then stopped dead in his
tracks. His lithe, athletic body stiffened.
“I— I can’t.”
On a whim, I grabbed his granite-like shoulders and pulled him
downward. “Yes you can.”
Maybe it was the suddenness of my move, or maybe he just really
needed the comforting. Either way, Joshua stretched out and slid beneath
the covers. I threw them back over the both of us, before he could change
his mind.
“You’re the big spoon,” I chuckled. “Obviously.”
I twisted into him, pulling his big arm over my body. I couldn’t have
moved it if he didn’t want me to, which I took as a good sign.
“There we go.”
My cheek hit the pillow, and the warmth and comfort was immediate.
It felt insanely good, being this close to a man again. To feel his body
pressing tightly against mine. To feel the heat emanating from his core,
radiating into me, making me safe.
I’d never been more secure in my life. Protected beyond protected.
Cradled by a six-foot gorgeous soldier, beneath thick warm blankets, in the
heart of a fortress, at the edge of the sea.
I felt like a princess in a castle. I felt—
 Whoa.
Now I felt something else, too. Something thick and heavy, pressing
into the groove of my ass.
“Quinn… I—”
“Tell me something,” I interrupted him, before he could say
something awkward and then retreat. I clamped my arm over his, locking it
tightly around my waist.
“Tell you what?”
I twisted my body into him, until we were nose to nose, face to face.
The scent of him was intoxicating. His eyes pleaded with me not to assail
the last vestiges of his resolve.
“Tell me why the two of us don’t have sex,” I whispered. “Right here.
Right now.”
And then I kissed him.
 Sixteen

JOSHUA

Her body was a furnace, searing me with her heat. Her ass firm yet
supple, as it screwed back against me, driving me absolutely crazy.
But her lips…
Quinn’s kiss took me by surprise as her mouth crashed against mine. I
could feel all her pent-up passion; every need, every last undeniable,
inescapable desire, all of it flowing outward, from her soul to mine.
FUCK…
In that moment I kissed her back, my own lips parting hers. Our
tongues danced hotly as I inhaled her scent, her breath, her soft whimper as
her warm, feminine body twisted even further against mine.
Joshua, you’ve got to stop.
I couldn’t stop. The word was suddenly meaningless. There was only
her mouth, her lips, her fingertips roaming their way down my chest. The
soft coos and cries of elation as our kiss went on and on, our tongues
sliding, exploring, drawing our brains deeper into the sheer white euphoria
of becoming one with each other, just as our trembling bodies melded
together.
I felt a delicate hand pierce the waistband of my sweatpants. It slid
downward over my boxers, cupping me fully, settling perfectly and
contentedly against my ever-stiffening manhood that was coming alive in
her palm.
Holy fucking shit man, STOP!
 I flinched backward for a second, but she wouldn’t let me. Her free
hand had found mine, and she’d already slipped it up her shirt to place it on
one full, beautiful breast.
God…
It felt warm and amazing. Soft and deliciously pliant. I squeezed
gently, and felt her nipple stiffen against my palm. Quinn moaned
enthusiastically into my mouth, even as her other hand continued its new
quest to find the waistband of my boxer briefs.
Go!
My brain was screaming with a thousand reasons I needed to get the
hell out of there! My body countered with only one. As the internal debate
raged, and the kiss continued, Quinn moved my hand from her breast to a
much lower place. Her sleep shorts had somehow been pulled down. My
hand slid wantonly, willingly, between two blisteringly hot thighs…
“Quinn…”
My word was a whisper, swallowed by her hot, hungry mouth. She
kissed me harder, more fervently, covering the hand between her legs with
her own.
She guided my palm downward. Inward.
Fuck…
My middle finger slid through her wetness, parting her folds. Quinn
gasped excitedly as I dragged it through the shallows of her pussy.
FUCK…
Reaching my goal I curled it upward, into a place so blisteringly hot it
—
“I— I’m sorry, I can’t!”
In one smooth motion I was up and out, rolling from her bed,
extracting myself from her arms. I stared down into the face of bitter
disappointment. Quinn looked hurt. Almost angry.
“What is the problem with you guys?” she asked sharply. “I’ve never
met men so vehemently opposed to getting laid! I mean—”
“We can’t,” I cut her off. “None of us can. We made… an agreement.”
She paused, considering my words. Now she looked confused.
 “An agreement?”
“Come on, Quinn,” I pleaded. “Think about it! What would happen if
one of us were to have you?”
“You’d have a pretty good time, don’t you think?” she shot back. Her
gaze shifted downward, to the full-blown tent in my shorts. “He sure seems
to agree with me.”
I sighed, shifting a hand to cover myself.
“Yes, but the others—”
“The others had their shot,” she countered. “At the end of our date,
Evan even—”
“I know you didn’t kiss Evan,” I told her flatly. “You were lying about
that.”
Quinn stood up. I couldn’t help but stare as she pulled her shorts back
up over her shapely hips. A huge part of me was sorry to see them go.
“Oh?” she protested. “And how do you—”
“I could tell,” I told her. “It was in your eyes. In your voice, too.”
She didn’t look convinced.
“It was also in his expression,” I said. “When you claimed to have
kissed him, Evan looked like he saw a ghost. You made it up. Tried pitting
us against each other.”
Her pretty mouth went tight. “Fine. I was angry at the time.”
“Quinn, we know each other. We’re closer than any three people on
the planet have ever been. And on top of that, we made a pact. A hands-off
pact, when it comes to the beautiful woman who is carrying our child.”
Yeah sure, I added beautiful in there. But so what? She was beautiful.
The most incredible woman on earth, maybe.
Or maybe it was just my tortured libido kicking my virtuous ass.
“Our word is our bond,” I told her softly. “Always has been. I mean,
as much as I’d like to be with you tonight…” I paused, fumbling for the
right words. “As much as I want to…”
I let my hand drop. My hard-on was still there in all its glory,
stretching straight out against the thin cotton fabric. Wondering what the
fuck was wrong with me.
“And I really really want to,” I confessed, adding a weak smile.
“But you can’t,” she sighed, sinking back onto the bed. “Because…”
“Because if one of us were to have you, the others would be left out,”
I finished for her. “We share everything, Quinn. That’s why we’re sharing
fatherhood.”
Partial recognition dawned on her gorgeous, porcelain face. She still
looked miserable, though. Like I’d taken away her favorite toy.
“I won’t be responsible for that kind of jealousy,” I added. “We can’t
have that kind of resentment between us.”
God, I could still taste her lips! I could still feel the curve of her body,
surging beneath my hands. The impossible warmth of her skin, beneath the
covers. Her wetness, at the tips of my fingers…
“Okay.”
Quinn sighed heavily, slumping her shoulders. Her expression
softened.
“Go on, then,” she ordered. “Get out of here while the two of us are
still half sane.”
I nodded, willing my feet in the direction of the door. For a second or
two they wouldn’t obey.
You’re an asshole, Joshua. You know that? A crazy asshole.
When they finally did, I left with a cold knot in my stomach where the
warm feeling of righteousness should’ve been.
 Seventeen

QUINN

To say the next two days were frustrating would’ve been a gross
understatement. They were utterly miserable. Wholly insufferable. Filled
with an irritation beyond any level I’d ever experienced before.
And that was before I even went to work.
The restaurant itself was a complete shitshow, replete with missing
staff, incomplete prep-work, and customers who thought it trendy and cool
to send their dishes back to be re-fired or re-seasoned. I wore such a grim
expression of total ferocity that even Trey knew not to start in with me, and
starting in with me was Trey’s number-one favorite thing in the universe.
Each night I came home exhausted, only to wake early the next
morning. In school I had zero focus. In my cooking classes, no patience. I
was a complete asshole to anyone and everyone, including myself, which
only made me more furious by the time I fell into bed.
By the third day, something had to give.
Canceling my evening shift at the grocer’s, I called Meghan and
invited her out. I wanted to sit on my ass and rest my tired feet. I wanted to
go someplace — anyplace, really — where someone served me for a
change.
“That barbecue joint on Cambridge,” my friend said. “I’ve always
wanted to try it.”
“Done,” I told her.
“You’re buying.”
 I laughed. “Sure, whatever.”
The sun was already down by the time I got there. I found Meghan in
a booth near the corner, merrily absorbing all the hustle and bustle. Under
normal circumstances, she’d be two drinks ahead of me. Knowing my
condition however, she’d opted for a couple of diet cokes.
“Bad day?” she asked, pushing one of the glasses my way. It wasn’t
really a question.
“Bad week.”
“Awww, poor baby,” she cooed. “Stuck in that big old mansion you
showed me last time. With… what is it? Three shredded ex-Army guys to
keep you company?”
“Two Army, one Navy SEAL,” I corrected her.
“Unreal,” my friend shook her head. “The ingratitude! The
unappreciat--”
“Look, it’s definitely nice and all that,” I cut her off. “The guys walk
around half-dressed, they work out all the time. Shirts on, shirts off… you
never really know what—”
“AND?”
Meghan’s look of genuine outrage made me laugh. If her jaw got any
wider it would scrape the floor.
“Well it’s not like I can take advantage of it or anything,” I protested.
She stared back at me like I’d spoken in tongues. “Oh no? And why
the hell not?”
“Because they’re off-limits.”
Briefly I explained the situation, starting with all the shirtless flirting
Evan had done — which was totally unfair, now that I thought about it —
and ending on my near-miss with Joshua. Even Cole had unintentionally
sparked my repressed sexual appetite, stopping by my bedroom often to
make sure I had everything I needed. His cool confidence and brooding
good looks were a huge turn-on; a far cry from the scary bearded giant I’d
met only a month ago. Plus, there were moments I caught him looking. Sly
glances and overly-long stares lingered on certain parts of my body, as if
the disciplined soldier just couldn’t help himself.
 Finally I explained their ‘pact,’ which effectively eliminated any
chance I had of having any fun.
And boy, did I need fun.
“Are you kidding?” Meghan laughed. She looked me up and down.
“Quinn, you’re missing the obvious.”
A server walked by with a plate of ribs and my stomach growled. The
delicious smell of barbecue permeated the air. Down below our feet, it was
baked into the wooden floor.
“The obvious what?”
“The obvious answer,” my friend smirked.
I shook my head. I still didn’t get it.
“Don’t choose one of them…” Meghan paused, leaning forward.
“Choose them all.”
I took a moment for her words to register. When they did, my stomach
did a slow somersault.
“All of them?” I breathed. “At once?”
Meghan shrugged. “If that’s the way they want to do it, sure.”
“Meghan!”
“What?”
“That’s… that’s crazy!”
“Crazy for you maybe,” my friend said, leaning back casually. “But
not for me.”
“Oh yeah? And why’s that?”
“You’ve never been with two guys at once.”
In the epitome of perfect timing, the waiter showed up to see what we
wanted to order. Before he could even open his mouth, I shooed him away.
“You’ve done that?” I shrieked in astonishment, when he was finally
out of earshot.
“Yes, once.” Meghan looked away thoughtfully. “Well, several times
actually. But over the course of a four-day weekend.”
My bewilderment was so total it verged on actual anger. Picking up
one of the cardboard coasters on the table, I threw it at her.
 “Meghan, what the fuck?” I cried. “How the hell have you never told
me this!?”
My friend shrugged cutely. “You never asked.”
I grabbed her coaster, threw that also, then started in with the
condiments. I threw the plastic pepper shaker first, then the salt. She dodged
both, giggling, as everyone in the place began looking over at us.
“Uhhh… Quinn?”
“Okay, okay” I relented, setting down the napkin holder. “Now… out
with it!”
Meghan settled back into something that resembled half
concentration, half euphoric trance. Whatever place her mind had gone off
to, it was obvious she was thoroughly enjoying it.
“Well it was a couple of years after high school,” she began. “My
boyfriend at the time rented a lodge in Vermont. Killington, actually. We
were supposed to go snowboarding with another couple, but his best
friend’s girlfriend broke up with him a week before the trip.”
“Was this the weekend you misplaced your foot?” I needled her.
Meghan looked down at her missing limb and laughed. “No. That
happened when I was six, remember? The ice cream man ran over my leg.”
“Uh huh,” I smirked. “Get on with it.”
Her grin was borderline fiendish as my friend settled back into her
story. “So we were going alone, but the place was big — it had a loft and a
hot tub and king-sized beds and everything. So my boyfriend asks if it’s
okay if his friend tags along. Especially since he’s bummed and lonely after
the breakup.”
“And of course you say yes.”
“Sure, why wouldn’t I?” Meghan answered. “I really wasn’t expecting
anything. I figured the guy might feel like a third wheel, but as long as my
boyfriend and I had our own bedroom…”
I watched as her eyes lit up from within. Her recollection was picking
up steam.
“This wasn’t Dante, was it?” my eyes narrowed.
“Hell no. Dante came later.”
 “Okay.”
“Anyway, we skied all day and we drank all night, and it turns out my
boyfriend’s best friend was really fucking hot. And funny. And hot.” She
leaned in confidentially. “Did I mention he was hot?”
“Yeah,” I marveled. “You might’ve.”
“So we’re all in the hot tub at the end of the night, high and happy.
And I’m feeling pretty fucking indestructible. And I don’t remember
exactly how it started, but all of sudden I’m in my boyfriend’s lap and we’re
kissing and making out right in front of his friend.
I tried to imagine the scene in my head. With Meghan, it wasn’t too
hard.
“And then my bikini bottom is untied and I straddle him and he’s
inside me,” she went on. “Under the water. I’m riding my boyfriend
shamelessly and his friend is sitting back with a beer, elbows up, watching
us fuck. And somehow it’s not bothering either of us even a little bit.”
“Damn.”
She laughed. “That’s one word for it.”
“And then what happened?”
Meghan stared back at me, and her eyes flared with excitement.
Maybe she realized I was getting off on hearing her story as much as she
was getting off telling it.
“We ended up in the bedroom,” she said. “Our bodies were still wet
from the hot tub, steam rising off our skin. My boyfriend was playing with
me, driving me crazy. Fingering me with his arms wrapped around me from
behind, as he leaned back against the headboard. Chewing my neck, as I
squirmed my ass into him…”
Oh my GOD… I thought to myself. Holy fucking—
“And then suddenly his friend was there again, standing in the
doorway, casually finishing his beer. I locked eyes with him. And Quinn… I
gotta tell you… it was the hottest fucking thing in the world.”
“W—What was?” my voice broke.
“Eye-fucking him,” she breathed. “Eye-fucking the shit out of this
hot, shirtless guy, still dripping wet… while my boyfriend just kept going.”
 The scene in my mind became sharper, even more focused. Without
even knowing it, my breathing had become more rapid.
Meghan leaned so far across the table now our noses practically
touched.
“And then my boyfriend pulled my thighs all the way open, exposing
me,” my friend murmured, her own breath hot and heavy. “Our heads were
side by side and his lips were against my ear. And then he said something to
his friend that I’ll never, ever forget for as long as I live.”
My throat was so dry I could barely speak. “What?”
“Do you want some of this?’”
I tried to swallow, as my whole body went flush with an inner fire. I
thought of Evan. Of Joshua. Of Cole. Of the unspoken heat between us, and
how the tension in the house was so thick the very air seemed to drip with
the potential for sex.
“So you fucked them both?” I eventually managed to ask.
Meghan bit her lip and nodded.
“HOLY SHIT, Meghan!”
“There was something so dirty and voyeuristic, just knowing a guy
was watching me do these things,” she breathed. “And then to have him
join in! And to have my boyfriend’s permission to just… you know… to
just let go like we did…”
Her voice trailed off huskily. She was completely immersed in the
memory.
“Quinn, you wouldn’t believe it if I told you…”
“Well don’t stop now,” I urged.
“What?”
“I need more!”
“Like?”
She was teasing me now. I wanted to strangle her.
“Like how the hell was it?” I blurted. “What did it feel like? Was it
awkward the next morning?”
“Awkward?” my friend laughed. “No. I avoided it being awkward.”
 “How?”
Meghan’s eyes shifted left and right before answering. “By taking
turns blowing them before we even got out of bed.”
I should’ve been even more shocked, but I wasn’t. Being shy or
holding back were two moves definitely not in my friend’s playbook.
“We kept at it all weekend too,” she said wistfully. “We’d ski all day.
Screw our brains out all night. By the last day we skipped the slopes
altogether. The three of us just stayed in the cabin, where they tag-teamed
me mercilessly, trading me back and forth between them.”
“Trading you…” I repeated numbly.
“Um-hmm. That’s when they weren’t doing me at the same time,
mind you. Or when I wasn’t doing stuff to them.”
“My God.”
“That’s exactly what I said,” Meghan leaned back in satisfaction. “But
trust me, by the time we left? I could barely even stand, let alone walk.”
I shook my head slowly, reverently, remaining utterly silent. Letting
the whole thing sink in.
“TMI?” Meghan inquired.
“N—No, not at all. I mean…”
She broke out laughing again. “That’s what I love about you, Quinn. I
can tell you anything. Even something freaky like this.”
My friend lifted her drink to salute me. As the ice in her glass rattled
around, her eyes narrowed.
“Does it all sound too slutty?” she asked hesitantly. “You can tell me.”
Yes. No. Maybe.
I have no fucking idea.
“I dunno,” I finally answered. “Two hot guys taking turns serving you
all weekend?”
Meghan shrugged. “Well, I served them too, of course.”
I allowed my look of utter disbelief to finally break into a big, wide
grin.
“It sounds pretty baller, actually.”
 Eighteen

QUINN

I found them in the living room, all three of them still up. Watching
something on the big screen television, but not really watching it.
“You missed your shift,” Cole said bitterly.
It was the first time I’d done something without telling them where I
was going. Normally one of them would be there wherever I went,
especially after dark. It felt strangely liberating though, shutting down my
phone and going somewhere all on my own.
“Yeah, well I had a date.”
All three of them bolted upright from their couch spots. It happened
so fast, I actually laughed.
“With my friend Meghan.”
I watched as their worried expressions faded instantly away. I
wondered how much of that worry was due to where I’d been, and how
much of it was for the ‘date’ part.
“Quinn, listen—”
“I know what you’re going to say,” I cut Evan off. “This only works if
I cooperate, right? You can’t protect me unless you know where I am, and I
shouldn’t shut my phone off, or I should’ve at least called to tell you what
was going on, so none of you worry about…”
My sentence trailed off as I saw Joshua avert his eyes. I tilted my
head.
“Wait a minute. You did know where I was.”
 The room fell deathly silent. Eventually, Evan’s shoulders slumped.
“Smokehouse Grill, near Kendall Square.”
I pulled out my phone. It was still powered off.
“Holy shit!” I exclaimed. “You put a tracker on my car?”
“Quinn, the people we’re dealing with—”
“Are dangerous,” I blurted needlessly. “I know! I know…”
They’d been lounging in shorts and T-shirts, freshly showered from
their nightly workouts. This time of night always drove me crazy, too. They
smelled like soap and fresh linen, their swollen muscles all taut and
beautiful.
“Look, I’m not even mad,” I relented with a sigh. “I get it. I should’ve
called.”
The collective relief on their faces actually made me smile.
“Next time I will,” I promised. “And I’m fine with the tracker. You
could’ve told me, in fact. It’s just…”
Evan shifted, inadvertently flexing a deliciously distracting bicep.
Aw, shit.
Suddenly I couldn’t focus. It didn’t help that Cole’s shirt was so
tightly stretched across his body I could see every ripple of his rock-hard
abs. Or that Joshua wore the same loose-fitting style of shorts I’d sent my
hand spelunking in the night before.
Between everything, I lost track of anything else I was going to say.
“Quinn…”
I thought of all the flirting, and the after-shower run-ins. I could recall
the heady, musky scent of Evan’s body, the night we got too close. The feel
of Joshua’s strong hands, gripping my hips…
“… you really should…”
I wasn’t even listening anymore. I was too far gone. Too hyped up and
horny from listening to the details of Meghan’s story, all of which I’d
already replayed in my mind, a dozen times or more, on the car ride home.
“You know what?”
 I stepped forward between the two couches and set my hands on my
hips. All three men were staring up at me.
“I’m pregnant, I’m horny, and my hormones are surging like that
ocean out there,” I said, in a voice not wholly my own. “Basically I’m
going out of my mind.”
No one moved. No one spoke. Subconsciously, I slid a palm down
over my lower belly.
“Is there no world in which one of you big strong military men
might… you know… help a girl out?”
For some unknown reason I suddenly felt brave. Confident.
Supremely powerful.
“It doesn’t just have to be one of you, by the way.”
The last sentence seemed to come from totally out of nowhere. My
heart was suddenly a jackhammer, thundering away in my chest. It pumped
a welcome rush of adrenaline through my veins until every cell in my body
was practically vibrating.
This isn’t me!
No, no, this definitely wasn’t me. I didn’t do things like this!
Are you sure?
No, I wasn’t sure. Not fully, anyway. At this exact moment, I wasn’t
certain of anything.
Maybe you do…
The guys were all staring back at me, looking uncomfortably pained. I
could see the conflict raging in their eyes, though. The silent voice of
uncertainty, screaming at them to maintain their pact.
But beneath all that, I could see lust in their eyes too.
“I’ll tell you what,” I purred, as the voice that wasn’t mine went
sultry. “I’ll even make it easy for you. In a minute I’m going up those
stairs…”
I pointed with a single finger. Three pairs of eyes locked onto it.
“And I’m going to strip down,” I paused for a moment. “All the way
down, just so there’s no misunderstanding me. And then I plan to lie down
in bed, stretch all the way out… and wait for whoever shows up.”
 Joshua’s stunned expression mirrored the one I’d seen in my bedroom
last night. But Evan and Cole’s faces registered even more shock.
Still, not one of them was more surprised than myself.
“If I have to, I’ll take care of it all on my own,” I added, with a teasing
little shrug. “After all, a girl’s got needs.” I cast one long, lingering stare
before pivoting away. “Hopefully you’ll remember you have needs too, and
I’ll see at least one of you boys upstairs.”
I took three long steps, as confidently as possible. Then I turned half-
around.
“Oh, and don’t even bother coming up unless you plan on following
through,” I added.
With that I climbed the staircase, still trying to push my heart down
out of my throat. I hadn’t waited to even see their reaction. I’d done a
complete hit and run.
Holy SHIT Quinn!
Somehow I reached the upstairs landing, feeling dizzy and
lightheaded. It was like walking on a cloud. I cracked the door to my room,
slipped inside, then began shrugging my way out of my clothes.
No way.
I took off my shirt, my pants, my bra. Everything but my underwear.
No fucking way.
The house was utterly still. Quiet. There was no conversation
happening downstairs. Nothing at all.
In for a penny…
Shrugging for courage, I climbed onto the bed and spread myself
wide, enjoying the coolness of the sheets against my back. After stretching
for a moment or two, I allowed my fingers to slowly work their way
downward. A minute later, they were dipping familiarly between my
thighs…
… in for a pound.
I felt strangely magnificent. Exposed and hot and dangerously alive.
Or three pounds, possibly.
 The door wasn’t just cracked, it was half-open. Anyone in the hallway
could see me. I could only imagine what I actually looked like.
I thought about Meghan again. Of how my friend had always just
stumbled through life, reaching for any brass ring that she wanted. She
never thought too much, she just acted. And yet somehow, it always seemed
to work out for her.
Could I do that?
Who knew? It took a certain type of person, obviously. But when it
came to me, I generally—
And then there it was… a noise floating in from the hallway. It was a
noise I’d heard dozens of times before, only this time it sent goosebumps
exploding along the full length of my mostly-naked body:
Footsteps on the staircase.
 Nineteen

QUINN

The sound of footfalls grew louder, as my mind tried to pick them out.
Was it one of them, or two? Or maybe—
Someone pushed the door open. I rolled my head to one side, then
watched as all three of my roommates stepped into my bedroom. They
moved smoothly and noiselessly together, as a team. Surrounding my bed
the same way I imagined they’d surrounded their enemies, only with much
less deadly intentions.
I scanned their corded legs, their powerful bodies. Their gorgeous,
square-cut faces that seemed almost too good-looking to even be true. But it
was Cole’s eyes that I met first.
“You sure you want this?” he growled.
His ice-blue eyes smoldered with an unquenchable fire. Or maybe it
was quenchable. That part would be up to me.
“Was I not clear downstairs?” I held my ground.
He ignored me. “Because once we go down this road, it could have…
repercussions.”
“Oh yeah?” I laughed, somehow without nervousness. “Are the orgy
police going to show up and arrest me?”
My comment elicited an immediate chuckle from Evan and Joshua.
But not Cole.
“You could end up catching feelings,” he said simply. “You could end
up falling for one of us.”
 Really? I thought to myself. That was their fear?
“Boys, boys, boys…” I sighed, letting my body writhe into a new
cool-spot on the sheets. “Who’s to say you won’t be falling for me first?”
My apparent bravado — wherever the hell it came from — was
enough for the others. Moving as one, both Evan and Joshua reached down
and began rolling their shirts off.
Holy shit.
Inch by inch they exposed vast acres of yummy, sun-bronzed flesh.
Joshua’s body was every bit as incredible as my fingertips remembered it.
Evan’s was cut with lines of hard, lean muscle, and accented by a sexy
mosaic of black-and-grey tattoos that covered his chest, his shoulders, his
arms. They made me wet just looking at them.
“I want this,” I admitted softly, finally answering Cole’s question.
“But just one more thing.”
The bearded giant at the foot of my bed had already made his
decision. He couldn’t take his lust-filled eyes from my bare breasts. His
chest rose and fell rapidly now, like some great stag having galloped up a
high cliff.
He looked feral. Savage. Ravenous.
“Anything,” he eventually murmured.
“Don’t hold back,” I ordered them, diverting my gaze to each of them
in turn. “Trust me, I need this.”
I scissored my legs open, giving them a full view of everything.
Exposing myself to them felt strangely amazing.
“And I won’t break.”
Evan and Joshua wasted no time. They dove to either side of me,
pressing their hard bodies against mine. Molding themselves against my
warmth and nakedness, until I could feel their growing hardness against
each of my thighs.
YES…
I kissed Evan first, but only because his calloused hand guided my
mouth his way. Our first kiss was thunderous. Our tongues clashed, our lips
churning against one another’s with a rising, primitive heat. I whimpered
and moaned needfully into his mouth. Especially when his hand opened
against the entire side of my face, taking firm yet gentle control.
This was the kiss that was stolen from us, I realized. The one we
should’ve had that night.
Before I knew it my head was turned in the opposite direction, and I
was kissing Joshua instead. Our mouths were already familiar, the feel of
his hot, roaming tongue was like a homecoming as it slipped past my lips. I
tried squirming into him, and was held flat against my back by something.
And that something was Evan, pinning my shoulder down as he kissed his
way down my exposed, pulsating neck.
A moment later he was on my breast, circling my nipple with his hot,
twisting tongue. The touch of his fingers was electric. They danced along
my skin as he cupped me, bringing my entire areola more fully into his
mouth.
Mmmmmm…
If they wanted to take me, dominate me, bend me to their will… I was
all for it. I’d been waiting forever for this moment. So achingly long, for the
time when I could let loose completely and give up total control, allowing
my body to enjoy whatever pleasures came its way.
Over the past month I’d imagined this happening with Evan, with
Joshua, even with Cole. I’d fantasized about what each man would be like.
How firm and unyielding their touch, as they climbed over my willing
body, doing things to me with their hands and mouths. How dripping wet I
would inevitably be; by the time they nudged their way, roughly and
commandingly, between my trembling thighs.
Right now those thighs were already parted, and something was
sending shockwaves along my skin down there. I craned my neck to watch
as Cole began planting bearded kisses all over. He began with the insides of
my thighs, dragging his lips and tongue along my most sensitive areas. As
his lips brushed ever so gently against my already-swollen entrance, I
reached down to grab a fistful of thick, dark hair.
“Don’t tease…”
I pulled him in, while at the same time grinding downward to meet
him. The result was instant. Cole’s face collided tongue-first with my
honey-coated mound, spearing me deep. His two giant hands slid beneath
me, fingers clawing my ass, pulling me right up against his face where he
began lapping and devouring me greedily.
That’s when my gasps of arousal turned into screams of pure joy.
I don’t know how long I bucked against Cole’s hungry mouth,
smothering him with my dripping sex. I just know it was long enough to get
me off. I roared through the longest, most mind-erasing orgasm of my life,
as the others held my quivering legs back to give their friend deeper access.
I all but passed out from the pleasure.
My release was every bit as physical as it was emotional, and cathartic
in its totality. Gradually I came back to Earth, to find both Evan and Joshua
still feasting on my neck and breasts. Evan teased my sensitive clit with a
slow-rolling thumb, while Joshua reached up to slip a tantalizing finger past
my lips and into my mouth. I sucked on it hungrily — a precursor of what
else I planned to suck on.
But first I needed something else entirely.
“Please…” I whimpered. “Somebody fuck me.”
As life-changing as it was, my climax barely made a dent in my
libido. I was still delirious with lust — lost completely in uncharted
territory. Totally at the mercy of what happened next, hoping beyond hope
that someone would take charge.
That’s when Cole grabbed me behind the knees, flipped me easily
onto my stomach, and yanked me roughly to his edge of the bed.
Fuck YES.
Ass-up, face-down, he dragged the head of his manhood slowly
through my dripping folds, but only three or four times. Probably because
three or four times was all he could take.
I gasped in gratitude as he shoved himself all the way home.
 Twenty

EVAN

There weren’t words to process exactly what was happening, so I

didn’t even try. All I knew was that weeks of repressed feelings and pent-up
sexual frustrations were finally over. No longer would we have to pretend
not to notice the gorgeous, sweet-smelling creature who haunted our
upstairs hallways in nothing but a towel. I could kiss those full, beautiful
lips. I could run my fingers along that curvaceous, womanly body.
A dam had broken… and the floodgates were open.
“Please… somebody fuck me.”
Ten thousand men couldn’t stand between me and what I planned to
do to this woman. I wanted to make love to her. I wanted to defile her. I
wanted to smear myself over every last inch of her warm, jasmine-scented
skin, until I was between her legs and buried inside her, feeling her from the
inside out.
I should’ve been jealous when Cole took her first. Oddly enough, it
made me rock fucking hard. Staring into her half-lidded, lust-soaked eyes,
her pleasure became my pleasure. Especially when I lifted her chin and
leaned forward to kiss her again.
Quinn’s breathing was rapid, her whole body still shaking from a
climax that was apparently long overdue. But the hottest part was kissing
her on all fours, while my friend was inside her. Holding her steady while
Cole rocked her forward and back, screwing her doggy-style, bouncing his
hard body rhythmically off her soft, supple ass.
“You alright?” I chuckled, breathing her sweet breath.
 Quinn rolled her eyes and smiled weakly. “Are you kidding?”
She lifted a fumbling hand, reaching for me desperately. Like a fighter
jet with radar-lock, her delicate fingers closed over my still boxer-covered
shaft
“Seriously?” she breathed, biting my lip. Her eyes flared as they bored
into mine. “Take this thing out already and feed it to me.”
Man! She was so hot, so totally in heat right now that nothing she
might say could surprise me. Her long blonde hair shimmered as it tumbled
down around her face, making her look angelic yet sensual at the same
time. Before I knew it she’d pulled me right through the slit in my boxers.
The deftness with which she did it told me it wasn’t her first time.
Then her lips closed over me, and I lost all sense of anything but her
hot, wet mouth.
Good sweet fuck…
For several moments I just knelt there, enjoying the snug feel of her
mouth as she took me deep into her warm, wonderful throat. Cole in the
meantime had stopped screwing her altogether. Now he started up again,
seizing her by the hips. He took her slowly, with long, deep strokes. Getting
her used to the all-new sensation of her body being used from both ends.
Holy shit.
I’d loved kissing her… touching her… feeling her body curve toward
me as it responded to my every touch. This however, was off the charts.
Throughout our toughest times together, I thought my brothers-in-arms had
shared every experience possible. Yet I couldn’t have imagined this
scenario in a million years.
Unreal…
I’d wanted her for so long now, too. I’d loved taking her out, holding
her hand. Bringing her to her front door and almost kissing her; all these
things had been torturous, especially knowing in my heart that Quinn
wanted me to come upstairs with her. Not being able to act on my desires
had driven me pretty damned close to insane.
But we’d made a pact, and that pact meant everything. Besides, we’d
been born of discipline. We’d led lives of personal denial for the gain of the
greater good.
 Still, we were past that now. At this point we were civilians, trying to
make a shared life for ourselves. Trying to get our lives back to normal, and
do all the things normal people did.
But is this really normal?
I reached down and pulled Quinn’s hair back over one ear. She was
blowing me hotly, staring up at me. Almost even grinning with those pretty,
almond-shaped eyes.
Fuck. I don’t even care.
Besides, what was normal these days, anyway? Was being hunted by
Colombian assassins normal? Was it normal to dedicate an entire decade of
your life to something that forced you to forgo companionship, romance,
even love?
A tap on my shoulder brought me out of my trance. Joshua was
kneeling beside me with a strange grin on his face.
“Ummm… my turn?”
I pulled back reluctantly, watching the glistening strand of saliva that
stretched obscenely from her lips to the head of my swollen member.
Sliding right in, my friend took my place. Quinn cast me one last lingering
look, even going so far as to wink at me with those gorgeous, half-lidded
eyes. Then she opened that pouty, pretty mouth and plunged it down over
Joshua, who threw his head back in an ecstasy I was now wholly familiar
with.
Damn.
The scene was carnal in its purity, looking at it as an observer. Quinn
on all fours, pinned tightly between my two best friends. Taking them deep
into her body, over and over, with a slow, sexy rhythm punctuated by the
occasional whimper and moan.
It was like watching something expressly forbidden. Something you
never expected to be made a part of, but can’t shy away from just the same.
My God… just look at her.
I couldn’t stop looking, actually. Quinn looked so fucking amazing
both giving it and getting it, and the fact she was carrying our child
somehow made it even better for me. There had always been a taboo
element to her being off-limits, and it only seemed to grow stronger once
she moved in with us. I never got tired of watching her come home each
night. I always looked forward to the sound of her soft, feminine voice
echoing through our lonely halls.
But now… now we could have her. Now we could take her and
possess her, make her ours in every possible way.
Or at least, tonight we could.
It felt strangely perfect, actually — like completing the last piece of a
very strange puzzle. We’d spanned the world together, risked our lives
together. Now we could even consummate the union between the three of us
and the soon-to-be mother of our child, once again together, the three of us
at once.
“My turn,” I breathed, nudging Cole from between those smooth,
perfect thighs.
It felt like pulling a hungry bear away from a fresh kill.
 Twenty-One

