I'm not much better than Skylar tonight. My own phone sits beside my plate. One of the biggest security contracts we've landed since the investigation came through this afternoon, and I've been fielding messages from Sloane and Dana all evening. The deal's good. Clean. The kind of work that lets me keep the lights on and the people I care about safe. Still, I keep glancing at the screen.
Emrys catches me too. He raises an eyebrow. "You're just as bad as he is."
"I'm checking in on something important," I say, but I put the phone face-down on the table anyway.
"Everything's important until dinner's over," Emrys says, but there's no real bite in it. He stands up and carries his plate to the sink. "You two are hopeless."
I watch him move. He's wearing one of my shirts again, the hem brushing the tops of his thighs. Flour still clings to his knuckles from whatever he baked earlier. He turns the water on and starts rinsing dishes, humming under his breath. The sound's soft and ordinary. It fills the apartment in a way that makes the space feel fuller than it used to.
I set my phone down for good and lean across the table toward Skylar. He looks up when I move. I reach out and run my nose along his cheek, slow and familiar, breathing in the amber and sandalwood that's become as much a part of my day as the cedar on my own skin. He tilts his head into the touch without thinking.
"Hi," he says quietly.
"Hi," I answer, just as quiet.
It's the kind of small thing we do now without second-guessing it. The kind of thing that would've made the old version of him tense up and find a reason to leave the room. Now he just smiles, small and real, and lets me scent him.
Then Emrys makes a sound from the sink.
It's not a small sound. It's a full, low whine that cuts straight through the quiet of the apartment. Both Skylar and I look up at the same time. Emrys stands with his hands braced on the edge of the counter, his back to us. His shoulders are tight. When he turns around his eyes are wide and dark, and his scent has already started to shift, vanilla blooming richer and sweeter than it was five minutes ago.
"It's happening," he says, voice a little breathless. "It's starting."
Skylar's already standing. He crosses the kitchen in two steps. "You sure?"
Emrys nods, one hand pressed low on his stomach. "Yeah. It's not like last time. This one feels… ready. Like it's been waiting for us to catch up."
I move slower but just as certain. I rest one hand on the small of Emrys's back and the other on Skylar's shoulder, grounding all three of us.
"We've got you," I say. "However you need this to go."
Emrys leans into me for a second, breathing through the first real wave. "Nest," he manages. "I want to be in the nest."
We move together. No one rushes. Skylar keeps hold of one of Emrys's hands while I guide him with the other. We leave the dishes in the sink and the phones on the table. The rest of the world can wait.
The nest is ready. We built it with intention over the last few weeks, layering blankets and pillows until it felt like the center of the apartment. Emrys climbs in first, shedding clothes as he goes. Skylar follows, slower, watching Emrys with that focused attention he gives when something matters. I strip out of my shirt and pants and join them last, settling behind Emrys so he can lean back against my chest.
The heat rolls through him in slow, building waves. It's not frantic. It's not the scared, off-schedule thing that caught us by surprise before. This one feels earned.
Emrys turns in my arms and kisses me, soft at first and then deeper as the warmth inside him crests. I kiss him back, one hand sliding down his spine while the other cups the back of his head. Skylar moves in close on Emrys's other side, his mouth finding the curve of Emrys's shoulder.
"You okay?" Skylar asks against his skin.
Emrys nods, a little shaky but smiling. "More than okay. I just… I want both of you. I don't want to rush it, but I don't want to wait either."
"We're not rushing," I say against his throat. "We've got all night."
I roll him onto his back and settle between his thighs. Skylar stays close, kissing Emrys's throat, his hands stroking whereverhe can reach. I push into Emrys slowly, watching his face as I fill him. He arches beneath me, a soft moan slipping out as I bottom out inside him. I start to move in long, steady strokes, one hand braced beside his head and the other gripping his hip.
Skylar watches us for a while, then leans in to kiss Emrys deeply while I fuck him. The three of us move together like this for a long time — slow, unhurried, every touch deliberate. Emrys's heat builds steadily between us, his scent thick and sweet, slick making everything wet and easy.
When he's trembling and close, begging without words, I mouth at the curve of his neck. I bite down as I thrust deep, sinking my teeth into the spot where his scent is strongest. Emrys cries out, his body clenching hard around me as the bond flares to life between us. I hold him through it, purring low and steady while he shakes apart beneath me. I follow right after, knot swelling as I come deep inside him.
We stay locked together for a long while. Emrys is boneless and warm, his head turned toward Skylar, one hand reaching back to find mine where it rests on his hip. I press my forehead to his shoulder and breathe through the new thread tying us together. It feels solid. Right.
Eventually my knot begins to go down. I shift carefully and pull out of him slowly, watching as my come and his slick drip from him. Emrys lets out a small, pleasured sound at the feeling, his eyes half-lidded and dark as he watches me. I stay between his legs for a moment, stroking his thigh gently, before I move.
Emrys watches the entire time as I crawl over to Skylar.
