"We've only been courting for a week," I explained, pacing now because standing still was impossible with this much energy thrumming through my veins. "I know this feels like more. It feels like we've known each other forever. It feels right in a way that scares the hell out of me. But heat sex isn't... it's not the same as choosing. And I want to choose you—all of you—with a clear head. Not because my biology is screaming at me to get claimed."
"You want to wait," Remy said slowly, his accent thicker than usual, and I could hear him working through it, the charming mask gone entirely, leaving something raw and real underneath. "Until after the heat. To bond."
"Yes." I stopped pacing and faced them, my chest heaving with breaths that weren't quite enough. "I want you to help me through my heat. I want... god, I want everything you're willing to give me. But no bites. No permanent marks. No bonding until we've had more time together. Until we're sure this is real."
Harper was quiet for a long moment, his gray eyes searching my face like he was reading something written there. Then he stood, crossing the distance between us in two strides, and cupped my face in his massive hands. His palms were warm and calloused, slightly rough against my feverish cheeks, and I couldn't help the way I leaned into his touch, a small sound escaping me.
"We're sure," he said, his voice rough as gravel, raw with emotion he couldn't hide. "But we'll wait. As long as you need."
"Harper—" I started, but he wasn't finished.
"You're not just a heat to us." His gray eyes searched mine, and I saw the raw honesty there, the emotion he usually buried so deep, now rising to the surface. His thumbs stroked my cheekbones, gentle despite his size, despite the tension I could feel vibrating through him. "You're... everything. We'll prove it. However long it takes."
Remy appeared at my left side, his hand finding my hip, his touch burning through the thin fabric of my shorts. "He's right, chere." His voice was thick, his accent making the words roll like honey over gravel. "This isn't just about the heat for us. You want to wait until you're sure? We'll wait. We'll court you properly. We'll earn every bite you let us give you."
Silas hadn't moved from the couch, but his pale eyes were burning into mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "I've waited years to feel something again," he said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper but somehow filling the room. "I can wait a little longer to feel everything."
My eyes stung, tears pricking at the corners. I blinked rapidly, refusing to cry over something this good, this perfect, this more than I'd ever let myself hope for. "You're all ridiculous," I managed, my voice thick and wavering.
"We've established that," Remy said, and there was a hint of his usual grin in his voice, his dimple flickering to life for just a moment.
"So we're agreed?" I looked at each of them in turn, needing to see it in their faces, needing to be sure. "Heat together. No bonding bites. No permanent claiming marks. Not until... after. When we've had more time."
"Agreed," Harper rumbled, his hands still cradling my face like I was something precious.
"Oui, chere. Whatever you need." Remy pressed a kiss to my temple, and I shivered at the contact, the warmth of his lips sending sparks cascading down my spine. Silas just nodded, hisscarred fingers finally unclenching from his knees, some of the tension bleeding out of his shoulders.
"Good." I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding, my whole body sagging with relief. "Okay. Good. Now that we've got that settled..." I turned toward my bedroom—toward my nest—and looked back over my shoulder at them, letting them see the heat in my eyes, the want I'd been barely containing.
"I've been nesting all day," I admitted, heat flooding my cheeks at the confession. "And I'd really like it if you came and helped me." They moved so fast I barely had time to squeak before I was scooped up in Harper's arms, his broad chest solid beneath my cheek, his scent wrapping around me like a blanket. Remy and Silas flanked us as we headed down the hall, their footsteps quick and eager.
Gumbo watched us pass, his massive body shifting to let us through. His tail thumped once against the floor—grudging approval—before he repositioned himself at the bedroom door, his bulk blocking any exit. Or entrance.
Guard duty. Those males would behave, or they'd answer to him.
The nest swallowed us whole.
I was deposited in the center of the soft mountain of blankets and pillows and stolen clothing, sinking into the layers of scent and softness. Then they were surrounding me—Harper at my back, solid and warm and so big I felt deliciously small against him; Remy pressed against my side, his mouth already finding my neck; Silas curled at my feet, his scarred hands wrapping around my ankles like he needed to anchor himself to me, like he was afraid I might float away.
"You've been busy," Harper rumbled against my hair, and I could hear the pleased, possessive note in his voice. He picked up his own flannel from the nest, brought it to his nose, andinhaled deeply. His whole body shuddered, a growl vibrating through his chest and into my back. "Smells like you. Like us."
"Nesting instinct," I murmured, already sinking into the sensation of being surrounded by them, my body going liquid and warm. "Couldn't help it."
"Don't apologize." Remy's lips traced up the column of my throat, his breath hot against my fluttering pulse, and I tilted my head to give him better access without even thinking about it. The submission felt natural, right, necessary. "It's perfect. You're perfect."
"Flattery will get you everywhere," I managed, though my voice was already going breathy, my words dissolving at the edges.
"That's the plan, chere." His mouth curved against my skin, and then his teeth scraped gently over my pulse point.
The sensation shot through me like lightning—a bolt of pure pleasure that made me gasp, my back arching involuntarily. My hands flew out, one fisting in Remy's shirt, the other reaching back to grip Harper's thigh. I needed to hold onto something, needed to anchor myself as the wave of sensation threatened to sweep me away.
"Sensitive," Silas observed from my feet, his voice rough with want. His thumbs dug into the arches of my feet, finding pressure points I didn't know I had, and I moaned—actually moaned—at the relief and pleasure of it.
"Pre-heat," I gasped out. "Everything's... everything's more."
"We noticed." Harper's hand splayed across my stomach, massive and warm, his fingers spanning nearly the entire width of my stomach. Even through my tank top, I could feel the heat of him, the barely-leashed strength. "We can smell you, Artemis. You smell like honey and apples and need. You smell like you're ready to be devoured."
A whine escaped me—high and needy and entirely involuntary. My scent spiked in response to his words, sweetening until the room was thick with it, and all three of them groaned.