QUINN

It was almost like a dream. A breathless, filthy, molten-hot dream

where three sculpted men knelt on all sides of me, taking me over and over,
in a world of soft blankets and cool, silken sheets.
At first they took me slowly, sensually, getting me accustomed to the
sheer size of their massive, chiseled bodies. The shared kissing was intense.
Their lips were like fire on my neck, my shoulders, my breasts. I writhed
desperately against their talented fingers. I clamped my thighs closed
involuntarily around their beautiful faces, gushing shamelessly and
screaming into the darkness as they took turns going down on me.
I was totally in heat. Utterly and completely ready to be owned and
manipulated; tossed and flipped and pulled commandingly into whatever
positions they desired my trembling, naked body. And I was certainly
naked. Early on, one of the men had shredded my already-soaked thong,
tearing it from my body and discarding it over his shoulder before lowering
his face back between my legs.
Each of them feasted on me when they weren’t pumping away
between my thighs. They devoured me so beautifully I cried tears of joy
every time a new pair of lips closed over my dripping, throbbing sex, all
slick and swollen from being licked and fingered and yes, thoroughly,
thoroughly fucked.
And the best part was that it seemed like it would never, ever stop.
I was pulled onto my hands and knees. Shoved face-first into the
pillows, as a new pair of hands settled over my hips. I lost count of the
number of times they’d taken me together, two and three at a time,
bouncing my body rhythmically back and forth between Cole, then Evan,
then Joshua.
Best of all, the men somehow sensed my every need. They were
gentle when I needed them to be, and slow when I needed that too. But
when I wanted it fast and hard… holy fucking shit, they knew that as well.
And those times — the times when they’d pin my legs back and pound into
me hard and fast — were the best times of all.
I loved having my legs spread wide as they fought over who went
next. I loved hooking my ankles behind their thick backs, then kicking hard
to urge them even deeper inside me.
Most of all I loved the sensation of utter helplessness as they were
pile-driving me into the bed, one of them covering my mouth with a
calloused hand whenever my screams of joy got too loud. In truth I could
scream all I wanted, and it wouldn’t matter. They could outright murder me
in this lonely mansion on the side of the ocean in the middle of nowhere,
and no one would be the wiser.
But those wonderful sounds of ‘murder’ were music to my tired-of-
being-celibate ears.
“She’s so fucking wet…”
Evan’s words came from somewhere behind me, where he was busy
sawing away. I was blowing Cole. Stroking Joshua. Trying to keep my
balance on my last free hand, while wondering how absolutely crazy yet
incredibly hot I must look right now.
You’ve thought about doing this… a little voice in my head reminded
me.
Yeah, sure. Maybe. Hasn’t every girl?
Fantasized about it. Wondered what it would be like.
Fuck yes, I had.
They switched again, this time rolling me onto my back. Cole and
Evan pulled my knees back, so Joshua could plunge into me. I reached out
for them on either side, stroking them in tandem. Marveling at how wet and
glistening their thick shafts were, from having taken their turns inside me.
 I came again, this time so fucking hard, moaning and twisting beneath
the onslaught. Joshua was so euphorically deep I wanted to marry him. And
the way Evan and Cole were taking turns kissing me… well, they sure as
hell were coming on the honeymoon.
“Quinn…”
My eyes fluttered open. Dreamily, I stared up into Joshua’s gorgeous,
sex-soaked face.
“I can’t keep… I mean…”
“Then do it,” I murmured raspily.
His willpower was utterly gone. His face looked exquisitely pained.
“Come, baby,” I whispered, my eyes locked solely on his. “Come.”
Where? His expression asked.
“Come inside me.”
Still pumping me deeply, he slowed for a moment. His eyes registered
shock and surprise.
“It’s not like I’m going to get pregnant,” I giggled.
That was it — that’s all it took. Joshua surged forward one last time,
burying himself gloriously deep in the penultimate moment…
Then he was erupting, pulsing, grunting like an animal possessed. His
shaft twitched and thumped against my womb as he flooded me with his
warm seed, while the three of us looked on, totally underestimating how hot
this moment would actually be.
Ohhhhhhh, FUCK.
Someone cursed, loudly. Someone else swore under their breath. But
everyone stopped to watch as Joshua finished emptying himself inside of
me. He started up again slowly for a few more strokes, draining himself
fully, clenching his asscheeks tight at the end of every thrust.
I hadn’t thought logistics. I’d only needed. And right now apparently,
Evan and Cole needed exactly the same thing Joshua just got.
“Roll her over.”
Four huge hands manipulated me like a rag doll, flopping me onto my
face. I felt something thick and warm pressing against my come-soaked
entrance. It slid easily inside, rocking me deep into the bed.
“That’s it…”
I was drunk on the feel of them, now. Still reveling in the aftershocks
of my own orgasm, and totally oblivious as to who was fucking me. It
didn’t matter one bit. Not even a minute later I heard Evan roar like a lion,
squeezing my asscheeks savagely in his tattooed hands. Clawing me to the
point of inevitable bruises, as he exploded gloriously deep inside me.
Holy fucking shit, Quinn.
The bed shifted as one or more of them got off, but I couldn’t even
raise my head to see. For a good minute or two I just lay there face-down,
spent and breathless. Enjoying the pleasant throb of my well-used pussy, as
the combined seed of two ridiculously-hot men leaked out of me.
“You’re not done.”
Groggily I lifted my chin from the comforter. Before I could do
anything else I was picked up, rolled into a sitting position, and pulled atop
a massive pair of corded legs. Cole had both hands on my waist. His arms
flexed beneath my palms as he guided me backward and then down,
impaling me on what felt like the thickest dick in the world.
“I’ll go slow,” he told me gruffly. “You’ve earned it.”
The palms of two huge hands wandered up my body, kneading my
breasts as he slowly bucked into me. They continued further, gliding
beneath my neck. For a scary moment they felt dangerous against my throat
— those hands so big and strong and impossibly powerful. But then they
continued even further, sliding along my chin and then upwards, along my
cheeks.
My God. Those eyes.
Cole held my face in his hands, his grip as firm as a bear’s, yet
somehow more gentle than the kindest lover. When he pulled me down
against his massive chest, I went with an excited sigh. Still connected in the
most intimate of ways, my lips went crashing against his.
The kiss was incredible. Scorching hot and totally wild, yet with a
comfort and familiarity that came with knowing — and loving — someone
a long time. It didn’t feel like kissing a new lover at all. No, it felt like…
like…
 Like kissing a soulmate.
We broke the kiss and I pushed back to a sitting position, still grinding
and churning against him, deep inside me. I focused on making it good for
him. Splaying my hands over his rippled stomach, I screwed downward and
rolled my ass in a slow circle, effectively fucking him in three dimensions.
“Fuck…”
He growled the word, and his hands became tighter. They were on my
hips again, or more accurately, the tops of my thighs. They looked so
tremendous there. So perfect. So—
OhmyGod…
With a squeeze of his two big hands Cole was coming inside me,
spilling himself deep in my throbbing womb. I smiled down at him as he
filled me, taking pleasure in his enjoyment. Reveling in the wicked idea that
he was adding his own hot seed to that of his brothers-in-arms.
Three of them. All inside you…
Just thinking about it sent hot shivers of arousal bolting through me.
Suddenly I was rolled onto my back, my thighs spread so wide it
almost hurt. Cole was still between them, still buried inside me. I could feel
the lesser throbs and pulses as he rode them all the way out, taking every
last pleasure he could.
Face to face, chest to chest, his crystal blue eyes sought mine.
“I know these bastards after you are dangerous, and I know it might
seem scary,” he whispered throatily.
I blinked up at him. I hadn’t expected this.
“But I’ll never let anyone hurt you. Ever.” He let out a sigh, brushing
my hair back to kiss me gently on the forehead “And I will always keep you
safe.”
My heart melted. His words were so deep, so genuine. So heavy with
the full weight of his promise.
“I know,” I whispered.
We stayed like that for what seemed like a long time, staring into each
other’s eyes. Forging this grave, yet sweet connection. Then, abruptly, Evan
and Joshua were standing in the room again. I hadn’t even realized they’d
left, but now they were holding several bottles of cold water.
“So… did you finish him off?”
The two of us rolled apart reflexively. I felt strangely like some
lovestruck teenager being caught in an intimate moment.
“Yeah,” I said, adding a tired chuckle. “I think we’re all finished off.”
I drew my thighs together and stretched, enjoying a pleasant soreness
I hadn’t felt in a long time. But Evan just took a tremendous swig of water
and shook his head.
“Mmmm, not even close.”
Both he and Joshua laughed back at me, dropping the pairs of boxers
they’d apparently put on to raid the kitchen. Two magnificent erections
sprang free, bouncing before me. I couldn’t believe they were already hard
again.
Evan reached down and took possession of me again, swinging my
body his way.
“For you, this is just the beginning.”
 Twenty-Two

QUINN

Meghan’s ‘morning after’ story had stuck in my mind, and seemed a

great ice-breaker to keep things casual. Or at least, as casual as you could
be after screwing two guys all night.
Or in my case, three.
When I made up my mind to give myself over last night, I’d actually
planned on doing it. Waking the guys up with a trio of morning blowjobs
seemed like a great way to start their day. I was even looking forward to it.
“Mmmpfff?”
Instead I woke up late. Ultra late. The kind of late I hadn’t allowed
myself to indulge in, in a long, long time.
“Hey sleeping beauty.”
Except for myself, my bed was empty. Disheveled? Yes. Destroyed?
Totally. But still woefully empty.
“Coffee?”
Joshua stood at the foot of the bed, fully dressed. I could tell he’d
already showered, which meant he’d already had breakfast, which meant
he’d already gone on his morning run.
“W—What time is it?”
“Ten-thirty.”
I bolted upright so fast the sheets went flying. Reflexively, I slid a
quick arm lengthwise over my naked chest. “Ten-thirty???”
 “Relax,” he chuckled. “You don’t have class today. And you’re not
working until tonight.”
He extended a well-muscled arm, and I reached for the coffee cup. It
was from one of my favorite coffee shops, all the way back in Boston.
“You went to town?”
He nodded as I took a long, gratifying sip, still pinning my breasts
beneath my other arm. I didn’t even know why I was covering up,
considering the circumstances.
“Evan and I had to meet someone,” he explained, “so we got it out of
the way. Cole’s out doing something. Breakfast is cold, but I could heat it
up for you.” He looked me up and down and smiled. “Whenever you’re
ready, that is.”
Breakfast. Damn. I was actually ravenous.
“Or we could take you out to breakfast,” he shrugged. “If—”
“YES please.”
I leapt up from the bed, now heedless of my naked form. My breasts
and ass jiggled as I bounced into the hallway; a fun little detail I’m sure
wasn’t lost on Joshua. I didn’t feel uncomfortable in the slightest, though.
In fact, I felt utterly free and liberated as I made my way down to the
bathroom, and slipped into the mega-shower.
Half an hour later I was clean and dressed, my bed stripped, the sheets
and blankets tumbling in the wash. From there we took Joshua’s truck into
town. Being sandwiched in the front bench seat between him and Evan was
a sharp reminder of last night’s events. Which of course had been playing
non-stop, on repeat, since the moment I woke up.
Ya think???
Round two with the boys had been even more incredible than round
one. And round three? Well, by then I’d pretty much soaked the bed. The
guys were relentless in their lack of mercy, but I think I was just as
insatiable. I took everything they gave me and gave it right back to them.
Up until the point where, spent and empty, they filed from my bedroom one
by one.
Evan had been the last to go. He spent a long time spooning me
afterward, his inked arms wrapped tightly around me in the warmth and
security of my sex-soaked bedroom. Eventually we drifted off together,
slipping into a deep, satisfied slumber.
“You guys ever try the Paramount?” I piped up. “They’ve got the best
French toast in the city.”
They shook their heads in unison. Shit, they did a lot of things in
unison.
“North Street Grille, then?”
“We’ll take you anywhere you want,” said Joshua. “But first we’re
making a quick stop.”
The conversation was light, and the mood too. We spent almost an
hour on the road, weaving through town, passing all kinds of restaurants
that made my mouth water. The three of us talked about anything and
everything. Everything, that is, except the elephant in the room.
“Hey…” I began carefully. “About last night—”
“Ah,” said Joshua, cutting the wheel sharply. “Here it is.”
We found ourselves in a mostly empty lot, freshly-graveled, tucked
away at the junction between two streets. It was surrounded on three sides
by taller, but newer buildings.
“Yeah,” Evan agreed, scanning the lot. “This is perfect.”
I was surprised to find Cole already there. He was leaning against his
truck in a fresh white T-shirt and a pair of work-boots, looking more like a
construction worker than a mercenary.
My brows knit together. “Where exactly are we?”
“The old industrial district, just outside the seaport,” Evan explained.
“The city’s been tearing down the crumbling factories and replacing them
with modern office space, shops, restaurant… the usual.”
“A decade ago this place was a ghost-town,” Joshua added. “Right
now it’s in the upswing of a big revitalization.”
The truck rolled to a stop and we stepped out, our feet crunching
loudly on the freshly-poured gravel. The guys greeted Cole with grunts and
nods. I greeted him with a warm hug that felt strangely insufficient,
especially considering the places he’d been just ten hours ago.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
 I was still confused. I let my eyes wander a bit more, and noticed the
gravel was broken by a rough semicircle of poured concrete pads. There
were electric hookups. Plumbing for water and waste as well.
Then it hit me.
“No way…” I breathed, excitedly. “Is this for—”
“This is the perfect place to park a food truck,” said Joshua. “Or even
better, five or six of them. There’s a ton of foot traffic, and the demand in
this area for restaurants is high. The rent is out of control, though.”
“But not for something that doesn’t pay rent…” I reasoned.
“Oh you’ll still pay rent,” Cole cut in, pointing. “But it’ll be on one of
those berths, rather than some big brick-and-mortar restaurant. They have
three spots rented already. One’s a soup truck. Another does specialty
coffees, and the third one is Mexican food.”
“You’ve got your choice of berth two, three or five,” Evan added.
“The deposit has already been taken care of. All you have to do is pick
which—”
“What do you mean it’s already been taken care of?”
He looked back at me and folded his arms. His half-smile said
everything.
“But I don’t even have a truck yet!” I cried.
He shrugged. “Yeah, so? What are you waiting for?”
“I— I can’t just…”
“Pull the trigger on the one you’ve already picked out?” said Joshua.
“That’s easy. We already wrote the check.”
My hands were moving to my head — sifting through my hair was
just one of my nervous ticks. They stopped halfway through, my face
registering my shock.
“But… But I haven’t—”
“Had our baby yet?” he smiled.
I looked down at my still-smooth belly. I guess we all did. “Yes.”
“So what?” said Evan. “You will soon enough. And wouldn’t you
rather get this business started now, rather than later?”
 Now my hands did bury themselves in my hair. “I guess, but—”
“We talked to the supplier you had picked out,” he continued, “and
he’s got a blank check too. You have to make the final decision on
appliances and layout, but he’ll set the truck up in any configuration you
want. We leaned on him to put you ahead of his other work, too. He’s just
waiting on your call.”
I was stunned. Lost. Completely without words.
“In case you haven’t figured this out yet,” said Joshua, “we don’t
believe in procrastination.”
I looked around again. Everything about the place was all so perfect,
so well-thought out. String lights crisscrossed the entire lot, with plenty of
room for people to gather, order, and eat. I could picture the throngs of
diners that would gather here. Lunchtime crowds from the surrounding
businesses. Spillover patrons in the evening, hungry from walking the
streets of the seaport.
“They’re cutting the ribbon to this place in two weeks,” said Evan.
“See that spot over there? Picnic tables. Three or four for each truck, so
you’d better get moving. They’ve done a ton of advertising and social
media promotion for this spot, and people are already chomping at the bit.”
Cole elbowed me gruffly, yet playfully. “After all, everyone loves a
food truck.”
I stepped numbly from berth to berth, checking them out. Trying to
process all the emotions weighing heavily on my heart, while my mind
raced to determine which one would be best.
There were a hundred reasons I couldn’t accept a gift like this. Or
advance. Or whatever the hell it was.
Still, it was all so generous. So incredibly thoughtful.
“Of course we can always look somewhere else if this doesn’t work
for you,” Joshua added hesitantly. “Do you even like this place?”
They’ve planned this for weeks, I realized, with a warm fuzziness that
choked me up. The whole time… they’ve been listening to every word you
ever said.
I turned and found the three of them standing together, watching me
with a certain amount of shared excitement and pride. My heart swelled.
My eyes glassed over…
And then I was hugging them. Kissing them. Laying my head against
their chests and squeezing them tight, while fighting back tears.
“I guess that’s a yes, then?” Evan eventually chuckled.
 Twenty-Three

QUINN

We spent the whole day in the city, walking aimlessly through

Boston’s streets and parks. We had lunch instead of breakfast. Stopped off
at a Portuguese bakery for the softest, most delicious napkin-cakes, and
then at some tucked-away grindhouse for the best coffee I’m pretty sure I’d
ever tasted.
It was definitely incredible, being escorted through Boston by three
impossibly hot men. Men who were much more than friends, more than
lovers even, because all three of them were the future fathers of my child.
Not your child.
No, obviously not. But it felt humbling and incredible to be doing this
for them. I couldn’t wait to see the joy on their faces when I had their baby.
The inevitable shower of love, affection and attention this child would get
would of course be legendary, and I was just thrilled to be there for it.
Or rather, at least be a part of it.
To be honest, I wasn’t even sure what would happen once the baby
was born. Obviously I was only its mother in the biological sense. Handing
it over was something I convinced myself would be easy, especially when
everything was so clinical and anonymous.
But what about now?
All of a sudden I didn’t know. Sure, the guys loved having me as a
part of their lives right now. They were caring, protective, and totally
supportive of me. Supportive to the point where these men — who’d always
dreamt of having a child — went out of their way to help me realize my
own dreams.
The only question that remained was whether or not I could handle the
separation anxiety from them.
I tucked these and all other thoughts aside as we wrapped up what
turned out to be a legendary day. Rather than go back to the house, the guys
dropped me off at work. I had several changes of clothes there anyway, and
it made more sense when you realized they had two vehicles in the city
anyway.
Oddly enough, none of them mentioned a thing about last night.
Maybe they were ashamed at having broken their pact, or embarrassed by
their moment of weakness. Either way, as the day wore on, it got harder and
harder for me to bring it up. It seemed almost awkward to mention it,
especially if it turned out to be nothing more than a one-time ‘letting off
sexual steam’ type of thing.
And so I went to work without a definitive answer. I ran tonight’s
dinner service with an iron hand, whipping my crew into shape and
minimizing problems. I kept everyone until the last of the diners were
served, every pan was scrubbed, the doors were locked and the lights
clicked off.
Waiting in the parking lot, I found Evan’s truck idling quietly. I
climbed in, wondering vaguely what the closing staff might think seeing me
drive off with some giant-armed, heavily-inked guy. I decided very quickly
that I couldn’t possibly care less.
“Good night at work?”
“Fantastic night at work.”
His roguish smile gave me flashbacks of last night, which sent a tingle
between my legs.
“Let’s get you home then.”
I sighed happily, stretching my legs and reaching down to rub my
tired feet. Evan’s arms bulged sexily as he steered us out of the city, shifting
into fifth gear and easing back in his seat once we got to the highway.
Gotta love a hot guy driving a stick-shift, the voice in my head
reminded me.
 “Thanks again for today,” I told him. “Getting out like that… it’s just
what I needed.”
It was, really. Nothing broke me out of a work-sleep rut like long
walks outside and fresh air.
“And thanks even more for everything else,” I said more seriously.
“No one’s ever done anything like that for me before. Not even close.”
“Well that’s a damn fucking shame,” he said, and he meant it.
“Because a person like you? Someone willing to have a child to help others
realize their dreams of having a family?”
His voice grew thicker. I could sense the emotion.
“People like you are one in a million, Quinn.”
I was touched, and again, humbled. I didn’t think I deserved this much
recognition. I wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary, really.
With an equally thick voice, I thanked him anyway.
“Still, I can’t believe you guys went through all that trouble,” I told
him. “And that place is perfect. I had some spots picked out downtown, but
they were all temporary. Some were first come, first serve. And the permit I
was applying for, well—”
I stopped and sat up straight.
“Oh shit!” I gasped. “Permitting takes a month, minimum! And that’s
only after inspection, so—”
“You don’t think we thought of that?” Evan asked casually.
I turned, once again speechless. His smile was even more satisfied
now.
“Really?”
“We know a guy who knows a guy,” Evan said simply. “We always
do.”
I wanted to ask him how that was even possible. How three men
locked away in a secluded fortress could possibly hold such sway over so
many things.
“Trust me,” he said, sensing my train of thought. “We’ll get it done.”
 Evan reached out his hand and I took it. A warm feeling stole over me
as our palms slid together, our fingers interlacing so naturally it was like
we’d done it a thousand times.
“I appreciate this so much,” I said. “More than you’ll ever know.”
He squeezed me gently, his inked forearm flexing and unflexing
beneath some sexy-looking Latin saying.
“Nothing compares to the sacrifice you’re making for us,” he shook
his head solemnly. “Nothing.”
The gates swung wide before us and we finally reached the house,
which for some reason looked darker than usual. A gentle rain had started
as we left Boston. But now, what started as a summer sprinkle had turned
into a full-blown downpour.
“Run,” Evan winked, bailing out before I even had my seatbelt off.
 Twenty-Four

QUINN

I laughed alone inside the empty truck, cursing Evan silently as I

popped the door open. Then, with the rain now coming down in buckets, I
made a beeline for the house.
Shit shit shit shit!
The distance wasn’t far because Evan had parked relatively close to
the front door. Even so, by the time I got there I was thoroughly and
completely soaked.
“So much for chivalry!” I called out loudly, as I entered.
Once inside the house I found myself in near-total darkness. Evan was
nowhere to be found. As the heavy door clicked shut behind me, my spidey-
senses were tingling off the charts.
What the—
Then I saw the candles, and emotions of relief flooded through me.
They were followed closely by a rising excitement.
“Oh...”
A trail of tiny, flickering flames led through the foyer and all the way
up the staircase. The wax candles were thick and heavy, and alternated
between a deep crimson and a soothing off-white. With the rest of the house
shrouded in darkness, they gave off just enough illumination to keep me
from breaking my neck.
And so I climbed.
 Step by step I pushed my creeping stomach down, before it could
lodge itself in my throat. I don’t even know why I was nervous. Maybe it
was darkness, or the silence, or the complete lack of anyone else. I felt
isolated and alone; my only companion the steady patter of rain, somewhere
high above on the roof.
“Hello?”
I reached the landing without answer. The candles, of course, led
straight into my bedroom.
All day I’d been trying to figure out how to break the ice — to
somehow discuss the events of last night. Each time I’d failed. In wanting
to keep things from being awkward I’d waited too long, and now they
were… well… awkward.
Maybe.
I kept going, putting one foot in front of the other as I made my way
down the wide, spacious hallway. The house looked especially eerie by
candlelight. I felt like the heroine of a horror movie, the one you always
scream at in frustration for walking into a trap.
“Well, are you going to stand there?” a firm, deep voice demanded.
“Or are you coming in, so we can peel off those rain-soaked clothes.”
I’d reached the doorway to my bedroom. Inside were even more
candles, placed strategically across the floor and furniture. They lit the
room with a warm, muted glow that reflected beautifully off the three
shirtless men who happened to be here as well.
“Welcome home.”
Evan guided me into the room, still dripping from the rain. He’d
already peeled his own shirt off. His wet skin glistened in the candlelight,
his big chest rising and falling with a steady excitement.
My sheets and blankets were back, and my bed was made. Just for
how long remained to be seen.
Cole and Evan stepped forward. Joshua unbuttoned me from below,
while the others took either side of my shirt and began peeling it upward.
“So… it’s like this, is it?” I smiled, lifting my arms over my head.
“Sure is.”
 “After last night, I guess I was sorta wondering, well…”
My shirt hit the floor with a wet plop. A pair of fingers began
fumbling with my bra.
“Wondering what?”
“If what we did was a one-shot deal.”
A pair of warm lips brushed my ear from behind, sending electric
shocks rocketing down my body. Another pair closed over my neck on the
opposite side.
“You’re the one who opened Pandora’s box,” I heard Evan murmur.
His hands wrapped around me from behind, sliding along my lower belly. I
bit my lip in anticipation as they dipped even further downward. “And you
know the thing about Pandora’s box, right?”
My pants were gone. I felt a tug on my G-string, and that was gone
too.
“Remind me?” I shivered.
“Once it was opened, that was it. It could never be closed again.”
Fingers began roaming. Lots of fingers.
“So that’s it, huh?” I mused. “The genie’s out of the bottle? No putting
it back?”
I reached over my shoulder with one hand, and my fingers traced a
stubbled jawline. I sighed as one of them was sucked between a pair of lips.
“No putting it back,” another voice whispered. “You’re stuck with
unlimited on-demand sex.”
My stomach erupted with butterflies.
“And a ton of daily laundry,” chuckled someone else.
I was completely naked now. Having three guys undressing you at
once tended to facilitate that. The sheer number of hands roaming my body
felt absolutely insane. Almost like it wasn’t real.
“Yeah, well…” I murmured, grinding my ass back into Evan’s hard
body. I twisted to face them, throwing my arms around the other two.
Kissing them one by one, I pulled them close.
“A girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do…”
 Twenty-Five

QUINN

Last night I was thoroughly, utterly fucked. The guys took me

together, spit-roasting me from both ends. They pulled my legs back and
forced my head down on each other, riding me hard until I was used,
swollen, and full…
It was exactly what I’d needed, too. I’d been craving it for months.
Long months that felt like centuries.
But tonight… no, tonight was different. Tonight the boys stretched me
out on the bed, spooned their warm bodies against mine, and took turns
making out with me until I was a sopping wet mess.
Tonight the boys didn’t fuck me at all. They actually made love to me.
It felt absolutely amazing too, wrapping my legs around them one by
one. Spreading myself wide so they could screw me slowly and deeply,
while kissing me with a searing heat and passion as I bounced gently
against their hard, rippled bodies.
I lost count of the number of times they’d cradle me in one man’s lap,
gently caressing my face while another grinded away between my legs.
Each time I reached between their legs, they pushed me away. Whenever I
tried taking someone else in my mouth they’d press their lips against mine
instead, kissing me so slowly, so sensually, I became lost in the simpler
pleasures of our long, leisurely fuck.
Evan went first this time, really digging me out. He drove me crazy
with his long, thick shaft until I was exploding all over it in a series of
moans and whimpers. Cole took his place, before I could even come down
again. I could sense him wanting to go hard and fast, to give it to me rough
again. Somehow though he maintained control, drilling me with a deep,
steady rhythm that had me clawing his back and breathing his name.
Maybe they knew I was sore, I theorized. After the events of the night
before maybe they were taking it easy on me, enjoying how incredibly tight
my swollen entrance felt wrapped around them.
But then there was all the kissing, so soulful and perfect. The
candlelight reflected in their lust-crazed eyes held more than just a sexually-
charged excitement; there was the promise of other things too. They were
things that were deep, things that were meaningful. Sentiments that
connected us on much different levels than just the physical, because by the
time they’d each had a turn, I felt spiritually connected to all three.
Joshua took me last, sinking inside me with a slow, beautiful
reverence. I caressed his hard arms on either side of me; his lips brushing
softly against my lips, his eyelashes fluttering against mine.
Mmmmmm…
His long, sinewed body fit so perfectly against me it was like we’d
been made from complementing molds. Created for the sole purpose of this
kind of connection, at this exact moment in time.
We came together, he and I, twisting and writhing our bodies to derive
every last ounce of mutual pleasure. Joshua kissed me deeply as my insides
contracted around his pulsing shaft, milking him for every last drop he had
to give me.
When it was all over, I noticed Cole and Evan had already left. They’d
left the two of us alone in the bedroom, to pull the sheets and blankets over
our naked bodies and spoon ourselves to sleep to the soothing patter of the
rain.
And that’s exactly what we did.
Blissful hours passed, and I woke several times to the comforting feel
of Joshua’s arm locked tightly around me. I loved throwing my legs over
his, and squeezing them tight. He felt absolutely amazing pressing up
against me from behind.
But then, sometime in the darkest part of the night… I rolled over to
find him gone.
 “Joshua?”
I didn’t expect an answer, really. Still half-awake, I figured groggily
that he’d gone back to his own bed. But then I saw him sitting there, in one
of the chairs on the other side of the room. He appeared lost in thought,
almost entranced.
“Hey…” I called out, a little more clearly this time. “Are you alright?”
He’d put his boxers on, his T-shirt too. Staring off into the nothingness
of a rain-soaked window, he was playing absently with the little pentagon of
leather strung around his neck.
“I’m fine,” he said finally. His eyes went clearer as he turned back to
me. “Sorry, Quinn. I didn’t mean to wake you. I was just—”
“No worries,” I smiled, throwing the blankets back. “Just… come to
bed.”
Eventually he got up and sat back down on the bed. He even managed
a smile, but his eyes… well, his eyes told a much different story.
“Joshua, what’s wrong?”
Once again he shook his head dismissively. Once again he tried
convincing me everything was alright. This time though, his explanation
was only half-hearted.
“Another nightmare?” I asked him cautiously.
He closed his eyes for a long, somber moment, then opened them
slowly. Eventually he nodded.
“Forget them,” I smiled. “Nightmares are just bullshit the brain makes
up to—”
“This one isn’t,” he cut me off, without even thinking.
His handsome face looked uncharacteristically somber now. And it
was wracked with something that looked like…
Pain.
My heart ached, but it felt wiser to remain silent. Instead of saying
anything else, I slid closer to him on the bed and hugged him from behind.
Oh my God…
 Joshua’s body felt stiff and unyielding beneath my touch. I held him
tightly for several minutes in absolute silence with my cheek resting against
his broad back. I wasn’t sure he’d say anything, really. He didn’t have to.
But the connection between us was much more than physical now. I could
sense it. And I knew in my heart that he could sense it, too.
“It happened in the last month of my final tour,” he said finally. His
voice seemed distant, and very far away. “I wish it didn’t. I wish I could
change it…”
His back arched as he broke down, almost entirely. The only thing
missing were the tears.
“What?” I prodded gently. “What was it that you wish you could
change?”
Joshua finally turned to face me. His eyes were glassy, his voice
broken as he uttered a single word:
“Tikrit.”
 Twenty-Six

