Page 94 of Clash of Sin and Secret

It feels like forever.

I laugh at myself. After everything that happened with Zane, I never thought I would be ‘that girl’. I built up my emotional walls and schooled myself to never need a man, never lose myself in my lover.

And while I’m certainly not the naïve girl I was—I need these men. Tucker is my heart, Huntley my mind, and Zane my soul.

Tucker’s fingers tighten in the hair at the back of my neck as his tongue battles with mine. He tastes so good and when his bear growls, the vibration hits me in all the right places, like a mating tuning fork.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I hear Zane clear his throat. It takes a moment to remember we’ve got an audience—which is hot.

I slow our kiss and ease back, meeting the heated gazes of Huntley and Zane.

“That’s how it’s done, Tuck,” Huntley says. “Welcome home, big guy.”

Zane chuckles. “In no way do I want to cockblock you, but if you could circle back around to the sexual welcome wagon, I’d like to tell you what we’ve been up to.”

Tucker nuzzles his nose against my neck and inhales. “I know what the three of you have been up to. You’ve marked our girl thoroughly.”

Zane grins. “True, there’s that, but we’ve been up to more than sex. I’ve claimed the King’s Suite, and I want the three of you to move in with me. Huntley and Scots agreed, so, if you’re game, we’ll be all-in.”

Tucker is still holding me in the air with my legs wrapped around his hips. He eases back a little and meets my gaze. “This is what you want?”

I swallow. “Yes. Is it what you want?”

“More than anything. You are my mate and Huntley and Zane are yours as well. I’ve waited to be part of something like this my entire life. I’m definitely all-in.”

I launch forward and hug him again. “Then it’s settled. This is us.”

“All we need is for you to make this place your own,” Zane says to Tucker. “Do you have anything you’d like to add to our space?”

“I do.” Tucker kisses me and sets me back on my feet so that he can reclaim the box he set on the foyer table. “I have some soapstone carvings my mother carved and some pictures of her I’d like to set out.”

Huntley picks up an intricate carving of a polar bear and whistles. “Damn, your mom had skills.”

Tucker picks up a framed photo and smiles at it. “She did.”

I move next to him to look. “No wonder Jack never got over her. She was stunning.”

Tucker slides his thumb over the image of his mother and nods. “That was part of what got her killed.”

“How so?” Zane asks.

Tucker looks up from the photo and his sad smile fades. “From the letters my buddy found, I learned she caught the eye of a male on the Polar Council. He asked our clan chief why she wasn’t mated and when he found out, he offered to forgive her lapse in judgement with my father and all she had to do to claim a life in the upper echelon of our species was to send me away and never speak of the ‘mistake’ of having me ever again.”

Oh, no.“I’m so sorry, sweetie.”

“Me too. Apparently, he was insulted she refused him, and his insult turned to threats, and then his threats turned to retaliation.”

“You and Jack killed the fucker, right?” Huntley asks.

Tucker meets the Viking’s gaze with a cruel smile. “You bet your balls we did. We left him cut and bleeding out the same way he left her.”

“That deserves a toast.” Zane leads us back into the living room and heads straight for the bar. Grabbing what is an insanely old and expensive scotch, he pours out four shots. “To avenging those we love.”

We each hold up our glasses and the soft clink of crystal solidifies the toast.

“To avenging those we love.” Huntley, Tucker, and I repeat Zane’s words before tipping back the shot and letting the burn of the alcohol sear our words into reality.

We all slam our empty glasses onto the bar and Zane refills them. I hold mine up and smile at my guys. “And to living past the loss to make them proud.”

We drink again and the four of us fall quiet.

It hasn’t been an easy road to get here, but what they say is true—what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger. I believe that.

And looking at my guys—with Zane’s determination to lead his people, Huntley’s fierce warrior spirit, and Tucker’s never-ending strength and support—we are definitely stronger for what we’ve been through.

Taking the picture of Tucker’s mom out of the box, I walk over to the mantle. I set it beside a picture of Da and Francesco taken years ago somewhere in Italy, and the shadow box with the wedding picture of Huntley’s parents with their torcs.

“Perfect.” I step back and the guys come to stand with me. Tucker takes my hand on one side, Zane on the other, and Huntley hugs me from behind and runs his hand across my belly.

Yep. There really isn’t any other way to describe it except…perfect.