CHAPTER | TEN
Kelsey smoothed a hand down her skirt for the tenth time in the last five minutes, then pressed a hand to her fluttering stomach. She tapped her toes in a nervous gesture. The guys were due here any moment, and it was all she could do not to lose the contents of her stomach.
How would they react to what she had to say? She’d run a thousand scenarios in her mind but still didn’t know. The next hour could be the longest of her life.
At precisely ten o’clock, the doorbell rang. Her stomach jumped, cramped. Drawing in a deep breath, she tried to find a Zen moment as she approached the door and opened it.
On the other side stood three wonderful men. God, they were all stiff and quiet, their faces silently yearning. Tucker’s expression held so much regret. She’d never seen Rhys this somber. Jeremy looked flat exhausted. He’d never been one to reveal his emotions, but today he wore his heart on his sleeve.
Kelsey closed her eyes for a moment. Finality resounded inside her like a death knell. This was going to kill her.
“Good morning.” She stepped back. “Come in and . . .”
The living room had too many memories. Bad ones. Every time she passed it, all she saw was punches thrown. She heard the echoes of hurled threats and insults.
No, not here.
“Let’s go to the den,” she murmured.
They followed in silence. Rhys was right behind her. Funny how she knew his musky scent so perfectly. Tucker followed. The way he shuffled when he walked was distinct. Jeremy fell in last—a surprise. She’d expected him to barge in first and demand the most. What was up with him?
Once they reached the family room, she purposely sat in the room’s lone recliner. The men all stopped in front of the sofa and sat reluctantly. Without a word, they knew that what she had to say was going to change everything.
“I know you’re wondering why I called you here.”
“Wait.” Tucker leaned forward, looking like he’d burst if he didn’t get to speak. “I’m sorry for everything. I thought before I acted—”
“Thank you. But it doesn’t change anything.”
“Actually, we hope it does,” Rhys replied. “We’ve talked. We know we fucked up bad.”
She sighed. “It wasn’t just the fight.”
“You’re worried about everything behind it; we understand,” Jeremy assured.
Then her former boss rose to his feet, crossed the room. Kelsey watched, wide eyed, as he came closer.
“Don’t,” she protested.
She didn’t have the strength to resist him—any of them.
“Shh. I won’t . . . touch ...” Sighing, he dropped to his knees at her feet. “Please. Just hear us.”
The toughest, most go-for-the-jugular attorney in Texas begging? She didn’t know what to say. She swallowed. The ice around her heart was already cracking. How the hell could she stop it when Jeremy looked at her like she held his heart and soul in the palm of her hand?
“I know whatever you’re going to say is . . . final.” Tucker folded his hands in his lap. “You’ve got that look on your face. But before you say it, we’d like to try to set things right—”
“It won’t work. I can’t—won’t—choose, and you can’t share, even temporarily. So let’s just . . . not hurt each other more.”
“I know you won’t choose. We won’t make you try,” Jeremy vowed.
“Eventually, you would. Especially you.”
“You’re not just mine,” Jeremy blurted, taking her hands in his. “You’re ours. I was putting my demands above your happiness. I know now that I can’t. I’ve never shared well.” He shrugged and sent her a tight smile. “Only-child syndrome, I guess. But you looked . . . radiant when you were with all of us, and I’m sorry I thought I could take that from you. If you’ll give us a second chance, I will never come between you and the others again.”
She sucked in a breath. A stunning promise. Huge. Her heart jumped with possibilities . . . before reality crashed in. “It’s easy to say . . . and hard to do. You’ll tell me whatever you think I want to hear now, but you don’t really mean it. Like last time—”
“Last time we all made love to you at once, I was thinking that I would grant you this one fantasy before I claimed you for my own. Now, I know better.”
Did he? Really? “But when our situation tests you—”
“Test us now,” Jeremy insisted. “As long as you love me, I can deal with anything.”
He looked so honest that Kelsey did a double take. “And this isn’t some ploy to make me choose eventually?”
He shook his head. “I swear.”
“This is us wanting to love you, baby,” Rhys supplied. “However you need to be loved. As long as you’ll love us back.”
Seriously? Had they really talked about what had gone wrong?
Maybe she shouldn’t get her hopes up. She knew she wanted a lot from them. And they still had more barriers between them.
