Theirs to Keep

“Gooseberry,” Camden answered immediately. “Either that or Hazards.”

“Cool,” I grinned, squeezing Roderick’s hand one last time before letting go. “Any one but those.”

Forty-Seven

KARISSA

It was one of those legendary days you knew would always live in your memory, even before they were over. It was a jewel among afternoons. A diamond among evenings.

And it wasn’t nearly over yet.

Bryce jumped straight from his shower into a pair of board shorts, and I took the stall before he’d even turned the water off. It seemed sort of counterproductive, getting clean only so I could jump into the ocean, but my sweaty run home had left me little choice.

There was total solidarity in that we needed a beach day, and we enjoyed it to the fullest. We swam in the rough Rhode Island surf, splashing each other and fighting the undertow. We played frisbee. We built a sandcastle. We ate hot dogs and chased them down with snow cones, running across hot sand to reach the ice cream man parked on the other side of the boardwalk.

Between all those activities we stretched out on our blankets, soaking up the sun. Staring up through our sunglasses at the flawless blue sky, talking about everything and nothing, alternating between deep conversation and occasionally dozing off into well-deserved naps.

By the time the sun kissed the horizon we were packed up and ready to go, as well as starving for some actual food. Roderick knew a seafood shack a few blocks away, and after a few drinks at the bar we were breaking into crab legs and cracking open rich, buttery lobster. We devoured the craziest appetizers. Shared the most decadent desserts. We took our sweet time huddled around our little table, toasting the day with cold beer and laughing away the last of our worries until they practically closed the shack down around us.

“Home?” asked Camden, jumping behind the wheel.

“And showers,” I chimed in.

“We showered outside,” Bryce nodded, alongside Roderick. “You should’ve done the same.”

“I did do the same,” I said smugly. “But I’m a girl, and a girl gets sand in places that guys most certainly do not.”

“Oh.”

My laugher was so pure and natural I wondered if I’d ever laughed like this in my life. I’d certainly never felt this happy. This totally connected to someone, much less three someones.

“You shower up then,” said Camden. “Use that weird-looking sponge thing and—”

“My loofah?”

“—and those fruity-smelling body washes.”

“You love those fruity-smelling body washes,” I teased. Then, as his brows crossed: “Well… one of you does, anyway,” I shrugged innocently. “It’s not always easy to keep track.”

“I’ll bet,” Bryce grinned.

I sighed happily from the back seat, throwing an arm around Bryce while absently twirling a lock of Roderick’s hair. “All a girl can do is try.”

The ride home was a heady mix of kissing and touching, of lazy caresses and skin on skin. I was fully in heat before it was finished. Revved up and ready to go, especially since the guys had touched me everywhere except the places I really wanted them to.

“Meet us in the garden,” Roderick said as I headed up to shower. “I know we’ve been outside all day, but it’s too beautiful a night to be inside.”

I showered for a good long while, washing the salt from my skin. Trading the scent of the sea in my hair for citrus, and scrubbing myself delectably clean. It had been a special day, and it was bound to be an even more special night. The guys were amped up already. I could feel the building charge of their sexual energy in the air.

So you love Bryce…

June’s words echoed in my mind. The question had been unexpected. But I’d answered it so quickly, so easily.

I love all of them.

The truth shouldn’t have been surprising, especially since I’d known long before now. I’d loved these men for some time now. As employers. As friends. But also… as so much more.

And now? Now they weren’t just my lovers, they were my mates as well. They were protective of me. Caring and attentive. Self-sacrificing, and connected in ways that were just as emotionally intimate as we were physical. Maybe even more so.