Page 47 of Eternally Devoted

Knowingly, he nods. “Yeah, we do. I think we power through until we get all the sites cleaned up, then we crash.” He retrievestwo mugs from the open-air cupboard above him, lowering them to the counter quietly. “Coffee is our only hope with that.”

“As soon as Juniper’s up, we’ll go. She’ll have to ride with us so we know where to go, specifically,” I add, trying to avoid watching Sterling’s hands gripping the coffeepot.

“Sounds good,” he says, lowering his voice to add, “from what she said, I think the other sites are gonna be way easier to handle.”

I stare at the ripples on the surface of my coffee. “Except the one she dumped in the well.”

Sterling sucks in a breath through his teeth. “Fuck, I forgot about that one.” He stares at his coffee for a moment too. “It’ll be fine,” he decides. “We’ll get through it.”

“I’m so sorry,” a soft voice grips us, causing us both to face the hallway. Juniper, in nothing but a t-shirt she likely dug out of Sterling’s drawer, stands there, one hand gripping the wall, the other on her heart. “I’m so sorry I dragged you guys into my stuff. That you had to see the bad I’ve done, I’m so embarrassed and ashamed and…” She shakes her head, bringing both hands to cover her face as she cries. “I’m just so sorry.” Yellow Dog lays at her feet, attempting to comfort her by nuzzling his snout against her calves.

Energy courses through me, so I get to my feet, watching as Sterling takes her in his arms, embracing her in a way that makes my chest tight. With his chin on top of her head, he softly reassures her that everything is going to be okay, and that she is perfectly okay.

She peels herself off of him, weaving their hands together as she reaches for one of mine.

With one of her hands in his and one in mine, she looks between us with wide, wet eyes. Slowly, she steps into Sterling, keeping her hand in his as she rocks to her toes and places one slow kiss on his lips.

I’m transfixed by how natural it is to watch her kiss him, and how good they look kissing each other. But when she’s done, she faces me, her tongue sweeping along her bottom lip as if to collect the final traces of him before it’s my turn.

On her toes, she brings her mouth to mine, sealing our lips together in a slow, soft kiss. Traces of her tears leave my cheeks damp and when she breaks the kiss, her bottom lip wobbles. “I don’t want to sleep alone,” she whispers finally, tugging at our linked hands. She looks at her exposed legs and bare feet, then between us, seduction lining her expression. “I don’t want to sleep at all.”

“No?” I croak.

She shakes her head to say no, then turns, abandoning us where we are as she slowly walks down the hall.

“I think she wants us to follow her,” I whisper hoarsely to Sterling.

He moves past me to lock the front door and turn off the porch lights and then I’m following him down the hall, into his bedroom.

CHAPTER

SEVENTEEN

“DO YOU TRUST ME?”

Juniper

Sterling’s bedroom is the perfect place for this to happen. Sterling and Dash’s house is where our first and only rendezvous has happened, and that felt right then, too. The way that there isn’t a single place I can dream up that doesn’t feel like the rightplace when I’m with Sterl and Dash is crazy. We could be in a corn field on a hot day and it would still feel right.

Because it’s not the location or setting. It’s not about what clothes I’m wearing or how good my makeup looks. It’s being with the right person, or in this case,people.That’s all it takes to feel complete—the right people.

But Sterling’s room has the only California king-size bed between the three of us. It’s cool and dark, and everything is clean and tidy. The only things in the room besides furniture are a framed picture on his nightstand of the three of us, two nickels, a tube of ChapStick, and a bottle of cologne.

Sterling carried me to his room when we went back to their place, and I crawled out of bed long enough to pull on one of his t-shirts. Nothing has ever felt so good against my skin as his worn t-shirt.

Reaching for the hem of said t-shirt, I lift it off, letting it fall to the floor, on top of my bare feet. I’m completely naked as Sterling and Dash filter in, their eyes wide, the scent of coffee lingering. “Juniper, you don’t have to,” Sterling starts, bashfully forcing his eyes to mine. “It’s okay, sweetheart. We know you feel bad.”

Closing the few steps of distance between us, I step into his chest, pressing a finger into his pec. “I feel bad about involving you both, you’re right about that. And that’s something I hope to rectify, if possible, over time. But that’s not why I’m naked in your room.” I look between the two of them. “I think killing that man on the side of the ravine was a blessing.”

In unison, their brows furrow.

“Because it brought me here,” I clarify.

“You’ve been here lots of times, Juniper,” Dash says slowly, as if I’m confused and need him to take his time.

I shake my head. “Not in the way I want to be.”

“What do you mean?” Sterling asks right away.

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