JOSHUA

The soccer ball came over the wall sometime during the night. It was
old. Scuffed and dirty. Well-worn and well-loved, to the point where it was
obviously someone’s most prized possession.
The kid who owned it slipped into the base at the crack of dawn.
It wasn’t exactly uncommon, hosting the Tikrit locals from time to
time. And the kid was young. Nine, maybe ten. He had the thickest mop of
dark hair I’d ever seen, and a smile so bright it shined through the layers of
dirt and dust on his sun-kissed face.
I found him near the spot where the ball had dropped in, up against
the wall, searching behind every bush and tumbleweed. He looked
distraught, almost frantic. But the smile he gave me when I produced the
ball from behind my back was something I’d never forget.
Never.
I tossed it his way. Rather than catch it, he bumped it off his chest and
proceeded to do a bunch of insane tricks. He kicked it, kneed it, bumped it
with his head. With both feet he somehow tossed it behind his back, then
used his heel to knock it up again, effortlessly, without even looking.
The kid was a goddamn sorcerer with that ball, and I was his grinning,
humbled audience. Eventually, I set my rifle down. Using a stick, I drew the
rough outline of a goal in the sand.
His smile grew even brighter somehow. Beneath the purple and
orange glow of the rising sun, he was absolutely beaming.
 We played together, he and I. Two strangers who hadn’t spoken a
single word to each other, yet had bonded on levels that needed no words at
all. There was fun. Laughter. A hiccup of happiness and jubilation, set
against a backdrop of poverty, uncertainty, and despair.
I’d been in the service for so long by then, and I’d seen so many
things. Not many were good. None of them were pure, like this moment.
None of them reflected the simple innocence and uncorrupted joy of a kid, a
man, and a beat up soccer ball.
And the kid was skilled. He got the ball past me so many times. He
kicked it through my legs, or skirted past me whenever I tried to take it.
When it was my turn, I barely got it past him once.
The whole thing took ten minutes, maybe fifteen. Even so, from the
look in his eyes it was the best fifteen minutes the kid had had in years.
Eventually he stopped and picked up the ball. In the gentle swirl of the
morning breeze we stood toe to toe. Man to man. I reached out with a smile
and tousled that dark mop of hair, and his laughter resounded in my heart.
It still lives there. It never left.
The kid was dirty. Filthy. Dressed in rags. But he had brilliant green
eyes — the kind you seldom see on someone from that part of the world.
They were eyes so filled with life they were brimming. Overflowing with
the endless promise of a million different paths. A thousand bright
futures…
And then he does it: he shoves the soccer ball into my hands.
Surprised, I look back at him in confusion.
“I’m going to miss this…” he says, in near-perfect English.
And just like that, his smile fades. His white teeth disappear behind of
pair of cracked lips, and suddenly there’s a tear in his eye. I’m frozen for a
moment, not understanding. The tear runs down his face, creating a clean
streak all the way down his cheek.
Mesmerized, I watch it go.
Then he spins on his heel, turns away, and runs. He’s moving full-
speed, impossibly fast. Too fast for even the fastest adult to ever catch up.
The kid runs… straight at the barracks.
No.
 Straight into the barracks.
No NO NO NOOO!
The explosion blooms outward: all heat, all fury. It’s absolutely
horrific. It’s gruesomely beautiful.
NOOOOOOOOO—
The soccer ball in my hands explodes with a loud POP as the
concussion hits me full force, blasting me into the wall. My helmet flips off
as I’m catapulted backwards. Through the violent storm of debris and hot
wind, it slashes me in the face before I even hit the ground.
I fight to stay conscious, but I’m too far gone, too concussed. My
brain is fried and spinning. My mind completely scrambled, as the flaming
remnants of the quonset hut rain down all over me.
I’m burned and blasted. Bleeding from a hundred tiny scratches and
cuts.
But nothing hurts more than my heart.
 Twenty-Seven

QUINN

The story ended, with Joshua’s last words trailing off into the dead
stillness of the night. He looked drained now. Emotionally and mentally
depleted.
“Hey…”
I choked back my tears, trying to maintain control. I knew if I started,
I’d never be able to stop.
“This right here,” I whispered, reaching out to touch the battered piece
of leather that dangled around his neck. I recognized it now. A dark
pentagon, charred and blasted, curled against his chest. “It’s a piece of the
soccer ball, isn’t it?”
I touched the object reverently. After his story, it felt like an artifact.
Joshua said nothing at first. Eventually he nodded.
“Because even though it hurts, you want to keep it with you,” I said
softly. “Because you never want to forget.”
He finally turned to face me. When he did, his expression was filled
with a deep, undying respect.
“You understand.”
“I do,” I nodded, hugging him close.
My heart felt like it would swell out of my chest! I wanted to hold him
there forever. To rock him back and forth until he was all better. Until he
finally forgot.
 But my heart also knew in a hundred thousand years, he’d never
forget.
“Eight KIA,” he murmured mechanically. “Seventeen wounded. All
because I—”
“Don’t say it,” I shushed him.
“Don’t say what?” Joshua asked. “The truth?”
“Your truth and the actual truth are two different—”
“But I could’ve prevented it, Quinn!” he pleaded. “I could’ve stopped
him. Caught up with him…”
“You weren’t catching him,” I shook my head. “You said it yourself.”
“Maybe,” he allowed. “But the kid wasn’t ready. He didn’t want to
go...” He swallowed hard, trying to get past the giant lump in his throat. In
his mind’s eye — and possibly his heart — he was still back in that tortured
place. “I could’ve talked him out of doing it in the first place. If only I had
paid more attention. If only I hadn’t let my guard down…”
I squeezed his hard, magnificent body. It was like hugging a statue.
“You did everything you possibly could,” I assured him. “Some very
evil people got to that child way before you did. He knew what he was
going to do, long before he got—”
The shriek of an alarm split the nighttime silence. It was loud.
Blaring…
Almost immediately, Evan appeared in the hall. Wearing nothing but
his boxers, his corded arms braced either side of the door to my bedroom.
“Breach,” he snarled, jerking his head over his shoulder. “Northern
perimeter.”
Joshua snapped out of whatever trance he’d been in so fast it was a
little frightening. Moving with pantherish speed, he joined his friend in the
hallway. It was all I could do to keep up with them as they raced down the
stairs and flung the door wide.
“Stay here,” Evan ordered, as Joshua sped past him. Stunned and
wordless, I watched them go.
I was as barefoot as they were. Completely naked, except for my
thong. That didn’t stop me from grabbing one of the boys’ T-shirts,
haphazardly flung over the arm of the living room couch. Or from looking
for a coat.
By the time I had those things squared away however, I was
completely alone.
Stay here.
The alarm was still shrieking from speakers all around me. Down here
it was louder than ever! I covered my ears with my hands for a second, but
it did nothing. It was still sharp and piercing. Like a knife to my brain.
Stay here…
Those had been Evan’s last words to me. Obviously he’d said them to
keep me safe. To keep me… alone?
“Fuck that.”
Gathering the black trench coat I’d pulled from the first hanger in the
coat closet, I stepped into the darkness and ran in the direction I’d seen
them go.
 Twenty-Eight

QUINN

It was foolish maybe, running off into the night. Pushing my way
blindly through sheets of rain, which looked like dancing silver curtains in
the partial moonlight.
I was cold. Wet. Mostly naked. Barefoot and in pain from the gravel
driveway, the soles of my tender feet torn by a thousand tiny pieces of
jagged rock.
But the one thing I would not be, was alone.
“EVAN! JOSHUA!”
I called their names hopefully, knowing my voice hadn’t carried very
far. Once I reached the forest canopy it was muted even further, swallowed
up by the noise of the rain.
“COLE?”
I had no idea where anyone was. All I knew was I was heading in
their direction, slipping past the edge of the circular courtyard and into the
surrounding woods. My poor feet moved across rocks and twigs now. I
could feel them popping snapping beneath me, with every step.
“EVAN, I—”
Something surged through the forest in my direction, moving with a
strange, limping gait. I heard primal grunting. Frothing at the mouth. It
sounded almost like a wild animal, but an animal in definite pain.
The cursing however, told me this was no animal.
Shit!
 Whatever it was, it was headed straight for me now. I searched
frantically for cover. Some of the tree trunks were thicker than others, here
and there anyway, but none of them were close enough to me to—
A man limped into view, clutching his side in pain. There was a nasty-
looking wound there, all slick with blood. It mixed with the rain, welling up
through his fingers. It turned them a crimson that looked black in the
shadows.
The man’s eyes were wild, but even in the darkness I could see they
were locked on me. A moment passed, and in that moment I saw him make
a decision. The hand clutching his side slipped further backward,
somewhere behind him. When it emerged again, I saw the deadly,
unmistakable glint of steel.
“Quinn!”
Evan’s voice carried through the forest, somewhere off to my left. But
it was too far away. Much too distant to get here in time to—
The man lunged, and in a split-second of self-preservation I threw my
entire body backward. I tripped, sprawled a few steps, then somehow
regained my balance. Possibly because I knew if I went down, I wouldn’t
be getting back up again.
By sheer stroke of luck my hand closed over something thick and
heavy. I pulled it free from whatever it was caught on, then brought it
forward and downward in a savage, overhead swing.
CRRRACK!
Something broke. It might’ve been my attacker’s wrist, or maybe the
branch I’d used to strike him. Either way, the knife went flying over my
shoulder, end over end. It flashed silver in my peripheral vision, then
ricocheted off one of the trees with a metallic clang.
By now the man was on me, driving me backward. Throwing the full
weight of his body against mine, as we fell in a struggling heap to the
soggy, mud-choked ground.
Down on the forest floor it was dark and cold and miserable, even
without the life-or-death struggle taking place. The raincoat I’d cinched
snugly around my waist was all but open. My attacker was scrabbling
madly with both arms now, desperate to reach my throat. I locked one of
my hands tightly around his leading wrist… then raked my fingers across
his face with the other.
“Nnnnghhhh!”
I did it savagely too, and without holding back. I could feel my
fingernails digging in wetly as his flesh gave way. I should’ve been revolted
by the fact I was tearing his cheek to bloody ribbons, but I was too busy
roaring and yelling and fighting him off.
My involuntary screams helped facilitate my brain kicking me into
fight or flight mode, and by now flight was out of the question. So I kept
pounding. I kept hitting. I kept raking him everywhere I possibly could, all
while he used the weight of his body to pin me, clawing and screaming, to
the forest floor.
The struggle couldn’t last much longer. I’d done damage, but nothing
that couldn’t be considered superficial. Everything I’d done to this man had
caused him nothing but pain, making him even more angry…
A knee screwed itself into my shoulder. I cried out in agony, thrashing
wildly to break free. But he was too heavy. Too bulky and strong.
This is it.
Fear gripped me as a second knee slammed down, this one even closer
to my throat. The rain was falling directly into my eyes now, blinding me.
Making it impossible to see the vengeful fist that connected with my face, a
split-second later.
FUCK!
Another fist dropped, then another. I turned and took a fourth one on
the side of my head. It felt like a thunderclap going off in my brain. My ear
rang like a bell, then felt immediately as if it were on fire.
Motherfuc—
I blinked, clearing away the rain and blood and whatever else was
dripping into my eyes. The next blow would knock me out for sure. It might
even kill me. I stared up at that clenched fist, knuckles pulled tight, as the
asshole pinning me down sat poised to unload it…
And then, abruptly, everything changed.
It felt like the weight of the world was lifted from my mud-encrusted,
rain-soaked body as my attacker was suddenly and inexplicably gone. Or
not so much gone, actually. Because when I sat up gasping, spitting out
water and blood…
Cole was standing there, shirtless and magnificent. His arms were
raised to the sky, gripping my attacker’s writhing, twisting body high
overhead.
Holy—
The rage in his face was absolutely terrifying. Swinging his arms, he
sent the man sailing through the air. Headfirst. Straight into the thick trunk
of an ancient oak tree.
SNAP.
The sound left absolutely nothing to the imagination. There was no
question as to what just happened. No need to run over and check and see if
—
“Quinn! Are you alright?”
I coughed, sputtered up some water, then coughed some more. There
was blood all over me, but it didn’t seem to be my blood. The whole left
side of my face however, was throbbing like a bass drum.
“I—I think so.”
Cole’s big hands were suddenly everywhere, checking me all over,
feeling me top to bottom for wounds and broken bones. Those hands moved
with practiced ease, and independently, too. Like he’d done this a thousand
times, in dozens of other places.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?”
“I don’t know,” I spat, praying that I wouldn’t see a tooth come out.
My tongue did a quick check of my mouth, and seemed to find everything
present and accounted for. “Depends on your definition of ‘hurt.’”
He lifted me not just to my feet, but straight into his arms. Then he
gave me the mother of all bear-hugs.
“Okay, okay,” I smiled, actually enjoying the feeling of being almost
crushed. “I’m okay, I promise. But Cole—”
Just then the others rushed up, breaking into our little clearing. Like
us, they were smeared with mud. Soaked from the rain. Joshua rushed over
to me, his face drawn with concern. Evan ran to the crumpled man whose
neck now somehow faced the opposite direction.
“She’s good,” Cole promised, before they could even ask. “She took a
few fists before I could get here, but—”
“Cole! What the hell, man?”
Evan continued his examination of my fallen attacker and shook his
head. Cole only shrugged.
“What?”
“We were supposed to interrogate, remember?” Evan sneered. “Fuck
me, this guy can’t tell us anything now. His neck’s on a swivel!”
“Forget all that,” ordered Joshua. His wet T-shirt clung to his body as
he nodded toward me. “Get her inside, out of the storm. Clean her up and
make sure she’s good. Evan and I will take care of…” he paused, looking
down at the broken man. “The rest of this.”
Before I could even speak Cole swept me up, pinned me against his
bare chest, and whisked me away. The last thing I remember was the steady
beat of his heart, thrumming warmly against my cheek as he carried me out
of the rain.
 Twenty-Nine

COLE

I put her in the shower first to warm her up, but also to get the dirt off.
I tried not to be mesmerized as the steam swirled around her beautiful body,
or while I dabbed every cut and scratch with hydrogen peroxide to make
sure there would be no infection.
“Cole?”
“Yes?”
“You’re bleeding.”
So I was. I stared down at my crimson-streaked arms, which had taken
all kinds of abuse from the scumbag who’d beaten her. He’d screamed and
scratched like a little girl, right before I put him out of his misery.
“Get in here with me,” Quinn ordered softly.
I dropped my boxers, and climbed inside. The hot water felt
absolutely fucking amazing. We stood there for several long, baptismal
moments, letting it wash away layer after layer of mud and filth from our
bodies.
“Turn around.”
I did as I was told, and was rewarded with two loving hands on my
back. Quinn massaged my tired muscles with her soapy palms, running
them up and down every square inch of my skin. She did my lower back.
She did everything, really. When she was done, she reached around and
handed the soap to me.
“My turn.”
 I reciprocated, again trying to focus on actually doing a good job. It
wasn’t easy. My fingers remembered every last one of her womanly curves,
and they kept wanting to wander into places that were fun and familiar.
She hadn’t stayed in the house when ordered to, but I couldn’t fault
her for it. She was a woman of action, apparently. Quinn wasn’t going to be
put in the corner, and told to ‘stay.’ She liked to be involved, and get things
done.
She’s just like us…
I shuddered to think of what might’ve happened if I’d shown up a
minute or two later. As it was though, the future mother of our child had
managed to hold her own. From what I saw, she’d done a more than
adequate job of rearranging the guy’s face. She’d disarmed him too, and
kept him at bay. She’d saved her own life.
“Hey…”
Setting my hands on her hips, I turned her around again. It wasn’t like
I could keep soaping her ass for the fourth or fifth time. Not legitimately,
anyway.
“Are you okay?”
Quinn smiled up at me while working shampoo into her hair. “Me?
Yes.” Her gaze dropped momentarily to my chest, then bounced back up to
meet mine. “Thanks to you.”
“No, I mean are you okay okay,” I said more seriously. “With… well,
what happened tonight.”
She considered me thoughtfully for a moment, and then shrugged.
“You mean am I okay that you killed that man?”
I didn’t answer. Her smile faded into a smirk.
“Or that the others are probably getting rid of the body right now?”
God, she was pretty fucking succinct, wasn’t she? But she was also
spot on. I had to give her credit for that.
“Look, Quinn…”
“That guy almost killed me back there,” she said matter-of-factly. “I
would’ve killed him if I could’ve.”
I nodded. “I know.”
 “The fact that you killed him first doesn’t change anything. He was
trying to hurt us. And now he’s dead.”
She leaned back, closing her eyes and letting her hair dangle into the
hot spray. Naturally arching her back had the fortunate effect of pushing her
soapy, magnificent tits my way. I fought back three-hundred thousand years
of male evolutionary urge not to grab them.
“I’m glad that he’s dead,” she told me. “And I don’t care what you do
with him. As far as I’m concerned, the whole thing never happened. And if
anyone were to ask, I never saw that man in my life.”
Damn, I realized. She really was like us. Most women would be
crying, sobbing, demanding to call the police. They’d be confused by
something as simple as us taking care of things ourselves.
But not her.
I watched as this beautiful creature continued washing her hair,
looking cool and casual. It was sexy as all fucking hell. She’d have scabs
and bruises tomorrow that were entirely our fault, and that part enraged me.
But the way she handled herself was the biggest turn-on in the world.
Without thinking I reached out and touched her stomach. Was it
protruding just a little? Or was it my imagination?
Fuck. Just the idea of that was even more sexy…
Quinn’s hands closed delicately over mine. She forced my palms flat,
then slid them down a little to where our child was growing inside her.
“The baby’s fine,” she smiled up at me. “I know you’re worried, but
you shouldn’t be.”
My heart felt swollen and heavy. I had the sudden need to envelop her
with my arms. To crush her against me and hold her there until the end of
the world.
Instead I just leaned down and kissed her, ever so gently, on the side
of her swollen, angelic face.
“I already know the three of you will keep me safe,” Quinn murmured
through the steam. She squeezed my hands meaningfully against her
pregnant belly. “Or rather, you’ll keep us safe.”
It was a good thing the shower was on. Because while I wasn’t sure, I
thought my eyes might actually betray a tear.
 “But I need you to promise me something even more important,
Cole.”
More important? Nothing could possibly be more important.
“Anything, princess,” I breathed.
“The three of you keep yourselves safe too,” Quinn murmured,
pressing her way into my chest. Her beautiful face fit against me perfectly,
cradled between my pecs. Like it was made to go there.
“Because I don’t think I could live without you.”
 Thirty

QUINN

It should’ve seemed strange, sitting around the breakfast table after

what amounted to the most insane night of my life. One that had seen such
incredible highs and shocking lows, not to mention one that probed
uncharted emotional depths, as well.
But damn, I really loved bacon.
A shower and coffee had helped me greet the sunrise, but with each
passing hour my body reminded me of recent events. Muscles I never even
knew I had still ached, and my poor shredded feet felt like they were on
fire. I was physically tired. Emotionally drained. Oh yeah, and my face
looked like I’d spent six or eight rounds in the ring with a UFC fighter.
For the past fifteen minutes we’d sat in relative silence, enjoying the
spread of food the guys had whipped up for breakfast. They’d gone all out
this time: pancakes, sausage, eggs, bacon and toast… even something that
looked vaguely like hash browns, that Evan was calling ‘breakfast
potatoes.’
“So that guy who crashed our little party last night…” I said finally,
trying to inject some humor to break the ice. “The uhh, warlord sent him?”
“Ferrera,” Cole nodded. “And yes.”
“Which one of you roughed him up before he got to me, then?”
The men all looked at each other, a little confused.
“He was limping when he got to me,” I explained. “And he was
clutching his side—”
 “Oh that,” Joshua nodded immediately. “He came in from the woods
to the north. Shortly after clearing the wall he triggered one of the
claymores.”
Now it was my turn to be confused.
“The claymores?”
“Yes.”
“What’s a claymore?” I asked.
Cole dragged his toast casually through a runny egg. “It’s a directional
anti-personnel mine.”
If I were still holding my coffee I would’ve spilled it all over. Instead,
my mouth dropped open in complete disbelief. “You have mines set up
around the house?”
“A few,” said Evan. “But only at the outer perimeter.”
“And only at choke points,” added Joshua.
“Yeah,” growled Cole. “And somehow that piece of shit still got
through.” He continued chomping down on his eggs as he pointed his fork
accusingly. “I told you the scope of our setup was too narrow. Even with a
sixty-degree kill zone, we needed supplemental—”
“Yeah, well the claymore wasn’t designed to kill all targets,” Evan cut
him off. “Fifty-two thousand steel balls flying at four-thousand feet per
second was also designed to maim.”
“Maim…” I murmured in disbelief.
He reached out, took a fistful of bacon, and smiled. “Nothing slows an
advancing force down faster than having to carry the wounded.”
The sound of my fork clattering loudly and intentionally against my
plate turned all their attention my way.
“Anti-personnel mines don’t sound very baby-friendly,” I said coldly.
“You’re taking those down when I get closer to giving birth, right?”
Again they glanced at each other. Again they shrugged.
“By the time you give birth this whole thing with Ferrera is going to
be over,” said Evan. “But sure. After that it all comes down.”
 “We did tell you to stay put in the house,” Joshua reminded me.
“Remember?”
“Yeah, well you didn’t mention anything about a minefield.”
“It’s not a minefield,” Cole corrected me. “None of the claymores are
buried at all. They’re staked into the ground, or wired between trees in such
a way that—”
“She doesn’t need to hear the gory details,” Evan cut in.
Cole paused for a moment, then acknowledged his friend by dropping
the subject. He poured me another coffee, and then finished the pot himself.
“One thing though,” Evan told me pointedly. “That perimeter of
claymores saved your life last night.”
“Probably saved all of our lives,” Joshua chimed in.
As dangerous as it seemed, I couldn’t argue. These men were soldiers
— they’d seen long years of tough combat. They’d survived ambushes.
They’d set up ambushes too, and in this case, it was a good thing that they
had.
“Alright, point taken,” I agreed. “I’ll stick to the driveway and stay
out of the woods.”
“Ah shit,” smirked Evan. “Now we have to tell her about the driveway
traps, too?”
“Nah. Let her find those out for herself,” winked Joshua.
Pulling back my fork, I flung the rest of my eggs their way. Evan took
the brunt of the assault. Joshua ducked beneath the table at the last second,
so I hit him with my napkin on the way up.
“Alright, well I’ve got class in an hour,” I said, standing up. “And
work after that. So I’ll be upstairs getting dressed and—”
A hand closed over my mine. Cole’s expression was serious.
“You’re not going to work, Quinn.”
I laughed as I pulled myself free. “Oh no? Watch me.”
The three of them shared a concerned look. I rolled my eyes at them.
“What he means is, you shouldn’t be going anywhere,” Joshua said
more gently. “Have you looked in the mirror lately?”
 “Sure.” I shrugged. “And?”
“Just look at your face,” Evan pleaded. “It’s not exactly…
appetizing.”
“Yeah, well it’s a good thing I don’t serve the food,” I went back at
him. “I only cook it.”
With that I spun on my heel and headed for the exit. I knew they
wouldn’t stop me. They couldn’t stop me. As much as I respected them for
looking out for me, I hadn’t changed my work-school lifestyle one bit. And
that wasn’t about to start now.
Besides, if I were starting my food truck business shortly I had a shit-
ton of things to do. One of them included giving Trey my two week notice,
effective tonight.
Oh boy.
I jogged up the stairs on the tender balls of my feet. Trey would laugh
in my face, rage, curse me out, and then laugh again — probably in that
order. I expected to get abused for the next two weeks, but I was hoping one
look at the bruises on my face might earn me some mercy points. Not that
Trey still wouldn’t do those things, of course. But with a little bit of luck,
maybe he’d take his rage out on someone else.
On the flip side, there were at least three other chefs willing to stab
each other with a boning knife for my job. One or two of them might even
be competent, although nowhere near as competent as me.
“Hey, Clubber.”
Evan caught up with me in my bedroom, halfway through pulling my
T-shirt over my head. Normally I would’ve stopped, out of modesty. But
now?
Shit, now there wasn’t anything he hadn’t seen before.
“Clubber?” I chided him, turning around. “I assume that’s a fighting
reference?”
For one extremely humorous moment he was at a loss for words.
Probably because he was staring at my tits.
“Uhh, yeah,” he fumbled. “Rocky. Third movie.”
“I’m pretty sure the third movie sucks.”
 It really was funny, the awesome power a pair of naked breasts could
hold over a man. Even a man as deliciously gorgeous as this one.
“In the third movie Rocky loses badly,” I went on. “Mick dies. The
whole thing’s depressing.”
“Apollo dies in the fourth movie,” he pointed out. “That’s not
depressing?”
“Sure, but Apollo’s death is heroic,” I countered. “And Rocky doesn’t
lose in that movie, he gets vengeance and redemption. He trains by slogging
through waist-deep snow and running up mountains in fucking Russia.
Then he destroys Ivan Drago, played by Dolph Lundgren. The second
greatest movie villain of the 1980’s.”
Evan blinked a few times in what appeared to be shock. I don’t think
he was prepared for my level of Rocky-readiness.
“Okay, so who’s the first greates—”
“You even have to ask?” I cut him off with a laugh. “William Zabka.
Hands down.”
Evan’s confusion turned back into a smile. In the meantime, I let my
eyes wander happily down those ripped, tattooed arms. It was nice, not
having to pretend I didn’t notice them. And it was even nicer remembering
them on either side of me, with Evan buried between my legs, pumping
away.
“Johnny,” he nodded approvingly. “Karate Kid.”
“And Back to School,” I added. “And Just One of the Guys. He was
the villain in a lot of movies. And of course, Hot Tub Time Machine.”
“That one wasn’t from the eighties,” Evan pointed out.
“Still, it was about the eighties,” I countered. “And technically his part
did take place in the eighties. If you consider the time-travel.”
I shimmied out of my sweatpants, very aware of Evan’s eyes on my
every move. I took my time pulling my pants on, even swinging my thong-
covered ass his way. It was fun giving him what he wanted, and I didn’t
have to hold back anymore. Pandora’s box, and all that.
“What did you come up here for anyway?” I finally asked.
“I ummm… I wanted to say something.”
 “Was it a good something?” I teased. “Or a bad something?”
Evan scratched at his sexy stubble, his chunky silver rings clacking
together. I rolled my eyes at his hesitation.
“Did you come up here to tell me I shouldn’t go to work?” I theorized.
“That I should stay here and hide out? Because if the three of you are
expecting me to lay low for a while, that’s—”
“No,” he cut me off, “not even close.” He stepped into me, taking my
hand in his. “In fact, just the opposite.”
His piercing blue-green eyes scanned my face, lingering
sympathetically on my cuts and bruises. My own thoughts, on the other
hand, drifted in quite opposite directions.
My God, he’s flawless.
Even this close up, Evan’s bronze, Italian skin was smoother than
glass. The powerful, musky scent of him was driving me crazy. All I could
think about was having him inside me.
“I wanted to tell you that we’re going on the offensive,” he said
firmly. “Ferrera thinks he can hunt us? It’s time he finds out what it’s like to
be hunted. In fact, that ball’s already rolling.”
I thought back for a moment. “Does this have to do with the meeting
you and Joshua had?”
He nodded solemnly. “Ferrera’s strength has always been in numbers.
But he forgets that we’re mercenaries. We have numbers too.”
I swallowed, staring up at his hulking, intimidating form. His jawline
tightened. His eyes flared dangerously.
At the same time though, they were soft and searching against mine.
“We’re going to find the men who ordered this…” Evan growled,
raising one arm. The back of one tattooed hand grazed ever-so-lightly
against my bruised cheek. “And we’re going to destroy them. Utterly and
completely. When we’re finished, there’s going to be nothing left of these
people. We’re going to erase them from the fucking planet.”
A chill rippled through me at his last statement. I’d seen the gentler
side of these men, the side that could be caring and generous and protective.
But in all my time with them, I’d almost forgotten these men were soldiers.
They were SEALs, Green Berets, Special Forces. They were unbreakable
and resourceful. Resilient, and harder than steel.
And just like steel, they’d been through fire.
“You’re soft…” Evan whispered, reaching back to squeeze me
possessively from behind. “But you’re hard on the inside. That makes you
one of us, Quinn. And none of us will ever let you shy away from doing
anything that you want.”
His hand felt tremendous and incredible, clamping over both cheeks
of my ass. Evan pulled me against him, leaned down, and kissed me so hard
it took my breath away. By the time he stepped back I was dizzy. Woozy.
Shaking all over.
And very, very wet.
“Now finish getting dressed,” he ordered, stepping back into the
hallway. “I’ll be down in the truck.”
 Thirty-One

QUINN

They say time flies, but the next two weeks felt like an absolute
eternity. They were filled with work, and the constant threat of last-minute
hazing by Trey. I finished out my cooking class schedule, and resigned from
my job at the grocer’s as diplomatically as possible.
The remainder of my days were occupied with setting up the truck,
ordering product, and perfecting my menu. The guys were unexpectedly
invaluable when it came to these tasks. Joshua and Evan knew all kinds of
people, setting me up with graphic artists, a marketing expert, and a signage
guy who would wrap the truck with whatever graphics I wanted. Cole sat
down and built my website from scratch. It didn’t surprise me that he knew
how to code. Nothing any of these men could do would surprise me at this
point.
Except of course, when it came to the bedroom.
As exhausting as my days were, my nights were even more so. And
that’s because they were filled with relentless, nearly insane amounts of
dripping hot sex.
There was no way I could complain, either. What woman didn’t dream
of having more than one gorgeous boyfriend at once? And here I had
three… all willing to share me. They did it without question, without
hesitation. They did it without jealousy, too… taking me one-on-one, or
two-on-one, or all three of them at the same time.
Every ripped, gorgeous body that pushed its way between my thighs
seemed hotter than the last, screwing me into oblivion, satisfying me in
ways that made my toes curl so hard they actually hurt the next day. They
were always ready, and always so fucking insatiable. But on the off-chance
I did satisfy one to completion? He’d empty himself inside me, roll over,
and another lover would greedily take his place.
It got to the point where they started trading me off between bedrooms
each night, sending me back and forth across the hall, and from bed to bed.
Cole might pierce me to the core, exploding inside me before sending me to
Evan’s room because he ‘called next.’ I might fall asleep after getting good
and railed by that yummy, tattooed body, and wake up to Joshua gently
lifting me in his two strong arms… only to carry me back to his bedroom
and plunder me until I was moaning happily through another climax.
I woke up in a different bed each morning, and none of them were my
own. Still, I was addicted to these men. Drunk on the exquisite high of
trading sleep for sex, because even the one-on-one sex was better than
anything I’d ever experienced before.
Somewhere during the second week they called a one night
moratorium on me. I needed rest. The baby needed rest. Whatever their
reasons, they were willing to keep their hands off my body for twenty-four
hours, giving me time to catch up.
I didn’t last more than six.
In the dead of night I woke up, missing the warmth and security of a
hard body pressing against mine. I crawled naked into Evan’s bed first,
covering his mouth with my hand so he couldn’t protest. Getting him hard
with my mouth took all of ten seconds. Riding him to completion didn’t
take long either. I did the same to Cole, kissing him awake and then pulling
him on top of me. We fucked slowly and sensuously, my whimpers
swallowed up by his hot mouth. He came so hard between my outstretched
legs I actually felt my hips crack, then limped across the hallway to visit
Joshua.
It turned out he couldn’t sleep either, and he welcomed me with open
arms into his warm bed. Kissing my neck, Joshua parted me easily, my
pussy already so wet and swollen, so gloriously full of his two best friends’
hot seed. Neither of us lasted very long. We came together, shuddering with
ecstasy, clutching each other in the darkness. Screwing our bodies so tightly
against one another that we stayed tangled like that, long after we felt the
pulses and contractions of our mutual climax, drifting off to sleep in each
other’s arms.
The boys were adorable with the baby, too. More often than not they’d
stop to kiss my belly, even halting me in the middle of the day — wherever
I happened to be — only to lift my shirt halfway and plant their stubbled or
bearded lips on the smooth curve of my lower abdomen.
There was a bump there, now. Nothing too significant, but enough to
show the life that was growing inside me. I could feel small changes in my
body, too. My nipples were bigger and more sensitive than ever, and my
appetite had grown as well. And luckily enough, or maybe because I was
having so much incredible sex, my libido was absolutely ridiculous. I was
constantly horny. Always willing to take one or more of my lovers to bed.
And sometimes not even in a bed, either.
Finally it happened; I’d worked my last dinner service, taught my last
class. My mobile dream kitchen was all stocked and ready, parked and
connected to berth number three in the food truck picnic lot. All that was
left was for me to show up tomorrow and absolutely ‘kill it’ with the
opening-day crowds, as the guys so succinctly put it.
And I would. Thanks to them.
 Thirty-Two

QUINN

“We’re running low on… this stuff.”

