“Guys, you’re all basically space heaters. If I wear anything, I’m absolutely going to wake up cooked alive.” If anyone decided to play, well, there was something to be said about not getting tied up in my clothes.
Voodoo nodded immediately. “Accurate.”
Legend cleared his throat. “Uh—yes. That is…practically sound.”
AB offered a courteous, “We’ll keep the blankets light then,” as though we were discussing spreadsheets.
Bones didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Just watched me with this quiet, protective intensity that made my chest warm. “You cold?”
“Nope.” I climbed onto the middle of the giant bed and sank into the mattress. “But I will be if you all don’t stop staring and get in here.”
That snapped them out of it.
Voodoo claimed the far right of the queen, grumbling about “optimal airflow.” Legend took the far left on the queen side. AB positioned himself between Legend and where I was sitting, efficiently adjusting pillows like he was arranging data sets. Then he unstrapped his prosthetic.
Once he had it off, I held out a hand and he eyed me for a moment, then handed it to me. I crawled to the foot of the bed and set it on top of my clothes. Aware of their gazes without turning around, I gave my ass a little wiggle. “Get a good look gentlemen, but tonight—or whatever the hell the time is, that’s all it’s going to be.”
A soft chuckle rumbled out of them as I crawled back up to my spot.
Bones slid in on my left, careful of my space, even though I knew he wanted to fold around me immediately. He’d wait—even exhausted—until I made the first move.
I didn’t make him wait long.
I nudged into his side, careful of his ribs, then rested my head on his shoulder. He exhaled, the tension in his chest easing like someone had unlocked it. His hand found my hip. Gentle. Grounding.
Legend stretched out, arms over his head. “If anyone snores, I’m suffocating you with a pillow.”
“Try it,” Voodoo said, already half-buried in blankets.
AB lay back, hands folded across his stomach. “Statistically speaking, Voodoo is most likely to snore.”
Voodoo didn’t even open his eyes. “Statistically speaking, I could take you in a fight.”
AB: “Incorrect.”
Legend: “Boys.”
Bones: “All of you shut up.”
I smiled into his shoulder. “I love you guys.”
Four quiet voices answered in their own ways:
Voodoo: “Love you too, Firecracker.”
Legend: “Obviously.”
AB: “Likewise.”
Bones, softest of all despite the gravel in his voice, “Sleep, Grace.”
My heart jerked at Voodoo’s soft declaration as if it was the most natural thing in the world. A smile curved my lips and I let out a sigh. Tomorrow, I planned to kiss the hell out of him for that.
The whole bed shifted as they settled around me, their presence familiar weight bracketing me on all sides. The room smelled like soap and exhaustion andthem.
For the first time in what felt like forever, my muscles unclenched completely. It didn’t take me long until I was drifting. Content to float on the tide of their breathing rising and falling around me, I didn’t fight the sleep that pulled me down even as AB interlaced his fingers with mine.
We were here, we were together—and in that moment, bruised and bone-deep tired and finally still…these beautiful men were safe, they were warm, and they weremine.
