Dylan bit his cheek and stared at the floor.
“What do you want, Dylan?” Ryker prompted. His instincts told him to grab Dylan and wrap him up in a hug, but he didn’t know if grabbing him was a good idea considering what had almost happened to him.
Dylan peeked up at him through his lashes. “Maybe we could just cuddle for a bit?”
Ryker’s shoulders relaxed. He reached out and grabbed Dylan’s shoulder, walking forward and pulling him into a hug. He rubbed his back and held him close. “Of course. It’s a big bed. We can all fit and have a nice puppy pile.”
Dylan melted into the embrace, closing his eyes and pushing his face into Ryker’s chest like he was trying to block out the rest of the world.
“I want August to lie on top of me,” he mumbled.
Ryker met August’s eye, a look of relief passing between them. Neither one of them had said it, but they’d both been worried that Dylan would be averse to being touched and held, a fear that had grown stronger when Dylan insisted on showering alone.
“I can do that,” August said, walking so that he stood behind Dylan, pushing close until he and Ryker were making a tight Dylan sandwich.
“Can you take your shirts off?” Dylan asked, his hands coming to rest gently on Ryker’s hips. The touch was tentative, and Ryker could tell that Dylan’s need for touch was distinctly non sexual. Dylan didn’t want to get fucked, he just needed intimacy and closeness.
They could give him that.
“Sure,” Ryker said. He released Dylan from his arms, taking a step back and stripping off his shirt. He tossed it over to his bag, and August stripped off his shirt and did the same. Steve kept his shirt on until Dylan shot him an expectant look.
“I don’t want…” Dylan trailed off, swallowing.
“This isn’t about sex,” Ryker said, wrapping him up in another hug. “We know. We’re just going to cuddle and enjoy the fact that we’re all here and that you’re okay.”
Dylan relaxed, pushing his face back into the cleft between Ryker’s pecs and taking a deep, shuddering breath. After a minute he wriggled his face back and looked at Steve.
“Why are you all the way over there?”
Steve swallowed, looking uncertain and miserable. Ryker was furious for what his father had done – and even more for what he’d tried to do – and he couldn’t imagine what Steve must be feeling. The feelings of betrayal and loss must be horribly confusing.
“Come here,” Ryker said, opening his arm and gesturing for Steve to come join the hug. “Get in on this.”
Steve didn’t take off his shirt, but he did step forward and let Ryker pull him into a hug. Ryker reached around his waist, hugging him so that they were pressed together from hip to shoulder, putting Dylan between them.
August completed the triangle, the three of them surrounding Dylan so that no matter which way he turned his head, the only thing in his line of vision were his alphas’ pecs.
They stood like that for a while, all three of them bending their necks and watching the top of Dylan’s head as he snuggled into their chests.
“Should we take this over to the bed?” August asked, tucking his chin down and bending his neck to kiss the top of Dylan’s head.
Dylan nodded.
Ryker stepped away and walked over to the bed. He pulled the bedspread down and made room for Dylan to come climb on top of the mattress.
“Do you still want me to lie on top of you?” August asked, crawling up on the mattress after him.
Dylan lay down on his back, lifting his hips to adjust his shirt before coming to rest on the middle of the mattress. He bit his lip, staring at the three of them in turn before he nodded.
“I do.”
“Let me know if you want to change positions,” August said, crawling on all fours so that he straddled Dylan’s body. He got himself into position, staring down at Dylan’s face, and lowered himself down.
Dylan let out a breath as August’s bulk came to rest on top of him. August had positioned himself so that they were chest to chest, their heads next to each other so that August could push his face into the uninjured side of Dylan’s neck and breathe in the scent of their omega.
August made a needy noise in the back of his throat, almost like a growl, and pushed his arms between Dylan’s body and the mattress, hugging him into his chest and squeezing him even more.
When the squeezing hug didn’t abate, Dylan gently tapped August’s side to let him know that he needed to ease up.