Evan held up the four-inch deep metal tray I’d prepared just a few
hours ago and shook it. I couldn’t believe it was already empty.
“Cross BBQ shrimp sliders off the menu then,” I told him. “And do it
fast.”
He whistled loudly, and somewhere outside the truck I heard Joshua’s
affirmation. A few disappointed groans went up from the crowd. Mentally I
marked the dish as something I definitely needed to make again.
“The soda fountain isn’t working right either,” said Evan. “Or at least
the Pepsi isn’t. It’s not—”
“The machine’s working fine. Check the coupling on the syrup
cylinder. Either it’s loose or it probably came off.”
I glanced up at the line of tickets tucked into the steel flashing above
the grill. There were twelve of them now, in chronological order. I’d
abandoned the magnet clips a few hours back. They took too long to set up,
and every last second was precious.
“Lobster dumplings are running low, too,” I called back at him. “I
have enough for about eight more orders.”
It was crazy; how fast things had accelerated over the course of the
day. The pristine gravel lot that shone so prettily in the morning sun had
gone from totally empty to jam-packed full of hungry workers at lunch, and
families at dinner. There wasn’t even time to watch them enjoy my food. I
was too busy cooking, cleaning, bringing out new product and putting out
fires. Not literal fires, but small problems and issues that arose here and
there. And as a food truck rookie, there were plenty of those.
“Chef!” Evan called with gusto. For some reason he got a real kick
out of calling me that.
“Yes?”
“Looks like we’re kicking ass, chef,” he grinned.
I’d been a food truck operator for only a day, but I tended to agree
with him. We’d been busy as hell all day. Maybe it was beginner’s luck, or
maybe the crowds just wanted something different, but I seemed to be
attracting more people than some of my more established co-competitors.
My truck was pristine and state-of-the-art, too. I had a gourmet ice-
shaver, an ice cream maker, heat lamps, top of the line fridges, and all sorts
of other expensive add-ons. By far though, the wood-fired pizza oven was
the star of the show. I planned on bringing people back with uniquely
different creations that they couldn’t get anywhere else, served on a
crunchy, semolina-dusted, mesquite and hickory crust.
“Got the soda machine working again.”
I laughed at how accomplished Evan sounded. The man had pulled off
insane missions in exotic countries behind enemy lines and under withering
fire. But he was proud as hell for having fixed the coupling on the syrup
cylinder.
“Take the grill for a second?”
The griddle was hot. The chili-infused oil sizzled, filling the truck
with the aroma of spices. I handed the spatula to Evan, then bumped rumps
as I twisted past him. We’d crashed into each other three dozen times
already like this, and his hand had found its way to my ass in every one of
those encounters.
Not that I was complaining one bit.
The first thing to realize about working a food truck was that space
was limited. That, I was prepared for. I’d worked in tiny kitchens in the
past, where space was at a premium and I could barely even move my
elbows.
I wasn’t prepared for other things, however.
 For one, the lighting was good, but not great. I marked out three
places I could put up clip-on LED lights, giving me a better view of every
nook, cranny, and corner. I also didn’t count on how uncomfortably steamy
it was inside the truck. A few portable fans and maybe some better
ventilation would help with that.
On the outside though, our flashy new truck looked hot. The graphics
on the wrap were amazing, with big splashes of color in the form of
specialty dishes and foods, as well as excellent branding.
“RAVENOUS!”
All day long customers approached my window with their hands on
their hips, repeating the non-specific, odd-sounding name. I’d named my
business with a single, simple word. It was a word that everyone
understood. A word that we’d all experienced, young and old.
I still saw room for improvement, however. As the sun went down I
saw other trucks glowing from very cool outside lighting, strung
strategically above menus to help facilitate ordering. Some had elaborate
awnings that artistically put mine to shame. The dessert and taco trucks
both rolled out artificial carpets in the ordering areas. Others branded the
picnic areas closest to their berth, with menus, napkin holders, and even
condiments that included their printed website as well as QR codes for easy
scanning.
I wanted to implement these things as soon as possible. In a row of six
or seven different food truck choices, these little changes would help me
stand out.
But damn, there was so much to do. So much to remember…
“I… I think I’m burning this!”
Evan flipped something gooey over the grill that came apart halfway
through. He panicked, dropped it on the floor, then swore a series of
scathing curse words.
“You’re supposed to sear the buffalo chicken mac-n’-cheese,” I told
him, “not cook it. A quick few seconds on either side to develop
caramelization, then plate it and send it off.”
He used what looked like half a roll of paper towels to clean up the
mess, then saluted me from one knee. “Yes, chef!”
 I rolled my eyes and blew him a kiss. “You’re getting seriously
rewarded for this later,” I told him. “You know that, right?”
“Oh yeah?” a voice from behind me asked. “And what about me?”
Two arms slid around me momentarily, then shifted me to one side.
Joshua took over the window. I sighed gratefully.
“I really owe the two of you,” I conceded. “BIG time.”
Joshua and Evan smiled at me together. “We’ll see that you pay up,
too.”
I took the grill back, and furiously put out orders until we were all
caught up. As the darkness deepened I sent Evan outside to take more
photos of the truck and the throng of ‘ravenous’ people surrounding it. For
posterity of course, but also for the website.
It wasn’t until about nine o’clock that the crowd slowed to a trickle
and people began filing away. I took a few more last-minute orders, shut
down the grill, and flipped the LED sign from OPEN to CLOSED.
Then I took a long, deep breath… and sat the fuck down.
“Holy shit.”
I’d underestimated a lot of things, but especially the amount of help
I’d need. The guys were of course temporary, and already I had a few
people in mind I planned on poaching. One was from the restaurant — too
bad, Trey — and the other was an assistant from one of my cooking classes.
For now though, I focused on the moment. I soaked in the stillness of
the summer night air. I scanned the near-empty picnic area, where so many
people had enjoyed my food.
This had been my dream for so long, and now that dream was finally
realized. Thanks in part to my hard work, sure. But mostly, thanks to them.
My hand slid down, over what we were now calling my baby bump. I
couldn’t wait to give back to them. I couldn’t wait until—
“Hey…”
I went to turn, and a heavy hand dropped to my shoulder. It squeezed
firmly but still gently, as a pair of lips whispered into my ear.
“Let’s get everything cleaned up,” Joshua murmured softly. “And then
get you home.”
 Thirty-Three

EVAN

“Today was damn impressive,” I told her from my end of the couch.
“But I still don’t know where you learned all that stuff.”
Quinn writhed in pleasure, groaning out loud as I continued
massaging her tired feet. I had to be careful, because the soles were still
scratched up. But apparently the intense pleasure she derived from my
twisting hands was overriding any pain she felt.
“My father was an executive chef for most of my life,” she purred.
“He taught me to cook.”
“But executive chefs are never home,” I pointed out.
“Oh, he came home. It was just always after midnight. Always after
my mother was asleep, but I was still up.”
My eyes were locked on her sexy legs, which glided involuntarily
against one another as I continued the foot massage. With a pillow behind
her head, and her blonde hair spilled out behind her, Quinn looked like a
princess. One with her pretty eyes closed, and her pouty lips just barely
parted.
“This is total fucking heaven,” she groaned. “You know that?”
“Uh huh.”
“I’m supposed to be rewarding you, and instead…”
Her sentence trailed off in another moan as I moved to her tired
calves. They were like two giant knots, ready to be untangled.
 “Just shut up and enjoy the massage,” I joked. “After today, you
earned it.”
I let my fingers knead their way across the balls of her feet before
digging into the heels. Every moan made me hornier. Every groan, every
whimper… it all turned me on.
“My mother was an ER nurse in Manhattan,” she murmured softly.
“She met my father after he sliced his hand wide open, while shucking
oysters at a restaurant across the street.”
“Sounds romantic,” I chuckled.
Quinn was too invested in her own pleasure to even chuckle back. Her
expression was placid and far away, like she was in a trance.
“Think about it,” I told her. “You’re only here because of a knife-
wound. You exist simply because your dad got clumsy, or an oyster fought
back, or a combination of both.”
Now she did laugh. “Good thing, right?”
“Yeah.”
I shifted to her other leg, stopping first to splash more warm oil into
my palm. Her muscles were like putty beneath my thumbs and fingers. At
this moment in time, she’d let me do anything that I wanted.
“My parents worked opposite schedules, so they barely ever saw each
other,” Quinn went on. “Hell, I probably saw more of the old man than she
did. We’d cook together at one, two, three o’clock in the morning, making
all sorts of crazy things.”
“Sounds nice,” I smiled.
“It was,” Quinn replied. “I learned just about everything I know from
my father. My best memories are of us throwing flour at each other in the
wee hours of the morning, then laughing and shushing each other as we
cleaned up all the mess before mom could see.”
“Even when she did see, she only frowned and went to work. And my
father went to bed. Which left me to be practically raised by my five older
siblings, none of which were too amused at our middle-of-the-night antics.”
“Is that why they ultimately got divorced?”
 She paused with eyes still closed, her expression slightly more
troubled now. Eventually she nodded. “Yes.”
Shit, I hadn’t wanted to bring her down. I redoubled my massage
efforts.
“In the end they were practically strangers,” Quinn murmured. “Their
jobs pretty much consumed every ounce of time that could’ve been spent on
enjoying each other, or building their relationship.”
I knew much of this from her dossier, but it was nice to hear her
filling in the blanks. In choosing Quinn as our surrogate we’d delved as
deep as possible into her history, to the point where we were borderline
abusing our contacts at the NSA. It was crazy, the amount of information
you could find on people. With the right resources, of course.
“I know what it’s like, dedicating your life to a job,” I commiserated.
“But I couldn’t imagine doing it while in a relationship.”
“Or with children,” Quinn added somberly. “I vowed never to put my
own kids through something like that. It’s… it’s too much.”
I squeezed harder, sending her back into blissful oblivion. I didn’t
realize how much she needed this.
“My parents had me later on in life,” I said, “so I know about older
siblings. I had six of them though, so I beat you.”
“Six?” Quinn gasped, almost sitting up. “Your parents had seven
kids?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
“And you were the youngest? Like me?”
“I was.”
I thought back to the whirlwind shitstorm of chaos that I called my
childhood. As crazy as it was, I couldn’t suppress a grin.
“My siblings didn’t raise me though, like yours did. More like they
hazed me. My brothers were merciless, and my sisters offered little in the
way of help. They were more likely to hand me over than actually help me,
although Jennifer did shield me from a few of the more savage beatings.”
“And were your parents gone all the time?” she asked. “Like mine?”
 “Nah,” I shrugged. “They were around. But when you’re the seventh
kid, your mom and dad are pretty much done parenting. They were a lot
older by then. Always tired. I was left to pretty much do whatever I wanted,
so I didn’t stick around the house very much.”
“It made you independent though, I’ll bet.”
My smile widened. “Hell yeah.”
Just then Joshua walked in and gave me the nod I’d been waiting for
all night. It meant that Cole had not only landed, but he’d also successfully
made contact. Our friend was half a continent away, working on something
that might give us an edge. He had connections we didn’t. Favors to cash in.
Quinn still didn’t know where he was, but she knew enough not to ask
for a second time. We were willing to share just about everything, including
her. Especially her…
But there were some things she’d be safer not knowing.
“All good?” I asked him casually.
Joshua shrugged. “Good as can be expected.”
“He get in touch with Jake? Harris?”
“Yes and yes.”
“And what about Imad?”
The name brought about the reaction I thought it might. Joshua’s
mouth curled into a bitter frown.
“Isn’t he a doctor?”
“No, not yet,” I answered. “Almost, though.”
“Imad’s a dick.”
“Yes, for sure,” I agreed. “But he’s a resourceful dick. A dangerous
dick.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“At a time like this, he’s the dick we need.”
My friend rolled his eyes and grumbled. Making his way over, he
plopped down on the couch.
“Remember what he did back in Kabul?” I pressed. “Never forget
that. Fucking legend.”
 Joshua paused for a moment, considering. “He got lucky that time.”
“What about when he stopped you from driving over that minefield in
Nangarhar?” I countered. “Was that lucky, too? Shit, you’d be three feet
shorter right now, if it wasn’t for—”
“Alright, alright,” he finally conceded. “Imad’s a dick, but he’s a
necessary dick. Okay?”
I let out a victory chuckle. “You’re goddamn right he is.”
Feeling neglected, Quinn wriggled the toes of her other foot his way,
and Joshua’s smile returned. He shifted close enough to slide his hands over
our girlfriend’s other foot.
“Sorry,” he laughed. “Didn’t know I was missing the party.”
Girlfriend. It was something we’d started calling her a few days ago.
At first for fun, but then because it just… stuck.
The moan Quinn let out when we both started rubbing her feet
sounded undeniably sexual.
“This is totally bullshit,” she eventually purred.
“What is?”
“That I waited my entire life before doing this,” Quinn sighed.
We continued on, rubbing her feet, her calves, even the unusually firm
muscles of her beautiful bare thighs. After all, this was a woman who spent
all day on her feet. And while the noises she made were rewarding enough,
the proximity of our gently rubbing fingers to her more womanly parts was
seriously turning us on.
“It’s also bullshit for another reason,” Quinn said, opening her eyes.
“Which is?”
“I’m the one who owes the two of you, remember?”
Joshua grinned. I shrugged.
“After all the help you gave me today, I should be rubbing you…”
She stood up and set her hands on her hips.
“So you’ll do our feet now?” I joked.
“No,” Quinn shook her head. “But give me a minute and I’ll be happy
to rub other things…”
 And with nothing more than a wicked grin, she strode straight out of
the room.
 Thirty-Four

QUINN

I was gone for only ten minutes, but it was time well-spent. I
sauntered back into the living room in midnight-black stockings and my
highest heels, with garter belts stretched tightly over my upper thighs.
“Holy SHIT.”
Joshua elbowed Evan, who was pouring himself a whiskey. It made
me want one very badly, but until the baby was born I’d have to resign
myself to only kissing the taste of it from his gorgeous mouth.
“Get back on the couch,” I ordered. “Both of you.”
It was the first set of lingerie I’d bought in a long, long time — not
since my last committed relationship. Not that this was a committed
relationship, or anything.
Oh, it’s definitely committed, the voice in my head reminded me.
Yeah. It sure was.
And I’m pretty sure it’s a relationship.
I sighed, biting my lip. I guess that part was true too, to an extent. I
had no idea how long our hot little arrangement would last, or how quickly
the guys might tire of me once the baby was born and they were busy being
co-parents. But what we had right now? Shit, I wouldn’t trade it for the
world.
“Strip,” I told them with authority.
Joshua reached for his shirt and looked back at me questioningly. I
nodded.
 “Pants. Boxers. Everything.”
Some guys might’ve been a little weirded out, undressing next to each
other on a couch. Not these guys, though. They were so secure in their own
skin, so comfortable being naked around each other, it was instantly
obvious that they’d been doing this their whole lives. The military had no
room for modesty, apparently.
“What now, mistress?” Evan challenged sardonically. Without taking
his eyes from me, he took a long pull from his whiskey.
“Now you sit there and watch me blow your friend,” I said smugly.
“That’s your punishment for being a wise-ass.”
I strutted over, making a complete spectacle of myself. I wore a tight
black corset that cut off beneath my bare breasts. They pushed my tits up in
magnificent fashion, my exposed nipples beautifully round and already
hard.
Bending over, I put my nose right up against Evan’s. My hair fell into
his face. My hands surged downward over his smooth bare chest, tracing his
own nipples with the tips of my fingers as I chuckled evilly.
“Do you want me?” I asked.
He responded by moving to kiss me. As much as I wanted to quench
my own thirst against his full, wonderful lips, I pulled back just in time.
“Well you’ll have to wait,” I teased hotly. “I’m doing your friend
first.”
With that I spun around, giving him a full view of my G-string
covered ass. The string was tiny, too. I was looking for something
crotchless, but this thing could be pulled so easily to one side it didn’t really
matter.
Grinding my ass into his lap momentarily, I enjoyed the feel of his
rising hard-on. Evan was cradling his whiskey, trying to keep from spilling
it as I gyrated in slow circles and screwed myself into his thighs. I felt him
getting bigger. Harder…
“You gonna get that thing hard for me?” I nodded to Joshua. “Or am I
going to have to fuck him first?”
In Joshua’s defense, he was already mostly hard. But his look of
confusion — and the quickness with which he grabbed himself — was
absolutely hysterical, causing me to almost laugh.
“Ah… there you go.”
With his strong right hand wrapped around his growing thickness, a
strange sense of satisfaction washed over me as he did what he was told.
Watching him stroke it up and down made me tingle all over.
Winking at Evan over my shoulder, I left his lap and dropped to my
knees. Then I crawled between Joshua’s legs, licked him base to tip with the
flat part of my tongue, then dropped my mouth over the top as he let out a
long, satisfied hiss.
“Mmmmm…” I purred.
Down, down I went, until he was embedded deep in my throat. For the
next several minutes I blew him like a porn-star, pulling out all the stops,
showing off every trick. Doing all the things I’d learned through years of
satisfying past boyfriends, as well as others I’d only seen in movies that
were too hot to mention.
By the time he came, I was already stroking Evan with my free hand.
Joshua’s ass left the couch as he erupted in a roar of pleasure, splashing the
back of my churning, sucking mouth. Pulse after pulse, he filled me with so
much of his hot seed I almost couldn’t swallow it all. Somehow though, I
managed.
“You’re a wicked, wicked woman, Quinn.”
The words came from Evan. Joshua, at the moment anyway, couldn’t
speak.
“I am, aren’t I?”
I took my mouth from his friend just long enough to kiss the tip while
I delivered another wink. Then I licked him clean, never breaking eye
contact with Evan.
Damn, that’s so fucking hot.
I’d been with them so many times already, but this one was different.
Usually I was submissive, hotly receptive, their ultimate plaything. I was
usually spreading my legs. Smiling and egging them on.
For some reason though, tonight it was fun taking control.
 Evan reached for me, and this time I went. He tried pulling me into his
lap, but I shoved off his chest and shook my head.
“No,” I teased. “Not yet, anyway.” My eyes dropped into his lap.
“First… that. Then you get this.”
I gestured to my body like some game show assistant showing off one
of the prizes. Evan shrugged, leaned back, and interlaced his fingers behind
his head.
I chuckled, dropping to my knees between his big, muscular thighs.
“That’s a good boy.”
Now it was Joshua’s turn to watch as I gave his friend the same thing
he just got, and damn if I didn’t even do a better job this time around. Evan
moaned and groaned, sifting his fingers through my hair. I took his hands
and placed them on my breasts, so he could knead them while I sucked him
off. It felt amazing when Joshua had done it, and I wanted more of the
same.
Right now though, Joshua was already behind me, tugging on my G-
string.
Fuck, Quinn.
Something in the back of my mind swore at me. By the tone of it, I
couldn’t tell whether it was shock or admiration.
Just… look at this…
In my mind’s eye I could imagine the scene. Me on my knees, in the
sluttiest lingerie I’d ever owned; blowing one guy while his friend looked
on and played with my ass. Already I had one warm load in my belly, and I
was about to get another. After that I planned on taking each of them by the
hand, leading them both upstairs, and then screwing them silly.
“Slow…” I heard Evan murmur. His hard body went abruptly taut
with excitement. “Go slow… go deep…”
I slowed down, then buried my face against his stomach, taking him
all the way down as I made my lips tight. My tongue rolled. His hands slid
back to my hair where they tightened into white-knuckled fists.
“OhmyfuckingGOD—”
Evan came so hard he nearly ripped my hair out, and yet I wasn’t even
upset. It was soooo hot! So unimaginably sexy having him erupt straight
down my throat, bypassing my mouth completely as I struggled not to gag
on his throbbing, pulsating shaft.
I loved serving them. I loved having them pull my hair. I loved giving
them even a fraction of the pleasure they’d given me, these men who’d
taken me under their roof, under their protection, and so much more.
These men had accommodated me in every way. They’d respected
me. Cherished me. Encouraged me to follow my dreams, and then even
helped make those dreams a reality so quickly, so decisively I couldn’t even
have dreamed of doing it myself. Not now. Not after having them.
You love them.
Yes! I did love these men. As a unit. A team. But as individuals, too.
And that’s okay.
Slowly I pulled free of Evan’s spent manhood, then rocked back on
my heels. I looked up at him with glassy eyes and saw lust in his
expression, but admiration too. I saw respect in those blue-green eyes. Even
adulation.
Holy fuck, I really, did love them.
“Marry me.”
Evan’s words sent my heart thundering away in my chest, but mostly
with confusion.
“W—What?”
“A girl who can do what you just did?” he smiled down at his still-
glistening shaft. “You marry that girl when you find her.”
A body spooned against me from behind. “You’ll have to marry me
too, then,” Joshua’s lips tugged gently at my earlobe. I shivered as his hand
closed over my ass. “Because I’m not giving this up for anything.”
They were kidding, of course. Even so, their words made me melt.
And then there was something in the way they spoke that indicated
something different, too. Something strange.
Like maybe, just maybe… they weren’t one-hundred percent kidding.
“Two husbands, hmm?”
I stood up, before they took me right then and there on the floor of the
living room. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it wouldn’t be the worst thing
either. But tonight my plans involved a soft bed, a hard orgasm, and me
drifting off happily between two warm, beautiful bodies…
“I’ll take your proposal under consideration,” I said, holding a hand
out to each of them. As their palms slid into mine, I sighed happily. “While
I’m fucking your brains out, that is.”
 Thirty-Five

JOSHUA

The worst part wasn’t the lack of sleep, it was the empty feeling of
being alone. At three in the morning the whole world was soundless,
noiseless. Eerily devoid of life.
Even so, it was better than the dreams.
Last night had been incredible, of course. At first it had been fun,
letting Quinn take charge. She’d drained us in the wickedly best way, and
then led us up to her bedroom, where the three of us connected on levels so
utterly amazing, so frighteningly intimate, I wondered how I’d ever be able
to let it go.
And that was the scariest part, really. The letting go. For now it was
fun to ravish our beautiful blonde houseguest and make her the queen of our
world. But when the time came for her to go back to her normal life
again…
Well, that was something I didn’t even want to think about.
I’d fallen asleep cradling her in my arms, relishing in the softness of
her plump little ass with Evan on the other side of her. She was making out
with him, and then me, and then Evan again. Kissing us over and over, until
we all passed out together.
I’d woken bathed in a cold sweat, with such a start I almost cried out.
Rather than wake them, I came back to my bedroom. There was no sense in
lying there, staring up at the ceiling. Once the dreams came, sleep was an
impossibi—
“Baby…”
 I whirled. Quinn was there, standing in one of her skimpy sleep
gowns. Her lithe, feminine body was silhouetted by the light of the moon.
Baby.
Shit, she’d never called me that before.
Baby.
God, the word sounded perfect.
“I—I’m sorry if I woke you,” I apologized. “I guess I got restless and
—”
“You had the dream again, didn’t you?”
It wasn’t a question, and we both knew it. After a few long seconds, I
nodded anyway.
“Aww, I’m so sorry.”
Her arms opened, and a moment later she was enveloping me, holding
me tightly, pulling me against her. Her ample chest felt warm against my
face as she caressed it, slowly running the backs of her fingers down my
stubbled cheek.
“It’s a part of the job,” I blurted for no good reason. “Everyone knows
it when they enlist.”
She kept holding me, touching me, stroking my face. “Why did you
enlist?”
I laughed bitterly. It was all the information she needed.
“Your father, huh?”
“Yes.”
“You wanted to follow in his footsteps?”
I pulled back for a moment so I could look at her. In the moonlight,
her eyes were endless, shimmering oceans.
“Hell no,” I answered. “I saw what the Army did to his marriage. We
grew up all over the country, moving every one to two years.” I shook my
head. “Eventually my mother got sick of it all. She finally split, taking my
two younger sisters with her.”
“That’s awful,” Quinn murmured.
 “Yeah, well… they were probably my half-sisters,” I explained, “not
that I blame my mother for that. And I’m pretty sure he knew it.”
It seemed like a lifetime ago, yet I could remember it like it was
yesterday. My mother, packing her things, crying her eyes out. Holding my
face in her two tiny hands, and assuring me that we’d be together again
soon. Even though I knew in my heart we wouldn’t.
“I’d just turned seventeen by then,” I went on, “so my father drove me
down to the recruiting station the next day and signed his consent forms. He
told me to enlist, pointed down at the paperwork, and explained that this
was my future now, because I had no life with him.”
“Oh, Joshua…”
“I know, right? That was the reward for sticking by him. For changing
towns and schools so often I couldn’t maintain a single friendship, my final
prize was getting a recruiter’s pen jammed into my hand.” I let out a grim
laugh. “I can still hear the crunch of gravel beneath his tires as he sped
away. That was the last I ever saw of him.”
A tear was flowing now, but not on my face. It ran down Quinn’s
delicate cheek as I finished the story.
“What about your sisters?” she asked.
“Emma and Courtney?” I let a smile return to my face. “They’re
amazing. Eventually they had college ambitions that were never going to
happen, so I sent back whatever money I could to help with tuition.
Courtney’s a veterinarian now. Emma’s married, with a family of her own.”
“That’s… that’s incredible,” Quinn sniffed.
“What is?”
“That you’d do something like that.”
“Of course I would. They’re family.” I reached out and brushed the
tear from her cheek. “You didn’t think I’d let a shitty father and absent
mother destroy the concept of family for me, did you?”
Her eyes were full of admiration. “That would happen to most people
in your situation, yes.”
I considered her words for a moment, then shrugged.
 “Yeah, well it turns out the Army is like family too,” I explained. “I
ended up in Ranger school, and joined the Special Forces. At first I hated
going down the same path as my father, but very quickly I grew to love the
camaraderie and brotherhood of being part of a unit. The Army became my
new family. They were the brothers I never had. My CO, the father I never
saw.”
“And then you met Evan,” she said. “And Cole…”
I nodded. “Like I said, brothers. It was instant for us. We formed
bonds that will never be broken.”
In the ensuing silence I stood up and held my hand out for her. Quinn
took it as I crossed the bedroom, leading us out onto the balcony. The sky
was soft, dark velvet, clustered with stars. It stretched in all directions
above us, making me feel tiny and insignificant beneath it.
For a long time we just stood there, doing nothing, saying nothing.
Just enjoying the presence of each other in the morning silence.
“Tell me about your dream,” she said.
The salt air felt good in my lungs, and already the memory had faded.
I hadn’t told anyone I was having nightmares, much less what they were
about.
And yet…
“In my dream I still see him,” I spoke softly. “The green-eyed kid.
Bouncing the soccer ball from knee to knee, staring back at me with that
crooked smile.”
Down below us the ocean surged and churned. The noise was
soothing, rather than intrusive.
“Sometimes that’s the whole thing,” I told her. “But other times…”
Quinn squeezed my hand. Her body felt impossibly warm as it
spooned against me from behind.
“Other times he talks. He… He says things.”
“What does he say?”
Slowly I turned to face her, well aware I was looking back at her with
haunted eyes.
 “He asks why I didn’t stop him,” I whispered. “He asks why I let him
do what he did.”
Quinn hugged me even tighter. “You didn’t stop him because you
didn’t know,” she murmured. “He could’ve told you. He could’ve given you
any indication if he wanted to be stopped, but he didn’t.”
“He was just a kid!” I pleaded. “How could he know enough to—”
“He was a kid, yes,” she jumped in. “But he was brainwashed by
some very evil people. Probably since birth.”
Quinn reached up and began slowly stroking my hair. When I said
nothing, she slid under my arm and came face to face with me.
“You can always remember what happened,” she said softly, “but you
have to forgive yourself. You have to let go.”
I stood transfixed as she reached up with one hand. Moving delicately,
she took the piece of soccer ball in her palm.
“This isn’t a symbol of what happened, it’s an albatross you put
around your own neck,” Quinn explained. “A totem of your guilt.”
My chin dropped, but she tilted it upward again. Those ocean-like
eyes found mine.
“Your unfounded guilt,” she said pointedly.
Slowly, reverently, she lifted the leather necklace from around my
neck. I was still numb as she walked over to my desk, placed it in a drawer,
and then returned to the balcony.
“Remember that child,” she said, “as well as the men that you lost.
Honor them. Keep those memories close.” Gently she shook her head. “But
don’t let them haunt you, Joshua. Don’t let them rule your life.”
I reached for my neck, which was now strikingly bare. Already I felt a
hole in my heart. But I also felt… lighter.
“This is one of the biggest reasons we took on Ferrera,” I explained.
“Like most warlords, he conscripts innocent children. He twists them into
instruments of death and destruction, while he sits back on his cowardly ass
and reaps the benefits.”
Just thinking about the warlord put a hard lump in my throat. I could
feel a rising anger; filling the place in my heart that had just been vacated.
 “The others didn’t want to take the job. It was far too dangerous. In
the end, I had to convince them. I had to sell the idea of what we were
doing.”
“What you were doing was noble,” Quinn told me. “Yes, you lost
men. But you also dethroned the man who was committing these atrocities.
You saved the lives of countless children; diverted them from paths that
would inevitably lead to their corruption and death.”
She took both my hands in hers, now. Her expression was full of
peace.
“You kept families together, Joshua. You gave all those people hope.”
The wind blew a stray lock of hair across her gorgeous face. She
looked like an angel.
“And of course, you saved that girl,” Quinn finished. “The army
captain’s daughter. It was too late to save the little boy you played soccer
with, but you saved her for certain.”
Her eyes locked on mine, and in the gravity of the moment our faces
drifted together. A second later she was kissing me with those soft, pliant
lips, breathing her warm, sweet breath into my mouth.
I closed my eyes, lost in the moment, caught up in the pure innocent
joy of that soft, feminine mouth rolling against mine. Second by precious
second, I let every last one of my thoughts and troubles dissolve away.
Who’s to say you won’t be falling for me first?
Her words echoed musically through the deepest hollows of my mind.
Then they were gone. Everything was gone. There was only nothingness.
Emptiness. Peace.
By the time the kiss broke, my mind was utterly, totally blank.
“Now take me to bed,” Quinn whispered, nudging me in the right
direction, “and let me wrap myself around you to keep those dreams away.”
 Thirty-Six

