Cora set down the last gift box, smoothing one of the silver ribbons binding it. When she looked up, the Christmas tree blurred for a moment before she could blink away potential tears.

Footsteps sounded behind her, near silent on the carpet. She saw Lady’s ears prick up, the dog watching whoever it was coming up behind her. By the time they’d reached Cora, the dog’s tail was swishing wildly from side to side.

A hand caressed the top of her head. “You coming to bed?”

“In a bit,” she murmured.

“I think there’re enough presents, Cora.” Finn’s voice was a quiet rumble in the sleepy hush that filled Swan Manor.

“Never,” she said, but under her breath. She rose, giving Finn a warm smile over her shoulder. “Want a last glass of eggnog?”

“You’re addicted,” he said, slipping his arm around her waist. “I’m going to have to cut you off.”

“Come on, Finn, just one—”

“You know,” came a voice from the landing, “if I had three gorgeous hunks waiting in my bed, I wouldn’t be fucking around with Christmas presents.”

Cora leaned past Finn, shooting Lars a glare. “I said I’ll be up—”

“Yeah, and we’re already down again, you’ve taken so long.” Lars waved at her, heading back to the master bedroom. “Tell you what, we’ll get started without you. If there’s no more lovin’ left for you by the time you’ve finished your eggnog, you’ll only have yourself to blame.”

The master bedroom’s door closed with a resounding crash.

Cora peered up at Finn, and he brushed her cheek with his thumb as he gave her a fond smile.

His wounds had all healed, but an expanse of skin all the way from his lower jaw to his hip bore testament to the fire that had engulfed them all.

She’d gotten away with nothing more than a bad haircut, some minor burns, and a bullet wound; Zachary had unwittingly shielded her and Lady from the worst of the blast.

Lars had a few burn marks of his own, but he flouted them like badges of honor.

Finn wore polo neck sweaters and owned no short-sleeved shirts anymore. Although he’d regained his muscle mass a few weeks after he’d been back on solid food, the fire had permanently disfigured one pectoral muscle.

She’d stopped telling him it didn’t matter, because it obviously mattered to him. She thought it was because those scars were a constant reminder of how he’d failed her.

It made her livid, him thinking that, but she’d have a much easier time trying to change Earth’s orbit than convince him otherwise.

“So, about that egg—” she began, but Finn scooped her off her feet before she could complete her sentence, and threw her over his shoulder. She struggled, shrieking at him to let her go before giggles overwhelmed her.

Lady’s nose pressed against her ankle, the dog sensing a game in the air and eager to play. Lady was lucky to be alive, never mind walking—the veterinarian Lars had taken her to had said she had a twenty percent chance of surviving her injuries.

Luckily, a few thousand dollars bought a lot of luck.

When Lady had pulled through just fine, Cora couldn’t stand the thought of the dog having to find a new owner, so she’d insisted on adopting it.

Finn had rejected the idea—it turned out, he wasn’t a dog lover—but Lady had grown on him like she’d grown on everyone else.

Now she was as much a part of the family as Finn, or Lars, or Bailey.

Finn took the steps two at a time, and had her through the bedroom door a few seconds later.

But, by then, he was already kissing the breath out of her. She clung to him, losing herself to his powerful lips and tongue as they ravaged her mouth and made her insides squirm in hedonistic anticipation.

Hands grabbed her legs, her arms, peeling her off Finn and laying her down on the bed. They’d dimmed the lights so everyone was just a silhouette—another thing that changed since the fire.

But it didn’t matter. She knew her men so intimately that she never had to guess who was touching her, kissing her, fucking her.

Bailey caught her ear with his teeth, sighing deeply as he ran a hand over her breast.

From the other side, she heard ropes whisking against each other.

They’d taken a liking to tying her up of late, having her wholly at their mercy.

She loved it, but…

“Lars?”

All three the men froze, Finn with a hand up her skirt and Bailey still squeezing her breast.

“Not tonight,” she said, feeling in the darkness for his hand and giving him a squeeze.

