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After I set him down, I turn on the shower as we both get undressed. He lets me guide him under the water and wash him down, and I run the silly loofah he loves over his body, cleaning the dirt from his skin. I look down at him, putting my hand on the back of his neck, and lean down to lay my forehead gently on his.

“I’m good,” he whispers.

Once Cipher is clean, I leave the water running and get out with him. I wrap a towel around him and walk naked to where Noa and Valli are waiting. I grab Noa’s hand and drag him in next.

He lets me strip his pants off, and when he steps in, he talks the entire time I clean him off. Noa gives an animated narration of tonight’s events, as if I wasn’t there. I wash the dirt off him and lift his wrists to inspect the damage.

“They don’t hurt. I’ll put some cream on them and wear the marks like trophies,” he crows.

With a smirk at his words, I wrap him in a towel and motion for Valli to join me. I left her for last, since she was the last to join us, and I wanted Cipher and Noa to understand that they both matter to me. Plus, I want to take my time with her, to make sure she’s clean. So I pull her under the water and wash the dirt from her arms first, working my way down to her feet, then back up. When I reach the marks I left on her, she tilts her head to give me better access. I run my thumb along the deepest bite, and she shivers.

“Sore?”

She looks up at me and nods. “A little.”

I won’t apologize for marking her. It helps ease the tension I feel when she leaves, knowing I won’t be there to murder anyone who looks at her. There is no hiding the marks I have left on her, and that makes me happy.

When we finish up, I wrap her in one of the towels Cipher brought for us, and we go back into the shed. Noa’s already passed out and is snoring as we walk past. Valli stops and grabs the throw blanket off the back of the couch and puts it over him.

Cipher is sitting at his workbench with a small bottle of antiseptic and a cloth. “I cleaned Noa’s wrists already, can I clean you?” he asks her. I see the uncertainty in his eyes, and I hate how nervous he is.

Valli doesn’t hesitate, walking over and taking a seat on a stool he pulled out for her. Cipher looks over the marks on her neck and shoulder, then opens the tin. He tips her chin to the side with one finger, then works slowly, checking and cleaning each mark.

She keeps her eyes on his face, studying him as he tends to her skin. There is something between them, something Noa and I won’t ever have with her, and that makes me happy.

“That one is going to bruise,” he murmurs, cleaning the deepest bite.

“Do you think I will turn into a scarecrow now?” she jokes.

When I laugh, they both glance over at me in surprise.

Cipher smiles and puts the cloth down. I stand there naked, watching them together, content knowing they’re mine. Valli might not understand what that means yet, but she will learn. I’m not like Kayla’s men, who would back off if she asked—I will always be there. If she tries to leave us, I have no qualms about dragging her back kicking and screaming, and then I will tie her to my post until she remembers who the fuck I am.

I. Am. Hers.

Cipher jumps up off the stool and hurries to grab a pile of clothes, then hands them to her.

“Will you all go to bed? You’re so loud,” Noa mumbles, even though no one is talking.

Valli laughs and takes the clothes from Cipher, then she walks past Noa and leans down, gently brushing the hair from his face while smiling down at him, as if she is memorizing how he looks.

I walk over to Cipher and give him a nudge, and when he looks up at me, I nod my head toward her.

“Thank you,” he mouths, and I nod again.

He needs her right now, and my cornfield is calling me. She is safe here with them until morning.

For years, it’s only ever been the three of us. Now I can’t imagine us without her.

Chapter Fifteen

Valli

When I crack one eye open, the room is brightened by streams of light breaking through the gaps in Cipher’s shed. I’m now sandwiched between two men, and though I’m not sure when Noa joined us, I’m not complaining. Noa is curled up against my back, with one arm slung over my waist, his mouth kissing my shoulder. My leg is thrown over Cipher, who is still asleep, with an impressive boner pressed against my thigh.

“Morning,” Noa murmurs against my skin.

Cipher wakes at the sound, his whole body going rigid. “Oh,” he says, his eyes flying open, and he tries to shift away so fast that he nearly rolls off the bed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”