Her Four Cowboys

“I’m right behind you,” he said, his mouth pressed against my skin as he thrust into me once more, groaning as he emptied himself into me. We lay there for a second, allowing ourselves a moment to enjoy the aftershocks.

He pulled out of me, turning me gently onto my back and kissing my cheek before pulling a sheet up to cover me.

The others came over and lay in the bed with us, every one of us sharing a little bit of skin as we formed our pile. This seemed to be our final position for the evening as we settled with a sigh, murmuring a little here and there. I’d never felt so much pleasure in my life, and as I looked from face to face before I drifted off, I felt a last overwhelming sense of gratitude for these four men.

EPILOGUE

LUCY - FIVE WEEKS LATER

I usually hated Valentine’s Day.

Even on years when I’d been in a relationship, I’d never particularly enjoyed celebrating the over-embellished holiday and had preferred doing something more low-key.

Tonight, though, I was actually excited for the romantic plans that I had with my someone. Well, not someone. Four someones.

We’d fallen into our relationship with more ease than I ever could’ve predicted, spending every evening in some combination of two, three or all five of us. I always fell asleep in one of their beds, feeling spent and like I’d never been fucked like that, and never would be again.

At least, until the next night.

To say that our parents had taken some time to adjust was an understatement.

We’d told them separately, but I’d been at their house when we’d decided to let them know. Their parents had blinked at me slowly, before turning and looking at each of their children in turn. I didn’t think I’d ever seen Alice Kent shocked into silence before; that woman always had something to say.

As it turned out, she definitely did have something to say. She’d had a ton of questions, both for her sons and for me, and we’d all weathered the interrogation for a while, having sat up in Adam’s living room the night before with a few boxes of Chinese takeout, strategizing different ways for us to tell them what we’d decided would be our future.

After a few rounds of answering questions, Alice had finally gone quiet once more, and all of us sat in silence as we waited for her or Albert to say something in response.

They’d looked at each other for a long minute before Alice had gotten up off the couch and walked straight toward me, reaching down for my hands and taking them into her own before pulling me up out of my chair. I stood there in silence, waiting for her to say something—anything—in response.

“I’ve always thought of you as a daughter,” she said, her eyes pricking with tears as she looked into my face, “and I won’t deny that I’ve always hoped that I’d get you for a daughter-in-law. This just… isn’t how I thought it would happen.”

“Believe me, Alice,” I said, my face spreading into a wide smile, “I didn’t expect it either. This is quite possibly the last thing I could’ve predicted.”

“Do you love our sons?” Albert asked, standing up and looking straight at me, holding eye contact for an uncomfortably long time.

I swallowed, looking around at each of them in turn. I hadn’t told them outright yet, but I knew that they knew how I felt, and I also knew how they felt about me. It hadn’t had to be said yet.

“I do,” I said, “and not just as a unit, or as a result of them being members of the same family, or because of some arbitrary inability to choose between them. Each one of them fills a different need for me, and somehow, I’m the one that they want.” I shook my head, a little laugh escaping from me. “I know how lucky anyone would be to get just one of your sons. Imagine how I feel, being loved by all four.”

Alice gathered me into her arms at that, giving me the warmest hug that I ever could’ve wanted, and allowing me to breathe in her fresh, clean smell of eucalyptus and snow. A smell that I’d known since I was a little girl, that had always reminded me of home.

“Then I guess there’s nothing left to say,” Albert said as he walked toward us.

“Well, that’s not exactly true, honey,” Alice said as she let go of me, just long enough to loop her arm through mine. “The only thing left for us to do is find out what her favorite dinner is.”

The rest of the night had been filled with laughter and hugs, and both of them had told me that there was no need for me to be shy about showing my affection for their boys.