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“Yes! Yes, Ryder!” Her howls fill the room before she almost collapses, while he pulls out and comes across her ass. I crouch beside her, stroking her hair, kissing her cheek and forehead until he’s finished and she’s still whimpering from the force of her release.
Her eyes open slowly. There’s a hazy look about them, almost like she’s drowsy. “I can’t believe I missed out on that,” she admits in a rasping whisper.
“You know, I was thinking the same thing.” I look away from her long enough to find Ash stroking himself faster while Ryder heads to the bathroom. I assume he intends to clean her up.
And I’m already starting to thicken again by the time Ash reaches out and runs a hand down her leg.
“Something tells me we’re going to spend the rest of the night making up for lost time,” I murmur, smiling at her. “I hope you don’t mind.”
When her drowsy grin widens, I know I have nothing to worry about.
36
RYDER
Damn birds. They’re determined to wake me up this morning. I close my eyes tighter like that will do anything to block out sound and roll onto my side, determined not to let them win.
But that’s before I remember where I am and what we did.
Right away, I reach for my phone, sitting on top of my folded jeans beside the couch where I slept last night. It sits beside the bed – king size, sure, yet still not quite enough room for four of us. But the couch is nice and long and very comfortable, and I’ve never been somebody who likes sharing a bed with another man. That’s just not my thing. So it wasn’t much of a sacrifice.
That’s not what’s on my mind as I check my phone. It’s the first night I’ve left Pete alone at the house, but there weren’t any panicked texts, so I’m guessing things went okay. I shoot him a quick message to let him know I’ll be home later this morning, then let the phone drop from my fingers while I throw my arm over my head and wonder if it’s worth trying to get back to sleep.
Last night was way beyond what I expected. I hoped, sure, but I didn’t expect it. It was hot, it was exciting. It was also necessary, since the weeks I spent alone were pretty much torture.
I think it was necessary in other ways. It sort of brought us all back together.
Now, the only question is what happens next. Never an easy question, but especially in a situation like this. We still have to see each other all the time. And I don’t know what I’ll do if Harlow tries to convince us this can never happen again. It wouldn’t be the first time.
But now more than ever, I know it will be impossible to act like we never happened. I can’t live without this – I know that now. I mean, I’d go on, but it would all seem so empty and pointless without her. I can’t believe I’m thinking this way as I lie here, trying to ignore the birds who have made it their life mission to keep me awake.
“Good morning.”
My eyes snap open at Harlow’s soft whisper. She’s lying near the edge of the bed, close to me, wrapped in a blanket that barely covers her chest and with one of her legs peeking out. It doesn’t seem possible for me to even consider screwing around again, but the sight of her smooth, soft leg gets me thinking in that direction anyway.
“Wait a second.” I prop myself up on my elbow and look across the bed. Only Ash is lying next to her. “Where’s Soren?”
“He went out for a run.” She grins and lifts a shoulder when I scowl. “There I was, thinking he got enough of a workout last night. What do I know?”
Good for him. That’s the last thing on my mind this morning. I’ve never been disciplined to the point of forcing myself to work out when I don’t absolutely need to, like for work or whatever. All I want to do right now is be lazy and maybe think about last night.
There’s no time for that, since Soren comes in moments later. “You’re all still lying around?”
Ash grumbles before rolling onto his back with a sigh. “I wouldn’t have had you stay over if I knew you were going to wake me up at the ass crack of dawn this morning.”
“Seven o’clock is hardly the ass crack of dawn.” He peels off his sweaty t-shirt and winks at Harlow. “Care to join me in the shower?”
“No way.” Ash flings an arm around her and pulls her in close. “I’m not giving her up.”
“I keep forgetting I have no say in anything.” She clicks her tongue at him and shakes her head like she’s disappointed, though I can see she’s fighting a grin. “But no, thank you. Remember? It’s everybody, or it’s nobody.”
All at once he gets serious, folding his arms and looking from Ash to me before turning his attention back to Harlow. “I was thinking on my run that we should maybe talk about this.”
Ash throws an arm over his eyes. “Exactly what I feel like doing this morning. Talking.”
“I’m just saying, maybe we should get the ground rules in place.” Soren looks at Harlow like he is hoping for approval.
She sits up, frowning. “You know, he’s right.”
