Page 61 of Her Holiday Heartthrobs

“Bags?” Jake raises a brow at me.

My hands go to my hips as I pin him with a look. “Yes. Bags. I have a three-year-old. And we’re bringing him out into the snow.”

Jackie cackles, throwing his head back. “They have no clue, honeybuns. Absolutely no clue.”

I grin and hold onto Jake’s arm as I shove my feet into my giant snow boots. Jackie grabs the bags off the couch and Paxton is basically hanging off the hem of Jake’s coat. He looks down at my boy, a hand fanning through his hair automatically.

He silently offers to pick up Paxton, and he answers by reaching his arms overhead. Once he has Paxton in his arms, little hands grab at Jake’s zipper. Up and down. Up and down. Then twirling it between his fingers.

“Zip. Zip. Zip.”

“Makes a cool noise, huh?” Jake asks, and Paxton nods.

God, my heart melts.

Jackie shares a look with me that is full of approval as he hands me my bags. Jake peers at me with this soft expression that reinforces all of the little things he’s been doing to court me. Such a strange term, but I’m starting to get what it means.

“Ready to go?” I ask him, but mostly my son.

“Yup.” Paxton bounces in Jake’s arm.

Jake reaches out to place a hand at the back of my neck. He’s keen on touch, needing it more than words most of the time. His thumb rubs behind my ear, and the intimacy of it presses on those emotions I’ve been wrangling into submission.

Jackie closes the door behind us. We head to the car and Paxton makes an easy transition. Henry sits in the rear-facing seat, and Jake joins him, pulling Paxton into a booster seat between them. He’s got his fingers all over the tinted glass separating us from Liam.

Handing the bags in to Eli, his bemused face has the same astonishment on it that Jake’s did. Once I’m inside, I pull out a small container of toys for Paxton, open it and offer them to him. Bouncing down, my son’s small hands close on four dinosaurs before he wiggles back between Jake and Henry.

He’ll rope them both into playing his games. Henry’s good at it, but he would be as the eldest of six siblings.

Eli takes my hand after I settle back. He brushes his thumb over my knuckles. Also in need of physical affection, he leans into making me laugh, like that’s his comfort zone.

The last few weeks each of them have been picking me up, bringing me home and spending lunch with me in rotation. But we all meet in Eli’s office once everyone’s on their way out. I don’t feel so bad about staying late because having a car saves me an hour of transit time.

Getting to know the three of them has been exciting. They’re so different but so much the same, and as much as I hate to admit it, they’re familiar, reminding me of my father. And the stories they’ve told me about him when he was younger have given meso muchammunition against him.

Eli lifts my knuckles to his mouth for a kiss. He didn’t get much of this slow kind of affection growing up, or at least, that’s what I’ve gathered.

It’s like Jake’s control and his deep shyness makes him abrasive to most, but he grew up in an unstable home. Being quiet helped him disappear.

But digging into their past wasn’t the only thing I did. Heat tears through me from the littlest thought.

Like how Jake enjoys having me on my knees under his desk, the power dynamic fulfills us both because he thinks he’s in control, but really, I am when I’m kneeling between his thighs.

Henry seems to be taken with having me in his lap. When he’s behind his desk, he likes having me gathered against him and access to my skin. He’s even convinced me to start wearing skirts on occasion. They’re not my favorite, but they do offer easy access to roaming hands…and mouths.

But then, there is Eli, who acts like every little piece I give him is the holy grail of intimacy. Like I’m the best thing toever happen to him. He makes me feel so seen. Worshipped. No question that he wants me, physically, but that’s never his whole focus.

Between the three of them, I’m nearly overwhelmed. Mostly though, my life feels full, and not the kind of full I felt being a single mother working on my degree, but…happy.

Driving out of town, Paxton has no lack of entertainment amongst the four of us, and his happy giggles draws smiles out of my men so easily.

My men. God, that gives me the shivers.

Eli squeezes my hand and offers me a pleased smile. So easy with them, but when they’re aimed at me, they feel like precious diamonds. I want to hoard them.

We stop on the side of a good sledding hill, half-full with kids and families. It makes me pause. What if someone recognizes us? What will this look like?

Eli is out the door, and cold air filters in. Paxton squeals, crawling out after him. Sighing, I grab the smaller bag and hike it over my shoulder as Eli opens my door with my son tugging on his arm.

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