Because she’s going to be born into safety.
Because some things deserve to be named for what they are.
“Because of what it means,” I say.
Cade looks at me. “Elena Grace,” he says.
“Mercer,” Jax says. “Elena Grace Mercer.”
The name sits in the room. I look at the three of them and say it without hesitation.
“Stay tonight. All three of you.”
The words feel different this time. Not desperate. Not born from fear or the edge of battle. This time, they come from certainty. Viktor is dead. The threat that has shadowed every single day for months is gone, and I’m still choosing them.
Cade closes the door with a quiet click. The sound feels final in the best way.
We move into the bedroom together. My steps are slower now, my belly heavy and low, the baby pressing down with steady weight that makes my hips ache. I feel every shift of my body, the way my swollen breasts tug with each movement, full and sensitive and already leaking a little against the fabric of my shirt.
Cade reaches me first. He cups my face with both hands and kisses me slowly, deeply, like he has all the time in the world now. There’s still dominance in the way his tongue claims my mouth, but there’s something else underneath it tonight. Relief. Victory. Possession that no longer has to fight for air.
Jax comes up behind me. His hands slide around my sides and rest on the massive curve of my belly, cradling it gently as he kisses the back of my neck. “You chose us,” he murmurs against my skin. “Even after you knew what we would do. Fuck, Mira.”
Reeve moves in front of me once Cade pulls back. His gray eyes are steady as always, but warmer tonight. He leans down and kisses me with that precise, deliberate focus that always undoes me. While he kisses me, his hands slide under my shirt and lift it slowly over my head.
They undress me together.
Jax pulls my pants down my legs. Cade unhooks my bra. Reeve kneels and helps me step out of my underwear. When I’m completely naked in front of them, all three men pause. Their eyes move over my very pregnant body with open hunger. My belly is huge now, round and tight. My breasts are heavy and swollen, veins visible under the skin, nipples dark and sensitive.
Cade’s large hand spreads across the top of my belly. “Look at you,” he says, voice low and rough. “Carrying our daughter like a queen after everything you’ve been through.”
Jax presses in closer from behind, his hands sliding under my breasts to support their weight. “These are so full,” he groans softly. “So fucking beautiful.”
Reeve stays on one knee and presses a slow kiss right below my navel. “The threat is gone,” he says against my skin. “You’re safe. She’s safe. And you still chose us.”
I feel a rush of heat between my legs. Relief and desire twist together so tightly I can barely breathe. These men killed for me. They burned through every obstacle Viktor threw at them. And now they’re looking at me like I’m the most precious and filthy thing they’ve ever seen.
I reach down and thread my fingers through Reeve’s hair. “I did choose you,” I whisper. “All of you. With my eyes wide open.”
Cade kisses me again, harder this time. Jax’s mouth finds the side of my neck while his hands gently knead my aching breasts. Reeve rises and captures my mouth the moment Cade pulls back. Three sets of hands move over my body.
For the first time in months, there’s no clock ticking. No war waiting outside the door.
There is only this.
They guide me onto the bed and arrange me carefully, pillows stacked behind my back and under my hips so my heavy belly is fully supported and comfortable. I feel exposed and worshiped as they surround me.
Cade settles on my left. He leans down and takes one swollen breast into his mouth. The pull is strong and possessive. I moan loudly as he sucks deep, tongue flicking over my sensitive nipple. A small burst of milk hits his tongue, and he groans, sucking harder, drinking from me like he has every right to it.
“So fucking full for us,” he growls against my wet skin. “These tits are ours now. This milk is ours.”
Jax is on my right. He kisses down the massive curve of my belly with slow, reverent presses of his lips. His hands stroke every inch of the tight skin while he talks softly.
“You’re going to be such a good mother,” he murmurs. “Our daughter is going to grow up safe because her mother was strong enough to choose the monsters who protected her.” He kisses lower, right above my pussy, then moves back up to latch onto my other breast. He sucks with emotional hunger, moaning every time more milk touches his tongue.
Reeve positions himself between my spread thighs. He kisses the sensitive skin of my inner thighs first, then the underside of my belly, before he finally lowers his mouth to my pussy. His tongue is precise and relentless. He licks me slowly at first, tasting how wet I already am, then focuses on my clit with perfect pressure while two fingers slide inside me.
I’m lost in sensation.