“Is everything okay?” Bailey asked, his voice a low murmur by her ear. “You feeling all right?”

“I’m fine,” she said, pecking his cheek.

“So, really no ropes?” Lars asked, sounding dumbfounded.

“What happens when you start ordering us around?” Finn asked, his hand creeping between her legs. He stroked her through her underwear, long and hard, making her moan and arch her back. “Can we punish you?”

“No,” she said. “And I won’t. I’ll be good. I promise.”

“We don’t like it when you’re good,” Lars said, easing himself down beside her. He trailed fingertips over one breast, then the other. She turned her head, found his mouth, and kissed him. He made a surprised sound, and softly caressed her breast as their kiss deepened even more.

Finn began stroking her again, sliding his body between her legs and easing them open. Bailey pulled down first one strap of her dress, then the other, and shimmied the fabric down to her belly. She hoisted up her hips, and the dress disappeared down her legs, Finn twisting away before his warmth encapsulated her again.

“I thought you liked being bad,” Lars said, sounding sulky.

Finn caught the hem of her underwear with his teeth, pulling it away before letting it snap back over her skin. She moaned, squirming, and tried to turn her attention back to Lars.

“I do,” she said, a touch anxiously as Bailey rained kisses down her collarbone. “But…I want tonight to be special. It’s Christmas Eve.”

“You want me to put on reindeer horns? What about a Santa hat?” Lars nibbled at her shoulder as he began kneading her breast with his long, agile fingers. “Ho, ho, ho.”

“Lars!” Cora said, trying to pinch him. He ducked his arm away, trapped her fingers, and guided them down to his cock.

He was hard for her.

They all were.

Bailey’s erection pressed against her thigh as he moved closer to catch a nipple in his mouth. Finn lifted his hips, dragging his cock over her underwear. They were all already naked; except for that triangle of fabric that kept her shielded.

“I mean, I’ll be the first to admit it’s a little weird you have this strange reindeer fetish all of a sudden, but I guess it might be kinky. Should I wear a tail, too? I think they make butt plugs like that these days. Could be kinda freaky, don’t you—?”

She kissed him again, if only so she’d stop laughing. Lars responded by grinding his mouth against hers, and urging her hand harder around his cock. She began stroking him just how he liked it, and he groaned against her mouth.

Bailey’s mouth worked its way down to her belly button, then her pubic bone. He grabbed the edge of her underwear and tugged it down, trying to reach her already wet entrance with his fingers.

Finn made an irritated sound, grabbed the thin piece of fabric in both hands, and tore it off her.

She shuddered. “Fuck, I love it when you do that,” she murmured.

“Good thing you can afford new underwear,” Lars murmured, and she stroked him extra hard for the comment.

He muttered, “Fuck,” and burrowed his head in her hair as he moved his hips in rythym with her strokes.

Bailey’s mouth left a cooling trail down her hip. Her back bowed when he touched the tip of his tongue to her clit. Finn stroked her entrance, dragging his fingertips through her folds as if testing to see if she was ready for him.

Dios mio, she couldn’t have been more ready. Her body pulsed with eagerness to have him inside her, to have him filling her. And then Lars, and then Bailey. Or whatever order they chose tonight.

She didn’t care, as long as she pleased every single one in return.

Her breath whispered out in a sigh as Finn dug the first inch of himself inside her.

“You want it slow, don’t you?” he rumbled in the dark. “Slow, and gentle.”

“Yes,” she hissed, her hips bucking to urge him deeper inside.

On cue, Lars and Bailey pushed her down on the bed. She struggled, panting at the urgency she felt for Finn to thrust into her.

But Finn went slow, just like she wanted. She stretched around him, lusciously tight, letting out a long moan the deeper he forced his way inside her.

“Jesus, that sound,” Lars murmured, turning her head so he could kiss her.

Bailey’s tongue flicked against her clit. Where the hell had he been? But the thought evaporated under a spear of intense pleasure as Bailey’s tongue massaged against her. Then he moved down, licking each side of her entrance as Finn unhurriedly thrust deeper inside her.

