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“When?” His face turns to stone.
“Whenever I want.” I lift my chin. “I told you. I’m done with monogamy and romance.”
“You also just said there are many kinds of love. So which one do you feel for me? Sexual love? Brotherly? Am I the brother you love to fuck?”
“Shut the fuck up.” In one limping stride, Kody gets in his face. “If I weren’t injured, she would be in my bed, too.”
“Yeah?” Leo pushes him aside and finds my gaze. “Is that true, Frankie?”
“The night the wolf attacked…” Swallowing, I sit taller and force myself to meet his stare. “Kody spanked me, touched me intimately, and I loved it.”
I try to soften the blow with my eyes.
Leo goes still. Deathly, chillingly still.
I wait for the explosion, but it never comes. Instead, he stiffly turns and reaches for the door.
“Don’t go.” Panicked, I stand and wring my hands. “We stick together. Above all else, no matter what happens, we don’t separate.”
He pauses, pulls in a long breath, and faces me. “I won’t share you.”
“You won’t have to.” Beside me, Wolf drops his head back against the wall. “We’ll all be dead soon.”
“Giving up already?” Kody cuts accusing black eyes at his brother. “I didn’t peg you for a pussy.”
“If pussies have a distaste for starvation and hypothermia, then meow.”
“We’re not going to starve or freeze to death.” Kody hobbles to his bed and sits, resting his leg. “We’ll find a way out of this, just like we always do.”
“Maybe it’s not worth it. Ever think of that? I’m out of smokes. Your vodka supply is drying up. The girl of my dreams is fucking everyone but me.”
Leo scowls. “Fuck off, Wolf.”
“Just being honest. We’re facing a miserable winter with no end but the end. I don’t know why we can’t just take off all our clothes and spend our final moments in a mindless orgy.”
“No.” I shake my head. “For so many reasons, no.”
“But you’ll share body heat with my brothers?” His nostrils flare. “Yeah, I did the math. Sexual, romantic—” He points at Leo and Kody, respectively. “And I get the platonic leftovers. The consolation prize. Cool. Looks like I’ll be dying a virgin after all.”
“Jesus.” I exhale a lungful of regret. “I’ve made a mess of this. What I feel for you is too complex for labels. Forget what I said. Dammit, this is why I’ve been avoiding this conversation. I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Kody leans forward, elbows on his knees. “You don’t owe us an explanation.”
“Maybe not. But I’m trying to do the right thing. Wolf, I didn’t have sex with you that night or in the weeks that followed because I’m all mixed up in my feelings. I refuse to drag you into that.”
“You have no qualms about dragging Leo into it.”
“That’s different.”
“Why? Because you didn’t watch Denver fuck him?” His throat bobs.
“No. Maybe. I don’t know.”
It’s true my connection with Leo isn’t clouded by that night.
My mind spins, searching for the right words.
Leo and I have a powerful physical connection. He’s not fragile, and I can fuck him without hurting his feelings. When I’m with him, it’s the only time I can let down my guard and trust that I’m safe. I need that in a lover. I need him.
Sounds selfish.
Maybe I have it all wrong.
I keep those thoughts to myself and say instead, “I need you to understand. I won’t be pushed into anything. I’m operating on emotion and instinct, and those are fickle, untrustworthy things right now. I’m fucked-up. My heart is garbage. I don’t know if I’ll ever work it out, but the last thing I want to do is hurt you or ruin your relationship with your brothers.”
“Your heart isn’t garbage, Frankie. It’s beautiful. That’s why we’re drawn to you.” Wolf reaches for my hand and twines our fingers. “I’m not hurt. Just horny.”
“I don’t believe you.” I tighten my grip in his and look at Leo. “I shouldn’t have had sex with you.”
“That’s bullshit.” Leo’s neck goes taut, face reddening. “Don’t you dare—”
“I don’t regret it, and I won’t stop pursuing you. That would only hurt us both. But I won’t be having sex with anyone else until we get through this.”
“Not liking the sound of that, love.” Leo snarls, eyes wild and fists clenched, looking for all the world like a man possessed. “The correct response is you won’t be fucking anyone else ever.”
Oh, lord. He’s wearing his alpha face. Lowered eyebrows, stern and judging. Narrowed eyes, assessing. Firmly pinched lips, deadly serious.
I have nothing to say to that. Nothing but an exasperated sigh.
“Get through what, exactly?” Kody asks.
“Well, first, you need to heal.”
“I am—”
“Fully healed, Kody. When you can walk without wincing or limping, we’ll talk. And you…” I turn to Wolf, softening my tone. “Your wounds are deeper, harder to reach, but I see them. I don’t know how to help you. I wish I could. But I’m here. I’ll listen. I’ll love you through it, every step of the way.”