“What about you, Tucker? Can you accept what I need from Jeremy?”
Something crossed his face as it tightened. Resolution. He stood tall, squared his shoulders. His caring blue eyes hardened as he looked at her with demand.
“Stand up. I’ll show you exactly what I can accept, honey.”
Tucker? No denying the command in his voice made her pulse race, echoing between her legs.
Slowly, uncertainly, she stood. “What is it?”
“Faster next time. Now lose the skirt.”
Her eyes nearly popped from her head. That order had come from her sweet friend Tucker? And his tone . . . deep, snapping like a lash, insistent.
Kelsey felt herself go damp, but forced herself to rein in her desire.
“I don’t know where you’re going with this, but we have really important things to—”
“Lose. The. Skirt.” Tucker took a heavy step toward her, his expression hot and impatient.
They’d planned this. Kelsey understood that now. The three of them really had talked about the problems between them and each tried to accept responsibility. Jeremy swore he would share her, Rhys vowed they’d love her however she needed, and now Tucker had adopted a dominant mantle to please her.
She bit her lip. Was it possible they really meant to make it work?
No. She’d been there, done this with them. But her resolution wavered. She’d been so damn miserable the past two weeks. A few mornings ago she’d awakened in an unfamiliar city in an unfamiliar apartment with an unfamiliar job and bawled her eyes out. Then she’d received more shocking news and . . .
What was the best course of action here? Cut them off before anyone else got any more hurt? Or listen and hope that, by some miracle, they could all get it right?
Kelsey knew herself. If she got up and walked away now, she’d forever regret not hearing them out, especially when there was so much at stake.
Swallowing, she reached for her zipper and lowered it. As soon as the skirt cleared her thighs and revealed her little white lace thong, Rhys hissed, Tucker panted, and Jeremy cursed.
Her legs went weak.
“Good,” Tucker praised. “Next, the shirt.”
She was crazy. Certifiable. But with a few words and their rapt, scorching gazes, her breasts had become heavy, her nipples hard. Masturbating to thoughts of them did nothing for her anymore. She needed to feel them.
Whipping the shirt up over her head, she revealed the matching lace demibra, the swells of her breasts pushed up high.
“Yeah.” Tucker’s word was a long caress, and she responded, her body tightening.
“What next?” Her voice shook.
“Sir,” Jeremy cut in. “You call him sir. Are we clear?”
God, that made her sex clench. Now she was really wet. “Yes, sir.”
“Rhys, finish undressing her,” Tucker demanded.
The fireman rose from the sofa, his cock tenting his shorts. He wore a lascivious half smile, then stared Jeremy’s way. “You know I’m going to touch everything, put my mouth everywhere.”
Jeremy nodded. “I’m waiting.”
This was surreal. Jeremy sat at her feet. Tucker stood halfway across the room, issuing demands. Rhys strode across the room with every intent to . . . what? Strip her? Fuck her? While the others watched?
Her knees nearly gave way.
Rhys placed a simple, reverent kiss on her lips. “I missed you, baby. I’ll cut my heart out and give it to you, if that’s what you need to be happy.”
His words staggered her. And humbled her. They didn’t think she needed that, did they?
Then again, she’d asked for a great deal. When they’d been unable to give it to her, she’d left abruptly. Angrily. Maybe they could have worked it out . . . and she’d been too afraid of being caught in the middle and destroying all their relationships to try.
“Just love me,” she whispered. “That’s all I need.”
He smiled, his green eyes dancing with mischief as he cupped her shoulders. “You have no idea how well loved you’re going to be . . .”
Before she could process the comment, he caressed his way down her back. A minute later, her bra hit the floor. Rhys’s hands were instantly beneath her breasts, supporting, lifting. He sucked in her nipples one at a time, laving, scraping, swirling.
Kelsey grabbed his hard shoulders for support, feeling Tucker’s and Jeremy’s gazes on her. Tucker looked aroused; she expected that. Jeremy watched with a dark, enthralled stare. He wasn’t ready to kill Rhys? Really?
A moment later, thoughts scattered when Rhys gently twisted her nipples in his grip and his mouth drifted across her neck.
As she shivered in Rhys’s grasp, Tucker stepped closer.
“Now the panties.”
