Page 33 of Bounty

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 as I 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.”

“Yes,”I moan as he swirls his tongue around my nipple. My back arches as he sucks and nibbles me.

Cain leads me out of the shower, over to the counter. He lifts me up and places me on the edge. He drops to his knees, parting my thighs and devouring me, no teasing or savoring involved. My moans echo off the small space, and grow more desperate after he pushes two thick fingers inside me. Every time they impale me, I clench around him harder. Every second he looks into my eyes he bulldozes past my walls, obliterating all my fears and doubts as he makes a home in my heart. Every raspy breath I take, I get closer to the edge I’m desperate to fall from again.

I’m so wrapped up in the feelings and sensations that I don’t notice Jude standing next to him until he grabs my jaw, angling it up so he can bite and kiss his way down my neck. He slides a third finger inside me, working with Cain to bring me to the most Earth-shattering climax. As I catch my breath, I see Cain licking his wet fingers. His lips glisten with my arousal and his pupils are blown wide.

“You soaked my face,” he murmurs, licking his lips again. “It’s been such a long time since I tasted you...”

“And now it’s my turn,” Jude rumbles, his voice dangerously low.

He throws me over his shoulder and carries me to my bed. Colin is already laying under the covers, but pulls them back for us. Jude lays me down, and steps out of his underwear before spreading my thighs open. He teases and nips at my clit, running his tongue everywhere but where I need it the most.

Jude teases me, bringing me pleasure and taking it away until I’m squirming, fingernails clawing in the sheets beneath me.

“Please,” I whine.

Colin sits near my head, running his hands through my hair as he observes us.

“You’ll take what you get, thistle,” Jude reprimands me, biting my folds hard enough that it hurts. The stinging pain only makes me want more.

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