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“You got really bad breath, or something?” I roll my eyes. She stretches. “Seriously, I just sucked your dick, and you won’t even give me a peck?”
“No.”
She frowns slightly. “You’re weird, Teddy,” she whispers, snuggling her cheek into my hand.
“Don’t call me Teddy.”
She hums. Her eyes flutter closed.
I raise an eyebrow. “Tired?”
“She’s worse than us,” Eli puts in. “Always wants to fall asleep right after.” He gives the arch of her foot a squeeze, and she shivers deliciously. “What do you want, Tink?”
“Cuddle me!” She orders, tossing her arms out dramatically. The other two both laugh.
I extricate my hand and stand back, hating the way I’m still trembling slightly. Riven and Eli curl around her as I pick up my pants from the floor. Riven dabs come off her skin, while Eli presses kisses into her hair, making soft, comforting sounds. She smiles and wriggles happily under their hands, basking in the attention.
Shucking on my shirt, I turn, leaving them to it. I don’t cuddle after sex. I don’tcoddle.If she wants kisses and caresses and comfort, Riven and Eli have her covered.
“Stay,” she says quietly, as I head for the door.
I pause in the doorway, my heart pounding in my chest.
“Please?” She whispers. “You don’t have to cuddle. Or kiss me. You can just stay.”
I grit my teeth and leave.
Twenty-Three
Riven
The next ten days pass in a blur. The sky stays clear of storms, and Cole, Eli and I go about our routines like normal. Eli drives down to the ski slopes to give his private lessons. I head into the nearby settlements to visit patients. Cole spends his days chopping wood and performing his duties as a ranger. Every night, we eat together, hang out for a few hours, then go to bed. It’s a familiar routine.
But everything is different now, with her. All the boring shit I used to hate, like shovelling snow and doing the dishes, is suddenly exciting just because she’s nearby. When I’m signing off prescriptions or doing paperwork, she’s curled up at the end of the sofa, or humming to herself in the hallways. Every night, instead of lying in a cold bed alone, she sleeps between me and Eli, exhausted and glowing with a post-orgasm flush.
We’ve had her in every possible position, all over the house. She’s screamed our names in every room of the cabin. We’ve touched every inch of her body. Sometimes Cole joins in, sometimes he doesn’t. There’s a sizzling tension between him and Daisy that seems to get stronger every day. He’s still refusing to kiss her, and only ever fucks her when Eli or I are also there. I was worried it would piss her off, but I think Daisy sees his aloofness as a challenge; she’s been trying harder and harder to pin him down and get him alone. He’s resisting, but it’s only a matter of time before he breaks down.Any idiot can see he’s dying to touch her.
It’s not just sex, though. I’ve never seen the other two so happy. Eli especially. He’s clearly falling for her. The first thing he does when he gets home from work is track her down and snuggle her. He’s always bringing her things, little soaps and chocolates and gifts he’s picked up from the resort shops. The two of them can spend hours together, laughing and joking and flirting.
Cole is harder to read, but he’s more relaxed now than I’ve seen him in years. He’s been spending a lot of time in the barn, building more canvases for her. He’s currently working on a new set of drawers for her to store all of her paints. I’m not really sure why he’s bothering. It’s not like she’ll stay long enough to use it. All of us are ignoring the fact that this is all temporary. She’ll be gone soon, and we’ll be alone again.
We finally end up discussing it on Thursday evening. After a couple of hours of getting bent over the bed by each of us in turn, Daisy falls asleep, exhausted. It’s only eight PM, so we leave her cuddled up in Eli’s room, and relocate to mine so we don't disturb her. Eli sprawls himself across my bed, bouncing a rubber ball against the wall. Cole’s pacing up and down, wearing a hole in my rug. I’m trying to focus on my copy ofTreasure Island.
It’s a comfortable routine. I can’t begin to guess how many times we’ve hung out in each other’s rooms like this, ever since we were children. But today, the mood is tense. As we were all collapsed in Eli’s bed, trying to catch our breath, Daisy sleepily announced that her commissions were finished and dry, ready to be shipped tomorrow. She’s just waiting on the final payments.
We all know what that means. And none of us like it.
Cole stops pacing abruptly by the window, staring out at the snow, and growls something.
“Use human words, Nalle,” Eli mumbles. “We’ve been over this. We don’t speak bear.”
He raises his voice. “She could stay.”
I glance up from my book. “What?”
“She could stay here,” Cole repeats.
“Like… officially?” Eli asks. “We ask her to move in and date us?”
