After finding Calum and Nisha talking in another booth in the club, Bryce, Max, Hudson and I decide to leave early and head home.

“You’ll be okay?” I ask Nisha.

She shoos me away with her hand. “Are you kidding me, of course I will. Go, have fun,” she says, wiggling her eyebrows at me.

“Is everything… good?” I glance over at Calum, who is talking with Max.

“I think so. We’ve just been chatting. Getting to know each other. I still don’t know if he likes me. Except he practically dragged that poor guy off me when he found us chatting at the bar.” Nisha pulls a face. “It was kind of awkward. After that I’ve been waiting for him to make a move, but he’s been the perfect gentleman, and it’s driving me crazy.”

“So, you make the move,” I say, shrugging.

Nisha laughs. “Since when did you become little Miss Sexpert?”

“About half an hour ago…”

Nisha is about to question me further when Max approaches. He holds his hand out to me. “Come on, Icy, let’s get you home.”

“We’ll talk tomorrow, yes?” Nisha asks.

“At some point,” I respond with a wink. Frankly, I have no idea what’s come over me, apart from the fact that I want to get home as quickly as possible. I feel like something has been uncorked and this sex goddess has appeared out of nowhere. Maybe it’s been the long week of waiting, heck it’s been almost a month since Petite Cabane. Whatever it is, I need to satiate this desire in me.

Max grabs my hand and we meet Hudson and Bryce out the front where a cab is waiting for us. Throughout the journey home, we barely talk to each other. The air is tense with anticipation.

“That’ll be sixty quid,” the cabbie says as we pull up outside the house.

Hudson chucks him two fifty-pound notes. “Keep the change.”

“Bloody hell, cheers mate,” he calls out of the window at us.

Max is holding onto my hand and practically running with me to the front door. Bryce unlocks it and pushes it open. As soon as we are inside, Max has me backed up against the wall. He traces his hands up my arms, pinning them above my head with one hand whilst the other slides over my arse.

“I’ve been waiting to do this all night,” he says, kissing me hard. Our teeth clash as he grinds his hips against mine.

After a moment he pulls away. “Upstairs now,” he orders. Behind him, Bryce and Hudson are grinning. Max practically chases me up the stairs, and I can’t help but giggle with delight at his playfulness.

In the bedroom, Max stalks towards me until my legs are backed up against the bed. He is looking at me like a starving man, and my pulse quickens with excitement.

“Take your shirt off,” he demands.

I undo the buttons and shrug it from my shoulders just as Bryce and Hudson enter the room. I go to unzip my skirt, but Max catches my hand.

“Leave it on,” he says.

Max takes off his own clothes. Behind him, Hudson and Bryce begin to undress too. Kneeling in front of me, Max unzips my biker boots and helps me out of them, throwing them across the room, then his hands slide up from my ankles over my knees and up my thighs until they are resting just beneath the hem of my miniskirt. He pushes up the soft leather so that it sits just above my pubic bone. Leaning in close, Max kisses my mound through the black lace of my knickers. I let out a moan, my hands automatically twining in his hair.

“Let me get these off you first, Icy,” he murmurs, peeling my knickers down. I step out of them, exposed to him. Holding onto my hips, Max guides me onto the bed. I lie back as he parts my legs and jerks my hips forward so that his face is hovering just above me. Then he lowers his mouth and covers the slick opening with his tongue. It doesn’t take me long to be a mess of sensation under his expert mouth.

“Max, I want you,” I say breathlessly, as his tongue and lips and fingers tease me. Over his shoulder I see Bryce and Hudson are both gloriously naked. It is incredibly erotic to have them watch us, watch me. A wave of pleasure builds, pulsating outwards as Max continues to lap at my opening, swirling his tongue around my clit, using his finger to dip inside me. Max lifts his head, my beautiful blonde man, that easy smile gone now, replaced with want. And how I want to fall, fall with him.

“Wait for me, Icy,” he groans, his lips slick with my juices. Leaning over to the bedside cabinet, he pulls out a condom, tears the packet with his teeth and rolls it over his cock. Then in one swift movement he has entered me, his hands twining in my hair as he takes me, the thrust of his hips sliding us both up the bed. The last time we had sex Max had been gentle, this time there is a frantic need as he grinds his hips against mine, and god, I am lost. Lost to him, to his desperate kisses, to his hands as they knead my breasts, as they gently tug my hair so that he can run his teeth along my jaw.