QUINN

It was a week of work and stress and putting my nose to the

grindstone. Of finding the perfect balance between having enough product,
enough manpower, and enough energy to get through a long day of
operating a food truck in one of the biggest, most bustling cities in the
country.
Good thing I was born for exactly this.
By my seventh day in operation, Ravenous had become a force to be
reckoned with. I’d ironed out the kinks, rooted out the bugs, and fixed
whatever minor malfunctions plagued us during our first week in business.
I’d poached Bryan from the restaurant, which of course invoked the wrath
of Trey, but soothed it over — somewhat, anyway — by hooking him up
with my very exclusive contacts at the specialty grocer. There were
ingredients he simply couldn’t get without me: Corinthian caviar, saffron,
cherimoya fruit… even coveted white truffles that elevated his dishes to all
new levels.
I also hired Sarah, an ex-restaurateur who showed up out of the clear
blue sky and claimed she could ‘run my truck blindfolded.’ She had no
resume, no references, and no real history here in town. But she was a
Brooklynite from New York, and that right there was more than enough for
me to give her a shot. Sarah turned out to be a wizard on the grill and a riot
with the customers, making me a believer on day one. By day three, there
was zero doubt: Sarah could do just about anything, maybe even land the
fucking Space Shuttle if someone handed her the controls.
Instead, I handed her a set of keys.
 Between my new hires and some help from the guys, I was eventually
able to sit down and work on logistics. I had menus to plan, products to
order. There were all manner of things to take care of, as I was not only a
chef, but also a business owner.
I kept meticulous books as well, because I planned on paying the guys
back every penny they advanced me so far. It would take a while, sure. But
I had a while. And judging by how much they loved and protected their
little fortress at the edge of the sea, they weren’t going anywhere either.
And so each day I woke early and went to bed late, sacrificing even
more sleep for the exquisite pleasure of falling into bed with Evan and
Joshua. There were nights I needed the sexual stress relief of being roughly
and thoroughly fucked, and they were only too happy to oblige. But on
nights they weren’t tag-teaming me or taking me from both ends, they were
making love to me as well. With Cole still gone we all slept in the same
bed, usually my bed, where the boys took slow, lazy turns between my legs.
They’d nudge me awake, fully hard and ready to go. And I’d spread wide
for them, clutching their churning, pumping asses. Sighing and cooing as
they filled my already-pregnant womb over and over again, well past
midnight, until we fell deeply asleep all over each other.
I did a lot of laundry. I took a lot of showers. Sometimes the guys
would shower with me, and I quickly realized how much they loved
running the loofah over my now-obvious baby bump. It was still small, but
it was definitely there: a happy reminder of their baby-filled future. They
hadn’t set up a nursery yet, but we looked forward to doing so. Once we
were all together again, of course.
There was no more trouble, as far as I could tell. According to Trey
there was no one still hunting for me at the restaurant I used to work at, and
the guys never seemed on edge. As far as I knew, Cole was working on
‘solving our problem’ once and for all. I didn’t ask what that entailed. I
didn’t expect they’d tell me.
Everything, actually, was quite perfectly normal. Peaceful. Calm.
That is, until the door to my bedroom suddenly burst open and all hell
broke loose.
 Thirty-Seven

QUINN

The first one into the room was Joshua, holding what looked to be a
video camera on a tripod. An extremely expensive-looking camera.
Right away, I felt my stomach do a sexy somersault.
“If… If you’re thinking we’re going to—”
My sentence died instantly as Cole rushed in, holding something very
different.
“Hey princess.”
I was surprised enough just to see him. But even more stunned by the
long black rifle he held cradled against his shoulder.
“Ummm… welcome back?” I just didn’t know what else to say.
“Thanks. Now be a peach and get behind us.”
Joshua already had the tripod set up near the open window on the
other side of my bedroom. As he pinned the curtains back, Cole was busy
screwing something into the end of his rifle, while simultaneously adjusting
a bunch of knobs. The weapon was sleek and dark and hopelessly
complicated. But it looked absolutely deadly.
“W—What’s going on?”
Cole pointed. Somewhere out in the hallway, a silvery-blue light was
flashing at regular intervals.
“Silent alarm tripped. Someone bypassed the—”
“Cole. Get over here.”
 Joshua was staring through the mounted camera now, which was
obviously not a camera at all. His normally pleasant voice was all business.
There was no room for anything else.
“Go to sector two, bravo.”
Cole lifted the rifle with such swift, practiced ease it seemed an
extension of his giant arm. He flipped the lens-cap from a foot-long scope
and placed his eye right up against it.
“He’s behind that slight rise there,” Joshua said evenly. “See him?”
A tension-filled moment passed.
“Yes,” Cole grunted. “Contact.” He adjusted something on the top of
his rifle. “Looks like one-point-five mils.”
“Check level,” said Joshua. “Check parallax.”
I was utterly bewildered. They may as well have been speaking a
different language! Silently I maneuvered behind them, keeping my head
down because it just seemed right.
“Ready,” said Cole. “Wind call?”
Perched behind the tripod, Joshua’s jaw tightened. “Left, point four.”
The room was silent now, except for the distinct sound of Cole turning
knobs.
Click…click…click…
“Spotters up.”
Smoothly, almost imperceptibly, Cole exhaled.
“Send it,” said Joshua.
The rifle crack resounded loudly in the confines of the bedroom. Even
so, it made far less noise than I thought it would.
The same couldn’t be said for the poor bastard outside.
“AIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!”
In all my life, I’d never heard screams like that. They were too high-
pitched. Too inhuman. They seemed otherworldly.
“Jesus,” Joshua swore. “Did you just blow his kneecap off?”
“Sure sounds like it,” Cole grunted.
 The screams continued, winding up and down through octaves no man
— unless he were a heavy metal singer — could normally reach.
“You were aiming for his dick, weren’t you?” Joshua insinuated.
“Hell no,” Cole spat, breaking down his gun.
“Yes you were. You little dick-hunter, you—”
“I shot his knee clean off,” Cole barked. “Now we can go down and
interrogate him. Finally get some intel.”
“Interrogate him?” laughed Joshua. “That poor asshole’s going to be
screaming for the next five or six hours. Then he’s going to pass out from
exhaustion, and wake up screaming some more.”
Cole shrugged. “So we’ll shoot him full of morphine. If we do it just
right, he’ll tell us anything we want to—”
He stopped speaking as Joshua suddenly raised his hand. He was
staring through the viewfinder again. His expression was grim.
“Shit.”
Cole’s process of stripping down the gun stopped immediately. He
looked up.
“What is it?”
“I’ve got at least three more incoming. Or four, rather, according to
the thermal.”
Up until now I’d been totally ignored, almost like I wasn’t in the
room. But now Cole swung his gaze my way.
“Evan’s down in the truck,” he told me. “Go. Now.”
“But—”
“But nothing,” Joshua called back without looking. “Quinn, Cole and
I know what we’re doing. Find Evan. Get safe. It’s the best way you can
help us right now.”
I was confused, nervous, even frightened. And there were a hundred
questions I needed answers to.
But I knew enough not to ask them now.
“Okay.”
 I moved toward the door. Before I got there, Cole scooped me
commandingly into one big arm.
“I missed you,” he said, and planted a kiss on my forehead.
His impossibly blue eyes found mine, if just for a second. But in that
second, our hearts spoke volumes.
“I missed you too.”
He smiled and jerked his head toward the hallway. I fled swiftly, away
from the horrific screaming outside. Past the strange flashing lights that
illuminated the hallway, and down the staircase to where more lights
awaited. The whole thing should’ve been terrifyingly surreal. Instead I felt
totally calm, my mind somehow rationalizing everything as perfectly
normal.
You’re one of us.
I found Evan in the garage, the truck already running. He half-
grabbed, half-ushered me inside before belting my seatbelt and closing the
door.
“Hold tight.”
With the screech of tires and a spray of gravel, we found the main
road. The gates were already open. We blew through them at eighty miles
an hour, still picking up speed as we plunged off into the night.
 Thirty-Eight

QUINN

We drove north for hours, the truck’s headlights piercing the mid-
summer fog as it devoured the road. I had no clue where we were going. I
didn’t much care. The only thing that mattered was the phone call that
eventually came through, indicating that the others were safe, and they’d be
joining us soon.
Up until then, I’d been a nervous wreck.
“I know this is a lot,” Evan repeated. “And I know it sucks to have to
leave…”
“I get it,” I told him again. “It’s the only way.”
I rolled my head and stared out the window numbly, watching the tall
pines of Maine go by. On either side of the road they looked like
skyscrapers. We’d crossed out of New Hampshire two hundred miles ago.
And we were still going. Somewhere. Anywhere.
Anywhere but home.
“Cole will explain everything when he gets up here,” said Evan. “But
we couldn’t stay down there. Things were too hot. There were too many…
variables.”
I wasn’t happy about having to run, and even less happy to have to
shutter the food truck. I’d made that call hours ago. By now, I was sure
Sarah had locked it up tight. I could’ve asked her to run it while we were
gone, and she would’ve kicked ass, too. But if there was even the slightest
risk someone would come looking for me there, I couldn’t take it. And so I
didn’t.
 Besides, the guys never ran. Not until now, anyway. So if they were
retreating — even temporarily — I knew it had to be for very good reasons.
“Wanna tell me where we’re going?” I asked again.
“The cabin.”
“You said that already. What kind of—”
Evan’s tattooed arm rested casually on the steering wheel as he gave
me his best, panty-dropping grin. His smile wasn’t even tired. He looked
fresh as a daisy.
“You’ll see,” he winked.
I let out a sigh, resigning myself to do the only thing I could: rest up.
I’d had a long, arduous day at work anyway. I’d been sitting on my bed,
resting my tired legs. Listening to music and doing some bookkeeping,
when Joshua and Cole had burst through the door.
I must’ve been dozing, because when I looked up again we were no
longer on the highway. We were on a narrow dirt road, turning onto an even
more narrow dirt road. A minute or two later, we rolled to a stop.
“Alright,” Evan declared, killing the engine. “Home sweet home.”
I looked around groggily, and eventually followed his pointing finger.
Off to the right, nearly buried by trees at the top of a hill, I saw the outline
of a saw-cut log cabin.
“Let me guess… the three of you built that cabin.”
Evan laughed and hopped out. “We’re good, baby. But we’re not that
good.”
We walked up a steep, narrow trail, which made the place a pain in the
ass to get to. I’d been around the boys long enough to realize this was
probably intentional. The top of the hill gave the cabin a full, three-hundred
sixty-degree view, plus it was higher ground. Not to mention if anything
went down, the trail was a natural choke-point.
Inside, the place was spacious, yet cozy. A large wood-burning stove
dominated the opposite wall, perfect for Maine’s freezing winters. Four
bunks lined the walls. A door in the back led to a bathroom. Or at least what
I hoped was a bathroom.
“We use this place when we want to get away,” said Evan.
 “You live in a gated oceanside mansion, you know,” I pointed out.
“It’s pretty isolated.”
“Yes, but still within arm’s reach of the city.” He dropped the two
duffels he was carrying and gestured grandly. “But this… this is nature. We
go hunting, we go fishing. This place is the middle of nowhere.”
I walked in a big circle, peering through the windows. A side deck
wrapped around the back of the cabin, looking out over the lower hill of
towering pines. My eyes lit up.
“There’s a hot tub out there!”
“Sure is,” Evan confirmed. “We called ahead and had it turned on,
too. The fridge is stocked, we have fresh water—
“Who in the world did you call?”
Evan extended his two very ripped arms and cracked his knuckles.
“We might be loners, but we’re mercenaries, remember? We’ve got friends
all over. Or if not friends, at least people we trust.”
The more I looked, the more I realized how much the place was
modernized, despite its rustic exterior. There was a desk, a monitor, a
computer. The galley kitchen was bristling with up-to-date appliances.
Across from the couch, a large, flat-panel television looked recently
mounted.
“And how many girlfriends have you boys brought up here?” I teased.
Sort of.
“Including you?” asked Evan coyly.
I folded my arms.
“One.”
His answer surprised me. “Seriously?”
“Yeah, seriously.” He scratched the back of his head. “In case you
haven’t noticed, we don’t get out much. Not alone, anyway.”
I’d talked about past relationships with each of them at length, but the
answer was always the same. They’d had girlfriends for sure, but nothing
long term, and definitely nothing serious. Even the relationships they’d
established between deployments fell apart once they were called overseas.
Especially since the missions they were sent on were lengthy,
unpredictable, and usually allowed for zero communication with the outside
world.
As a result, none of the men had been able to keep a steady girlfriend.
Much less find someone to marry, settle down, and have children with.
“You know I can’t go in that hot tub, right?”
Evan’s thick Italian eyebrows knitted together. “If you’re going to tell
me it’s because you don’t have a bathing suit—”
“Not while I’m pregnant.”
His mouth dropped open. I couldn’t stifle a laugh.
“Oh shit,” Evan murmured. “I didn’t know that.”
“Yeah, well it doesn’t mean you guys can’t use it,” I looked him up
and down before smirking back at him, “without bathing suits, of course. In
fact, I’m looking forward to it.”
For the next hour or so Evan showed me around, even taking me on a
few trails they’d been working in the woods outside. We ended up back at
the cabin, where we took stock of everything we had to eat and drink before
plopping onto the couch and falling asleep in each other’s arms.
This time I was the one who dreamed, and my dreams were filled with
uncertainty. I was running impossibly fast, through fields and towns I didn’t
know. I sprinted up mountains, flew across rivers. I ran faster and faster
until I reached the sea, where I leapt from the tallest of cliffs and sank
down, down into the cold, clear water.
I woke to Joshua and Cole standing over me, shaking us gently awake.
They were covered in dirt, sweat, and God only knew what else. They
didn’t smell that great, either.
But it didn’t matter. I threw my arms around both men, and gave each
of them the biggest kiss in the world.
 Thirty-Nine

QUINN

The guys wore boxer-briefs, but they were still deliciously shirtless in
the hot tub. I suspected that if I were sitting beside them beneath those
swirling waters things might be different, but for now I had to make do with
only slipping my feet in, while cradling a tall frosty glass of instant iced tea.
“And you’re sure you weren’t followed?” hounded Evan.
Joshua’s face twisted sourly in disappointment. Cole shook his head in
disgust.
“Is this our first rodeo?”
Evan shrugged. “No. Guess not.”
“Is this even our hundredth rodeo?”
I watched as the tattooed warrior turned his head and looked away.
The others were obviously taking Evan’s lack of faith as the highest symbol
of disrespect.
“Then trust us,” said Joshua. “We’d know if we were followed. And
nobody but the three of us knows about this place.”
“Four of us,” I smiled, raising my glass.
I sat on the edge of the tub, soaking in the warmth as well as the
incredibly sexy view. The boys had lit oil torches at the four corners of the
deck, and now they were casting a yellowish warmth over everything.
Soaking my feet felt absolutely amazing, even if the rest of my body was
screaming to go in.
 Cole put his elbows up and leaned back, sipping his own glass of iced
tea. It exposed the top of his massive chest, and those broad, boulder-like
shoulders. I found myself wanting him very badly. I’d missed him much
more than I realized while he was gone, and my body was actually craving
him in ways I couldn’t even believe.
This is nuts…
It really was. Between Evan and Joshua, I’d had more legendary sex
this past week than any girl had a right to even fantasize about, much less
live out in real life.
Yes, but it’s nuts for other reasons too.
I had to admit that part as well. These men had killed to protect me.
They’d buried people. We’d been chased hundreds of miles and two states
away, all because a cartel boss — an actual real-life cartel boss — had an
unresolved vendetta against my three ex-mercenary boyfriends.
And yet all I could think of was wrapping my legs around Cole’s
waist, and sliding my arms over those hard, beautiful shoulders.
“Did we get what we needed at least?” Evan asked.
Beneath the bubbling waters, Joshua was visible only from the neck
up. He nodded through the steam.
“We did. And then some.”
Evan tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.
“We got Ferrera’s location.”
“In country,” Cole added.
Evan surged upward, almost to a standing position. Water flew
everywhere.
“He’s here?”
“Yes.”
“That would explain all the heat.”
Cole nodded. “He brought some of his own men, but not many. He
left the good ones behind to run his operation. Right now things are still
precarious for him. He’s had to rebuild everything from the ground up, with
most of his original infrastructure already destroyed.”
 “Thanks to you guys,” I jumped in. “Right?”
Cole looked at me approvingly, but also in a way that told me he
missed me in the same ways I missed him.
“Yes,” he agreed. “Thanks to us.”
It felt good being included — trusted within their tight inner circle. I
suppose to some degree I had to be, because I was in the thick of it with
them. But I could tell now the guys weren’t holding back. They weren’t
keeping anything from me, like they might’ve been before.
In this exact moment, I’d never felt closer to them.
“So yeah,” Joshua continued, “Ferrera’s best men are still at home.
That’s why he’s been hiring local, and sending amateurs. When you’re a
predator in the pond, there’s always a bigger fish waiting to swallow you.
Coming here was risky enough. He couldn’t gamble on his operation being
swallowed while he was away.”
“Why did he come, though?” I asked abruptly. “I mean I know he’s
got a vendetta against you and all that. But why now, after all this time?”
The guys regarded me a little strangely, as if they hadn’t considered
the question from this angle before.
“Why not continue rebuilding, and come later on when it’s a much
surer bet?”
Evan and Joshua glanced at each other. Cole however, was looking at
me. His expression was different now, and somewhat strange. He caught me
staring and turned away, shaking his head dismissively.
“All that matters is he did come,” Cole said plainly. “He’s here now.
And we know exactly where, too.”
Evan sank beneath the swirling water for a moment, re-emerging with
his hair slicked back. “So the guy talked?”
Joshua and Cole nodded. “He sang like a bird.”
“Wait,” I felt suddenly queasy. “The screaming guy?”
“Yes.”
“Holy shit…”
“It didn’t take much, honestly,” added Joshua. “We didn’t even have
to shoot him with morphine. Not immediately, anyway. Once we held the
needle up, he begged us for it.”
I tried not to imagine the scene, as horrific as it was. But those
screams… they still haunted my brain. They wouldn’t leave me.
“So he talked,” I said numbly. “And then what?”
“What do you mean?” Cole asked.
“I mean… afterward. What did you do with him?”
Joshua splashed me to get my attention. When I looked, his eyes were
softer and full of understanding.
“We’re mercenaries, Quinn,” he told me. “But we’re not barbarians.”
His words sunk in. My eyes narrowed. “So you— you didn’t…”
“No. We didn’t.”
For some reason I felt relieved. And then I felt guilty that I felt
relieved.
“We dropped him off somewhere he’d be found pretty quickly once he
woke up,” Joshua went on. “Especially with all the screaming.”
“Not that he didn’t deserve a lot worse,” Cole added icily. His steel-
blue eyes settled on mine. “That man came to hurt us, Quinn. And he
brought others. They came in the night, without mercy, without remorse.
You know that, right?”
I dropped my chin. “Yes. I do.”
“We could’ve buried that piece of shit alive and he would’ve deserved
it,” Cole finished. “So let’s leave it at that.”
I knew in my heart he was right, of course. The first man they’d killed
and buried had almost finished me off. I hadn’t felt any remorse for him,
that was for sure.
Still, it felt good to understand the extent of their mercy. These men
were among the most elite killing machines on earth. That type of power
came with a deep responsibility, and knowing they weren’t ending life when
it wasn’t absolutely necessary shed them in a whole new light.
“Anyway, we have two days of sitting tight,” said Joshua. “Then we
move on Ferrera.”
Evan looked crestfallen. “Why two days?”
 “Because that’s when we meet Ripley.”
An unnatural silence settled over the side deck. Even the animals in
the woods seemed to have gone silent.
But as I watched, Evan’s crestfallen expression curled into a jubilant
smirk.
“Seriously? Ripley’s coming?”
“Yeah.”
“Shit, that changes things.”
“Sure does,” Cole agreed.
“Well alright then!” Evan stood up again. For a happy moment, I was
somewhat hypnotized by the sight of the hot water cascading down his
mostly-naked body. “Let’s break out the… iced tea?”
“It’s all we have for now,” shrugged Joshua. “In ordering the place
stocked with ‘essentials’ I should’ve been a little more specific.”
They all rose now, their bodies steaming magnificently in the cool
night air. It was an air that was fragrant with pines and summer blossoms. I
filled my lungs with it greedily, even as my eyes wandered the three god-
like specimens of male perfection that were somehow, for now at least, my
loving boyfriends.
“Two days, huh?”
Still dripping, they turned to face me. Each of their expressions was a
little different, but they shared the same unquenchable lust in their
glimmering eyes.
“That’s a lot of time to kill, don’t you boys think?”
I stood and pulled my shirt over my head, letting my bare breasts spill
free. Three pairs of eyes dropped to them. Their collective gaze, helped
along by the cool forest breeze, stiffened my areolae almost instantly.
“So…” Joshua ventured with a smile. “I’m guessing you have a few
ideas for how we could—”
“Demolish me.”
I interjected the words loudly, definitively. It was more of a command
than a suggestion.
 “I’m serious,” I went on. “I need it. I need you. All of you together.
It’s been too long.”
I stepped in their direction, knowing they’d close in around me. Their
glistening bodies had been in the tub more than half an hour. As a result,
they gave off an incredible heat.
“I mean,” I told them. “I want you all at once. I need you boys inside
me. I need you to hold me, fuck me, fill me…”
My sweat-shorts were loose. I hooked my thumb and dropped them to
my ankles, biting my lip as the cool air hit my warm thighs.
“I’d say take me inside and make me yours,” I murmured. “But I’m
already yours. I have been for a while.”
I tried to swallow and found that I couldn’t. There was just too big of
a lump in my throat.
“I want it rough. I want it deep. I want it all — everything you’ve got
— with nothing held back.”
Their hands moved to my body. They couldn’t help themselves any
longer.
“So keep that in mind when you’re pounding me relentlessly,” I
finished, “and I’m gasping each of your names. Remember how much I
really fucking need this, and make sure you just… don’t… stop.”
I delivered a hot, open-mouthed kiss on each of those last three words.
First to Evan, then to Joshua, and finally to Cole.
My palm went up; to cup the side of Cole’s hard, chiseled jaw. Eye to
eye, nose to nose, our gazes locked. His eyes gleamed like a panther’s in the
flickering torchlight.
“But above everything else, I need you first,” I whispered.
 Forty

QUINN

The logistics of the cabin weren’t optimal, that was for sure. The place
itself was a hunting and fishing cabin, and therefore utilitarian. A table and
chairs dominated half the living area, and there was no bedroom. The walls
were lined with four individual bunks that were way too small to fuck on,
and a beat up couch that wouldn’t work either. Not for what we had in
mind, anyway.
Besides, I had a feeling we’d fuck that couch to splinters.
At the moment I was resting happily in Cole’s arms, finally having
been scooped up from the side deck and carried inside. My panties — what
little there were of them — were soaked through from all the kissing,
touching, and groping, which had gone on for several more breathtaking
minutes.
But right now, I needed to get fucked.
“Hang on.”
Evan and Joshua went to work stripping the bunks and creating a four-
mattress rectangle on the floor. They covered this with blankets, added
some pillows, and the next thing I knew I was being pulled down and into
them. Two big hands manipulated me until I was sitting on Cole’s face, his
tongue diving so deep inside me I was squirming and howling within
seconds. One big arm clenched me forward against his hard, shredded body,
locking me into a hot sixty-nine with the bearded giant.
Holy.
FUCK.
 Up and down I bobbed my head, throating him deep. Licking the sides
and rolling my mouth over the bulbous crown, before diving back down
over his manhood and starting the process all over again. I just couldn’t get
enough of his dick. It was like being denied something amazing for way too
long, and then having as much as you could want of it, all at once.
MmmMmmMmm…
Down below, his mouth felt amazing, licking and sucking and
devouring me whole. Cole worked a pair of fingers inside me to add to the
delicious naughtiness of it all, while his talented tongue alternated between
thrumming my clit and working its magic deep inside me.
That the others were watching should’ve been somewhat of a
distraction. Instead it only served to turn me on even more, pushing me well
past the point of no return as I screwed myself to a violent orgasm against
his gorgeously handsome face.
“Mmmfffppph!”
Shamelessly I flooded that face, and Cole didn’t miss a beat. He
lapped me up and swallowed me down, his tongue never resting for a
minute. Those thick fingers never stopped churning and swirling inside me,
until my beautiful climax had wound itself down to the very last twitch and
quiver.
My brain still swimming through a wondrous sea of endorphins, I
dropped my mouth back over Cole and prepared to redouble my efforts.
Before I could however, he took command. Pulling me up and bending me
forward, he shoved himself inside me from behind. His shaft — all slick
and thick and enormous — slid straight in. That’s how absolutely drenched
I was.
OOOhhhhhh…
I rode him for a beautiful minute, rolling my hips forward and back.
My hands gripped his thighs, thick and hard beneath my palms. My body
gyrated slowly, swallowing him with my womanhood. Grinding him
deeper. Driving him to places—
“Alright, reunion over,” someone chuckled. “We get our turns, now.”
My eyes fluttered open. Still riding, churning my hips like a washing
machine with Cole still inside me, I was presented with the business end of
two very hard, very thick members.
“Pick one,” I heard Evan say. “Or both. Preferably both.”
He grinned down at me. I winked up at him. I swallowed his friend
first, just to be a tease, but also because I knew he’d enjoy it. Evan really
got off on watching, maybe more so than the others. But they all definitely
got off on seeing me with each other, and that was the lucky brilliance of
our hot little arrangement.
Back and forth I went, sucking each of them in rhythm to the beautiful
drilling I was receiving from Cole. He was gripping my hips extra hard
tonight. His fingers dug so deep into my flesh it almost hurt, but in truth I
was enjoying it. Maybe even as much as he was.
Demolish me.
I’d wanted it rough for a while. Evan and Joshua had made love to me
all week, trading me back and forth between their bedrooms. Sure, there
were times when they got dominant and really destroyed me. But most
nights we rocked each other to sleep with slow, sensual thrusts coupled with
plenty of deep, soulful kissing.
Tonight, though…
“Give her over.”
Evan’s voice sounded breathless and very far away. Probably because
I was sucking him so deeply down my throat he was almost ready to come.
“I’m serious, Cole. You can’t have that ass all to yours—”
Cole grunted in reply, then crushed my ass against his hard body with
one final, brutally-deep thrust. He went off inside me like a bomb,
exploding with a savagery and forcefulness that matched his demeanor. His
week-long eruption filled me easily, spilling from my dripping entrance and
dribbling out as he kept pounding away.
God!
By the time he finished, his warm seed was running down the insides
of both my quivering thighs. He leaned over my back, to kiss me sweetly
over the shoulder. I jumped when he slapped my ass and finally withdrew.
“There,” he announced, snapping my G-string back into place. I fell
forward with a shudder, my body spent, shaking, sticky…
“Now the two of you can have your turns.”
 Forty-One

COLE

She slept soundly against my chest, her disheveled hair framing her
angelic face. I felt proud that we’d screwed her to sleep. There were nights
when she’d outlast us, and then laugh and tease us to take her again.
Not tonight, though.
We’d made such a mess of the cabin — not to mention Quinn — that
the musky-sweet scent of our sex still permeated the air. She’d been shared,
doubled-up on, and taken in ways we hadn’t even tried before. Left
screaming and shuddering from a half-dozen orgasms, only to be
immediately filled by whoever went next.
There was no resting tonight. No breaks in-between. She’d wanted the
three of us together, without anything held back. And so she’d been
thoroughly and utterly put through the paces; by the time we were finished
with her.
Eventually she cuddled up against me, pulling my arm over her body
and positioning my hand so that it cupped her perfect, round little ass. I was
only happy to oblige. I’d missed her so much over the past week it was
actually scary, and I wasn’t a person who scared easily, if at all.
You love her.
I winced hard, fighting back the internalization. Love. No way.
That simply couldn’t happen.
You do, though.
 She was the mother of our child, our friend, our companion. And yet
she was also our lover, or girlfriend… and so much more. We hadn’t sat
down and talked about it, but I knew in my heart the others felt the same
way I did. Quinn completed our circle. She was one thing missing from our
lives that we couldn’t provide each other; a feminine presence. In lust she
connected us physically, through her gorgeous, writhing body as we took
her from both ends. But she also connected us emotionally, with her big
beautiful heart.
Quinn was smart, capable, and fierce. Loving and beautiful, with a
warrior’s heart. She was everything any of us could ever hope to find in a
woman, and we hadn’t even been looking. If only there were three of her…
But there isn’t three of her.
There’s only one.
I reached up slowly, parting that mess of platinum blonde hair to
caress her gorgeous face. I couldn’t help it. My heart was aching for me to
do it, to the point where—
“Hi.”
She murmured the word sleepily, nuzzling into me. Her blue eyes
fluttered open.
“You’re still up?”
I smiled down at her and nodded. “Can’t sleep.”
Quinn slid a naked leg upward, over my body. It felt soft and feminine
and wonderful.
“Want me to help you sleep?” she smiled groggily.
My dick jumped immediately at the idea. Of course it would, though.
“I… I was just thinking,” I whispered.
“About?”
“Stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
The kind I can’t tell you about, I thought to myself. The kind that
makes me sad, because although I know one day it will happen… I just can’t
imagine this whole thing coming to an end.
 “Work stuff,” I lied. “Our next move kind of stuff.”
“Ah,” Quinn sighed. “That stuff.”
The delicate hand that was originally moving toward my groin took an
upward detour. Extending a finger, it began tracing slow circles over my
bare chest.
“Will you tell me something?” Quinn murmured.
Her touch was electric. My whole body felt like a bundle of nerve-
endings. “Anything, princess.”
“Do you know what Ferrera’s here for?”
I blinked, abruptly lifting my chin. She could’ve said anything,
anything at all. But this was the last thing in the world I expected.
“You do, don’t you?” Quinn murmured.
“How did you—”
“By the strange way you acted about him coming up here,” she said,
ignoring me. “His men tore my apartment apart, Cole. They searched every
cabinet, opened every drawer.”
My heart began pounding wildly. I knew she could feel it beneath her
cheek.
“Ferrera’s up here looking for something,” Quinn said softly. “And
I’m pretty sure you know what it is.”
God, she was so sharp. So intelligent. So… so everything.
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” she said, after a time.
“In fact—”
It took every ounce of willpower to extract her soft, womanly body
from mine. I stood up, pulled on my shorts, and tossed hers down. She held
them for a moment, looking confused.
Shhhhh! I motioned, holding a finger against my lips as I motioned
toward the others who were still slumbering away. Quinn nodded in
understanding. She threw back the blankets and reached for her shirt, too.
“Come with me.”
She dressed quickly and followed me through the door, out onto the
deck. I led her down the steps, and into the soft sand of pine forest that
surrounded the house.
It took a moment for our eyes to adjust to the moonlight. When they
did, I picked my way carefully through the trees. Wordlessly, she followed.
Her footsteps were light, and made almost no sound. Only the touch of her
hand indicated she was still with me.
“Cole…” she said eventually.
I said nothing. I kept walking, kept looking, kept picking out markers.
“Where are we going?”
I saw the rock first, then the cluster of broken stumps. It took me a
while to find the hill. It had been years since I’d come this way.
Finally, I saw the twisted old cedar.
“Cole?”
I led her straight to the tree — the tree no other living soul knew about
but me — then stopped and turned around. Quinn was standing there, her
face unblemished ivory in the silver moonlight. She was shivering slightly
from the cold. I wanted to crush her against me, and make her warm.
“Ferrera wants us dead,” I said plainly. “That’s always been true. But
he’s here for something other than revenge, as you figured out. Something
that’s far more important to him.”
And then I showed her.
 Forty-Two