Rhys stepped back, and they all stared, waiting expectantly, wanting her naked. So they could . . . what? Kelsey didn’t know, but whatever it was, it felt damn good to be with them, have them get along, even if temporarily, swearing they understood her needs. It may not last, but they sought to prove something to her . . . and she didn’t have the will to turn away.
Hooking her thumbs in the strings across her hips, she wriggled her panties down and off.
“Give them to Jeremy,” Tucker demanded.
So he could feel how wet they were? Turning ten shades of red, she complied.
Immediately, Jeremy lifted them to his nose and inhaled. “She’s ready.”
“Good.” Tucker looked at her with approval. “Spread your legs. Jeremy is going to watch Rhys make you come.”
Shaking, she looked over at Jeremy. Could he really handle this or would he feel compelled to grab her, sink deep into her, and warn the others off with bared teeth and a growled threat?
If he could watch and not interfere—and not assume he’d never have to share again—it would be a huge step forward, a definite door to new possibilities.
Stomach clenching nervously, she sank to the chair, butt perched on the edge, and spread her legs. She was breathing hard now; Jeremy peered at them over her thigh, his face less than a foot from her wet folds. He licked his lips—but nothing more.
Instead, Rhys settled in front of her, crouching between her thighs. Jeremy held his breath, waiting. Hell, she waited breathlessly too. But Rhys didn’t keep either of them in suspense for long.
He parted her folds with his thumbs and dropped his mouth over her aching clit, licking and sucking at her, not like she was a treat, but the most precious person on the planet. He’d never been so tender. Always fun. Always physical. Always ready. But this . . . He worshipped her with every breath, movement, and touch.
Her back arched and her eyes misted.
Rhys took her hips in his hands. Kelsey threaded her fingers through his. Hands linked, they moved together, as tension and pleasure rose with every heartbeat.
“Come for Rhys, honey,” Tucker directed.
No way she could refuse that request. A second later, she bucked, shuddered as desire climbed then burst open, leaving her floating and serene. Rhys continued to lap at her gently, as if reluctant to leave her.
Across the room, Tucker’s demanding voice cut into her haze. “Make love to her.”
Rhys pulled her off the chair, nodding. His green eyes met her questioning stare. Right here? As she lay back on the carpet, she cast a nervous glance at Jeremy, now a mere six inches away.
“Are you happy?” His dark gaze connected with her as Rhys shed his clothes.
Kelsey soaked in Jeremy’s beloved face, searching for any sign of distress. “Not if you’re miserable.”
“Do you love him?”
“I love all of you. You know that ...”
“If he makes you happy, I’m happy. I just—” Jeremy choked. “I can’t lose you again.”
She wanted to ask how he knew that tomorrow or the day after he wouldn’t reconnect with his jealous tendencies. But Rhys climbed between her thighs and probed for her wet opening.
“Wait,” Tucker snapped, then regarded Jeremy. “Kels doesn’t look convinced of your sincerity yet. You need to take a more active role in helping Rhys fuck her. Sit behind her, put her head in your lap. Like that. Good. Now grab Kelsey’s legs and hold them apart. Watch them.”
The request was shocking, taking the idea of sharing her to a whole new level. Jeremy was supposed to assist someone else in having sex with her? Inside, she knew she should be scandalized, maybe even horrified. Instead, the arousal Rhys had sated with his mouth leapt to new life, flames of need scorching behind her clit all over again.
Especially when Jeremy did as Tucker instructed, holding her legs at the knees and pulling high, opening her wide.
A moment later, Rhys began feeding her hungry body his cock, one granite inch after another at the slowest, most maddening pace. She clamped down on him, and Rhys hissed, holding himself above her on his elbows.
Feeling flushed and full of tingles, Kelsey tipped her head back to search Jeremy’s expression. He watched Rhys tunnel into her with an intent gaze.
Then Jeremy looked down to meet her stare. “You’re flushed.”
“I’m aroused,” she admitted.
“And you’re happy?”
Before she could answer, Rhys drove home—hard. She gasped as he filled her in one burning stretch of flesh, then ground against her, pressing against her clit.
“Yes!”
“Yes you want more, or yes to Jeremy’s question?” Tucker snapped as he knelt beside her.
