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I’m just about to climb into the massive bed when there’s a soft knock at our door.

Ford crosses the room and opens it quietly, and Hayden and Gabriel slip inside like shadows. “Did you forget something?” Ford teases in a low voice.

“We don’t have long with this arrangement,” Gabriel points out pragmatically, although his eyes are already heating as they roam over me. “We don’t want to waste a single moment of it.”

All three of them turn those intense, hungry gazes on me, and my heart immediately starts thumping heavily against my ribs.

I nod without hesitation, already feeling a familiar heat infusing my veins.

All three men move toward me with predatory grace, and my breath catches in my throat as their hands and mouths descend on me once again. I tip my head back and rise up to meet them, seeking out their touch.

I’m definitely not going to get much sleep tonight.

But it’s going to be so worth it.

44

MAEVE

I wake up exhausted and sore in the most incredible way the next morning.

The men are sprawled around me like protective shields, their strong limbs tangled together. I should feel trapped with all this masculine weight surrounding me, but instead I feel incredibly safe and cherished, like nothing in the world could touch me here.

I honestly have no idea what time it was when we finally collapsed from exhaustion last night, but it felt like we were all possessed. The show we put on for Ford at the restaurant unleashed something primal in all four of us that I never knew existed. I’ve never experienced this kind of insatiable craving for sex before—not even when I was a hormone-crazed teenager.

I prop myself up against the pillows and try to piece my scattered thoughts back together, but even that small movement must disturb Gabriel, because his eyes flutter open and focus on me immediately.

God, he’s stunning. All three of them are, even rumpled from sleep with their usually stern features relaxed, revealing glimpses of the softer men beneath their polished exteriors.

“Good morning,” Gabriel murmurs. “How are you feeling this morning?”

“Amazing,” I tell him, unable to keep the satisfied smile from spreading across my face.

He chuckles, the sound low and throaty. “That’s my petit oiseau doux through and through.”

“You’ll have to come up with a new nickname for me,” I tell him, cocking a brow. “After all, I’m not your little office helper anymore.”

Gabriel shifts to prop himself up on one elbow, studying my face with his mesmerizing amber eyes. “You know… that’s not what that phrase actually means.”

I stare at him in confusion. “What? Really?”

“Really.” He shakes his head. “You never bothered to look it up online?”

“It honestly never occurred to me,” I admit, feeling heat creep up my neck. “So, wait… what does it actually mean?”

“It means sweet little bird,” Gabriel says quietly. “You reminded me of a bird from the very first day you walked into our office. A bit nervous and skittish, clearly needing some care and protection, but also wild and untamed underneath. Independent and sweet at the same time.”

My breath catches in my throat at the unexpected tenderness in his voice. “I had no idea.”

He shrugs one shoulder with elegant nonchalance. “I didn’t want you to know. I called you that the first time by accident—not accidental in that I didn’t mean it, but in that it just slipped out before I could stop myself. Once I’d said it, I couldn’t take it back. So I made up that ridiculous translation and kept using it to tease you.”

“It would have been perfectly fine if you’d just told me the truth from the beginning,” I whisper. “I would have thought it was sweet.”

Gabriel shakes his head. “I couldn’t. It would’ve meant admitting that you affected me in ways I wasn’t ready to acknowledge. I couldn’t risk that.”

“Oh, come on,” I say with a playful grin. “You know I don’t bite. Unless that’s specifically what you’re into, of course.”

He laughs softly at my teasing. “Oh, I know that perfectly well. It wasn’t about you, little bird. It was entirely about me and my own issues.”