Page 251 of Heart of Frost and Scars

He bellows so loudly the sound reverberates in my bones, setting me on fire and wrenching another orgasm from me.

We lie entangled in the bedding, breathing hard and staring softly. I love him when he’s like this. Exhausted. Sated. Happy.

This is when I see his most vulnerable, unconcealed expressions. I see all the way into his soul, and I’m lost in it. Lost in his inner beauty, in his body’s embrace, in the rough, unrefined perfection of it.

At some point, Monty and Kody leave to gather water and food.

Leo carries me to the shower.

After, the four of us have a picnic on the bed. We nap together. We fuck again. More showers.

And so it begins.

For the next three days, we don’t leave the estate. I call into work sick. Kody leaves his distillery in the hands of his employees.

The stalker, Wolf’s body, the cabin’s location, and the dangers lurking outside our door—none of it exists in our bubble.

We spend three days naked and ravenous, learning, exploring, and understanding one another on the deepest, most intimate level. There’s no part of them that hasn’t been licked, touched, or deeply exposed by my mouth and hands.

The bonding between the three of them exceeds all expectations. They become so comfortable together that it’s hard to imagine a time when Monty wasn’t with them.

On the night of the third day, I lie in bed with Leo and Monty curled around me. They’re hot and heavy on top of me, and I’m sore and bruised and bitten all over.

I’ve never felt such a deep sense of peace.

Moonlight seeps through the sheer curtains, casting an ethereal glow over our bedroom.

Water runs in the bathroom, shuts off, and Kody prowls back to bed.

He finds space. They always do. We’ve perfected the art of sleeping in piles.

Crawling up my legs, he pushes aside masculine limbs and squeezes in until his head rests on my stomach and his arms hook around my hips.

Sweet lord, my heart swells. It swells to bursting with the love I feel for each of them.

None of us are asleep, but we’re close. We float in a state of blissful exhaustion that must be what heaven is like.

Slowly, I start to drift off until Monty’s whisper snaps open my eyes.

“I didn’t mean what I said.” He stares at Kody, at his hand on Kody’s welted back. His fingers feather over the crisscrossed scars that bubble Kody’s flesh from neck to waist. “You don’t need to be fixed. You’re perfect just the way you are.”

Kody shudders, his breath hitching as he tries to swallow his emotion.

A lump swells in my throat, and my fingers curl in the soft strands of his hair.

Monty turns to Leo, grazing his hand over the scar on Leo’s stomach. “I’m sorry she did that to you. If I’d known the kind of person she was—”

“I would change nothing,” Leo says in a gruff voice. “She gave us Wolf.”

Monty nods, his face collapsing. “You’re right. As much as I despise Denver, he gave us you. Having you here, standing strong, means everything to me. We’ve been through hell, but we’ll always have each other. That’s something Denver and Gretchen could never take from us. I’m proud of you.”

Leo reaches for Monty, arms folding around him, and fuck, I can’t breathe.

This is the fullness I wanted.

Acceptance.

Family.

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