QUINN

His arm disappeared into the tree — or rather, a hole in the tree. One
that was on such an odd visual angle, most people wouldn’t even see it.
When it came out, Cole was holding something wrinkled and brown
in his hand.
I took a half-step forward, still shivering against the cool night breeze.
A few minutes ago I’d been in our makeshift bed, toasty warm. My arms
and legs wrapped satisfyingly around his big, strong body.
“Hold out your hands.”
I looked at him questioningly, but did as I was told. The whole time,
Cole kept unwrapping the thing from the tree.
“Put your palms together, now. And keep them tight.”
Cole discarded the brown wrinkled thing, which had given way to a
light-colored bag with a braided drawstring. He opened that as well, before
carefully upending the contents into my palm…
…. and I just about shit myself.
“COLE!”
A cascade of gorgeous green gemstones drizzled out into my hands,
gleaming brilliantly even in the obstructed moonlight. They were rough but
beautiful. Totally gemmy and translucent.
And there had to be dozens of them.
“What in the world—”
 “They’re Colombian emeralds,” Cole said matter-of-factly. “Triple-A
quality. Raw and uncut, from the highest-rated mine in the country.”
I rolled them gently in my hands, being very careful not to separate
my palms. All of the gems were a deep, breathtaking green. I began to
understand.
“These belonged to Ferrera,” I murmured.
“Yes.”
“And you… stole them?”
“They were tucked away in his inner sanctum,” Cole explained. “I
found them spilling from the broken drawer of a marble desk, one that had
been shattered by grenades. This is after the shit hit the fan, of course.
During the chaos of the firefight, I scooped them up.”
I studied him carefully. “Do the others know?”
He paused, then shook his head.
“Why not?”
“You sure you want to hear the truth?”
This time I nodded.
“Because if these people manage to capture one of us, things will go
really bad for them. And the less that person knows, the better.”
I swallowed hard. All of a sudden I wasn’t so cold anymore.
“You’re talking about torture, right?”
“Yes.”
I rolled the emeralds around some more, trying not to get hypnotized.
They were just so damned beautiful.
“But you would know,” I said softly. “If… if you were captured, I
mean.”
“Of course.”
“So you’re risking yourself.”
The bearded giant threw a shrug of his massive shoulders. “I’ve been
risking myself all my life,” he answered simply.
Cole was still shirtless against the forest background. He stood bathed
in the scattered starlight, his hair blowing softly against his face. In that
moment, he looked like some ancient god.
“Most warlords keep cash at hand,” he went on. “The successful ones
keep tremendous amounts of it. The problem is, that much cash gets
tempting. A little too tempting.”
“So Ferrera kept emeralds instead,” I reasoned.
“Yes. Easier to watch. Easier to keep track of.” He nodded toward my
cupped hands. “Ferrera had cash too, but not even a fraction of what those
are worth.”
All of a sudden I felt very self-conscious. I wanted the emeralds back
in their pouch.
“Ferrera’s here because he knows someone on the team took these
stones,” said Cole. “But no one in the squad even knew about them. Except
for me.”
“He’s been looking for them for years then,” I murmured.
“Yes.”
A pained look suddenly crossed Cole’s face. He stared at the ground
for a moment, and then back at me.
“I didn’t take them to be greedy,” he explained. “I didn’t even take
them for the three of us. I took them because I intended on doing good with
them. I took them for… for the families of…”
His voice cracked. He looked incredibly angry, but also somewhat
broken.
“Evan and Joshua left the service on their own terms,” said Cole. “But
I was never granted that privilege. On my last combat mission, more than
half my unit was killed in an ambush. All because my superior officer had
stupid fucking political ambitions.”
All of a sudden he was shaking uncontrollably. I had to bring him
back.
“Hey…” I called gently. “What happened?”
“I took the fall for it, that’s what happened,” Cole spat. “Conditional
to my silence, my fallen brothers were supposed to be hailed as heroes.
Their families, well-taken care of.” His top lip curled back in grim disgust.
“Only that’s not how it went. Instead they were given bare minimum
compensation, their loved ones totally undecorated and forgotten. All
because the mission had been rogue, and the optics of such a raid would be
devastating to my now-famous, now-politician ex-CO.”
Cole’s nostrils flared. He shook his head.
“If I told you who the man was right now, you wouldn’t believe me.
But yeah, I took a general discharge — rather than an honorable one — to
protect him. All for nothing.”
He stared down at the emeralds like they were poison.
“I thought maybe I could do some good with those,” he nodded.
“Instead, even more men got killed over them. Dawson. Beckett…”
“You didn’t kill those men,” I jumped in. “Ferrera did.”
“Only because he was looking for those,” Cole grunted, pointing at
my hands.
I glanced down again, and the emeralds had somehow lost their luster.
They looked different now. Like jagged, green-black chunks of glass.
“Cole,” I tried to reason. “These aren’t—”
“I don’t even care anymore,” he cut me off. “They’ve caused so much
trouble, so much death. I should’ve left them back in the jungle. I no longer
want any part of them.”
“Yes but they are here,” I pleaded. “And maybe we can use them.”
Cole eyed me suspiciously for a long moment. “Selling them is a lot
harder than you might think,” he said. “These stones aren’t exactly—”
“No, no, not to sell,” I corrected him. “Not for the money they’d
bring. But maybe we can use them… another way.”
My mind raced with a dozen half-coalescing ideas. Before any of
them could solidify, Cole looked down at the jewels and spat.
“So why not just return them, then?” I asked. “Get these people off
your back once and for all?”
The Navy SEAL’s eye twitched. He leaned in closer.
“You’ve encountered these people,” he growled. “What do you think
they’d say, Quinn? Thank you? No hard feelings?”
“I… I—”
 “Think they’d shake your hand and say ‘okay, we’re all good now?’”
Cole pressed. “No. There’s nothing these people won’t do to kill us.
They’ve already spent so much in the way of time and resources to track us
down. They’re never going to stop, Quinn. Not until we make them.”
His hands were balled into fists now. My hands, still holding the
emeralds, were starting to shake.
“I’ll tell you this, though,” Cole growled viciously. The look in his
eyes was deadly serious as he stormed away.
“It’s time to make them.”
 Forty-Three

EVAN

I found her in a private moment, sitting on the edge of the bed. She
was holding her stomach. Staring down at it in contemplation, as the golden
light of the desert sunrise streamed in through the window behind her.
“Hey…” I called softly. “You okay?”
Quinn jumped a little at the intrusion, then smiled and nodded — all
in one movement. I knew the smile was for my benefit only. The intrusion,
unfortunately, came with the territory. Especially considering the size of the
rooms at the shitty strip-motel we’d just rented.
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “Didn’t mean to barge in on you, I was just
—”
“C’mon,” she smiled, adding a laugh. “Don’t be silly.”
Quinn patted the bed beside her, and I sat down. Beneath our
combined weight, the cheap mattress sagged almost to the floor.
“It isn’t always like this,” I told her.
“What isn’t?”
“Us. Moving around all the time. Jumping on planes, and flying
across the country in the dead of the night.”
We’d left the cabin early, on word from one of Cole’s contacts. Not
even nine hours later we were rolling through the barren deserts of New
Mexico — a far cry from the lush green pines that shrouded our hideout in
Maine.
 “Didn’t you move all over the world together?” Quinn asked.
“Mission to mission? Place to place?”
Her golden hair shone like platinum in the morning sun. Every tiny
movement caused hundreds of strands to dance around her precious face.
“Sure. All the time.”
“So this should be no big deal for you.”
I shrugged. “I guess it isn’t.”
“Well it isn’t for me then, either.”
She was trying to be a trooper, I knew. Rolling with the punches was
just Quinn’s style. But she was also rubbing her stomach again, absently,
thoughtfully. Cradling the life that was growing inside her.
For some reason it made her the most beautiful creature in the
universe.
“When we decided to do this,” I said, nodding at the child she was
carrying on our behalf, “we thought this part of our lives was over. We
never imagined it would get dangerous again. Otherwise… well…”
“I know.”
Quinn took my hand and slid it beneath hers. Placing it palm-down
over her lower stomach, she guided me over the sexy little bump that had
bowed out her normally-flat belly.
“This baby is going to have the best life,” she murmured. “The best
fathers. The best of everything.”
My throat constricted and my heart swelled. I was suddenly choked
with such love and admiration, I didn’t even know what to say.
“I want you to know I believe in you,” Quinn said softly. “And that’s
why I’m not afraid. Not for me. Not even for her…”
Interlacing her fingers with mine, she swirled our hands over her
belly.
“Her?”
“Yes.”
“You know this for a fact?” my eyes narrowed. “I thought we decided
not to learn the—”
 “We did,” she interrupted me. “And I don’t really know. Not for
certain, anyway.” Her belly expanded as she inhaled slowly, then let out a
long but happy sigh. “But in a way I think I do know. I can just feel it.”
I smiled and squeezed her fingers ever so gently. “Mother’s
intuition?”
Her smile mirrored mine. For a split-second though, it faded. I saw a
flash of something akin to… well, I couldn’t actually tell. But it troubled
me to think that anything was troubling her.
“Evan,” she murmured. “Promise me something?”
I would’ve promised her the moon at the moment. I would’ve died
trying to deliver, too.
“Swear that you’ll take me with you,” Quinn said. “That no matter
what happens next, you won’t be leaving me alone in this shitty motel in the
middle of the desert.”
“Quinn…”
“To be captured by a Colombian cartel boss and his goons, like in
some really predictable movie.”
“Quinn, I—”
“Because the girlfriend always gets captured, you know,” she prattled
on. “The second they leave her behind to ‘protect her’ she gets a pillowcase
slipped over her head and thrown into the trunk of some big car. Or
someone claps a rag with chloroform over her face, and—”
“So you’re our girlfriend, huh?”
She made a face at me at first, for not answering her question. But
then she shrugged. “Feels like it.”
Her expression was somewhat sorrowful. Guiding her lips to mine, I
kissed that look away.
“Feels like it for us, too.”
I knew it was way too early in the pregnancy, and it couldn’t even
have been possible, but in that moment I could’ve sworn I felt something.
The kick of a tiny foot against my palm. Our baby, trying to tell me
something.
Or rather, my subconscious doing the same.
 “I’ll promise you this,” I told her pointedly. “You’re not being left
anywhere, much less here in this shithole motel room. And that’s because
you’re coming with us.”
Quinn’s whole face lit up at once. It wasn’t at all the answer she was
expecting.
“Really?”
“Fuck yes,” I grinned. “Joshua and I are on the same page about this.
Might still have to convince Cole, though. But hey, it’s three on one.”
There was a three-on-one joke somewhere I knew, and under normal
circumstances I would’ve made it. For now though, I let it go. Quinn
nuzzled into me, releasing my hand just long enough to give the biggest,
most heartfelt hug. Her relief was palpable. I could feel the tension in her
body letting go all at once.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I squeezed her even tighter against me. She felt good. Right.
Undeniably perfect.
“No thanks necessary,” I sighed contentedly. “Because being this
close to something this incredible?” My gaze dropped to her belly again.
“We’re not letting either one of you out of our sight.”
 Forty-Four

QUINN

I found Cole two miles away, perched on a ridge, peering through a

set of very expensive-looking binoculars into the valley below. Joshua
drove me up to the base of the hill, in a strange type of jeep I’d never seen
before. For the ten-minute climb however, I went alone.
He didn’t turn, though I knew he heard me coming. Cole was covered
head to toe in dust — his face clean around the eyes only. He wore camos
that matched the desert landscape. Even his beard had sand in it.
“Stay at least ten yards behind me.”
Whatever he was trying to do, he was obviously trying not to be seen.
I hung back for a moment, enjoying the spectacular view. The desert wind
toyed with my hair. The horizon stretched in every direction, strikingly
beautiful in its desolation.
Eventually Cole completed his scan, then turned to face me.
“You should be back at the motel,” he admonished.
“Yeah,” I smiled. “About that…”
I beckoned him over, not wanting to blow his position at the edge of
the cliff. He came slowly, lumbering down to where I stood. His huge,
hulking body towered over me. I was reminded sharply of how exquisitely
small I felt beneath that body, whenever he was really, seriously taking me.
“Whatever happens next, I want to be with you,” I told him. “I know
it’s not ideal. I know it’s dangerous—”
“You don’t know the half,” he grunted.
 “True,” I acknowledged. “But leaving me alone isn’t ideal either. At
least here, I’m with the three of you. I know you’ll protect me.”
He stood there impassively for a moment, those crystal blue eyes
scanning the horizon behind me. Eventually they settled on me again. His
look softened.
“Quinn, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“For putting you through this. For getting you into this. It wasn’t
something we ever—”
I reached up and put a finger against his lips, and Cole stopped talking
instantly. It felt comical, shushing someone so big, so gargantuan.
Especially compared to me.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I told him. “I understand
everything. You know I understand everything. So give me that much credit
at least, okay?”
Slowly I withdrew my finger. Cole remained as still as a statue,
staring down at me with that big, furrowed brow. Eventually though, he
nodded.
“You’re the type of men who protect the weak,” I told him. “You
charge into danger.”
“Exactly,” he grunted. “Being around us is dangerous.”
“Yes, but the three of you always win. You always conquer.”
He inhaled slowly, filling those big lungs as his gaze shifted over my
shoulder somewhere. Staring blankly into the distance, he let out a long
sigh.
“Not always.”
I knew he was thinking of the ambush, and his fallen brethren. He was
thinking about their families, and his broken promise to them.
“Cole…”
There were a thousand things I wanted to say. I wanted to tell him that
it wasn’t his fault — that he wasn’t with Joshua or Evan when the whole
thing happened. They were his brothers, and they would always protect
him. They’d never let anything happen to him, the way he’d never let
anything happen to me. Most desperately of all though, I wanted to make
things better for him. Like I had with Joshua.
But I knew enough, for now at least, to leave it alone.
“Wherever you go, I want to be with you,” I told him instead. “Now…
and even afterward.”
Now his gaze shifted. His eyes focused solely on mine. “You mean
after the baby is born?”
“Yes.”
His whole demeanor changed. Suddenly he was no longer interested
in watching the ridge.
“Quinn, we’re not what you want. You need a husband, a life, a future
—”
“I love you.”
My words stopped the big soldier cold, faster than any bullet ever
could. He fumbled around for a moment, then looked down at his feet.
“That… that can’t be.”
“But it is,” I said simply. “I love you, Cole. I love all of you.”
“But—”
“I love the men that took me in, saved me, protected me. The men
who treated me as an equal. The three men who plucked my lifelong
dreams from my tired head and forged them into reality, right before my
eyes. Without asking for anything of me in return.”
The wind blew harder. Tendrils of my hair were whipping gently
against the side of his face.
“I love the depth of your courage,” I went on. “Where most people
huddle against the darkness, the three of you brave it. You don’t hide from
it, you own it.”
I had no idea I was about to say any of these things. My heart just
opened, and they poured right now.
“I’m going to have your baby,” I went on. “And if that’s all I ever am
to you — a surrogate and nothing more — I’d still be thrilled to have been
in your lives at all.”
 I paused, choking up to the point of tears. Somehow I managed the
strength to continue.
“But I want much, much more,” I admitted. “I love my time with you,
and I don’t ever want it to end. If the three of you don’t feel the same way,
I’ll live with that. But I had to tell you. I had to try.”
Cole stood there silently, not saying a word. Then his own eyes went
glassy.
It’s just the wind, I told myself.
He took my hands, which looked so tiny against his.
Maybe.
“Quinn,” he began slowly. “I… I mean, we…”
In that exact moment Joshua came flying up behind me, obliterating
all other conversation. He made the top of the hill and stopped before us,
totally out of breath.
I didn’t like the look on his face at all.
“What is it?” Cole snapped quickly. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything,” gasped Joshua. “Everything is all fucked up.”
 Forty-Five

QUINN

I heard the helicopter well before I saw it: a low whoosh-whoosh that
echoed hollowly through the desert valley. I half-ran, was half-dragged
down the rocky slope, and somehow ended up in the cab of Joshua’s jeep,
which Cole was now driving. Tires spun. Gravel scattered high into the air,
falling like rain as we raced away.
In the end though, none of it mattered.
“Get down!”
The crack of a high-powered rifle split the air, followed by the type of
ricochet sound you never could’ve imagined was real. Hunched down in the
back, I saw Joshua navigating while hanging half out of the vehicle. Cole
was jerking the wheel side to side, fishtailing the jeep, kicking up so much
desert dust it had to be intentional.
“LEFT!” Joshua shouted.
Cole didn’t react right away.
“Left left left left LEFFFFT!
I was tossed sideways as he cut the wheel again, smashing violently
into the rear passenger door. There weren’t any windows, and I almost went
right over the side. Instead, I cursed through the rapidly-growing knot on
my temple, and braced myself for whatever came next.
“Where’s the convoy!” Cole shouted.
“There is no convoy,” Joshua countered. “They sent in the fucking air
cavalry inste—”
 “There has to be a convoy,” Cole growled back. “Ferrera wouldn’t let
this go down without being a part of it, and we both know he’s too scared to
fly.”
Another rifle retort ended the conversation. Something hit the jeep
that sounded like a giant rock, and I gasped at the size of the hole it made.
“Pull over!” cried Joshua.
They’d miscalculated, that much I knew. They’d expected to ambush
whichever cars or trucks showed up in the desert, and they’d been
ambushed themselves.
Shit, I could read it in the bitter look on their faces.
“At least slow down enough to get her out!”
As I opened my mouth to protest Cole slammed the brakes, sending
me hurtling into the seat back. The wind was knocked from my lungs.
Something in my neck cracked. Before I could recover, the door flew open,
and I was dumped unceremoniously against the hard ground, my body
spinning helplessly into a rolling cloud of reddish-yellow dust.
Coughing, still on my hands and knees, I watched helplessly as the
jeep raced away. I wanted to scream. I wanted to leap to my feet and chase
after them.
But I was too busy covering my ears, as the chopper roared over me.
Fuck!
As the safe anonymity of my dust-cloud dissolved away, I began
looking for cover. Yes, I was alone. Yes, they’d ditched me — just as I’d
feared they would.
But I also knew they’d done it to protect me, too.
I sprinted to the closest rock formation, which really wasn’t that close
at all. In the meantime, the chopper swept even lower. The pilot adjusted its
speed, maneuvering once again to come up behind them. Cole was still
swerving wildly, trying to make his movements as unpredictable as
possible.
That’s when I saw the man in black hanging outside the chopper,
attached to it by some kind of harness. He had a long rifle pressed tightly
against his shoulder. His hands moved along the length of it, lining up his
next shot.
 NO.
I was scrambling in the dust, searching for something that could help,
when the sound of another vehicle caused me to whirl. My heart soared,
thinking it would be Evan. Instead, it dropped straight into my feet when I
saw what it actually was.
A convoy of three big SUVs rolled up in single file. At one time they
may have been black, but at the moment they’d been blasted by so much
desert sand they blended almost completely into the landscape. If it weren’t
for the plumes of dirt they kicked up, as well as the noise they made, they
might’ve been invisible.
And right now they were headed directly for me.
I crouched in the rubble, watching intently, dividing my attention
between the incoming convoy and the helicopter still chasing Cole and
Joshua. I sat there praying the vehicles would rumble on past me. Instead
they arrived at the exact place where I’d been ejected from the jeep, and
skidded to an abrupt stop.
Dust swirled. It hung there for a moment before the wind picked it up
and swept it away, just as six pairs of doors swung open and men began
stepping out from both sides.
They were South Americans, that much was certain. It was in their
mannerisms even more than the way they spoke so fluently to each other, in
a language I only partially understood. As they fanned out, it became
obvious they didn’t know exactly where I was. But it wouldn’t be long.
Especially considering just how many—
I gasped sharply into a thick palm, as a hand slid over my mouth. It
pressed hard, stifling my cry as I tried twisting away from the captor who’d
so suddenly come up from behind me.
“Shhhhhh!”
I froze, and the hand over my mouth relaxed a little. I felt the hot
breath of a mouth very close to my ear.
“I’m taking my hand away,” a strange voice whispered. “But if you
make so much as even a whimper, they’re going to hear us.”
 Forty-Six

QUINN

Against the rhythm of my pounding heart, I forced my body to relax.

Precious seconds ticked by, and the hand over my mouth was slowly taken
away. The one clamped over my wrist let go as well.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” the voice whispered, so low I could
barely even hear it. “I’m… a friend.”
I spun around, and found myself staring into the weathered, wizened
face of another soldier. He was no older than Evan or Joshua or Cole, but
there was a deep wisdom etched into the wrinkles of his sun-bronzed
forehead. Head to toe, he was armed and armored.
“You’re Ripley,” I murmured.
The man nodded slowly. A full complement of military gear creaked
under the weight of his Kevlar vest.
“W—Where’s Evan?” I stammered.
He shook his head, indicating he didn’t know, or maybe he was telling
me to stop talking. Either way, he motioned for silence with an outstretched
finger before peeking slowly back around the rocky outcropping, in the
direction of the makeshift road.
I could hear voices, shouting, and the barking of orders. My stomach
rolled in panic as I realized I could barely hear the chopper anymore. It was
far away in the distance now, as were Cole and Joshua.
My chin sank to my chest.
“Hey…”
 A rough, calloused hand brushed mine. When I looked up again, it
was into a pair of piercing green eyes.
“I need you to stay with me.”
I bit my lip and nodded. The presence of Ripley was comforting, as all
three of the guys had talked about him extensively. In every one of the
stories they’d told me, I knew he was the one man they all trusted.
Ripley went back to watching the road for what seemed like a long
time. Eventually he reached back with one hand, making signals with his
fingers that I didn’t know.
“I… I don’t…”
He turned, confused for a moment, then looked apologetic. Motioning
me over, he put his lips to my ear again.
“Four of them. Coming this way.”
Before I could react, something cold and hard was pressed into my
hand. My fingers closed around it, and I found myself holding a pistol.
“Safety’s off,” Ripley whispered.
I should’ve felt fear, even terror. I was trapped in a strange place,
being stalked by people who wouldn’t possibly listen to reason. There was
zero doubt: these men were coming to kill us.
Instead I loosened my death-grip on the weapon, allowing it to feel
more comfortable in my hand.
“How many shots do I have?”
Ripley raised a pleasantly-surprised eyebrow. Setting his own rifle
against his shoulder, his mouth twisted into a grin.
“More than enough,” he smirked.
 Forty-Seven

JOSHUA

There were plans you made with precision, and plans you made on the
fly. But no matter how much you considered, no matter how carefully you
plotted things out, there were always variables you couldn’t control.
Variables that could take your pants down and fuck you from behind
without a moment’s notice, especially if you weren’t paying attention to just
how quickly shit could go sideways.
And damn. Shit had gone sideways real quick.
“Up there. See that ridge?”
Cole didn’t answer, but that was all the answer I needed. He turned
the steering wheel to the right, veering us in the direction I’d pointed.
“Get in close to the wall.”
My friend grunted — the same grunt he always gave when one of us
was pointing out something obvious. And yes, it was obvious. But I had to
make sure.
“This is fucked, you know that? I mean really, seriously fucked.”
Another pair of shots rang out, as the noise of the chopper grew
louder. Soon the sound would obliterate everything else. We wouldn’t be
able to hear our own voices, much less—
“There!”
An opening split the horizon, creating a narrow valley between two
ancient, crumbling mesas. Cole jerked the wheel again, crushing a virgin
path through the desert grit and gravel. The pedal was pinned to the floor.
The engine screamed.
“Did I mention this is fucked?”
The meeting had been changed three times, and all by them. Ferrera’s
men had been defiantly paranoid, not that I could blame them. After all, we
were planning an ambush. But with the Sikorsky barreling down on us right
now, I guess their ambush had been just a tiny bit better.
“Think she’s okay?” Cole asked hesitantly.
It seemed batshit crazy, pushing our pregnant girlfriend from our still-
moving vehicle and into the desert. We’d slowed almost to a complete stop,
though. She’d be a little bruised and battered, maybe scraped up. But in all
other aspects, generally okay.
Besides, Quinn was tough and we were banking on that. Tough and
smart and resourceful. Savvy enough to find quick cover after being
dumped in the middle of nowhere, or so I secretly hoped.
And right now, anywhere was better than here.
“FASTER!” I shouted, after looking back.
“I can’t go any faster!” Cole growled.
A 50-caliber round exploded the ground directly in front of us,
sending clods of dirt flying through a blossoming plume of dust. Cole didn’t
even flinch. Whoever was in the chopper was good, but not great. They’d
hit the jeep three times already, so far at least, they hadn’t hit us.
“Shoot that prick,” spat Cole.
I whipped around and raised my own rifle, hoping for the best. With
all the shifting and fishtailing it would be hard to get off a shot, much less a
good one. I could always get lucky though. If life had taught me anything, it
was that when you took chances, luck generally seemed to favor you
anyway.
“C’mon already!” Cole shouted back angrily. “Or would you rather
take the wheel and give me that thin-”
I fired in short staccato bursts. Round after round sped past the
swerving, sweeping chopper as the pilot worked the pedals to yaw the bird
left and right. I saw one of my bullets bounce harmlessly off the side as he
feathered the tail rotor back and forth. The movements made the chopper
almost impossible to hit.
But it also prevented the guy with the .50 cal from shooting back. At
least temporarily.
“Clip me!”
Cole reached back and provided me with another magazine. In one
practiced motion I dropped the empty and slammed in the new one. It was
something we’d done a hundred times, in dozens of different situations.
This one felt different, though. Maybe because with each passing second,
we were getting further and further away from her.
“Motherfucker!”
I fired again, this time leading the chopper according to the pilot’s
previous movements. Tiny sparks appeared on the Sikorsky’s aluminum
hull as I scored a few more hits. It was a suppressing fire more than
anything else, though. I knew it in my heart. I knew that eventually—
Fwwwsshhhhh!
A thin plume of white smoke erupted in a line, connecting the
landscape with the side of the chopper. The Sikorsky exploded
spectacularly, breaking cleanly in half. The rotors broke free and spun out
of the ensuing fireball as its flaming carcass plunged, trailing black smoke,
on its way to the canyon floor.
And all of this happened in the span of a single second.
“NICE FUCKING SHOT!” Cole screamed euphorically.
My rifle was still raised, but was now pointed at the empty desert sky.
I was still in shock. It took a moment before I could even register what
happened.
Then I saw that thin line of white smoke again, which was becoming
thicker and more crooked as the wind whipped it away. And I knew.
“Pull over!”
Cole slammed the brakes, and the jeep skidded to a rocky halt. Just
then a head popped up from the outer edge of the canyon. I saw the dark
hair. The thick, bushy black beard and mustache. I knew who it was before
he’d even finished climbing down. I knew by the shit-eating grin already
plastered across his smug face.
 Awww, crap.
“Joshua Pierce!” he called out jovially. “That was some of the worst
fucking shooting I’ve seen since Paris Island.”
Imad looked a little older and a little slimmer than the last time I’d
seen him. There still wasn’t a gray hair on his wavy black head though. Not
in his beard either.
“Wait, I take that back,” he pondered. “You shot worse than that when
we did that job in Sudan.”
“A lot worse,” Cole piled on. “Remember when he almost killed that
Ostrich?”
“He was aiming for that Ostrich,” Imad smirked. “That’s why he
missed it. In fact—”
“Asshole,” I grunted.
My eyes fell to the now-empty tube of the anti-aircraft rocket launcher
he was lugging around. The business end was still smoking as he laughingly
dropped it to the ground.
“It’s still damn good to see you,” I admitted. “And even better to see
you came prepared.”
“What, you didn’t think I could come up with a Stinger missile on
such short notice?”
“I didn’t think we’d even need a Stinger missile,” I admitted.
Imad grinned until his gums looked bigger than his teeth. “Good thing
I did.”
I clapped him on the back hard enough to nearly knock him down.
“If you would’ve given me another day I would’ve rolled in on a
Scorpion,” our friend bragged. “Maybe a little overkill,” he shrugged, “but
better to have it and not need it than to—”
“No time!” Cole cut him off. He clapped a quick hand on Imad’s
shoulder. “Later. Okay?”
Our heads swiveled back in the direction we’d just come from.
Somewhere off in the distance, the sounds of a firefight broke out as we
sprinted back to the jeep.
Fuck.
 Forty-Eight

QUINN

The men closed the distance to our position, not changing direction.
They advanced on us cautiously, rifles ready, putting one foot in front of the
other.
Every step brought all of us closer to the inevitable.
Now.
Ripley’s signal was swift and undeniable — a short jerk of his head in
the direction of our enemies. We stepped out together on either side of the
rock, guns raised; his rifle, my pistol. Both were leveled at different targets
as we squeezed our respective triggers.
That’s when the whole world exploded with noise and fire.
A cacophony of five different weapons split the desert silence, all
going off at different times. Ripley mowed down the nearest attacker, who
fired helplessly into the air as he fell. He was already turning his barrel on
the next man in line when my own weapon went off, my finger squeezing
through the trigger again and again as I fired at the man who was almost
upon me.
I’d shot a gun before, but not anything like this. Not with my blood
pumping and my heart pounding and the difference between life and death
hanging in the balance. It was overwhelming at first. Then it was somehow
cathartic. I found myself firing and laughing and weeping — a full gamut of
emotions flowing through me — as I emptied most of my clip, center mass,
into the dark stranger determined to kill me.
 He crumpled forward and shuddered, leaving me utterly bewildered
and standing over him. The smell of gunpowder was oppressive. My finger
was still twitching wildly. Then I saw the fourth guy, and realized I was
looking directly down the silver-black barrel of his raised weapon.
“HEY!”
The man half turned, half whipped backward as a half dozen rounds
exploded around his chest and throat. It wasn’t just blood, it was other stuff
too. Stuff you don’t really understand until you actually see it; the things a
weapon of war could actually do to the human body at this close range.
Ripley grabbed my wrist and pulled me away, sprinting through the
gun-smoke in some direction that seemed totally random. I heard more
shouts, then more gunshots, and suddenly I was falling, pinwheeling
forward. My legs struggled to keep up with my center of gravity, which was
shifted impossibly far forward. Ultimately they lost the battle. The pistol in
my hand went flying, as I skidded headfirst into the hard-packed desert
floor.
UNNNFFFF!
My knees exploded with pain, then my palms, elbows, and eventually
my chin. The road-rash of having fallen too fast seemed to burn from
everywhere at once. But the numbness came quickly, taking away most of
the pain.
“Stay down.”
Somewhere during the chaos, Ripley had let go. The voice wasn’t his
however. It sounded foreign and angrier, and far more sinister. Besides,
Ripley was lying next to me — I could see that now that the dust had
cleared. His eyes were closed and he appeared completely immobile, totally
unconscious. Or even worse.
“Where are the others?”
Several pairs of boots appeared in my field of vision, and I flinched as
someone reeled back to kick me. Instinctively, I curled into a fetal position,
just before a foot glanced off my shoulder. When I didn’t cry out, a heel
ground itself into the small of my back.
“I said—”
“Shoot that one!” one of them barked. “Then ask her again.”
 The second voice was even louder and dripped with disdain. It was
followed by the sound of several guns being cocked at once.
NO!
I squirmed free and bolted upright, not realizing just how dizzy I was.
It was just in time to see a trio of pistols being leveled in the direction of
Ripley’s head.
“No no no! Wait!”
Two more men swung their rifles my way. I leapt to my feet, hands
out, fingers splayed. Blood ran down my ruined palms. I was staring at at
least six or eight men, all armed to the teeth. Two others ran up, completing
their group.
“FERRERA!” I blurted.
My eyes darted wildly from enemy to enemy. All of them had paused
at my outburst, turning their heads to stare at a single man.
The warlord was significantly shorter than the others, squat and
heavyset. His facial hair was so bushy it knitted together at the base of his
forehead, forming a perfect, unbroken unibrow over a pair of dark, soulless
eyes.
“You don’t want him,” I said quickly, before his men could carry out
his order. My hand was already in my pocket. I drew it out slowly, in case
one of them was trigger-happy.
“You want this.”
I held the emerald up high, pinching it between my thumb and
forefinger. The desert sun caught it immediately, showering my forearm
with a shimmering, glimmering curtain of brilliant green light.
A collective gasp went up from Ferrera’s henchmen.
I’d taken the largest of the stones back in Maine, tucking it away
before Cole shoved the rest of his treasure back into the hollow of the tree.
At the time, I didn’t even know why I did it. Probably because I wanted to
show the others, to see if the emeralds could be used as leverage. To gain
some kind of advantage Cole hadn’t thought of.
Mostly though, I didn’t want him keeping such a deadly secret
entirely to himself. Especially if it could get him hurt.
 I rotated the emerald sideways, making sure it cast the biggest profile
and caused the biggest impact. I needn’t have bothered. Ferrera’s eyes went
so wide the moment he saw it, I thought they might drop right out of his
head.
“I know where they are,” I said quickly. “All of them. And I’ll tell
you. But not if you kill this man.”
I swung my arm down, then tossed the gemstone underhand in the
warlord’s direction. His men flinched, as if it were a grenade. Secretly, I
wished that it was.
He moved quickly for a man his size, catching it in his fist. Ferrera
took only a moment to examine the stone. He knew its authenticity
immediately.
“Let him go,” I said, jerking my head at Ripley. He still hadn’t moved.
That worried me.
“Tell me—”
“Let him GO,” I repeated more sternly. “Then we talk.”
The warlord squinted, then cleared his throat. His arm trembled with
rage as he shook the emerald back at me.
“Oh, you’ll talk,” Ferrera sneered. “And in the end, you’ll beg to tell
me where the rest of these are.”
He laughed, and his laughter was pure evil. Like something out of a
nightmare.
“You’ll wish you had an easy death,” Ferrera spat. “As easy as this
man, right here.”
His eyes shifted to the one man still standing over Ripley, and nodded
a silent order. The man raised his pistol again. This time he pointed it at
Ripley’s head.
“NOOOO!”
There was no time to move, no time to act. No words that might stop
what happened next, because I knew in my heart anything I said would fall
upon deaf ears.
But that’s when things got totally surreal.
 Forty-Nine

