SARAH The steps leading to the room are littered with red rose petals and clothes—lots of clothes, all of which belong to me. For now. One by one, I rid myself of every item until I’m standing before them, basking in the warmth of their loving and hungry stares. “Come on,” I fold my arms at the landing of the staircase, rose petals glued to the sole of my feet. My brows furrow, while my anticipation grows by the second. We waited at dinner for the house to be cleared of all staff. Now that I have them to myself, I have no desire to waste one more second of our time. “Where do you think you’re going fully clothed?” Ronan’s eyes twinkle with a smile as his lips spread out into a wide grin that makes my heart do several back flips at a fucking time. “You’re gonna have to learn patience, kitten.” “Yeah,” I kiss my teeth and shake my head. “I kinda ran out of those a few hours ago. You’re going to have to be quick on your feet now if you want a piece of me.” “Oh. Fuck me.” Jaxon blurts out, and his brothers chuckle. Next thing we know, his suit is halfway to the ground, and his hands begin working through the buttons of his shirt. Every nerve ending in my body stirs and tingles, my fingers begin to ache so badly that I squeeze them into tight fists at my back. I’m aware of how badly I want to run my hands down his chiseled abs, to feel the hard muscles beneath his soft skin, to have him pressed against me. Well, not just him. His brothers do seem to be quite slow. “Seems only Jaxon is ready. That’s a shame.” My words seem to do the trick. Malachi and Ronan begin to work through their own clothes, and soon, we’re a group of naked lovers on the staircase. Like synchronized swimmers, they walk up the staircase towards me. Each man is as fast or slow as the other. There are barely six steps between us, but it feels like eternity before they get to me. Ronan stands behind me, Jaxon and Malachi share the space in front of me. The pounding of my heart rings in both my ears, and it seems I can hear theirs as well. I look down, to the ground, unable to hold the intensity of their gazes. I should have known I stood no chance against all the three of them. Their desire and need for me surpasses everything I know and understand. Ronan brushes my hair forward, the silk strands fall to my left shoulder. Lean fingers caress the skin where my neck meets my back. He takes a step forward, and I’m suddenly aware of the lack of distance between us. More so when his cock pokes my back. “Are you happy, baby?” The words slip through his tongue in a low, rough tone that travels straight and fast, down to the core of my womanhood, and it just sits there. I nod, unable to speak. Malachi’s soft finger lifts my chin, causing me to meet his gaze. “You know we need to hear you say the words.” I blink at him. Jaxon responds, as if reading my thoughts. “We have complete faith in you. You’ll never tell us something you don’t actually mean. That’s why we need to hear you say the words. Tell us how you feel.” But I have said words I didn’t mean to them. All those weeks ago, when I said I hated them. I lied. To myself, and to them. They seem to have forgotten. Either that, or they’ve tucked it somewhere in another alternate reality. After all, in Ronan’s words: “Nothing happened that night. You came to see us, we had dinner early, and you went back home. So did we.” I shake my head, like it’ll make the thoughts disappear. Then, when I find the words, a small smile carves it way through my lips. “Yes,” I say. “I’m happy, more than happy, if I’m being honest,” I turn to Malachi. “The last six months have been insane. I think it’s amazing how quickly life can change for the better. And we’ve been through so much…” the images come flooding into my mind, the flashes move quickly, I blink rapidly. My knees buckle underneath my weight, and I stagger backwards. Ronan’s sturdy arms wrap around me. “Are you okay, baby?” Am I? I try to open my eyes, to look up at the ceiling, but it’s spinning. No matter how hard I try, I can’t get it to stop. “I should lie down.” I whimper. “Fuck.” Jaxon swears. “What is it?” I can’t see their faces, but I can hear the fear in Jaxon’s voice, and the urgency in Malachi’s. Need I mention how fast Ronan’s heart is racing. “Did she drink?” “What?”“Did she have some wine? I think she might have taken some. Maybe a glass?” “What does that have to do with anything?” I’m being lifted off the ground, held by two strong arms against an even stronger chest. “Pregnant women aren’t meant to drink.” I didn’t drink. “Why didn’t you say anything then?” “I didn’t know. I’m not sure…” “I didn’t drink.” I mutter underneath my breath, hoping they’ll hear me. Malachi sounds like he’s going to strangle Jaxon for not stopping me, and Jaxon sounds like he wants to smack Malachi across the face for not knowing. But I know, so I didn’t. “What did she say? She just said something.” Ronan heaves a sigh. A door creaks open and he carries me into the room. I want to open my eyes, but I don’t want to see the room spinning again. “She said she didn’t drink. She’s probably just tired, it’s been a long day.” My back meets a soft mattress, and my head is placed gently onto a featherlight pillow. I cover my forehead with my hands and drag them all the way down, to my jaw, chest, before throwing each of them at my sides. “This is embarrassing.” “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Jaxon kisses my forehead. “We should get some sleep too.” “You’re not going to stay?” Malachi leans into me. I can tell it’s him by the scent of his cologne. “Do you want us to?” Of course, I do. Why is that even a question at this time? If I had my way, they'd never leave my side. “Yes.” I swallow hard, realizing at that moment, that this is it. This is my life. Myself, the three of them, and our kids. It’s more than I could have ever dreamt off. “Please stay.” The brothers do not ask any further questions. One by one, they get into bed beside me. Two hands lock around me, while one caresses my head. Don’t ask me about the logistics. My eyes are closed, so I have no idea. But what I do know is that it’s only a matter of time until I drift into sleep…knowing that I’ll always be safe in their arms.