“What’s wrong?” I ask, increasingly aware that there’s something else. “What happened?”

“You’re not the only one who was attacked today,” Chase says, a muscle ticking furiously in his square jaw. “Colby’s henchmen came after us during the fire.”

“What?” I croak, suddenly out of air. “What do you mean?”

Eric explains the events as they unfolded, from the minute they walked onto the premises until Charlie identified the dead guy as a Nash goon. The more I hear, the colder my body gets as I understand precisely how close of a call this was. “Obviously, the Feds want to get involved, now,” Eric concludes. “It’s gonna get messy soon enough. At least we know Colby’s angle. He’s coming for us—all of us.”

“I am so sorry,” I manage, fighting off another round of tears. “I shouldn’t have come here. I’ve put you all in danger.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” Eric insists, putting an arm around my shoulders. He pulls me close and gently kisses my temple, while Wyatt brushes a strand of hair behind my ear. “Please, stop apologizing. We knew what we were getting into the minute we learned the truth and decided to be with you, Halle.”

“Even so, this is too much,” I say. “I have to leave. I really have to leave. He’ll keep trying, he’ll keep coming at all of you one way or another. I can’t keep putting you in harm’s way like this.”

Chase chuckles bitterly, closing the distance between us. He pulls me up and away from the pool’s edge in a slightly unceremonious manner. “When are you going to get it through that beautiful, thick head of yours, Halle, that you’re stuck with us, huh?” he growls and captures my mouth in an angry, devastating kiss.

I lose my footing and lean into him, my breasts damn near crushed against his muscular chest. Moaning softly, I welcome his tongue, I surrender to him without the slightest hesitation. It’s almost shameful how easy it is for any of them to completely dismantle me, to shatter my defenses and effortlessly claim me.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Eric declares as he gets up. “And frankly, I’m tired of us having the same conversation, over and over again. We get it, you’re a strong, independent woman, and nobody is looking to take that away from you.”

“But this is way beyond you. You can’t do this on your own, you need help,” Wyatt adds, casually watching as Eric gets behind me while Chase unbuttons my summer dress. I am helpless between them, soft flesh in their firm, unyielding hands. “We all need a little help, sometimes, Halle. It’s okay.”

“This isn’t just your run-of-the-mill help,” I reply, struggling to keep my thoughts straight as Eric plants kisses along the line of my neck.

At the same time, Chase’s fingers work through each of my buttons until my dress falls to the ground, leaving me naked and wanting, practically sandwiched between them. Wyatt exhales sharply and stands up, losing his shirt and jeans along the way as he comes closer.

“What you’re going to do, given the circumstances, is be even more cautious,” he says, his green eyes never leaving mine. “You’ll ride with us to work and one of us will bring you home. Always. No exceptions. No more afternoon walks by yourself until Colby is caught. And I can promise you one thing, sweetheart. We are gonna get that bastard long before he gets any closer.”

His confidence makes my blood sizzle, liquid heat trickling down the inside of my thighs. I feel Eric’s bare chest and rippling abs as he embraces me from behind, and I have no choice but to turn my head and welcome his devouring kiss.

Chase fondles my breasts. They feel fuller and way more sensitive than before—another symptom of my pregnancy, which I’ve yet to announce. I still don’t know how I’m going to do that. I know I need to, but… “Oh, fuck,” I gasp as Chase pinches my nipples until I squirm in Eric’s hold. “Oh, fuck.”

“Come here,” Wyatt purrs as he beckons me to kiss him, now standing beside us, as gloriously naked as his brothers.

We’re more or less out in the open, star-kissed as we linger by the pool, the underwater lights causing the waves to dance across our faces. Suddenly, I feel the soft, cool grass beneath my feet, Wyatt’s hand tracing the line of my hip before it slips between my legs and cups my wet pussy.

“There she is,” he says, half-smiling with hooded eyes, then suckles on my lower lip while Chase teases my nipples with his mouth. Eric grinds his hardened manhood against me, his giant, rock-like cock sliding between my buttocks. I could die here, right now, and it would be akin to eternal bliss.

I feel so safe with them. I feel like the woman that I was always meant to be. The woman I’ve always been, for that matter. Pure and feminine, wanting and giving, blossoming in their arms like a rose in midsummer. That’s what this is supposed to be about—unconditional love—shameless and uninhibited, sincere and everlasting.

“You’re going to speak to our lawyer tomorrow,” Eric says, his lips tickling my left ear. “We need to nip the whole Harriet Nash thing in the bud. Got it?”

“Yes, sir,” I whisper. I can’t argue with him, not anymore. Not while the tip of his cock is probing my entrance, teasing and spreading my juices around, glazing my inner thighs as Wyatt works my clit into a swollen frenzy. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

“Whatever I want?” Eric asks, and I hear the dirty amusement in his tone.

“Yes, sir,” I moan as Wyatt strokes my clit harder and harder until I come undone.

I shudder in his hold, my body rippling as I listen to Wyatt’s ragged breath. He plunges his fingers inside of me and strokes me even harder, finger-fucking me until I ride every ridge of this devastating wave while his mouth makes love to mine.

“I’ve been dying to hear you say those words for a while,” Chase says, gently clasping my chin to beckon my attention. “Come down here,” he adds, both of us getting down on the ground. The grass is soft, my knees pressed into it as I straddle him. “Eric, it’s time.”

“It’s time for what?” I ask.

“Now, now, you’ll find out soon enough.” Wyatt chuckles, then moves to stand in front of me, feet spread wide.

Chase helps me settle, his thick, throbbing cock stretching and filling me beyond my wildest dreams. As I gasp from this incredibly addictive sensation, Wyatt slides his long, strong erection into my mouth. I loosen my jaw and relax my muscles to welcome every delicious inch, while Eric lowers himself behind me and joins Chase deep inside of me.

It’s almost too much to handle as the pleasure races through me. I instinctively clench my pussy around their throbbing shafts and nearly go blind from the ecstasy.