“There’s something I need to say,” I begin, and suddenly, my heart feels too big for my chest. “What you’ve done for me,andfor my daughter … you didn’t owe me anything, especially a place here …”
Silas’s gaze drops to the floor, then comes back to me.
“You believed me when it would have been easier not to,” I continue. “You protected me even when it complicated everything. And you didn’t just keep me alive.” I swallow. “You let me feel wanted. Not managed or handled. Wanted.”
Boyd draws in a long breath and exhales.
“You gave me a sense of home. More than I’ve had in a long time,” I say.
No one speaks for several seconds, then Andrew steps forward. He looks at me like he’s committing something to memory. “Kira, you didn’t come here empty-handed.”
I frown. “I?—”
“You changed this place,” he says quietly. “We were functioning before you showed up, but it turns out that isn’t the same thing as living.”
Boyd steps in behind me, close enough that I feel his warmth. “We were surviving,” he says. “You make it feel like a lot more.”
Silas’s jaw tightens. For a second, it looks like he might step away, but he doesn’t. “You didn’t try to fix us,” he says, his voice low and rough. His gaze holds mine. “You saw us, and you stayed anyway.”
I blink fast and swallow hard.
Andrew settles his hand on my waist. “What we have is worth fighting for.”
Boyd slides a hand around my middle, resting it on my belly. “Turns out we’re better when we stop pretending we don’t want this.”
Silas hesitates a second before stepping closer, but when he touches me, there’s nothing tentative about it. “You’re not carrying anything alone anymore,” he says. “None of it.”
My heart cracks wide open as I lean into the three of them. They make a circle around me, warm, solid, and strong. Arms wrap around me, all of us woven together in a way that feels exactly right. Like home.
Andrew rests his forehead on mine. Boyd presses a kiss to my jaw. Silas slides his hand into mine and laces our fingers together, and I have to swallow a lump in my throat.
“I’m not afraid of what’s coming,” I whisper. “Not if we face it like this.”
“Neither am I,” Andrew says.
Boyd chuckles. “Hell of a time to get our prioritiesstraight.”
Silas rubs my knuckles with his thumb. “The best time.”
I keep holding Silas’s hand, even when I turn to touch Boyd’s face, and to kiss him. I stroke a hand over Andrew’s rough cheek and kiss him next.
They’re all still gathered around me, and I don’t want the closeness to end. Not with any of them.
I draw in a breath and keep my voice level. “If this is the night before everything changes, I want to be held like this … by all of you.”
I don’t realize I’m holding my breath until Andrew flexes his fingers, pressing into my hip, silently telling me he’s not letting go.
Boyd slides a hand under my shirt, caressing my back, making me warm and giving me chills all at the same time.
Andrew leads me over to the rug in front of the fireplace, and to my relief, Silas comes along. He’s not touching me beyond holding my hand, but I’m holding on loosely, and he’s choosing to stay.
Boyd eases my shirt off, pulling it over my head and kissing the bare skin on my back as it’s uncovered. Andrew keeps on kissing me, his hands caressing my arms, my face, grazing my chest, lighting little fires with every bit of contact.
I don’t want to press Silas into anything he’s uncomfortable with, but I don’t want to leave him out. When I turn toward him to check in, he pulls my head closer and claims my mouth with a ferocity that surprises and quickly overwhelms me. He wants me as much as I want him, even herewith the others, and his kiss tells me he’s not going to hold back.
Someone cups my breasts as someone else peels the bra straps from my shoulders. Silas’s lips move from my mouth to my neck, and I moan.
Being with each of them individually has been wonderful.
