But, to be fair, Ash was the one who’d set the weird precedent anyway, announcing it in front of his brother and Chase’s iced tea for the first time like that.
“Love you, too,” Spencer said happily, knowing they’d get that he was saying it to each of them.
The three of them were content with silence for a little while. It only took a few minutes for Ash to get over his outrage and pet at Spencer’s hair again, while Ryder kept one proprietary hand on Spencer’s ankle, his thumb rubbing lazily at Spencer’s skin.
“What do you want to do tonight?” Ash eventually asked.
“Dunno.” Spencer yawned. “Maybe take another doze? Ryder dicked me down a little too good. Then … movie night?”
“You sure?” Ryder asked. “Bishop’s having a party.”
Spencer grinned again. He knew Ryder and Ash didn’t really care about the party. Ryder was asking because of him. “Nah,” Spencer answered easily. “Let’s stay in.”
Sure, Spencer still loved a good night out—he hadn’t completely changed his social butterfly stripes. But he was feeling … sensitive tonight. Not in a bad way, but in the way that meant his heart was a little tender, stuffed so full it was on the edge of painful. Like an alpha knot but in the chest area.
Maybe he’d keep that comparison to himself though.
In the past, this might have been exactly the kind of night Spencer would disappear into a raging party, mask all that feeling with riotous energy and flirting and booze. And it wouldhave been fun, in its way, and he would have been okay in the end.
But he didn’t have to do that anymore, not if he didn’t want to. He could stay with these two people who loved him instead. He could fall into a doze to the sound of Ryder turning pages and Ash muttering through engineering problems. He could let Ryder wake him up before he slept too long, let Ash insist Spencer sleep in the middle tonight, presumably because Ash got too hot but really because he knew it was exactly where Spencer wanted to be.
In other words, Spencer didn’t have to settle for okay. Or fine. Or good enough. Instead, he could stay right where he belonged. At home, with his two hot-as-fuck boyfriends, the ones Spencer got to have for keeps.
And that wasn’t just okay, was it? That was pretty fucking amazing.
EPILOGUE
RYDER
One year later
Ryder woke up with a start.Something wasn’t right. He had one warm body underneath him, sticky and sweet-smelling—Ryder didn’t have to open his eyes to know it was Ash. But that was only one.
So where was Spencer?
Ryder rose onto his hands and peered around the dark room. Spencer wasn’t in the bed or here in the nest. He wasn’t in the bedroom at all.
Ryder frowned. Ash and Spencer both knew he didn’t like them leaving the nest during his rut without him knowing. Then again, judging by the relatively clear head and lack of possessive rage at finding one of his mates gone, Ryder’s rut had probably ended sometime during the night.
Still.
Ryder disengaged himself gently from Ash’s sleeping form and padded naked toward the kitchen. He found Spencer there,equally naked and looking … thoroughly claimed, which Ryder tried and failed not to be too pleased about.
Spencer’s dark hair was wild and practically matted, and he had love bites around his shoulders and collarbone. He clearly hadn’t showered yet, since he still smelled like the three of them combined, plus the familiar musk of dried fluids and rough sex.
Ryder’s dick twitched. He ignored it, partly due to exhaustion, and partly because Spencer also looked half dead and asleep on his feet, maybe seconds away from collapsing. Which was part of why he wasn’t supposed to leave the nest without Ryder—namely, that ruts were harder on Spencer. Sure, his body responded beautifully to Ryder’s incessant demands, but Spencer didn’t have any omega hormones to give him extra energy and strength. He had to rely on his own alpha stamina, which left him exhausted and—as evidenced by his determined searching through the kitchen cabinets—hungry as hell.
And he still hadn’t noticed Ryder’s entrance.
“Baby,” Ryder called, his voice low and hoarse from a weekend of grunts and moans. “Back to bed.”
Spencer turned and blinked at him, bleary-eyed. His kiss-reddened lips formed into a half pout. “Hungry.”
Ryder shuffled forward and wrapped an arm around Spencer’s waist, taking some of his weight. “I have protein bars by the nest, remember?”
Spencer only blinked some more.
“Go back and sleep,” Ryder commanded gently. “I’ll make us a real breakfast.”