“Both.” She could barely gasp the word out as Rhys withdrew with an agonizingly slow tilt of his hips, then rammed home again.
He unleashed weeks’ worth of pent-up lust on her in a series of pounding, rhythmic thrusts that had her holding her breath, chanting his name, hovering on the brink of orgasm more quickly than she would have thought possible.
Tucker ducked under Jeremy’s arm and took her nipple in his mouth, sucking hard.
At the pain-tinged pleasure, her body drew up tight. As she clenched around Rhys’s cock, the friction awakened pleasure everywhere in her body. Her heart, already so in love, had no way of resisting them. She fluttered, cried out, then released with a shudder that matched Rhys’s as he came inside her.
A moment later, she realized she’d reached above her head and now clutched Jeremy’s thighs.
Her former boss breathed heavily, his every muscle tight, his stark gaze a blistering demand for her body. Still, he said nothing, merely released his hold on her legs as Rhys withdrew, kissed her abdomen, then left the room, returning a second later with a wet washcloth.
As Rhys cleaned her gently, she felt the caring in his touch, saw it in his eyes. She melted all over again.
God, what was she doing? Letting them do? Jeremy was exercising enormous self-control . . . but what if he snapped? What if Tucker’s boy-next-door upbringing overwhelmed his common sense next time Jeremy dominated her? This could so blow up in her face at a moment’s notice. She really ought to put a stop to this now.
“Guys,” she began.
“Wait,” Tucker demanded. “Let us make sure you understand.”
After cleaning her, Rhys pulled away, then donned his underwear and sat back on the sofa with a satisfied grin.
“Get on your hands and knees, Kels,” Tucker demanded again in his darkest voice, the one that reached inside her and, amazingly, reignited her ache.
“Yes, sir.”
Slowly, uncertainly, she rolled to her belly, then propped herself up on all fours. And found Jeremy’s face inches from hers. Still he watched her, his gaze hard and unwavering. A moment later, she felt Tucker behind her, the front of his thighs against the back of hers.
Then she felt something cold against her back entrance . . . just before his fingers slid deep. She craned her head to watch more resolution solidify on his face.
“You’re going to take me here,” Tucker told her. “All of me.”
“You’re big,” she protested automatically.
“And if it hurts, you’ll tell me. I’ll adjust. I’ve never done this. Jeremy is going to talk me through it. And only talk.”
Seriously? Kelsey turned back to Jeremy. He looked equally resolved.
“I am.”
Her insides quivered as Tucker pumped her with one finger, then another. Amazingly the desire she’d felt sure Rhys had utterly sated kindled again into a needy flame.
“Okay,” she finally whispered.
“It wasn’t a request, and I’ll only fuck this gorgeous ass after I spank it.”
“What?” she asked, turning back to him.
Tucker pressed a hand to the small of her back and forced her back down, all the way to her elbows, so her ass pointed up. He cast a glance at Jeremy. “Hold her down.”
Jeremy smiled, then clamped his hands over her shoulders. “Absolutely.”
Kelsey’s eyes widened and she shot at him, “You’re enjoying this?”
“He’s going to make your ass bright cherry red, vixen,” Jeremy informed her. “Hell, yes, I’m enjoying it. If you’re not careful, I’ll add to it myself before I fuck you.”
“You, I believe. But Tucker? Is he really going to spank—ouch!”
His slap against her ass resounded in the room. She hadn’t been prepared for it. Her cheek didn’t really hurt so much as sting. But as soon as the blood rushed in, it throbbed.
She turned back to Tucker, and he was looking directly at her ass.
“Amazing,” he breathed. “I can actually see my handprint on her fair skin.”
“Arousing as hell, isn’t it?” Jeremy taunted.
Tucker sent him a shaky nod—then whacked her across the ass again. “That’s for leaving us without giving us a chance to make it right. We worried like hell about you. Jeremy went to Miami, looking for you. Rhys used his contacts.” Whap. “I camped out at your parents’ house.”
“You’re—you’re punishing me?” Even the possibility of Tucker administering a punishment boggled her mind.
“Yes,” he bit out, then smacked her ass again. “That’s for disappearing off the face of the earth without telling any of us where you were.”
“No point,” she eeked out over the tingles and heat and pleasure-pain. “We were over.”
