And they had.
No hesitation.
Just quiet, restrained chaos pressed into male bodies, all three of them wrestling with their own urges and instincts andnottouching me—because I hadn’t said they could.
And because Roan wouldn’t let them.
That authority didn’t come with loud declarations. He hadn’t had to growl or posture or throw his weight around. It radiated from him like gravity—quiet, dense, unshakable.
It steadied them.
It steadiedme.
Enough to breathe through the worst of the heat flare. Enough to let my body settle into a strange place—still needy, still aching, but no longer frenzied.
Still mine.
Which was maybe the most important part.
My breath came easier now, even if my body still trembled. I took another sip of water, knees drawn up toward my chest on the edge of the sofa. They’d all given me space without needing to be asked. Even Rhett, who looked like someone had tied him to the floorboards and whispereddon’t movestraight into his bloodstream.
I glanced up at them.
Three men. Three monsters.
My monsters.
Don’t think like that.
“Okay,” I said slowly, voice hoarse but clearer than it had been. “If I remember correctly… we were placing bets on the weather.”
Rhett lit up like I’d handed him a loaded squirt gun and pointed at a room full of suits. “Hell yes, we were. And I stand by my guess, blizzard. The kind where you can’t see the road signs, and someone loses a boot trying to check the mail.”
Jay rolled his eyes and leaned a hip against the counter. “It’s not even snowing that hard right now. My guess is light snow overnight, clear by morning.”
Roan’s gaze slid from one to the other, then to me.
“Four more inches by midnight. Wind advisory. Ice warnings on secondary roads. Your basic shut-it-down storm.”
I blinked at him.
“Are you… quoting the forecast or making your bet?”
His mouth twitched. “Just a guess.”
Of course it was. He probablywasthe forecast.
I blinked again, brain catching up. “Wait… doesanyonehave a phone?”
“Just you,” Jay said, his voice mild as he straightened. He reached into his hoodie pocket and handed it over. “It started pinging again about twenty minutes ago. I silenced it.”
I stared at him. “How did you…?”
“You left it in the kitchen.” A pause. “Under a towel. Not exactly state-of-the-art hiding.”
I took the phone from him carefully, our fingers not touching.
The heat in me pulsed, deep and slow and unrelenting.