A climax already beaconed, her body tightening around Finn as she gasped into Lars’s mouth.

“Already?” Finn said, sounding surprised.

“I can’t…it’s too—”

Bailey sucked her clit hard, flicking the tip of his tongue against her as he did. She came with a violent shudder, wrapping her legs around Finn’s waist and tilting her hips up.

He slammed the last inch of his cock inside her, jarring her entire body as she let out a breathless cry.

Lars tweaked a nipple, trailing his fingers over her body as she shook in the aftermath of her first orgasm.

As soon as her hips sank down again, Finn began leisurely thrusting into her. His hand went around her throat, keeping her pinned as he worked his cock in and out of her. Friction built an agonizing heat inside her, her arousal coating him every time he plunged deeper.

He thrust slower, harder, jarring her a little every time. Then his face was right above her, a tiny glint in each eye as he filled her.

“Too hard?” he asked softly, thrusting into her again.

“No,” she managed, the word escaping with a gasp. “Perfect. You’re perfect.”

He smiled at her. Kissed her. Thrust into her again. His groan trembled against her lips as he came, his forehead pressing to hers as he broke away for air.

Lars stroked her clit, making her clench around Finn’s cock and urge a shiver from his massive body.

He pulled back, running his hands down her hips before unhurriedly drawing out. His warmth had barely flickered away before Bailey’s warm body sank down on top of her. But, before he thrust into her, he dragged his tongue through her folds, teasing her so close to a climax she begged him to fuck her.

And he did, just as softly, and with just as much determination as Finn had.

They came together moments later, Lars working an orgasm from her clit while he kissed the living shit out of her. That he stuck his tongue in her mouth as she came, made her come even harder.

Bailey moaned as he came, grinding against her as if determined to reach the very end of her. She left nail marks on his arm as she rode out her own orgasm, but he didn’t complain.

He never did.

He drew out of her, went down on her, and made her buck her hips with his masterful tongue.

“Yes,” she murmured, jerking her mouth away from Lars, since he’d become unresponsive to their kiss.

She dimly knew that Finn was behind Lars, that he was running his hands all over the man’s body, but she could make out nothing except Lars’s breathless, whispered pleas for Finn to go harder.

Bailey turned her onto her side, facing Lars. He lifted her leg at an angle, stroking her folds hard enough to make her gasp.

Then she felt a dick pressing against her entrance; Bailey guiding Lars inside her.

She shivered violently, eyes flying open. Lars showed her his teeth, jaw tight with unfathomable pleasure. He slid inside her, and they began to move all together; her and Finn and Lars.

Bailey orchestrated from above, hooking Cora’s leg over his shoulder to keep her stretched open, strumming her clit with one hand and her backdoor with the other.

And then Bailey lay down behind her, kissed the back of her neck, and bit down lightly as he forced his way inside her backdoor.

She could barely breathe. Barely move.

Waves of deep bliss and pure pleasure washed over her, through her. Trapped as she was, her body vibrated with need and urgency. She could scarcely buck her hips, but she still tried. Her hands found Lars’s face, dragging him closer for a kiss that left them both panting and breathless.

Then Lars began grunting. His face contorted, the animalistic sounds of his pleasure ratcheting her own approaching orgasm up a dozen notches.

“Oh god,” she whispered. “Yes!”

A hand grasped at her breast, reaching over Lars to do so. She caught Finn’s eyes, and he held her gaze with fierce determination as he slammed into Lars.

A climax tore through her, but it had no effect on her men. They were caught up in their own pleasure, everyone’s aura twining around the other.

Bailey pressed tight against her, kissing and nibbling her neck, her shoulders, her arm. Lars came inside her with a grunt that sounded as much pleasure as pain, and then ground his mouth against hers.

But Finn hadn’t stopped pounding into Lars. Her climax sunk, and lifted her up again as Lars continued to fuck her, trapped between her and Finn.

She caught Lars’s leg with her nails, and then found Finn’s. She dug her nails into him, and he groaned that all too familiar groan.