QUINN

The man holding the pistol to Ripley’s head stood stock still as his
arm came apart at the elbow. The forearm spun away like a helicopter, end
over end, his fist still clenching the gun as he stared down at the impossible.
It all happened noiselessly, at least for a full second. That’s how long it took
for the crack of the sniper rifle to finally reach our ears, echoing hollowly
from somewhere off on a distant hill.
“AIIIEEEEE!”
The man screamed, distracting the others who were just now figuring
out what was happening. But by then it was too late. Two fell immediately,
then three more. Their bodies spun violently in a macabre dance of death, as
they absorbed the full or partial impact of the .50 caliber rounds that tore
them to shreds.
“YOU!”
I looked up and saw Ferrera staring at me with murderous eyes. He
was practically foaming at the mouth now, his skin almost purple with rage.
If looks could kill I’d be dead six times over, but he was more than willing
to seal the deal…
I shuddered as he raised his arm and leveled his own gun my way.
Fuck.
I dove. It was the only thing I could think of to do at the moment. My
wounds ripped even further as I impacted the ground again, overwhelming
my brain with razor-sharp signals of white-hot pain. I couldn’t stop there
though. I kept rolling, kept moving as bullet after bullet impacted the
ground in places I’d been only a split second ago.
Ferrera was roaring like a caged animal. Some of his men tried
running for cover but they were cut down quickly and brutally. He had the
strangest expression now, too. There were still miles of rage behind those
soulless eyes, but that rage was now tempered with the unnerving coolness
of someone who’d already accepted his fate.
He was defeated. Beaten. A dead man walking.
But the dead had nothing to lose.
An all-new pain blossomed in my leg, followed by the warmth of
fresh blood splattering against my face. I willed myself to ignore it, still
rolling through the dust. I was running out of energy and momentum when
the gun he was firing finally clicked empty.
Ferrera screamed and flung his weapon away. Then he rushed me. In
doing so he saved his own life — for a few more seconds, anyway — as the
air where he’d just been standing was ripped by the high-pitched whine of a
supersonic bullet.
I kicked at his hands, which were now scrabbling at my feet. The
fallen warlord half-crawled, half squirmed through the dirt and sand, raking
my legs with his grubby fingers. One of them found its way into the new
bullet-hole in my thigh. He snarled in triumph and twisted that finger, while
I cried and kicked and screamed uncontrollably…
Then he was on top of me, with both hands clamped around my neck.
I fought like hell, but the man was just too big, too bulky. He
straddled my body, using his knees to pin my shoulders to the ground. It
gave him all the leverage in the world with which to strangle me. As my
vision began closing in on all sides, a cruel grin painted its way across
Ferrera’s face…
And then suddenly Cole was standing over him, gripping his head in
both hands.
The Navy SEAL’s face was utterly grim. His eyes were wild and feral
— like those of a wolf, or something even more primitive. His arms flexed
as he twisted Ferrera’s head so hard, so fast, the vertebrae of his neck
literally crunched like dried pasta. The hands wrapped around my throat
dug in for a half-second more, then finally relaxed.
Cole dropped the warlord’s corpse in disgust, Ferrera’s head now
tilted at an impossible angle. Then he reached down for me, just as Joshua
and another man came running up.
“A--Are you—”
“Okay?” I smiled, through a haze of pain. I could taste blood in my
mouth now, too.
“Yes. Better than ever,” I managed to smile weakly, before finally
losing consciousness.
 Fifty

QUINN

I woke up on a long padded seat, in the back of a strange vehicle I

didn’t recognize. But Cole was there in the front seat. Joshua too. My head
was cradled in Evan’s lap, and his gentle stroking of my face is what had
awakened me, apparently.
“W—Where are we?”
“We aren’t anywhere,” Evan said gently. “Not yet anyway.”
“But… we’re free, aren’t we?”
My question seemed strange. Even to me.
“Yes.”
“No more hiding? No more danger?”
“We were never hiding,” Cole called back from the driver’s seat. His
hands guided the wheel with his usual confidence. “But yes. No more
danger.”
The road beneath us was smooth and paved. Without even looking, I
knew we’d left the hard-packed floor of the desert behind.
“But we’re heading home,” he added with a smile. “And for good, this
time.”
My memory came back in bits and snatches. Ferrera was dead. So
were his henchmen. My three boys were together again — I could
remember that much — along with the recollection of three or four other
men, all huddled over the broken bodies of their fallen enemies.
 The others had come down from the hills, along with Evan. They were
dressed like the rocks. Nearly invisible. There was a tourniquet on my leg,
tied so tightly I could barely feel anything except pins and needles. But
somehow it was still bleeding.
That’s where things got a little fuzzy.
I remembered the jeep, and leaving the desert. Someone stitched me
up before we changed vehicles, and I realized it was the dark-haired ally
who’d shown up with Joshua. The man had a thick black beard and a kind-
hearted smile, and the others were calling him ‘doctor.’ He wasn’t a doctor
though. Not yet, anyway. It was something they kept reminding him of, but
it seemed they trusted him enough to do the job.
The bullet had gone through my leg, apparently. I slept a lot after that,
probably from the medicine I was given, and the next thing I knew we were
somewhere else entirely. The men said their goodbyes at a small airfield,
clapping each other’s backs while my boys hugged the others in gratitude. I
heard some names, but promptly forgot them. I was just too damned tired.
Too sore from a dozen cuts and scrapes and God knew what else.
I don’t even remember landing, or leaving the airport. But it didn’t
matter. The guys were taking care of me as I regained my strength, and by
the time I was able to sit up and look around I realized exactly where we
were. The familiarity excited me, perking me up instantly.
“We’re home.”
Evan smiled. Joshua looked back at me from the front seat, while Cole
caught my gaze in the rear-view mirror.
“Still a few miles away,” he shrugged. “But that’s right, princess.”
His normally troubled face was uncharacteristically serene and
peaceful.
“We’re home.”
 Fifty-One

QUINN

A lot of things took place when we arrived back in Boston, and they
seemed to happen all at once. But the first thing the guys did was get me
thoroughly checked out, in every way. And happily, scrapes and bruises
aside, it turned out that both me and the baby inside me were more than
fine.
After that we rested for what seemed like a very long time. The boys
drew the shades, locked the doors, and cuddled me on every side. The
darkness and silence were relaxing, but it was the comfort of their warm
bodies pressed tightly against mine that allowed me to finally turn off my
brain. I drifted off to the most blissful, dreamless sleep of my entire life,
and woke ravenous and rested almost a whole day later.
From there, I got immediately back to work despite their protests. And
they got to work wrapping other things up, including putting out the last
few fires still burning after eliminating Ferrera and his men.
The sniper team they’d put together had consisted of only a handful of
men, but they’d been the best of the best. The boys had cashed in every
favor, called in every last obligation. They’d saved most of these men’s
lives on the battlefield at one time or another, and many of them were
simply returning the favor.
And then there was Ripley, who was essentially one of them. He was
thrilled of course, to be finally free. Ferrera’s reign was over, and the pieces
of his fallen empire would be divided amongst the other cartels and
warlords who’d waited like vultures for it to crumble. But none of them
would have interests outside of their own expanding realm, or the need to
seek revenge.
Which meant, of course, that we were finally free.
Yet I wasn’t sure what that freedom entailed, honestly. I could go back
to my apartment now, if I wanted to. And the guys could go back to their
own lives. There was no reason for them to protect me, and nothing really
to protect me from. I was back to simply being their surrogate. The mother
of their future child.
Just thinking about it that way left a hole in my heart.
By the third day I was in my room, lying in bed, staring up at the
ceiling. I couldn’t stop thinking about the unfinished conversation I’d had
with Cole. I’d poured my heart out to him up on that hill. And everything
had been left so… so…
So damned unfinished.
“Quinn?”
Evan’s deep voice startled me out of my trance. He was standing in
the doorway, his big arms braced against the top of the door frame.
“Come down. We need you.”
He smiled and extended a hand, and I took it. I followed him down the
stairs and into the living room, where both Evan and Cole were seated
across from each other.
The guys were usually here in various states of relaxation, but not
now. There was nothing casual about the way they were sitting straight up,
staring directly at me. I sat down numbly, not knowing what to expect. And
that’s when I noticed the blue folder on the coffee table.
“What’s that?”
The guys glanced at each other. For the first time in as long I’d known
them, they actually looked nervous.
“There’s the bulk of the paperwork relinquishing your parental rights
to us,” said Joshua.
“Oh.”
I swallowed, not comprehending. This had all been taken care of
already, and a very long time ago. Lawyers much smarter than any of us had
seen to that.
“Is there something I forgot to sign?” I asked nervously. “Do you need
me to—”
“We want you to tear it up.”
My confusion was total now. I didn’t have the slightest idea of what
they were talking about.
“Tear it up?”
“Yes,” Cole repeated. “It’s a symbolic gesture, of course. These are
only copies of the originals. But it’ll show your intentions. Your
commitment.”
“My commitment?” I tilted my head.
He nodded solemnly. “Your commitment to us.”
His words took a while to actually land. When they did I felt numb.
Dizzy. Overwhelmed.
“You… you want me to commit to you?”
“To all of us, yes,” said Evan.
My eyes flared open. All of a sudden I was excited beyond words.
“It’s what you told me you wanted,” said Cole. “Isn’t it?”
“Yes!” I breathed. “It’s all I ever wanted!”
“Well we’ve talked about it, and we want it too.”
They sat at the edge of their seats now, hanging on my every word. It
made my heart melt to think they were actually nervous about this. Even
more so than me.
“We love you, Quinn,” said Joshua. “You’re a part of us now. Shit,
maybe you always have been. But this thing we have, that we’ve been
doing together… we’re not willing to let it go. And that child that’s growing
inside you, it belongs to all of us. It needs a mother just as much as it needs
three fathers. We can see that now.”
I was glad he could see, because I couldn’t see anything anymore.
There were too many tears filling my eyes.
“And we’re betting there’s no better mother in the universe than you.”
 A pair of arms went around me from either side. I was bawling.
Sniffling. Laughing and crying, as my heart soared through a million
different emotions.
And for once, all of them were good ones.
“We’ve committed to missions, to country, to each other,” Cole went
on. “And now we’re committing to you. It wasn’t what we expected. It
certainly wasn’t something we planned on. But you’re the most incredible
woman any of us could ask for. The fact that we’ve been sharing you still
blows our mind, but there’s one thing we know beyond a shadow of a
doubt…”
Gentle fingers tilted my face upward where his ice-blue eyes burned
from within.
“The three of us will always be happy, if we can have you forever.”
I was gushing. Giddy. Utterly blown away. Even so, my mind
screamed at me to rationalize what was happening. I had to make certain it
was real.
“Are you sure?” I finally sniffed, cursing myself even as I asked the
question. “I—I mean, you only want me? Because—”
“Yes,” affirmed Evan.
“Hell yes,” Joshua jumped in. “Why?”
“Because there’s three of you,” I reasoned. “You have three sets of
needs, three sets of desires. Three sets of dreams, and—”
“So?”
I blinked. “So if we do this, there’s only one of me.”
“One of you, huh?” Joshua smirked and bumped my shoulder.
“You’ve been doing pretty well so far.”
I shifted back into the couch, and they sat back with me. I felt loved,
cherished, honored. Thrilled beyond words; that what we’d built so crazily
and haphazardly could actually continue.
Most of all, I found myself relieved that once I had their baby, it
didn’t have to end.
Your baby.
 They were just two words. Two little words that hit me like a ton of
bricks.
Yours… and theirs too.
It seemed impossible, giving myself to three men at once. And even
more impossible to ask them to commit to me.
Yet that’s exactly what I wanted, and exactly what they’d done.
“Look, we know this isn’t an ordinary situation,” Evan said gently.
“But we’re not ordinary men. We don’t have an ordinary life.”
“I never wanted an ordinary life,” Joshua grinned.
“And you’re not an ordinary woman,” Evan went on. “Quinn, you’re
extraordinary. We saw it from the very beginning. You’re like us. You are
us.”
Evan and Joshua were on either side of me now. Cole knelt before me
and took my hand.
“We’re asking you to be with us,” he said. “Forever, if that’s what you
want. But only if—”
I stood up, tears streaming, and hugged him against my pregnant
belly. Then I bent down, picked up the folder, and made the most important
— but also the easiest — decision of my entire life.
I tore it up.
 Epilogue

QUINN

“Are you about ready?”

Joshua had come up behind me. His strong hands kneaded my
shoulders, rubbing even more oil into my skin.
“The question is are you ready,” I chuckled. “After all, you were the
ones setting things up.”
My eyes were still closed, enjoying the sweet scent of the ocean as
much as the huskiness of his voice as it murmured into my ear. I was
stretched out on the lounge, at the edge of our infinity pool. The boys were
setting up our private villa while I relaxed and waited. Or at least, setting up
the bedroom.
“I’m supposed to blindfold you,” Joshua whispered. “That’s part of
the surprise.”
I sighed as his hands slid down over my breasts, bringing warmth and
stimulation. They cupped and kneaded me for a while before gliding even
further down, along my hips.
“Jeeze these things are big.”
“Pregnancy does that,” I chuckled.
“So once the baby’s born… they go away?”
I laughed at the sincerity and innocence of the question. “For some
women, yes. For others?” I shrugged. “Who knows? But they’ll still be big
for a while. Long enough to feed the baby, at least.”
 Less than twelve weeks. That’s all we had left! After that, a child
would be involved in every decision we ever made.
And I, just like the guys, couldn’t wait.
“Well let’s take advantage of them while we can,” breathed Joshua.
His hands were on my tits again, his palms moving in gentle circles over
my areolae. I arched my back in arousal as he rubbed even more oil over
my skin, including the round bump of my pregnant belly.
“C’mon. The others are going to be pissed if I don’t get you inside.”
A bandana was folded gently over my eyes, and I smiled as he tied it
behind my head. Then he helped me up, his hands covered in oil, as a gentle
tropic breeze kissed my naked skin.
Turks and Caicos.
Our own villa.
Private island.
The whole thing had to be incredibly fucking expensive, but
apparently that wasn’t an issue. Especially since Cole had revealed his stash
of Colombian emeralds, and Evan’s connections had turned a couple of the
better stones into a big pile of cash.
“This way,” Joshua guided me.
The emeralds were something the boys had shared with the others
who’d helped us, including Ripley. That made getting rid of them easier.
Especially since there were plenty to go around.
“Don’t trip over the towels.”
He was behind me now. His hands were on my hips. It excited me for
reasons that were shamelessly obvious.
“Right here. Two steps. Then we’re inside.”
We’d taken full advantage of the past several months and traveled
extensively, enjoying some much-needed time together without the stress of
everything that had gone down. All the loose ends had been long since tied
up, and Sarah had been amazing with taking over the truck. Knowing I
could leave it in her capable hands made the decision to take these trips a
hell of a lot easier.
“Alright… almost there.”
 I’d made some stupid bet with the guys that if they paid for a private
island I would remain naked the entire trip. And of course they did. They
were guys, after all. And of course I was a woman of her word. So far,
anyway. But with the sun going down and the breeze picking up? I’d almost
actually put some clothes on.
And if I did, I’d just have to make it up to them, somehow.
“Okay. That’s far enough.”
I stopped, feeling the familiarity of soft linens beneath my feet. The
inside of the villa was pleasantly warm. And sensing the giant bodies on
three different sides of me, I knew it was about to get warmer.
“Kneel down.”
The voice was Cole’s. It was strong and authoritative, like always.
“Ohhh,” I smirked. “I like it already.”
I played along, dropping to my knees. There were pillows beneath me.
I knew the boys had created some sort of makeshift bed, as they always did.
Even king-sized beds were too small for the four of us to sleep in together,
and when we were away on trips like this it was always fun to sleep in a
big, warm, musclebound pile.
“You can take it off now.”
I reached up and slid the bandana upward. I was in a candlelit room,
staring at my three ripped, naked boyfriends. Each of them stood with their
hands on their hips. And each man was covered head to toe in coconut oil.
A pleasant tingle developed between my legs. I tried finding
something clever to say, but I came up with nothing.
My God…
I was eye-level with their three growing manhoods, which were in
various stages of arousal. Everything but that part of them glistened in the
candlelight. Everywhere I looked, it reflected from the slick, sun-bronzed
surface of their delectable skin.
This night is going to be legendary.
I reached out to my left and right, closing my hands over Joshua and
Cole. I stroked them slowly, up and down, while staring up at Evan. I could
feel them come alive against my palms second by second.
 Then I smiled, winked, and swallowed him whole.
Holy fucking shit, Quinn.
I spent the next several minutes busy as any woman ever was, trading
off my mouth and hands between my three hard lovers. I sucked them deep
into my hot little throat. Stroked them fast and slow, cupping their balls,
licking one while staring up at the others. I made noises too; soft whimpers
and sighs that I knew they enjoyed, as I hungrily devoured them. But the
best part was me locking eyes with them. Casting the most sultry, wicked
looks as I continued blowing them one by one by one.
Normally they would’ve gotten overwhelmed with lust and taken me
right there on the floor. This time however, they let me keep going. I
continued pleasuring them, stroking them, eye-fucking them into a frenzy.
The warmth of the villa had me invigorated. The tropical scent of their
oiled-up bodies filled my nostrils, making me hornier and more desperate
with each passing minute.
And damn if being pregnant hadn’t made me the horniest bitch in the
universe.
Eventually it occurred to me that there was only one way out of this
circle. And if that were the case, I knew exactly what I needed to do.
They want it? They got it.
I redoubled my efforts, pulling out every trick I knew. I swallowed
Joshua to the hilt, then grazed his balls with the tips of my fingernails the
way I knew he really, really liked.
“Fuck…”
He cursed a split-second before he exploded, bowing out my cheeks
with his hot load. I swallowed as much as I could, but I also let some spill
down my chin and my neck. I wanted to make it slutty — to make a
complete fucking show of it, for the benefit of the others.
And by the looks they were giving me I could tell it was working.
Next?
Wordlessly I smiled and licked Cole up and down, teasing him with
the tip of my tongue. Then I wagged a teasing finger his way, turned, and
swallowed Evan instead.
The anguished look he gave me was fucking priceless.
 I shrugged at him playfully, then went about sucking Evan off next.
Of course I knew the tricks he liked as well. Evan enjoyed it when I opened
my mouth for him, then used the flat of my tongue on the underside of his
shaft. He watched me do that for a while, slapping him against my tongue
over and over until he was ready to pop…
When he did, I let him spill half of it straight down my throat… and
the other half all over my face.
Jeeze, Quinn!
Cole was still watching, and now he was stroking himself too. I let
him wait for a while, making sure I’d drained Evan’s balls completely, and
then I shimmied over to kneel between his own massive thighs.
“How do you want it?” I asked innocently.
Cole replied by grabbing my head and driving himself straight past
my lips. I sucked him hard at first, with his friend’s warm seed still in my
mouth. Then I began rolling my tongue in circles, while he picked up the
pace. Faster and faster he kept plowing away, holding my ears, guiding
himself in and out. In stark contrast to doing all this, he was stroking my
face slowly and gently with his two thumbs.
I love it.
My eyes closed. My tongue rolled. It occurred to me wildly and in the
heat of the moment that I was in fact made to do this. That I’d been built to
pleasure and satisfy these three incredible men, who’d taken so much time
and effort to always satisfy me.
Cole grunted once, then began spraying my throat with jet after jet of
his hot cream. I relaxed, letting him have his way, but also getting off on the
intensity of the pleasure I was granting him. Nothing in the universe made
me wetter than letting them use me like this. And most especially, all of
them at once.
“Damn…”
I rocked back on my heels and licked my lips, thoroughly satisfied
with myself. It had been a while since I’d swallowed all three of them
together like that. As I ran my hands down over the swell of my pregnant
belly, I felt pleasantly sated and full.
 Evan was still glassy eyed. Joshua’s expression was likewise very
distant and far away.
“Lay back princess,” ordered Cole. “Your turn to feel good.”
I stretched out across the makeshift bed, wondering what they’d do
first. The boys enjoyed lots of sizzling combinations when it came to my
body. But having them take turns kissing and simultaneously going down
on me was my absolute favorite.
To facilitate and encourage them, I slid a finger inside myself and let
my thighs fall apart.
Cole shook his head though, and made a twirling motion with one
finger. His grin said everything.
“Oh.”
I rolled over, and an instant later I knew their plan. The blankets and
pillows were arranged with a depression in the center. When I lay across
them, it supported my baby bump perfectly.
Genius.
Evan scooped a fistful of coconut oil from a giant container, then
handed it over to Joshua. He did the same before passing it to Cole, and my
whole body shuddered in anticipation of what I knew was coming next.
“Just relax.”
Three sets of hands began moving over my back and backside,
kneading and rubbing and touching me everywhere. Six different palms
rubbed oil into my back, my ass, my thighs. Thirty individual fingers
pressed and kneaded their way into my muscles, eliciting groans of pleasure
before sliding and gliding all over.
Forget the private island, I mused happily. Now this is paradise.
I stretched my arms high overhead, then parted my thighs to give
them complete access. From there, the guys took over. I couldn’t stop
moaning as they massaged my legs, still tight from the plane ride, and drove
the balls of their thumbs into my tender hamstrings. I felt almost weightless,
supported by the pillows. My skin tingled with excitement, all warm from
the oil.
I’d heard of pregnancy massage, but this was the purest nirvana.
 Two different men kneaded my thighs, my calves, my feet. My third
lover was working my back, top to bottom, paying special attention to the
stiffness of my lower back, unused to carrying the extra weight of my
pregnancy. I let go completely, allowing them access to anyplace they
wanted. I was a limp noodle. An ecstatic jellyfish.
I drifted for what seemed like a long while, through happy places in
the hollows of my mind. These men were mine. I’d pinched myself so many
times over the past few months, and every time I looked they were still right
there. And not just there, but loving me every bit as much as I loved them.
And God, did I love them.
Each day I worked my ass off to make my business even more
successful. And each night I came to them. The boys fed me, they pampered
me, they rubbed my tired feet. They took me to the couch to unwind, or
sometimes up to one or more bedrooms, depending upon the mood. And it
was there, being worshiped among the sheets and blankets, that I felt like an
actual princess.
I was their woman for sure, and one day — according to them — I
might even be their wife. I believed them, too. With Evan, Joshua, and
Cole, nothing felt beyond the realm of possibility. These were men that
made things happen. They’d always forged their own destinies, rather than
let others dictate things for them.
For months we loved each other, the four of us becoming inseparable.
And now, at long last, we were soon to be five…
“Are you ready for your turn?”
A voice floated down from somewhere beyond my happy delirium. I
only barely recognized it as Evan’s.
“You mean this isn’t my turn?” I mumbled into a pillow. I was relaxed
now beyond all relaxation. My muscles felt like jelly. “Because it sure as
hell feels like—”
I was flipped over, and my legs parted even further. I was so slippery,
so oiled up, it felt like heaven as an equally-oiled body slid lasciviously
between my outstretched thighs.
Then a pair of lips closed over my dripping entrance, and I gasped out
loud.
 Holy shit…
The eager mouth of one of my lovers began working me over, his
tongue thrashing away. I recognized it immediately as Joshua. I would’ve
known his mouth anywhere, even if he hadn’t slipped two curved fingers
inside me.
“OhmyGod…”
My face rolled left and right, but a strong hand pulled it back. The
next whimper of ecstasy I let out was elicited by Evan, nuzzling his way
into my neck.
“You’ve got a whole night of this,” he whispered, his lips brushing
sensuously against the skin of my throat.
“A… whole night…”
He kissed his way to my face and my eyes blinked open. His
expression was playful.
“Give or take a few hours,” he chuckled. “We’re going to feast on you
until you pass out. After that we’re going to fuck you until you scream for
us to stop.”
My body jolted involuntarily as Joshua’s tongue playfully flicked my
clit. Down below, my hips were rolling in time to the fingers inside me.
“And what if I scream for you boys to keep going?”
“Then we’ll just have to screw you senseless,” Cole answered from
the other side of me. His hands were already kneading more oil into my
breasts. “Fuck you again and again, until you can’t even remember your
name.”
I let out a long, heated breath that was half moan, half sigh.
“That might be fun,” I admitted.
“For us, yes,” Cole teased. “But you? You’re going to be sore.”
I rolled my body beneath their ministrations, twisting it like a sexy
snake.
“Wouldn’t be the first time,” I purred.
Cole circled one of my nipples with his fingers, tracing circles that
were driving me crazy. Evan eventually joined in, repeating his friend’s
movements from the other side.
 Between that, and my third boyfriend going to town on me between
my quivering legs, I knew I wouldn’t last long.
“We’ve got an entire week here,” Evan murmured. “But after that we
take you home. We get everything ready, and then you have our baby. And
after that…”
I was hot and breathless, my imagination running wild. My hands
were sifting desperately through two thick heads of hair.
“And after that?” I prodded.
“After that we take turns making you pregnant again,” Cole answered
for him. “We’re going to put another baby inside you, and then another,
until we fill that house with family.”
The way he said ‘family’ turned the rest of me into a puddle. I gushed
hard, flooding Joshua’s churning mouth. My hips gyrated in a tight circle as
I screamed and thrashed and rolled my eyes back into my head, climaxing
so forcefully and violently I actually saw stars.
“We won’t stop until you’re a mother several times over,” Evan kept
on, whispering the words into my ear. “And our family won’t be complete
until you’ve got children from each of us.”
My orgasm was all-encompassing, all-consuming, and yet I could still
hear their whispers. Their words made me even hotter and wetter for them;
more eager to spread my legs and give them anything they wanted. And if
that included a whole tribe of sons and daughters even half as beautiful as
they were, even better.
“I’ll do anything for you,” I murmured, clutching them against my
chest.
“Anything?”
“Anything.”
It was true, too. I knew it all too well. When it came to finding a good
man to spend the rest of my life with I’d stumbled upon the jackpot three
times over. And if that was greedy, so be it.
“Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” I heard Joshua’s voice
say. His lips were wet as they pressed against my ear. It made me giddy and
hot, all over again.
“But until then…”
 I was shifted again, re-positioned. Taken and twisted and spread wide
open, until another hot mouth was closing over my sex.
“Enjoy.”