“Max…” I say breathlessly. Even I recognise the tremor in my voice, the intonation. This man, these men, I love them. Just as that realisation washes over me, so too does my orgasm, my internal muscles caressing Max until, with one final thrust, he too lets go.

Max rolls us so we are facing one another on our sides. Still inside of me, he presses a dozen kisses against my face.

“Louisa, Icy, my love…” Love. That word lingers in the air, a confirmation of what has just passed between us. Does Max love me? I smile tentatively at him. He presses his forehead against mine, holding my gaze, but he doesn’t say the words I long to hear. Perhaps it’s too soon, perhaps I misunderstood. He presses a delicate kiss against my lips, then pulls out of me gently.

“I’m going to grab us all a drink. I’ll be back in a bit, okay.”

I nod my head, unable to answer him. Unsure now, the connection between us seems to have broken. Sitting up, my skirt bunched up around my waist, I watch him leave the room.

“Hey, what is it, darling?” Bryce asks, sitting down on the bed next to me. He is so relaxed in his skin.

I don’t answer, not sure I know what it is that I feel. Not rejected, no. I know he felt something. Disappointed perhaps.

“Is this too much? We can leave…” he starts.

“No. I don’t want you to go,” I say quietly.

“Then we’ll stay.” Bryce stands, pulling me to my feet too. He folds me into his arms and it is just what I need at this moment. Over his shoulder I can see Hudson watching us. I can’t read his expression.

“Come on, darling. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Bryce takes my hand and leads me to the en suite. Stopping at the door, I turn to Hudson, who has made no move to follow us.

“Will you join us?”

“Baby, I’ll wait here for you, okay?” Hudson says, his eyes flicking to Bryce.

“Okay,” I respond, a frown creasing my brow. Hudson lays down on the bed, places his hands behind his head and shuts his eyes. I don’t know why he’s chosen to stay behind, and I feel uncertain suddenly, as if I have done something wrong.

“I wanted a moment alone with you,” Bryce says, shutting the door behind us. “Hudson understands.”

“Why? I mean, I’m fine with it. I love being with each of you, but I don’t want to come between you all…” This strange feeling erupts in my chest, like something important is going on but I’m missing the point.

“That’s just it, Louisa. You’ve not come between us, you’ve pulled us closer together. You are special, so goddamn beautiful. I just wanted a moment with you alone. Just you and me.”

“You don’t want to share me?”

“It’s not that. I love us being a family…”

“A family?” My heart trips in my chest at his words.

“Yes. That’s what you are to me now.”

“Then what is it?”

Bryce scrapes a hand through his hair. “Just because you belong to all of us, it doesn’t mean I always want to share these moments with my brothers too. Hudson respects that.”

“I understand. I thought it was something I’d done.”

“Christ no,” Bryce says, pulling me against his chest. “I just want to make love to you, alone. Right now, that’s what I need.” The softness of his hair brushes against my brow as his hands slide up to my face. He leans down and kisses me until another flame is stoked within my chest and my heart is thundering once more. He breaks away briefly to open the mirrored cabinet. He pulls out a pack of condoms, taking one out of the box and sheathing himself. His cock stands tall and proud as he backs me up against the wall, I feel it between us as he begins to kiss me once more. Bryce slides his hand over my arse and lifts me up. The cold of the bathroom tile against my back does nothing to cool my flaming desire. He eases me down over his length. I take him easily, still slick from my lovemaking with Max.

“Fuck, darling…” he groans into my hair as he begins to move within me. I cling onto him as he takes me against the wall, his hips moving with purpose. I can feel his muscles flex under my hands, his strength holding me firm. It isn’t long before I am calling his name, just like I had with Max. The sound of my reverence is clear to anyone who cares to listen. This big, alpha male. This man who holds me in his arms, who makes me feel safe. He is my man, just like Max, just like Hudson. They are all mine. As that thought enters my head, a kaleidoscope of colour explodes behind my eyes as Bryce takes me over the edge. I become limp in his arms as he bites down on my shoulder, his own orgasm ripping through him violently.

