With a sigh, Alex pulls away from me, but not before delivering a sweet, playful peck to my nose that has a smile spreading across my lips. “Later,” he says, his voice filled with delicious promise.
I lick my lips, still tasting him on my tongue. “Sounds good to me.”
Theo, having laid back against the sofa, pouts. “Aw, why did you stop them? We could have watched that, Rhys!”
The ex-SAS officer rolls his eyes. “There’s no way you would havejust watched, Theo.”
“You did,” he answers with a huff.
“I did, but that was before I knew how sweet that pussy tastes.” The look he gives me is so hot, I’m surprised my underwear hasn’t caught fire. But then he blinks and it’s gone. “Come on, kids. Time for bed, where we’ll be sleepingonly.” He directs that last bit to Theo with a stern look before turning on his heels and striding towards the staircase.
“Spoilsport,” Theo mutters as he gingerly pushes himself off the sofa, hissing at the pain. “Okay, maybe he has a point.”
Alex presses a kiss to my forehead before getting up to help his friend. “Come on, Casanova. I’ll help you up the stairs.”
It takes the two of them five minutes of swearing through gritted teeth to get Theo up the stairs and into my room. Rhys has already claimed one side of the big handmade bed, and with the help of Alex, Theo gets in next to him.
“I don’t mind cuddles,” Theo says as he settles down beneath the covers, his voice slurring from exhaustion and pain. “Just don’t stick your dick into my ass.”
“Noted,” Rhys answers drily.
Harlow is the next to get on the bed, springing onto the foot of it and curls into a ball. I give her a little scratch behind the ear before climbing into bed next to Theo, being careful of his injuries. Alex follows me until I cuddled between them in a warm, safe cocoon. Arms drape over me, hands settling on various points on my body, too many for me to know which one belongs to who. Not that I care.
All three men are mine and I’m theirs.
For the first time in over a week, I relax fully and easily slip into a deep, contented sleep.
The next morning comesfar too soon, and as much as I want to stay in bed with my men, I know we can’t. Judging from the grumbles and groans from the others, they’re not pleased about getting up either.
Unfortunately, our problems won’t wait just because we want a couple extra hours in bed. So, we leave Harlow to continue sleeping and drag our weary bodies from our warm cocoons to get ourselves ready for the day.
First order of the day is a meeting between everyone who’s been involved with the investigation into Elsa’s betrayal.
Last night the guys told Rhys and me everything that had happened during our absence, including the thirteen other traitors they found. All of them from various sectors of Haven, and while—much to Rhys’s relief—none were from security, nearly half of the supply teams had at least one traitor in their group. It’s made it almost impossible for the settlement to get much-needed supplies in the interim. Plus, with so many betrayers in our midst, a lot of Haven and its safety has been compromised, so we need to figure out how to defend against Elsa and the two gangs.
The guys and I file into one of the large rooms in the main building that’s been converted into a conference room. The security team is already in there, as are the remaining councillors and our friends and family.
I’m practically tackled by several people as soon as I walk through the door. Rachel smothers me with one of her signature bone-crushing hugs that leaves me wheezing while crying about how happy she is to see me. Lauren gives me a compassionate squeeze, a slight baby bump beginning to show through her clothes. Shockingly, evenJerricomes over, and while she doesn’t hug me, she tells me how glad she is that I’m back.
Rhys gets attacked by his sister, who tries to climb him like a koala. Thankfully, Matt, her husband, stops her before she can, and insteadgives her brother an enthusiastic hug while being careful of his ribs. The look of shock on his face is priceless, but he eventually softens and hugs her back. Matt hugs him next, doing that weird manly hug where they thump one another on the back before stepping away.
Anthony and a couple of the security guys come over to welcome Rhys and me back, with Anthony giving me a hug and Rhys a pat on the shoulder. The councillors linger off to the side, watching with a mixture of guilt and relief as the guys and I are finally let into the room.
Charles is the first to approach, his body stiff as he stops in front of us. “It’s good to see you both alive and well,” he says in a stilted voice.
Adam and Katherine approach next and echo his sentiments, with Katherine even offering a small smile and a pat.
I stand there awkwardly, not really sure how to react to these people. I don’t know them very well, and it’s obvious they’re feeling somewhat responsible for what Rhys and I went through as a result of Elsa’s betrayal. While it wasn’t their fault, I can’t help but feel a bit of resentment towards them since they allowed this to happen right beneath their noses. Not that I’m comfortable telling them that.
Rhys, however, has no qualms about glaring at the three of them. “No thanks to any of you,” he says as he sidles up next to me and drapes an arm over my shoulders.
The three councillors blanch, with Charles even taking a step back before they nod and hurry away to take their seats.
Rhys pulls me against his side and presses a kiss to my hair before directing me to a seat near the front of the room. Across the table, Rachel practically squeals in delight as he bounces in her chair.
“I fuckingknew it!” she shouts, causing several people to turn to her in confusion. “I want details!”
My cheeks burn as I glare at her, silently telling her toshut the fuck up. She simply meets my eyes with a wide grin, and I just know she’s going to hunt me down and demand answers later. Alex and Theo laugh as they take seats on either side of me, both of them moving so close that I’mpractically in their laps. Rhys shakes his head with a rueful smile as he goes to stand at the head of the table.