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 Need more Reverse Harem?
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 Chapter One

JENNA

My keys flew through the air, higher than expected. They missed the
kitchen counter completely, skidding off my little butcher block and right
into the sink.
“Great.”
The sink was full of water, of course. Why wouldn’t it be? The drain
was slower than molasses in winter. Three hours after doing dishes there
was still an inch or two that hadn’t gone down.
Three hours… has it only been that long?
The clock said so, anyway. The date I was returning from felt like it
had taken three years off of my life. Derrik (with an ‘ik’) had taken me to a
mediocre restaurant where he’d plied me with less-than-average wine. For
the next few hours I listened to him talk about everything from his mother’s
podiatrist to the HO scale model train setup that ran through the entirety of
his mother’s house. Oh, and did I mention he lived with his mother? It
wasn’t in his online profile, but of course he did.
Fishing my keys from the sink, I wondered if the key fob would ever
work again. I put it in rice anyway. Rice fixes all things, apparently.
Maybe it could fix your broken sex life?
I shed my clothes as I walked, spun the hot water spigot, then stepped
naked into the shower. I’d showered before my date of course, but not every
date spits wine all over you when he accidentally orders Merlot instead of
Cabernet. Yes, actually forcefully spits — the kind of thing a toddler might
do. Or a little boy who still played with trains.
And lived with his mother.
I laughed, and my own bitter laughter echoed back at me from the tile
walls. At least the hot water felt good. I spun the knob to the right, getting it
as hot as I could stand it, then stood beneath the spray for a good five
minutes, willing it to wash away every last memory of my shitty date.
Ten minutes later I was laying in bed, warm and cozy and wholly
awake.
Shit.
It was too late to do anything, but too early to be tired. I supposed I
could get up and watch TV. I could sit at my computer and study. Or…
Or you could do something to make yourself tired.
My mouth curled into a bit of a secret smile.
Something fun.
Derrik had been just a drop in the bucket of cataclysmically bad dates
I’d gone on lately. I’d only started dating again last month, after a six-
month dry spell, but it seemed that while I’d been away every real man in
the world just up and disappeared. All that was left were the cocksure,
Tinder-surfing assholes who thought they were God’s gift to women. And
of course the Peter Pan twenty-somethings still living in Neverland who
steadfastly refused to grow up.
I pushed both categories out of my mind as my hand slid slowly down
my stomach. By the time my fingertips pierced the delicate waistband of
my panties, I was already calling up visions of insanely-ripped alpha gods,
hell-bent on pushing their way between my thighs and pounding me into
oblivion. Plundering my willing body like some long-sought treasure.
Biceps the size of grapefruit floated to mind alongside broad,
beautiful chests. Flat, six-pack stomachs and shoulders so thick and tall I
could barely fit my ankles over them.
I sighed breathlessly, gliding a single finger through my furrow. The
images were vague, the visuals fleeting. As fun as it was to build an
anonymous stud in my mind, he was still simply that: anonymous.
 No, I needed real life experiences to call upon. True sensory overload,
from the most butterfly-inducing moments in my life that actually
happened.
A small groan escaped my lips as I applied a little pressure. I had
some decent boyfriends, some of which were very good in the sack. Ethan,
for one. His kisses set me on fire, much the same way Duncan’s talented
hands melted every part of my body he ever touched. There was Chase’s
heart-stopping green eyes. Adam’s big arms, and beautifully-stubbled face.
Tyler’s… equipment.
Oh God, yes! I’d almost forgotten about Tyler!
And heavy equipment at that.
My legs parted, as my palm slid further down. Tyler had been the
complete package. Tall, dark, roguishly handsome. He was built like the
quintessential all-American quarterback, with fierce blue eyes that made it
look like he could conquer anything, and a bright beautiful smile that told
you he loved the whole world.
And yeah, it certainly didn’t hurt that he was hung like a stallion.
I’d met Tyler on a girls’ ski weekend, and the chemistry had been
instant. Our casual hookup had blossomed into a full-blown relationship,
and he’d been an amazing boyfriend for just over a year. Up until…
What the hell happened again?
Honestly, I couldn’t even remember. It wasn’t like we’d grown apart.
I’d dated him between my freshman and sophomore years of college.
There’d even been lots of back and forth, with one of us always visiting the
other.
Oh yeah. You thought the grass was greener on the other side of the
fence.
I stopped for a moment, as my eyes fluttered open. Damn, seriously?
Was that really it? I got cold feet and backed my way out of a perfectly
great relationship, all because I wanted to see what else was out there?
Yup.
“Well shit,” I said aloud. “I’m a complete idiot.”
 Anger swirled, along with a deep disappointment. I couldn’t even get
myself off properly! And yet…
Tyler’s still here. Still in town.
I bolted upright. The thought hadn’t even occurred to me. I’d been
back in Northhold for almost a year, and I hadn’t even thought to look him
up.
Much less hook up.
The slow warmth that had been spreading in the pit of my stomach
was back again, and now it was hotter than ever. Tyler. Holy shit, Tyler.
Why the hell are you getting yourself off all alone when you could be
—
The voice in my head didn’t need to say another word. I grabbed my
phone, scrolled through my contacts, and prayed that my ex-boyfriend’s
number had somehow made the transfer from upgrade to upgrade. And then
all of a sudden there it was. No last name, no full first name. Just two tiny
letters… TY.
It took me all of two seconds to press the call button.
 Two

JENNA

“Heyyy!”
My heart pounded as I delivered my usual cheerful greeting. Tyler’s
initial silence told me he didn’t recognize the voice, or the number.
“Ummm… hi?”
“Tyler, it’s me. Jenna.”
It was hard not to sound awkward. Four years was a hell of a long
time! Besides, it wasn’t like I was calling to invite him to coffee. When you
dialed an ex this late in the evening, you pretty much only wanted one
thing.
“Oh wow,” I heard him say. “Hey Jenna! What’s going—”
“Are you single?”
I decided to rip the Band-Aid right off. Small talk would only lessen
my resolve.
“Uhh, yeah. I definitely am.”
Besides, I was horny as hell.
“Good,” I said as confidently as I could. “Because I’m thinking we
should get together soon, and by soon I mean tonight. And by get together I
mean—”
“I know what you mean,” he chuckled. “But really?”
“Yeah, really.”
 “Wow.”
I could feel my pulse quicken even more, causing my entire body to
throb with want. Holy shit this was exciting! Why hadn’t I thought of this
before?
“Wow what?” I pressed. “Was that a good wow or a shocked wow or a
great wow, or—”
“All three, actually.”
God, even his voice was sexy! I could still picture those piercing blue
eyes. The errant lock of hair that always flopped down over one side of his
forehead, that I always affectionately brushed away.
Why the hell did I break up with him again?
“Tyler look, I’m a woman in need,” I told him bluntly. “If you’re a
man in need — and I’m pretty sure you men always are — just say the
word and I’ll grab my car keys.”
There was silence at the other end of the phone. It made me uneasy.
“Umm…”
“What?” I demanded. “Are you really not into—”
“No, no!” he jumped in. “I’m totally into it!”
“Good, then it’s settled,” I told him. “Now are you at the same
apartment as before, or is your address—”
“It’s just that I’m afraid I can’t,” Tyler cut in. His voice was pained
and apologetic. “Not tonight, anyway.”
My heart sank into my stomach. I was utterly dumbfounded. I’d
expected a lot of things, but not this.
“Look, I’m with a good buddy of mine. My friend Luca’s back in
town, and we’re hanging out.”
I growled like a cat. It might’ve even come through over the phone.
“Can’t you ditch him for a couple of hours?” I asked. “I’m not looking
to stay the night or anything, just—”
“I really can’t,” he said apologetically. “Luca just came home from the
Army. Long deployment.”
I really need to get laid, though! I wanted to shout from the rooftops.
 “Can you hold off until Monday?” he asked tentatively. “Or any day
of the week, really. I totally, totally want to do this, Jenna. More than you
realize. I’ll even make it up to you.”
There were no words. The butterflies in my stomach had all flown
away.
“You can pick the day,” he went on. “The time. The hour, the minute,
the—”
“Fine, then tonight,” I pressed on. “I need to get fucked tonight.”
Fucked. It was such a great fucking word. It was down, it was dirty, it
was straight to the point. It also left no misgivings about what we were
about to do to each other.
“Sorry, it’s going to have to wait until next week,” Tyler apologized
again. There was a long beat of silence, followed by a nervous chuckle.
“Unless…”
I sat up straighter. “Unless what?”
“Unless you want to fuck us both.”
He uttered the statement so nonchalantly, so casually, it almost got lost
in translation. Instead, his words struck me with the impact of a
thunderclap.
“Fuck you both…” I repeated mechanically. Silence descended, so
crushing in its totality I let out a nervous laugh. “You and your friend.”
“Sure,” Tyler shot back. “It would solve all three of our problems,
really.”
“All three of our problems?”
“Yes,” Tyler said simply. “You’re horny. I’m horny. And poor Luca
here… well, he hasn’t been with a woman in God knows how long.”
If my heart was pounding fast before, it was damn near hammering
out of my chest by now. I bit my lip through the ensuing silence.
“Besides,” Tyler added slyly, “you always did want to try it,
remember?”
Memories floated in; pillow talk between a younger me and a very hot
boyfriend. Buried inside me, in the heat of the moment, we’d talked our
way through all sorts of fantasies and sexual scenarios. Many of them had
tied my stomach into warm, fuzzy knots.
“Yeah, but that was with Jay,” I eventually countered. “How is Jay by
the way?”
At the other end of the phone, I could imagine Tyler shrugging his
broad shoulders.
“Jay’s Jay.”
“Still teaching snowboard lessons at whatever mountain will have
him?”
Tyler paused. “Among other things, yeah.”
The lump forming in my throat was getting bigger by the second. I
had to get off the phone soon, or I wouldn’t be able to talk.
“Fine,” I eventually conceded. “A booty-call raincheck on our little
reunion, then. Maybe next week.”
“Sure.”
“Have fun with your Army buddy. Tell him the sexiest, best-looking
ex-girlfriend you ever had says hello.”
Tyler laughed that familiar, charming laugh I’d always loved. “Will
do.”
We hung up, and I slumped back into the bed. Just the idea of
screwing Tyler had me sopping wet. Even if it was next week.
I sighed again, running my hand south while letting my legs flop
open. At least now I had something to look forward to. Something to think
about, while… while I…
Fuck us both.
The words echoed through the hollows of my oversexed mind. The
heat they caused was instantaneous. A bolt of pure excitement swirled in
my lower belly, turning the valley between my legs completely molten.
I tried pushing the idea out of my mind, but it wouldn’t go. Instead I
tried embracing it, using it to fuel my fingers. Constructing an all-new
fantasy that would ultimately bring me to satisfaction.
This isn’t fantasy, though.
 My fingers dipped inside. I was wetter than I’d ever been.
It’s an easy reality, Jenna. If you want it.
I sat up again, squeezing my thighs together. The phone was still
within reach. I grabbed it and hammered out a text-message, sending it
quickly before the angel on my right shoulder could stop the devil on my
left:

What’s he look like?

 Three

JENNA

The text was dumb. Crazy. Stupid. Incredible… all at once. I was
playing with fire, for sure.
But my more rational side convinced myself none of this was
happening, and I was just being curious.

Who?

Tyler’s innocent little response was to troll me, of course. I guess I

had it coming.

You know who.

There was a thirty-second pause during which I wondered if I’d gone

too far. Maybe Tyler had been joking. Maybe I’d misread the whole thing,
and looked like a complete and total assho—
My phone bleeped, and an image came through. The man in the photo
was raven-haired and olive-skinned, with thick, dark brows. He wore a
muscle shirt that showed off a pair of tremendous arms, a broad chest, and a
stunningly gorgeous smile.
 I laughed and wrote Tyler back:

Funny.

Tyler answered immediately:

Funny how?

I sighed and shook my head:

You just found that pic on the internet.

Again there was thirty or forty seconds of absolute nothing, during

which I could only stare into my glowing screen. Eventually, another pic
showed up. In this one, Tyler was standing right beside the man in the first
photo, arm extended, taking the pic himself.
And holy shit. Tyler looked good! He was much bigger and broader
than I remembered him, with well-defined arms and shoulders that rivaled
the beautiful Roman god standing next to him.
I swallowed dryly, then willed my fingers to work again:

Holy shit, Tyler.

Tyler’s response came with a wink-face emoji, and a short line of text:

Like I said, he just got back from deployment.

Some base in the middle of nowhere.
Nothing to do but work out.
 I had to give credit where credit was due.

You’ve been hitting the gym too, looks like.

The little ellipsis blinked busily as my ex-boyfriend responded:

Sure have. I’m sort of a gym rat now.

As much as work lets me be, anyway.

I sat there for a long moment, wondering what to do next. They’d

called my bluff. The ball was firmly in my court, waiting for me to hit it
back their way. Or I could do nothing and watch it sail by.
Luckily though, I didn’t have to choose. The guys took over, sending
pic after pic. Each one was from a different delicious angle, showing them
smiling and flexing and generally acting silly. Luca had the longest
eyelashes I’d ever seen, and soft brown eyes any girl could get lost in. But I
was equally obsessed with Tyler, who looked so fucking good I couldn’t
wait to eat him up next week.
Why wait?
The photos continued coming, and eventually their shirts came off. I
could see their arms, their chests, their shoulders! The V-shaped cuts of
muscle along the rib-cage that I always thought looked like wings. The guys
had no shame, no boundaries, and that appealed to me even more. Each
photo they took made me hotter than the last.

Okay, now you.

I clapped my hand over my mouth. Really? Was I supposed to send

pics back?
 A good part of me was firmly in the ‘no’ column on that answer, but
then the flirtatious part took over. I primped as best I could, then sent a
couple of innocent, smiling pics back.

Sorry, we’re gonna need more than that.

Shit, did I really think I was getting off that easy? After careful
consideration I lay back down in bed, then took a more sultry-looking photo
with my head on the pillow and my long hair spilling out beneath me.
That’s good, but not good enough.
I frowned, thought for a moment, then reversed the camera’s lens. I
set it beneath my breasts, pointing down the flat of my stomach as I
extended my long, bare legs. Everything in frame was naked now, except
my V-shaped mound was covered by a delicate satin thong.
CLICK.
Damn, the photo looked hot. Exceptionally hot.
Are you really going to send out an underwear pic?
Fuck it. I sure as hell was.
A full minute went by after I’d pushed the SEND button. Nothing.
The silence of my bedroom was eventually broken by the musical sound of
my phone’s ring tone, with the letters TY on the screen.
I picked it up on the fifth ring.
“Hello, Jenna?” The voice was deep and baritone and unfamiliar. “It’s
Luca.”
My stomach suddenly did a backflip, as all the blood rushed to my
cheeks.
“Uh… hi.”
“Tyler says you’re coming over here; to hang out with us.”
I fluffed my hair, pursing my lips as if he were actually standing in
front of me. “He said that, huh?”
“Well not exactly,” Luca confided. “But something close to it.”
 “Hmmm,” I hummed into the phone. “So what did he say?”
The phone went silent with a long, pregnant pause. “You really wanna
know?”
“Sure.”
“He said you might come over here and do a threesome with us.”
Up until now my bedroom had been as cozy as it could be. But all of a
sudden everything felt impossibly, uncomfortably warm.
“I… ummm…”
“You should definitely come over,” he suggested, his voice sounding
sexier with every word. “Hang out with us. See what happens.”
Everything tingled. “I should, huh?”
“Yes. Know why?”
“Why?”
Luca brought the phone closer to his mouth, his voice dropping to a
throaty, sensual growl.
“Because we can make you feel really good.”
By now my mind was spinning with a thousand conflicting thoughts;
some good, some unquestionably wicked. My body however, was telling
me exactly what it wanted.
“Put Tyler back on.”
The phone clicked, and then my ex-boyfriend’s familiar voice came
over again. He sounded almost apologetic.
“Hey, Jenna. You alright?”
“Yeah I’m good. I… I just—”
“You never thought something like this might actually happen,” he
chuckled. “I know.”
For a moment my mind stopped spinning. I took a long, deep breath.
“Are you guys serious about this?”
Holy fuck. I couldn’t believe I was actually asking!
“Very serious.”
 My heart was a jackhammer, pumping hot blood through my veins. I
was more awake than ever. Time meant nothing.
“Look at it this way, it’s only sex,” Tyler prodded. “You’ll still be the
same afterward. It’s not like we’re going to break you, or turn you inside
out or anything.”
Break me. The butterflies in my stomach were back. They numbered
in the thousands, now.
“Unless you want us to, of course.”
Tyler’s last words were devious, even challenging. As someone who
knew me so intimately for over a year, he knew all about my competitive
side.
“Jenna?” he asked. “You still there?”
“What’s the address?”
HOLY FUCKING SHIT! YOU’RE NOT THINKING OF—
“I’ll text it to you.”
There was another pause, and this one meant it all. Tyler said nothing.
I said nothing. Yet somehow, a thousand words passed silently between us.
“You’re really coming, aren’t you?” he said. It was more a statement
than a question.
“Yes,” I confirmed. “I think I am.”
“Alright then. We’ll be ready.”
The room tilted, like everything in the world was sinking. I realized it
was merely all the excitement, overwhelming me to the point where nothing
felt real.
“Oh, and Jenna?”
“Yes?”
“Wear something sexy,” Tyler said. “Or dirty.”
I could envision his crooked smile through the phone.
“Or both.”
 Four

JENNA

There were small decisions and big decisions, and decisions that
seemed inconsequential at the time but could ultimately change your life.
And while the ramifications of this decision remained to be seen, I knew the
motives themselves were purely selfish.
It’s only sex.
Only. Yeah, sure. As if driving to your ex-boyfriend’s at midnight to
get railed by two muscle-bound, oversexed hotties were a casual, everyday
occurrence.
Imagine if it was, though?
I turned the wheel again, pushing down butterflies as I guided my
little car down the next side-street. It had been a long time since I’d been to
this side of town. Maybe since Tyler and I dated.
My stomach was a ball of nervous energy, but my mind raced with a
thousand salacious thoughts. I called up memories of sex with Tyler, trying
to remember what he liked. I imagined all the incredible positions two men
could put me in, and which of them would best satisfy my undeniable need
for ultimate release.
I decided to take what I wanted. To screw the absolute balls off these
men if I had to, in order to bring myself to satisfaction. Once I’d reached
the plateau of nirvana, they could do with me whatever their hearts desired.
I’d surrender my body happily to anything and everything these men
wanted, and the real thrill would be laying back to enjoy the ride.
 You’re fucking crazy, you know that?
Maybe. But it was just as likely I’d been denying myself for too long.
I’d been single and celibate and way too preoccupied with other things, to
the point where a midnight threesome with two sizzling hot guys seemed
less like a fantasy I should fulfill and more like something I’d earned and
deserved.
I’d done what Tyler had asked, too. Not just for him (and Luca, of
course) but because wearing lingerie made me feel sexy and sexual. I didn’t
have much, not since the move anyway, but I slipped on a sheer black teddy
with a lace-up front. Beneath that I wore a matching garter belt clipped to
thigh-high stockings, then covered the whole thing with a pair of jeans and
an off-the-shoulder sweat-shirt.
The clothing was my back-up plan. If things got awkward or didn’t go
so smoothly, I was still fully clothed and not walking around in lingerie. But
if they did…
Well, then the boys could peel off my top layers like unwrapping a
toy.
All of this, of course, was covered in a long black coat to ward off the
cold Montana evening. Or morning. Or whatever the hell time it was. But it
was November, and that meant it was damn cold. A far cry from Texas,
where I’d originally escaped this place to spend my college years, and then
some.
Eventually I came up on the address Tyler had given me, which was
brand new. It was a house, not an apartment. A little run-down and in need
of repair, but a house nonetheless. Good for him.
I parked and killed the engine. From inside the home, I could hear the
faint sound of music playing. The yellow-orange glow coming from the
windows was dim, yet it had a welcome warmth to it.
Now or never.
I stormed the front walk like I owned the place, then knocked on the
door. If I was doing this, I was doing this. No hesitation, no guilt, just pure
enjoymen—
“Oh my God, JENNA!”
 The man who’d pulled the door open wasn’t Tyler. And it wasn’t
Luca, either.
It was Jay.
What in the worl—
My ex-boyfriend’s best friend looked wholly amazing, and he felt
good too. I learned this as he swept me into a hug that nearly cracked my
spine, before dragging me inside and closing the door.
“Holy shit, look at you!” Jay declared. “It happened again!”
My face scrunched in confusion. “W—What did?”
“You got better-lookin’!”
Jay still had the same big flop of surfer-boy blond hair that he did in
his snowboarder days, only now he’d grown into his body. His long,
formerly-spindly arms were striated with muscle. His handsome face was
still boyishly attractive, but it had a new masculine edge to it.
Before I knew it Jay was taking my coat, and for a split-second I
worried I had nothing on but lingerie beneath it. By the time I was breathing
a sigh of relief, someone else was thrusting the stem of a glass of wine into
my hand.
“Good to see you, baby.”
Tyler’s presence wasn’t just reassuring, it was a welcome blast of pure
nostalgia. He looked basically the same as the day we’d parted ways, only a
bigger and more badass version of his former self.
And the unexpected way he’d called me ‘baby’ made me melt. Almost
like no time had passed between us at all.
“Tyler,” I murmured, hugging him tightly. Then, as Jay re-entered the
room from behind us, I silently mouthed the words: What the fuck?
He shook his head helplessly but apologetically.
“Jenna!” Jay said again. His ear-to-ear smile was honest and genuine.
“I still can’t believe it. Where the hell have you been?”
“Around,” I said awkwardly. “I mean, Texas for a while. But I’ve
been back almost a year now.”
“A year?” he repeated incredulously. “And you’re just getting around
to us now?”
 I sipped my wine in response. Tyler must’ve picked it out, because it
was exactly the same merlot we’d always drank together.
Jay smirked. “That hurts, Jenna.”
“Yeah, well I didn’t see either of you knocking down my door,” I
countered. “So let’s call it even.”
They ushered me through a half-finished foyer and into a large but
cozy-looking living room. Worn hardwood floors were covered by plush
area rugs. Comfortable-looking couches flanked a roaring fireplace on the
opposite wall that bathed everything in a warm, soothing heat.
A man who could only be Luca got up from one of those couches.
And holy shit, the photos Tyler had sent — although fantastic — hadn’t
done him justice at all.
“Hello Jenna.”
Luca was tall and dark and absolutely gorgeous, with sharp Italian
features and skin the color of creamed coffee. And his hands… his hands
were tremendous! His calloused palm engulfed mine as he reached out to
shake my hand, which despite his great size he did with all the care and
attention of a gentle giant.
“Nice to finally meet you.”
He had the rich voice of a radio DJ, but it was all man, no show. As
his full lips curled into a smile, he mouthed the words I’m sorry while he
shook my hand.
“Nice to meet you too,” I smiled back. As I continued to ogle but not
overly-ogle him, I added a half-shrug that said everything was okay.
The music changed, and a new song came on. It was something a little
older from our high school days, which we’d all shared together. Tyler and
Jay had gone to the school at the east end of town, while mine had been at
the west end. We might’ve met earlier than my freshman year of college if
only the geography was different.
“Nice place,” I told Tyler, poking him playfully. “Much better than the
closet you always took me to while we were dating.”
“It’s not my place actually,” Tyler responded. “It’s his.”
He jerked his chin Luca’s way, and his friend nodded. “Just bought it,
actually. I had a little money squirreled away, so I settled on a fixer-upper.”
 “Oh?” I flirted. “Are you handy?”
“No,” laughed Luca. “Not even a little bit. But I’m ambitious, and that
counts for something.”
We sat down together, letting the wine and the fire warm us up. Jay
eventually got up and moved into the kitchen for snacks. It was the perfect
opportunity to discuss what happened.
“You didn’t tell me Jay was here,” I hissed quickly.
“Yeah well, he just sorta showed up!” Tyler whispered the words low,
as he and Luca hunched forward. “You know how he is.”
Jay was always a wild card, and never one for calling ahead. I
couldn’t count the number of times he’d crashed dates between Tyler and I,
and he was just as likely to show up in the dead of the night as he was to
come over in the middle of the day.
“I was going to call you back, tell you to stay home… but…”
“But?”
Tyler shrugged and smiled. “I really wanted to see you.”
Luca’s grin rivaled my ex-boyfriend’s. He reached forward boldly and
touched my shoulder, right where the black satin strap of my lingerie was
peeking out.
“I was looking forward to seeing you too.”
His touch set off a boiling cauldron, deep in my belly. I glanced to
Tyler, then back to Luca, and sighed.
“Getting rid of Jay would take until dawn,” said Tyler. “You know
that.”
“I know.”
“Besides, he’s my best friend,” said Tyler. “And admit it, you love
him anyway.”
“I do love myself some Jay,” I smiled. “And I haven’t seen either of
you in such a long time.”
I took another sip of my wine that turned into a delicious gulp. The
music was nice. The crackling fire felt good on my skin.
 “Don’t worry about Jay showing up,” I said at last. “It’s cool. We can
just… chill.”
Luca’s eyes hadn’t left my shoulder. Reluctantly, he pulled the
shoulder of my sweat-shirt back up to cover it.
“This isn’t what any of us wanted,” I smiled. “I know.”
“That’s alright,” Luca said with a wink. He leaned back into the
couch, stretching his beautiful arms high overhead before folding his hands
behind it.
“Just as long as you promise to make it up to us.”
 Five

JENNA

More than an hour into our impromptu little party, I was feeling no
pain. The fire crackled. The stories flowed. The couch itself was probably
the most comfortable piece of furniture I had ever rested my ass on, and my
third glass of wine went down even better than my first two.
Best of all, none of us were the least bit tired.
The house itself was something of a marvel; a 1950’s mid-century
modern home with sweeping curves and enough windows to make for a
spectacular, three-hundred sixty-degree view. Luca had bought the place
while still on his last tour in Afghanistan, purely based on photos and an
engineer’s report. Now that he was home he planned on fixing it up, and he
had a long way to go. So far, as a sort of coming home present, Tyler and
Jay had helped make the living room, well… livable.
The rest of the house might be falling apart, but I knew Jay had a
carpentry background and Tyler was a jack-of-all-trades. They’d get things
done for sure. Luca himself was absolutely amazing. He was charming,
funny, and interesting as hell, in addition to being smoldering, panty-
drenching hot.
You would’ve thought with sex off the table it would’ve put a pin in
my libido, at least for tonight. Instead it was the polar opposite. Being
sandwiched between Tyler and Luca on the couch, knowing I was supposed
to be having them, was driving me absolutely wild. And I couldn’t get over
how great Jay looked either. In the past he’d been the lanky, happy-go-
lucky goofball that made everyone laugh. But now he’d matured, and big
time. While I wasn’t looking, the best friend of my ex-boyfriend had shed
his boyish, surfer-boy looks and had grown into one hell of a fine-looking
man.
Every time Tyler leaned in a little, it made my stomach flutter. I was
dying to kiss him — to rekindle the white-hot sparks I already knew were
still there. Each minute that passed was slow torture, staring at these men,
knowing what we could’ve been doing right now…
It was enough to drive a horny, wine-buzzed, sex-starved girl straight
over the edge.
I was in the kitchen retrieving yet another round of snacks when I ran
into Jay. He handed me a popcorn packet, then pointed out the microwave
while I rummaged around for bowls.
“Up there,” he said. “Top shelf.”
I reached up to grab a bowl, and my shirt slipped off my shoulder
again. Visions of the girl from the movie Flashdance came to mind as I
quickly pulled it back up.
“What was that?” asked Jay.
The smile on his face told me he pretty much already knew. I
shrugged anyway.
“Nothing.”
“Didn’t look like nothing.”
I turned ever slightly, and in my peripheral vision I could see the black
strap of my lingerie still peeking out. I pretended not to notice.
“C’mon,” Jay urged. He leaned casually back against the counter and
crossed his arms. “Show me.”
God, he looked good. So tall and well-built. Solid as hell. And those
arms…
“Why?” I finally sputtered.
“Because it looks good,” he grinned. “It looks… interesting.”
The way he was staring at me seemed suddenly different. Like he
could already see through my outer clothes, to what was underneath.
“Plus, I wanna see.”
 A cold realization stole over me. All new butterflies erupted in my
stomach.
“They told you, didn’t they.”
Jay slowly shrugged. “That they were helping you out of a jam?” He
smiled and winked. “Tyler and I tell each other everything. You know that.
You dated him long enough.”
“Yeah, well…”
“Well what?”
I found myself staring at the floor. “The whole thing is stupid,” I said,
fixing my shirt again. “The idea was crazy to begin with. Something that
sounded better on paper, in the heat of the moment. But now…”
“What about now?”
He pushed off the counter and took a step closer. Reaching out with
one long arm, he gently plucked the bowl from my hand.
“You wanna know something?” he asked.
“What?”
He took another step, then another. We were face to face now, eye to
chest.
“I think it’s hot.”
I was looking up at him, right into his pretty-boy hazel eyes. Jay’s
smile was infectious. I couldn’t not smile back.
“I always thought you were hot,” Jay said gently.
He set the bowl down, then reached out to pull my shirt back off my
shoulder. He did it so smoothly I couldn’t stop him.
And then I realized, deep down… I didn’t want to stop him.
“You know when Tyler told me, I was jealous,” he said. “You coming
over here, all horny and juiced up. Dressing like this…” He brushed the
strap of my teddy. “All set and ready to, well… you know…”
I could smell him now, and his scent was musky and sweet. I couldn’t
even admit that it was turning me on, but it was.
“You know I’ve always imagined what it would be like to be with
you, Jenna.”
 I didn’t know what to do, what to say. It was certainly no secret that
Jay and I flirted throughout Tyler’s and my relationship. It never amounted
to anything, and Tyler was never bothered by it. In fact, he mentioned more
than once how he liked the closeness of our connection. His past girlfriends
had always found Jay overwhelming or even annoying, and it always
created a rift between them. But when it came to us…
Jay slipped a finger beneath the strap of my lingerie, then snapped it
against my shoulder. I didn’t even flinch.
“I think it’s even hotter that you’d be this adventurous,” he said with a
hint of genuine admiration.
My mouth was bone dry, like I’d been eating sand. I suddenly needed
my wine glass very badly.
“I’m not adventurous,” I finally countered.
“Oh no?”
We both whirled at the sound of Tyler’s voice. He was standing in the
doorway, smiling back at us.
“What about that time on the Ferris wheel?” he mused. “That wasn’t
adventurous?”
I flushed automatically, remembering exactly what he was talking
about. Tyler and I had been dating six months when the County Fair came
around. The cars had stopped, and he pulled me into his lap. From there it
had been a simple thing to hike my panties down, past my cute pleated
skirt. And my God, he was so hard! Harder than ever, maybe. I remember
taking him impossibly deep, grinding my ass into his lap before the—
“And in that field, when we were picking pumpkins?” Tyler sighed
wistfully. “There were so many people around we had to move to the corn
maze. And then there was the time in the furniture store—”
“Alright, alright,” I conceded, not even trying to hide my grin.
“Maybe I’m a little adventurous. But nothing like…” Reaching over, I
tapped my shoulder. “This.”
“Show us,” Tyler said suddenly.
“What?”
“C’mon,” he said innocently. “Jay wants to see it. I definitely want to
see it. You wore it for me after all.”
 “Yes, but—”
“What’s the big deal if you showed us?”
He stepped forward, to where Jay and I stood. Tyler’s presence
reminded me sharply of all the times I’d been this close to him, and even
closer. My heart was beating a mile a minute.
“Do you need me to help you?”
His hands went to my hips, where he started lifting my shirt. I didn’t
stop him. In fact, I lifted my arms without thinking.
“There we go.”
I couldn’t believe what was happening… but also I could. Tyler
slipped my shirt up over my head and off. Above the hem of my tight blue
jeans, the lacy black teddy I’d worn for him was in full view.
“God, Jenna.”
I looked up, and in that instant his crystal blue eyes locked on mine.
They were even more gorgeous than I remembered.
“I missed you.”
With that he lowered his lips and kissed me, pressing his soft,
beautiful mouth against my own. I gasped in surprise, then moaned in
acceptance. Our jaws rotated slowly, our mouths churning sensuously as his
hot tongue swirled into my mouth.
Ohhhh FUCK.
It was like no time had passed at all. Like we’d been kissing the whole
time, all four years of being away. I let out an involuntary whimper as
Tyler’s hands slid back to my waist. Then they moved to the front… and his
nimble fingers started unbuttoning and unzipping my jeans.
“Wha—”
“Show us,” he said softly, placing his forehead against mine. “We
want to see everything.”
His hands began moving, and once again I didn’t stop him. When he
gently tugged my jeans downward, I even wriggled to get them past my
hips.
Holy shit, Jenna.
 They caught on my stockings, but only for a moment. And then they
were all the way down at my ankles, and both men were holding me steady
as I stepped out of them.
It was like stepping into a dream.
“Nice.”
I was standing there wearing nothing but my sluttiest lingerie, head
spinning, still reeling from Tyler’s kiss. One of my garters had become
unhooked. Absurdly, Jay reached down and reattached it.
“You look fucking amazing.”
Tyler’s best friend seemed to be in as much of a trance as I was. They
were still on either side of me, their hands on my body. I was hyperaware of
our shared intimacy. The scent of their manliness. The warmth of their
fingertips.
Then suddenly Jay’s face was right where Tyler’s had been. His lips,
mere centimeters away from mine.
Oh my God.
I glanced quickly over Jay’s shoulder, to where Tyler stood watching
with rapt attention. He seemed to be enjoying the moment.
“Go on,” he grinned gently. “I know you’ve both always wanted to.”
And with that Jay kissed me… and I kissed him back. It was like
crossing the desert to drink from a cold, clear fountain. The culmination of
all the flirting, the innuendo, the strictly taboo thoughts of what it might be
like to plant my lips on his and just go to town on him, all those years ago.
It wasn’t anywhere near as good as I thought it would be. It was so
much better. I don’t know if it was the wine, the lingerie, the feel of four
different hands on my body, or maybe because Jay was just such a good
kisser. It was probably a combination of all those things, coupled with how
horny I was and the sizzling hot look of approval Tyler had given me right
before I went at it with his best friend.
I broke the kiss a bit guiltily, not wanting to kiss him any longer than I
had my ex-boyfriend. After all, Tyler was the one who’d brought me here.
He was the one I’d come for.
When it was over we all took a step back, probably to digest the
moment. I was so turned on I couldn’t even see straight! Everything about
the unfinished kitchen seemed totally surreal.
“You know, tonight could still happen if you wanted it to,” said Tyler.
He nodded toward Jay.
The full implications of what he was implying took a moment to sink
in.
“All three of you?” I murmured incredulously.
He nodded. “It’ll just be a little wilder, that’s all.”
My heart was thundering out of my chest. Certain parts of my body
felt absolutely volcanic.
“Wilder…” I repeated flatly.
Tyler glanced at Jay for a moment, then back at me.
“I know it’s a lot. And we wouldn’t blame you on bit if you said no.”
His blue eyes sparkled. “But if you didn’t say no… well…” He let out a
breathless sigh. “You’d walk out of here with every last one of your needs
satisfied.”
“If you could walk out of here at all,” Jay added with his trademark
grin.
For the umpteenth time I was out of words. I could only stand there
dumbfounded, reeling from what just happened. My mind spinning with the
knowledge of what could happen, as my body burned with an
unquenchable, inner heat.
“We’re going to leave it entirely up to you,” said Tyler, heading for
the living room. Close behind, Jay followed. “If you come out fully dressed
again,” he pointed to my discarded clothes, “we’ll drink wine and trade
stories the rest of the night.”
There was a long, pregnant pause as I watched them go.
“And if I come out dressed like this?” I gestured to myself.
Tyler shrugged on the way through the doorway. There was an all-new
wicked gleam in his eye.
“Try it and find out.”

SHARING SECOND CHANCES

IS NOW AVAILABLE ON AMAZON!
 About the Author
Krista Wolf is a lover of action, fantasy and all
good horror movies… as well as a hopeless romantic
with an insatiably steamy side.

She writes suspenseful, mystery-infused stories

filled with blistering hot twists and turns. Tales in
which headstrong, impetuous heroines are the
irresistible force thrown against the immovable
object of ripped, powerful heroes.

If you like intelligent and witty romance served up

with a sizzling edge? You’ve just found your new
favorite author.

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