“We weren’t,” he snarled—and lit up her ass again. As she gasped, he continued, “We love you. People in love don’t just give up; they work it out. That’s what we’re going to do, now and always. Got it?”
Smack! Slap! Thump! Again and again. High, low, left right, Tucker never struck the same place twice, but soon, her ass was on fire.
“Yes . . . sir,” she panted. Oh dear God, she was seconds from coming.
“If you return to us for good, there’s no turning back. No playing favorites.”
Another series of slaps had her overheated, melting. Jeremy’s searing gaze on her face turned up the temperature even more.
“You understand? Love, acceptance, devotion—nothing else.” His palm landed on the top of her ass, her hip, high on her thigh. Then he reached around to slap the pad of her pussy.
Oh God, yes! She gasped, hanging onto her composure by the barest threads.
“Please ...” Kelsey wiggled, squirmed, silently pleading.
“Understand?” he repeated.
“Yes, sir,” she shrieked.
“Excellent.” Suddenly, his hands stilled.
“No!” she protested.
Tucker ignored her, then addressed Jeremy. “Now what?”
“You liked it,” Jeremy accused.
After hesitating, Tucker nodded. “Loved it. I felt her need in a way I never had. I knew I was giving her something she wanted mentally and physically, and it was a massive turn-on.”
“Exactly.” Jeremy’s smile was downright bad. “Spread her cheeks with your hands and ease your dick into that little hole just a bit. It will burn and sting. Watch for her tensing, hissing, scratching. Any could be signs the pain is too much. Arching, gasping, or begging, and you’ve got a green light. Press slowly to make sure you don’t hurt her. It’s a killer to your self-control, but by the time you’re balls deep, she’ll nearly be ready to come.”
Kelsey sucked in a breath. Jeremy had just . . . laid it all out, told Tucker exactly how to take her in this most forbidden way. And he’d done it without fighting or growling—or even blinking. In fact, he looked almost satisfied.
Then she had no more time to marvel at this turn of events when she felt the head of Tucker’s cock part her and begin to sink into the tight little opening. An exquisite pain. Burning. Overwhelming. She loved it.
Gasping, she dug her hands into the carpet. “More!”
“It’s going to hurt, honey.”
“I know.” She pressed back against him, wriggling, trying to take him deeper.
Grabbing her hips, he eased forward in a controlled press, one torturous inch at a time. God, the way he stretched her. Nothing like it. She panted, trying to absorb the riot of sensation bombarding her at once, the heat, the ache. She closed her eyes and melted into the carpet.
“She’s there with you,” Jeremy assured. “Fuck her now.”
The seductive demand in his voice made her shiver. Tucker didn’t waste any time complying.
Using his palms to pull her cheeks wider apart, he sank inch after relentless inch into her ass, filling her up and up, until she cried out when pain overwhelmed pleasure.
“Hurt, honey?” he asked, pausing.
She whimpered and nodded, reaching around to dig one of her hands into his leg, sending her nails deep into his skin.
“That’s okay. Take it out on me if you need.” Kelsey felt his regard shift to Jeremy. “She can’t take more.”
“She can,” Jeremy argued. “I’ve seen a woman’s pain threshold. She isn’t at hers. Go on. Get deeper.”
Jeremy lifted her head to his and kissed her mouth slowly, then pushed the hair back from her damp face. “Take more of Tucker’s cock. We’re almost there. Do it. For me.”
Kelsey drew in a deep, shuddering breath. It hurt. Really hurt. Yet she felt oddly . . . euphoric. And she wanted to take all of Tucker. Needed to know he was deep inside her in whatever way he wished to be. She yearned to please Jeremy.
She nodded. “I want all of you, Tucker.”
He leaned over her, his chest to her back, then rubbed lazy circles around her clit. “Good. Let Jeremy kiss you and make the pain go away.”
As she turned her face up to Jeremy again, he dedicated his lips to her pleasure alone, and Tucker pressed inside her, slowly, ruthlessly. She screamed into Jeremy’s mouth, and suddenly felt Rhys at her side, brushing soft fingers across her diamond-hard nipples and the soft swell of her abdomen.
“He’s in,” Rhys whispered in her ear. “You look gorgeous and so aroused.”
