“Happy New Year!”
I’m slammed headfirst into my orgasm right as the sound explosion of fireworks sound off outside and through the TV. Nick erupts right behind me, then Klaus, the feeling of them pulsing and emptying themselves inside me only adding to the absolute ecstasy coursing through my veins. I think I black out a little bit, or perhaps I’m merely too lightheaded to focus on?—
TEN
One minutethere were fireworks on the TV, the next there were fireworks under my skin, and then… everything went soft around the edges. Warm. Weightless. Unreal. Then darkness.
Now, in the thick, hazy afterglow, I’m stretched between them, my cheek on Klaus’s shoulder, my legs tangled with Nick’s. The sheets are a wrinkled mess on the hotel bed we definitely did not respectfully use. My heartbeat is still unsteady, so are theirs, all of them thumping in unison.
The room smells of champagne, sweat, and the lingering notes of sex. The ball coverage ended a few minutes ago, but cheering, whistling, and fireworks still sound off from the street. Inside, though, it’s quiet. Shockingly so.
Klaus strokes lazy circles along my arm, his touch slow and reverent in a way that makes my chest ache. “You alive over there?”
“Barely,” I mumble.
Nick chuckles, low and warm. His hand slides along my thigh, slow enough to be gentle, but firm enough to remind me exactly how I ended up this blissed out. “She’s alive. Just overloaded.”
Silence settles between us again, but it’s not the tense, frustrated kind from earlier in the evening. It’s the kind that feels peaceful and earned.
Klaus clears his throat after a beat or two. “Well, now that we’ve gotthatout of our systems…I’m assuming we need to talk.”
Nick snorts softly and presses a kiss to my shoulder. “That’s an understatement.”
My stomach flips, but not with dread. Just nerves, hope. The kind that could break me if I’m wrong. I push myself upright, tugging the sheet with me as I sit between them. “I know this was…intense. And messy. And probably not the smartest way to?—”
Klaus rakes a hand through the back of my hair and tugs, forcing me back into his arms where he takes my chin gently, tilting my gaze upward. “Stop. None of this was a mistake.”
“Not even close,” Nick concedes.
“But how does this work? You two aren’t… You know. The easiest pair to blend.”
“That’s on us,” Klaus says. “If sharing you is the only way we get to have you in our life, then like I said, I’ll figure my shit out.”
Nick hums, his voice a quiet conviction. “A lifetime with you is better than anything casual.”
I blink at them, my head snapping from side to side between them. “You’d really…? Both of you?”
Klaus flashes me that crooked grin and nods as Nick’s chest rumbles with a laugh.
I laugh, too, an involuntary, breathy laugh of relief and disbelief. “I don’t want either of you to force something that hurts your relationship. That’s my biggest fear.”
Nick kisses my shoulder, slowly and reassuringly. “We’ll talk, set rules and expectations. Boundaries.”
Klaus bobs his dark head. “Because those are important, just like communication. Logistics can be figured out. But losing you again…? That’s not an option.”
Something inside me cracks wide open, soft, bright, and terrifying in the best possible way.
“So,” Klaus says, nudging me gently. “You in?”
I look at them, and I mean really look. Nick, all calm and steady, blue eyes warm in a way he rarely lets anyone see. Klaus, all heart and heat, watching me like I hung the damn moon.
Both of them choosing this.
Choosing me.
Choosingus.
My resolution echoes faintly in the back of my mind.
