A hint of regret flashes through me that we didn’t get the chance, but that’s just because I’m greedy. Last night, my husbands made me come so hard I swear I lost the power of sight for a moment. I’ve got no room to complain about not getting enough sex.
In the eyes of the law, none of us are married. But none of us really give a shit about the law—a lot of our business is outside the law anyway, so I don’t see why our personal life should be any different.
And they are my husbands.
They’re more than that, really.
They’re my soulmates, my partners, my lovers, and my best friends.
“Come here, Cassy Bear.” Ryland jerks his chin at our daughter, and she trots happily into the room.
He helps me up before reaching down to scoop her into his arms, holding her on his hip with practiced ease. She’s getting too big for me to carry easily, but I think it’ll be a long while before she’s too heavy for her dads. The muscles in Ryland’s arms flex beneath the ink of his tattoos as he presses a kiss to her forehead, and my heart melts.
Seeing this tattooed beast of a man turn into a marshmallow for his daughter makes my ovaries threaten to explode. I’ve been dropping not-so-subtle hints that I want another baby, and all three of my men seem to be one hundred percent on board.
“Theo and Marcus should be home soon,” Ryland tells me, swaying Cassy gently on his hip. Then he grins down at our little girl. “Should we go wait for them to get back?”
She nods excitedly. They both had something to take care of this afternoon, and Ryland and I decided to train while Cassy was napping.
We leave the gym and stride through the large, open-floor-plan house. It’s bigger than any of the men’s old places, a sprawling bungalow on the far-north side of Halston. I almost thought it was too big when we first looked at it, but now that we’re thinking seriously of expanding our family, I’m glad I let the guys talk me into it.
Ryland carries Cassy into the living room and takes a seat on the couch, listening to her talk excitedly about a butterfly she saw on our walk this morning. I settle in next to them, lying back and resting my head on the armrest with my toes tucked under Ryland’s thigh.
Something changes in his face—in all of their faces—when they look at Cassy. I love the way I can see adoration burning in his eyes, warming the hazel depths of his irises. The way they love our daughter is an extension of the way they love me.
Fiercely and protectively, with everything they have inside them.
With her dimples and her blue-green eyes, it’s not hard to guess which one of the men’s DNA she shares. But that’s never made a single difference to any of them. As far as Ryland and Marcus are concerned, she’s their daughter as much as she’s mine and Theo’s.
And she’s the luckiest damn kid in the world, as far as I’m concerned.
It’s strange. I grew up with no parents, and my men all had shitty as fuck home lives. But they all turned out to be amazing parents themselves, dedicated and protective and loving.
Ryland’s mom died a few years ago, and I know it brought up a lot of complicated feelings for him. He loved her, no matter how little she might’ve deserved that love, and he mourned her passing even as he still harbored anger over what she and his father put him through.
He hasn’t spoken to his dad since the funeral, and I’m not sorry about that at all. Marcus broke away from his parents completely too. Theo’s the only one who still maintains some connection with his mother.
We hang out on the couch for about half an hour, and Ryland is in the middle of telling Cassy a very entertaining story about her three favorite stuffed animals on a mad-cap adventure when the front door opens.
Cassy perks up immediately, her blue-green eyes going wide. She grins at me and then wriggles on Ryland’s lap to be let down. He plonks her on the floor, and she’s off like a shot, running toward the front door with a happy shriek.
“So fickle,” he jokes as he turns to me, leaning his large body over mine to press a kiss to my lips. There’s just a hint of heat to it, and I have a feeling he’ll be the first one to rip my clothes off tonight.
I fist his t-shirt, holding him close to prolong our kiss by another few seconds. I grin up at him as he pulls away. “You know she loves you all the same.”
“Yeah.” He catches my hand and helps me up. “I do.”
By the time we catch up with our daughter in the foyer, she’s happily ensconced in Theo’s arms. He’s rubbing his nose against hers, making a low growling sound as she tries to mimic the noise in her sweet, high pitched voice. His nickname for her is Tiger, and after he explained to her how fierce and brave tigers are, she fell in love with it and insisted on learning as much about the animals as she could. This greeting is one that just the two of them share—a baby tiger and her daddy.
“Hi, angel.” Marcus greets me and palms the back of my head, slanting his lips over mine in a hot kiss before pulling back to meet my gaze.
“Hi.”
I get lost for a moment in the earth and air of his irises, entranced as always by the rich brown and bright blue. When he steps away, letting the spell dissipate, I realize he and Theo brought someone else with them.
Caleb.
“Hey, sis.” My brother lifts a hand in greeting as he steps forward. He keeps his dark hair trimmed short these days, a little longer on top and carefully styled.