“And so damn happy.” Jeremy’s voice cracked, and Kelsey opened her eyes to find him looking her with a mixture of arousal and devotion that made her heart and pussy clench at once.
Then Tucker pulled back to the tight ring of muscle, brushed her clit with his fingertips, then tunneled in again, one long inch after another. On and on, deeper and deeper, until she grasped at the carpet again, mewled, writhed.
“We could have this forever,” Tucker whispered seductively. “We could give you pleasure and push your boundaries.”
“We could protect and support you, baby.” Rhys leaned in and kissed her shoulder. “Every single day.”
Jeremy pressed his mouth to hers. “We could show you how much we love you in every way. Every night.”
It was too much—to ignore, to bear, to fight.
As Tucker withdrew, then plunged deep again, his fingers grazing her swollen clit, she exploded in a supernova burst, seeing white starbursts behind her eyes, her body following in a detonation of pleasure so extreme, she screamed until she could no longer see or breathe . . . or distinguish where she ended and her men began. They were all with her now, in spirit, in body, in heart.
As the peak smoothed into satisfaction, love coalesced inside her. Tears ran down her face. She kissed Jeremy one last time, longing and thanks on her lips. Then she angled her body to Rhys, giving him the same dose of her devotion. Finally, she eased up onto her knees. With Tucker still deep inside, she pressed her back to his chest, then turned her head over her shoulder to meet his waiting lips, holding him to her mouth as he moaned and came deep inside her.
He withdrew, and she sank into the carpet in a boneless heap.
Moments later, she roused to find herself in Jeremy’s arms. He set her on the bed, pressed another warm washcloth to her, then smoothed her damp curls away from her face, his body brushing its way up hers. His erection slid home inside her wet sex in one easy stroke.
She gasped as he filled her up.
“God, I’ve missed you, sweetheart.”
“Missed you, too. All three of you.”
“Let me love you,” Jeremy whispered.
She smiled tiredly. “Only if you love me back.”
“Forever?”
“You’ve really worked through this, haven’t you?” She asked Jeremy before her gaze slid to Rhys on one side and Tucker on the other.
“We have,” Jeremy promised. “Seeing you glow like this, knowing I’m a part of making you this happy . . . it’s all I need.”
Complete joy sank into her. This morning she’d awakened dreading this day, fearing it might be the last time she saw all her men together in one place, knowing the information she held close to her heart could tear them apart for good . . . now she prayed it was a fresh beginning, a new hope for tomorrow.
“Forever,” she whispered, stroking his midnight hair and wide shoulders.
A huge grin broke across his face, until ecstasy overtook her and had her crying out and shuddering in passion. Jeremy followed quickly, panting against her neck, whispering with every other breath how much she amazed him, how much he loved her.
“Ah, vixen.” He kissed her mouth softly, then pulled away. “Damn, you really are glowing.”
“Funny you should mention that ...” She bit her lip.
Would she get the reaction she now dared to hope for? Or would jealousy consume them again?
“Glowing?” Rhys looked puzzled.
“Yes. I actually had you meet me here today to tell you a few things.”
“Like where you’ve been?” Rhys pouted.
She nodded. “I can start there. About a week after I left, I called to accept Garrison’s job offer in Miami, but he’d already filled the position. So he offered me another job at his office in Palm Beach. So . . . I went up there and stayed in his vacant apartment and looked for a place of my own. I’m supposed to start work Monday.”
“Did you like it there?” Tucker asked carefully.
Kelsey could tell he was holding his breath—and his opinion of her move. She loved him all the more for it.
“Hated it. It just wasn’t home.”
“Home is where we are.” Tucker smiled, then folded her hand inside his.
Jeremy raised a dark brow at her. “Garrison is a smarmy bastard who doesn’t deserve a star employee like you.”
Not subtle, but he hadn’t demanded that she return to work this instant. “There are definite perks to being your submissive—I mean subordinate,” she teased. “I could probably be persuaded to come back to work for you . . . with a raise.”
“Sweetheart, I’ll do you better.”
“Of course, because Garrison isn’t doing me at all!”
Jeremy laughed. “I meant to say that I’d talked to St. John,” he said, referencing his senior partner. “His wife has decided to go into business for herself, and I even gave her a few accounts . . . so her position heading up the paralegal team is vacant. What do you say?”
