Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 43536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 43536 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 218(@200wpm)___ 174(@250wpm)___ 145(@300wpm)
“How is this possible?” I whispered incredulously.
“How is it not?” Rafe said. “We were open with each other from the beginning that we each wanted you. That we were up for anything if you made the move, that we’d never fight over you. Doesn’t it make sense that we could share? That the three of us together had such an easy time fitting together that it’s a natural extension of that closeness. We both want you. We both protect you. We both go crazy over you in the white t-shirt you sleep in or the sheep tank top—really, all your pajamas are filthy to look at,” he smirked.
“Really? I thought they were just worn out and cheap.”
“Trust me, baby,” Leo said, his hands stroking my wrists and arms, “Nothing about you is worn out or cheap. Whatever you have on I always want to peel off. Have you even found all the buttons from this morning?”
I shook my head, “I didn’t know this was possible. I never knew I was allowed to want this.”
“Do you then?” Rafe pressed. “How are you feeling? Are you uncomfortable?”
I shook my head, let my grin break through, “No, I feel like the luckiest woman in the world right now. You’re both incredible. I can’t believe you even still like me, much less that you want to—”
“Be with you,” Rafe finished for me.
“Stay together,” Leo said.
“So where do you want to sleep?” Rafe said, “His place or mine?”
“Until this morning when I fell asleep with you,” I said to Leo, “I’ve never shared a bed.”
Leo gathered me into his lap, kissed my temple and the top of my head. He rocked me back and forth softly. I felt something unknot inside me that I didn’t realize was there, something tense and lonesome. Tears sprang to my eyes. I felt so loved, so cherished. I felt Rafe’s big hand on my back, stroking in slow circles, soothing me. I was surrounded by people who cared about me, extraordinary, compassionate men who were sexy as hell. Men who were strong and confident enough to share me without jealousy or silly macho posturing. The kind of man a girl meets once in a lifetime if she’s damn lucky. And here I was, twice in a lifetime, with two of the best, most incredible guys ever.
“I want to stay here with you. For as long as you’ll have me,” I confessed, reaching out and hugging them both at once.
I was right. I was the luckiest girl in the world.
9
Rafe
Every night was a night in for us, curled up on the couch with popcorn and beer and Lexi. We watched bad reality TV. We played a cutthroat game of Call of Duty, in which we found out that adorable social worker Lexi cussed a blue streak into the headset when she was cornered. She accidentally called me a motherfucker because I wasn’t in the right spot when she needed me. Leo had rolled off the couch laughing so hard. I had choked on my beer. She hadn’t even realized it until we told her.
Her competitive side was another thing we liked about her. One morning, I hid behind the laundry room door and jumped out to scare her. She screamed and swore and smacked me on the arm, surprised and embarrassed. She tried to get me back, but she got Leo instead.
The shrill screech I heard sent me careening into the bathroom where Leo was pointing at her and breathing hard, his dick in his hand, while she was laughing, doubled over on the bathroom floor.
“She was in the goddamn basket!” Leo kept saying over and over, “I could’ve pissed all up and down the wall. I could’ve fallen and hit my head.”
“Yeah, explain why you need a sick day for that,” she chuckled. “My roommate scared me, and I bumped my head on the toilet.”
I had high-fived her, and Leo gave me the finger.
When Leo had to go back on nights at the fire station, I knew I had an evening alone with Lexi. We’d talked about our boundaries, our expectations, among the three of us. We wouldn’t date other people. We all tested clean at the clinic. She was on birth control. We were open to sharing her without jealousy as long as we were open in our communication. So when I planned dinner and more with her, I wasn’t going to keep it a secret.
When she got home from work and kicked off her shoes, I had ordered Chinese and run her a bath.
“A bath? You’re an angel,” she said, unbuttoning her shirt as she disappeared into the bathroom. “I’ll be out in a few minutes. Maybe more than a few. It’s been a hell of a day.”
She was in there for maybe ten minutes before I knocked on the door.