“Darling, what have you done to me,” he says, his hazel eyes wide with surprise, with wonder. He lowers me to the floor. My legs feel shaky as he guides me to the shower, turning it on for me. He unhooks my bra and unzips my skirt. I allow both to fall to the floor. Then we step into the cubicle. He washes me gently, running his hands all over my body.

“Do you remember the last time we showered together?” he asks.

“How could I forget?”

“Want to replay it?” Bryce doesn’t bother to wait for my answer, he simply grabs my hips, twists me away from him then kneels behind me. I bend over for him, showing him my round arse and pussy. He takes me with his mouth and within a couple of minutes, I am coming hard and fast again.

When we leave the bathroom, the bedroom is dark and there is soft music playing in the background. The light from behind me illuminates Hudson’s naked skin. He has his back to me, and I can hear his gentle breathing, can see the soft rise and fall of his chest. Is he asleep?

“I’ll leave you two alone, sweetheart,” Bryce says, pressing a kiss against my cheek. He leaves the room. Not wanting to wake Hudson, I tiptoe over to the bed and lay down next to him. My eyes adjust to the light and I can see him more clearly. He is beautiful. He has a different kind of beauty to Max and Bryce. Where Max is carefree, Hudson is serious. Where Bryce is thoughtful, Hudson is demanding. His beauty is edged with pain, with a darkness that pulls at the edges of his soul. I can sense it around him, those shards that cut deep. Each of my men have it in varying degrees, but with Hudson it is most noticeable. I lift my hands to his shoulder and graze my fingers down the length of his arm. He stirs but he doesn’t open his eyes. My fingertips move across the firm muscle of his chest, over the smattering of hair that covers it. I press my palm over his heart. I am in awe of this man, these men, who are mending my own broken heart.

“Louisa?”

I look up. Hudson is staring at me, a question on his face.

“I’m sorry for waking you,” I say.

“I wasn’t asleep, baby. I’ve been waiting for you.” He smiles sweetly, and some of the pain he holds seems to fall away. Raising his hand to my face he rests his palm against my cheek, his thumb trailing over my now healed lips. He makes no move to kiss me. He just gazes at me, his beautiful green eyes and the gentle touch of his hand showing me how he feels way more than words could in this moment. The air around us is charged with something indescribable. It has been building here, between us all, since Bryce brought me back to their house over a week ago.

“Louisa, my butterfly. Can you feel that.”

Under my palm his heart beats like the frantic wings of a bird trapped in a cage. He lowers his hand to my chest, resting it between my breasts.

“Yes, you feel it too,” he says.

“Hudson, I think I…” love you. I am prevented from saying the words as he presses a gentle finger against my lips.

“Hush, don’t say it. I don’t want you to utter those words until I can say it back. Believe me, baby, I want to, but there are things I must let go of first. Things that hurt me, that would hurt you if I don’t deal with them.”

Mirroring his actions, I bring my hand up to meet his cheek. “It’s okay. We’ll mend each other, Hudson. There will be a day when it no longer hurts, and I’ll be here, waiting.” Sliding my hand around the back of his neck, I pull him close, grazing my lips against his. He is exceedingly gentle when he touches me, kisses me, when he trails his lips over every inch of my skin. He sets me alight, he draws out the pain of my past and dissolves it with his adoration. That’s the only way I can describe how he makes me feel. I am adored, like I am the only woman he has ever loved. These broken pieces of me, they have cut my heart to pieces over the years, but now with these men, the cuts are not so deep. We make love, for this is what it is. There is no denying the rawness of the unfamiliar emotions that he and I both feel in this moment. I return his tenderness with my own, letting him in, mirroring every touch, every kiss, every slide of my lips across the warmth of his skin. I blaze a trail direct to his heart, showing him how much I care, giving him every single piece of me. I crack open my heart, allowing the last shards of ice to melt away. When Hudson finally slides inside me, his chest pressed against my back, his arm around my waist, his mouth hot against my neck, I know without any doubt that I am now complete. That Hudson, Bryce and Max have settled themselves inside my heart permanently.