“Very tempting.” Then she turned to Rhys. “But I have another issue. Well, two actually. The first is that I have this very hunky neighbor who’s fabulous in bed.”
“Damn straight, baby.” Rhys nuzzled her neck.
“But I don’t want him for a neighbor anymore. I want him as a lover who lives with me every day and night. Just like my other lovers do.”
“You got it,” he assured.
Jeremy and Tucker quickly agreed.
“What’s your other issue?” Rhys tucked a curl behind her ear.
Kelsey drew in a shuddering breath. Now came the hard part. What would they say? How would they feel? Happy feel-good vibes and teasing of the last few minutes aside, this was serious stuff that could make or break them.
“Honey?” Tucker picked up on her tension and squeezed her hand.
She glanced at all three to see that they were hanging on her every word. Now or never . . .
“I’m pregnant.”
For a long second, no one said a word. Her heart careened out of control, thumping madly against her chest. Damn it, any minute they’d start fighting about who would marry her and who had fathered the baby and—
Rhys gave a whoop of joy. Tucker smiled and rubbed his hands together in a gesture of adorable arrogance. Jeremy caressed a hand along her belly and pressed his mouth to hers.
“You’re sure?”
Cautiously optimistic, she nodded. “I went for a physical for my new job. They told me I’m pregnant, just a few weeks. I’m due early in June.” She sucked in a shaky breath. “I don’t know which of you ...”
“If you’re happy, I’m thrilled,” Jeremy assured her.
“If you stay and let us be the baby’s fathers, you’ll make us the happiest men ever,” Rhys vowed.
“Agreed,” Tucker put in. “Marry one of us? Legally, anyway. Privately, we’ll—”
“No.” She backed up, drew a sheet over her nudity. “I’ll agree to a private ceremony marrying you all. I want to be yours always. But legally . . . I told you I won’t choose.”
They were quiet a long moment, and she could see them turning the idea in their minds. They didn’t look thrilled, but she knew that eventually they’d see the wisdom of her decision.
“I understand there are legalities with children involved. When the baby is born, we’ll have a paternity test. The baby’s biological father will be listed on the birth certificate. All other legalities, we can work out from there.” She turned to Jeremy. “I know you’ll be able to help nail it all down.”
He looked tense, uncertain. “And that will make you happy?”
“Yes. But what about you? It doesn’t work if you’re not happy too.”
He pressed his lips together, clearly formulating his next words. “I’m almost thirty-eight. What if this baby isn’t mine? I can share you with them. You have enough love to go around, and I was a fool not to see that. But someday, I’d like to be a father.”
Her heart melted. “If this isn’t your baby, with a little cooperation from Tucker and Rhys . . . we’ll just make sure the next one is.”
“Next one? You’d do that for me?” He looked amazed all over again.
Did they think this “oops baby” was the end of their family? “In my heart, I want to be a wife to all of you. Like any marriage, we’ll have challenges and disagreements. But you’ve already compromised so much to make me happy. I’d be thrilled to have your baby. In fact, I think three children sounds great.”
Jeremy hugged her tightly against his chest, then pressed his lips to her forehead. “Thank you so much. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
He released her to Rhys’s waiting arms, who pressed a hot kiss to her lips. “Hmm. A little girl with my eyes and your spirit. I’d love that.”
“We’ll work on it.” She winked.
“Looking forward to it already.”
Then Tucker wrapped his arms around her. “You amaze me. Thank you for coming here to tell us about the baby.”
“I refused to take the chickenshit way out and tell you over the phone . . . and I guess part of me hoped we’d work everything out.”
“I’m so glad you did. Now, honey, understand there’s no more running off like this. If there’s a problem in the future, we talk it out, right?”
Resolved and blissful, she nodded. “Absolutely.”
He flashed her a naughty grin. “Though you could pretend a little . . . walk to the end of the block or something. Give me a good reason to spank you again.”
“Yes, sir.” She laughed. “Though I expect I’ll do plenty over the years to warrant lots of punishment.”
“We’re counting on it,” Tucker said.
“We’re also counting on a lifetime of love,” Jeremy added.
“Damn straight.” Rhys smiled.
“Me, too.” She sniffled, happy tears springing to her eyes. “Always.”