Lars whimpered, dragging her tight, crushing her to him as if in pain.

Bailey came a second time, his lips against her ear as he whispered, “I love you,” over and over again to her like some hedonistic chant their sex cult had insisted on during every ritual.

Lars trembled in her arms, and she in his. Their kiss became gentle and slow, his mouth quivering against hers.

Finn ran his hand down her face, and Lars murmured something unintelligible when Finn kissed his shoulder.

They lay like that for a long time, until their breathing returned to normal, until they’d stopped sweating.

Lars was the first one to stir, stretching his limbs like a cat who’d just woken from a nap in front of the fire. “You think those guys on Amazon wonder why we keep ordering so much underwear and sheets?” he asked.

Cora cupped his face. “No, but I’m pretty sure I know why I keep seeing mattress liners popping up when I’m shopping online.”

Bailey drew away from her, but she caught his hip and drew him back. He was always the first to leave their huddle. Sometimes, she would find him in the kitchen, having a beer as he stared out of the window.

“Stay for a moment,” she said quietly.

“You’re freaking me out,” Bailey said. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” But it came out too fast, too breathless. Lars grabbed the back of her neck, squeezing her.

“Cora?” Finn asked.

She blinked back sudden tears. “It’s a surprise,” she said in a husky voice. “And you’ll get it tomorrow when you open all your presents.”

“Fuck the presents, tell us what the hell’s going on!” Lars shifted, his sweet breath on her face as he leaned close. “Is it cartel stuff? Did you hear something? Did someone try and contact you?” His voice became leaden at the last.

“No, nothing—” she cut off and let out an exasperated sigh. Turning onto her back, Cora pressed her palms over her eyes and inhaled deep. Her body still tingled madly, her brain too fuzzy for proper thoughts. But fuck it, if they couldn’t wait—

“I guess you all get one present before tomorrow.”

“Cora—” Finn began, voice low in warning.

She slapped her hands down beside her on the bed, steeling herself. Her men grew quiet, not even their breaths stirring the air.

“We’re having a baby.”

For a moment, she’d thought they hadn’t heard her.

Then Lars let out a low whistle. “Shit…So you’re not on the pill?”

She slapped him, and he barked out a laugh before nestling his face in her hair. “I’m kidding!”

“You fucking piece of—” she began, before Finn’s hand reached over Lars to stroke her belly. The gentle gesture caught her off guard; she had to blink back sudden tears again.

“Watch your language,” Finn murmured, with another slow stroke.

“Uh…I hate to be the one to ask…” Bailey began, his voice a little unsteady. “But…uh…”

She grabbed his hand, urging it over her belly beside Finn’s.

Inhaling deep, she let out a happy sigh. “It’s ours,” she said. “And that’s all that matters.”

She paused, her lips squirming, and then blurted out, “She’s ours.”

All three her men drew a sharp breath, and the sound made her wriggle between them with a delicious shiver.

“Bonnie,” Lars said firmly.

“Valentine, after my gran,” Bailey said.

“Val—?” Lars cut off with a snort. “Esmerelda. No, Rain. Real hippy like. Huh, Cora? What about Rain?”

Lars’s hand joined Finn’s and Bailey’s.

“You won’t be able to feel her yet,” Cora murmured.

“Shut up,” Lars snapped. “We’re busy bonding with Rain.”

Finn laughed, his large hand the warmest of all. When she looked up, light glimmered in his eyes.

Strange…ever since the fire, she hadn’t seen a touch of anger in them. Something Lars had once called a ‘beast’.

He’d been drunk and she’d been on her period — that had been their first real fight. She’d crapped him out for eating all the biscuits, and after having sworn high and low it hadn’t been him, he’d called her a rich bitch and told her to order more.

So she’d slapped him.

He’d told her she was just like Milo. That she had a beast inside her, just waiting to claw its way out.

Then he’d passed out on the sofa for the rest of the day.

She never could understand why he’d said that.

All she ever saw when she looked at Finn was love.

Dark, twisted love.

The End