Page 66 of The Proximity Effect

Archer laid me down on the bed, the cool sheets a stark contrast to the heat of my skin. I watched as the three of them climbed in beside me, their bodies pressing close, their hands stroking and soothing.

And the best part? It wasn’t only about the physical sensations—it was the way they looked at me, like I was something precious and dangerous all at once. Like I was theirs, and they were mine, and nothing else mattered.

I should have been exhausted, but as I lay there, surrounded by them, a spark of desire ignited deep within me. I wanted more.

And as if sensing my thoughts, Liam’s hand slid down my body, his fingers tracing a path of fire along my skin. “Ready for round two?”

I smiled, my body already responding to his touch. “Always.”

Chapter 23

Custody Arrangements

Tessa

Iwoke up to the gentle rise and fall of two very male chests, one pressed against my back and another serving as my personal pillow. For a moment, I contemplated how exactly my life had taken such an unexpected turn. A few months ago, I’d been planning a wedding to one man. Now I was waking up between two, with a third presumably somewhere in the cabin.

The universe really did have a sense of humor.

Archer’s arm was draped possessively across my waist, while my head rested on Liam’s chest, his steady heartbeat a soothing rhythm against my ear. My body felt deliciously sore in ways that made last night’s memories flash through my mind like a very adult highlight reel.

This situation was completely insane. Three men? At once? What would my mother say?

Actually, my mother must never find out about this. But then… what if? What if this wasn’t a fling and all four of us had a for-real relationship?

I slid out from between Archer and Liam with the stealth of a ninja, or at least someone trying really hard not to wake two incredibly attractive, incredibly naked men. The sound of another muttered curse and what might have been a pan hitting the floor had me hurrying to throw on some clothes.

I grabbed the first shirt I found which turned out to be one of Archer’s button-downs that practically reached my knees and pulled out a clean pair of underwear and leggings from my bag.

“Son of a—” Evan’s voice carried from the kitchen, followed by more clanging. I was surprised Liam and Archer were sleeping through the noise, but my guess was they were used to noise from Evan by now.

I eased the bedroom door shut behind me and padded barefoot across the wooden floor, following the sounds of culinary destruction. The sight that greeted me was both adorable and slightly concerning. Evan stood in front of the stove, a spatula in one hand and what looked like flour in his hair.

“Please tell me you’re not trying to poison us all.” I tried not to laugh as he whirled around, nearly dropping the spatula.

“I was going for a romantic breakfast in bed, but the pancakes are staging a rebellion.” He gestured to what I assumed was supposed to be a pancake but looked more like abstract art stuck to the pan.

“Ah, a classic case of a too-hot pan and not enough butter.” I moved beside him, taking the spatula. “Here, let me help before you burn down the cabin.”

“My hero.” He pressed a kiss to my temple, and I tried to ignore how such a simple gesture made my heart flutter.

I turned down the heat and scraped the pancake out of the pan, replacing it with a pat of butter. While it melted, I turned to grab the bowl of batter from the island and gasped at the view out of the windows.

Snow had piled up almost to the bottom of the windowsills, creating a wall of white that seemed to go on forever. It was almost blinding to look at.

“Holy shit, that’s a lot of snow.”

“Yeah, the storm really picked up overnight.” Evan seemed unfazed as he opened a package of sausage links and added them to a pan. “We weren’t paying attention because of how... distracted we were.”

My cheeks heated up as memories from last night flooded back. “How are we supposed to get to the resort?”

“The snowmobiles aren’t buried, but we’ll have to dig a ramp to get them on top of the snow.” He pointed at a side window where they’d parked them the night before under an awning.

“Living in a place where it snows is going to take some getting used to.” I wasn’t even sure if I would be able to drive if there was any amount of snow on the road, especially after my first day getting stuck in a snowbank on the side of the road.

“It’s really not that bad. Plus, you have three strapping young men to help you adjust.” His arms wrapped around my waist from behind, and he rested his chin on my shoulder as I ladled pancake batter onto the griddle.

“Young is a bit of an exaggeration.” I giggled when he playfully bit my neck. “So you’ll drive into town and pick me up when it snows?”

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