Page 234 of Bad for Me

“You don’t have a choice,” he grits out. “Your safety is on the line. My father’s advisors know why you’re really here. I wouldn’t put it past them to make your return anon-issue…do you understand what I’m telling you?”

I nod.

“You don’t get it, do you? You have to do this. It’s the only way to stay safe and take out who’s after you.” He grabs my face in both his hands, and the intense, raw emotion on his is startling. “You have to marry me. You do belong here. Because you’re mine.Ours.” Jude’s gravelly voice hits me deep in my stomach.

But then I remember how I’m the missing piece to finding out what The Skulls want. How manipulative he is. How he used to make my life a living hell, and for what? Because if he couldn’t have me, I couldn’t be happy?

“You’re a liar.” I choke on my words. “My only purpose here is to end this feud you have with The Skulls. Then you’ll have no use for me and throw me away. You’ve done it once—-you’ll do it again. People are disposable to you once they’ve served their purpose, Jude Harvest. I don’t believe a single word you’ve said to me since I’ve returned home.”

Cain and Colin finally catch up with us, but I barely have time to register their presence when Jude pins me up against a thick tree.

“Don’t move, or I swear to fuck, I will catch you again and tie you up,” he bellows.

“Jude, calm down.” Colin implores him.

“Speak for yourself, dude. I’m fucking pissed at both of you,” Cain grouses, gesturing between Jude and I.

Jude pulls out a black, square jewelry box. The other two look at the box, then him, and the three of them hold eye contact for a few moments before they all gather closer around me.

“Everything I’ve said to you since the moment I saw you again is true, thistle. I’ve been falling for you since we were children. My love may be dark, downright obsessive—my heart rough and unpolished—but it’s yours.” Jude takes a deep breath, and a white cloud hangs around his mouth from the cold. “If you ever try to leave me, I’llalwaysfind you.”

“I feel the same way, baby girl,” Cain says. “You’ve been the apple of my eye since you brought me a big bowl of macaroni salad and asked me to lunch when you were six. I fucking love you. The whole time you were gone, I kept a tab on you because I knew, deep in my heart, I’d come back for you. I’m not afraid to admit it.”

My heart clenches, and I feel like I can’t breathe. My whole body trembles, despite wearing a coat.

“You know exactly how I feel about both of you,” Colin says, looking at Cain and I with intention.

And I do. He’s never made his intentions with me a secret, even before I left the farm.

Jude opens the box, and there’s a beautiful diamond ring, surrounded by a halo of purple gemstones. There’s also three thin bands, all with complementing designs. They’re the type I often see women stack.

“I proposed to you today, but you don’t have to marry us until you’re ready,” Jude assured me.

“I’d be with all three of you?”

“Of course, baby girl. I’d never let you go. Jude learned how to share while you were away,” Cain quips, his lips turning into a smirk as he side-eyes Jude.

“There’s no question that I’m marrying you. But we all understand we need time to convince you we’re worth it. You need time to catch up to how we feel.”

“This is your home now, here, with us,” Jude says with a finality that convinces me.

Thisismy home. I want to be here.

Colin feels my face, his eyebrows shooting up. “Guys, she’s freezing. Let’s get her home.”

Jude slips the engagement ring on my finger. It fits perfectly.

Cain winds my arms around his neck, then lifts me, so I have to wrap my legs around his waist. He carries me all the way home, Colin and Jude trailing behind him.

* * *

As soon asI got upstairs, Jude insisted I take a shower to warm myself up. I stand under the stream, watching the steam billow over the glass door.

These three men that I’ve loved since our childhood want to build a life together. It’s a sobering thought, for sure, both vindicating and mildly terrifying. But it’s something that deep in my heart, I know I’ve always wanted. I want all three of them in ways that make my heart finally come alive after so many years of laying dormant.

The door opens, and Cain climbs into the shower with me directly under the spray. Water slides down his bare muscles as he crowds me to the wall and runs two fingers through my folds. He smiles when he feels how wet I am.

“Please tell me you heard us, that you know how badly we want you?” he rasps in my ear. His hands roam my body, each touch making me melt into the tile. “You’re everything to me, baby girl. I promise I’m going to prove it to you.”

---