CHAPTER 12
Pax
“Merry Christmas.” Gabriel yawns and stretches, his sleepy smile as sexier than ever when he spots me curled around our girl.
“Bro, quit staring at her.” Cole knocks his shoulder into mine from where he’s spooned against my back, his arm slung over my hip so he can palm Ivy’s middle, pressing her to us.
Still, I don’t blink.
I can’t. She’s so gorgeous, and fragile, and tougher than I ever could have guessed.
Even when she’s unconscious, she’s mesmerizing.
“You are taking that he-sees-her-when-she’s-sleeping thing kind of seriously.” Gabriel smirks since he’s just as obsessed as I am. We all are.
“I don’t care if it’s creepy.” Hell, I’ve never objected to their kinks. They’ll have to learn to deal with this new one I just discovered. I’m never going to get tired of seeing Ivy in our bed. “I intend to steal every chance I can to burn this into my memory.”
“Why?” Cole can’t be serious.
“It’s not like she’s leaving.” Gabriel rolls up the sleeves of his shirt as if he might have to fight me over it. “She was made for us.”
“Of course she was.” I swallow hard against the panic that threatens to bubble up from my guts. “But how are you going to convince her of that? She’s been let down so often by people she should have been able to trust.”
“That’s one reason I made us hold out yesterday even though it damn near killed me.” Gabriel traces her eyebrow with the tip of one finger.
“I thought it was because you wanted to give her a day to recover after we were too damn rough with her.” Cole rubs the spot where he decorated himself with her blood like it was war paint.
No one’s ever required either of them to beg. Women—and men, me included—drop to their knees at their feet.
I have a feeling Ivy will have us wrapped around her little finger. After all, she’s the one who taught Snowflake how to do it, and the kitten had us at her beck and call from the get-go.
“That was part of it.” Gabriel takes a deep breath then admits, “The rest was an excuse. You called it yesterday, and you weren’t wrong. We all have our issues. Even you, Cole. Thinking you’re not good enough just because you’re rough around the edges. The truth is, the three of us are plenty. On our own and especially together. If being around Ivy has shown me anything, it’s that we’ve been cowards.”
“She deserves for us to show her how we feel about her,” I add quietly as she begins to rouse.
“No going back now, gentlemen.” Cole rakes his hand through his hair, then bites my shoulder.
Someone’s got to have the balls to say it. “I love her. She’s always been ours. I knew it from the first time she drew a heart around my name on that cardboard cup of terrible coffee.”
“Agreed.” Gabriel and Cole are nuzzling her, kissing her, and skimming their hands down her perfect body so we can get Christmas started and celebrate it right. “We have one more day to convince her of that. Let’s not waste it.”
CHAPTER 13
Ivy
Yesterday was one of the best twenty-four hours of my life. And yet, if Gabriel, Pax, and Cole force me to be around them all day without acting on the carnal tension simmering below the surface of their flirting and innuendos, I might just shovel my way down this entire freaking mountain.
Or lock myself in the streaming room with their pile of vibrators.
So far they woke me to snowman pancakes in bed.
They were piled with whipped cream, fruit, and chocolate chips for eyes. Pax’s doing. A platter of bacon and eggs balanced out the sugar rush and had me licking my fingers.
But we’ve moved downstairs.
I insisted on doing the dishes since they cooked, and now I’m sitting on the plush area rug in front of the fireplace, using a piece of tinsel to teach Snowflake how to pounce. It’s either that or let her climb the tree and bat ornaments from the branches.
“Oh yeah, murder that silver shit.” Cole encourages her like a proud papa. “You’re so ferocious. Look at you go.”