Page 40 of Their Reluctant Catch

A knot forms in my stomach. I tighten my grip around the mug.

He’s looking at me like I might break. Like I’m fragile.

Shit. Is that what they think?

I had a full-blown panic attack in the woods—lost time, couldn’t speak, couldn’t move.

And maybe I am broken.

Maybe they see it.

“Do you think I’m mentally unstable?” I arch a brow.

“What?” He rears back like I’ve just smacked him. “Fuck no.”

“Then why are you struggling to speak?”

Colton lets out a low, rumbling laugh.

“What?” I shift my gaze between them.

“He’s just trying to figure out how to tell you we want you.” Colton is straight to the point as always.

They… what? My breath catches. My heart is starting a happy tap-dance behind my ribcage, but something else swells behind it—relief, longing, the ache of wanting something I didn’t think I was allowed to want.

I’ve been holding back since the moment I set foot in this town. Holding back my grief. My desire. My fear.

And I’ve been holding back from them.

But the truth is—I’m tired. Tired of second-guessing myself. Tired of pretending I don’t crave the way they look at me. Tired of the walls I’ve built so high I can’t see over them anymore.

Maybe this is reckless. Maybe it’s messy and complicated. But it’s real.

And I want it.

“Oh.” It’s all I manage to say but the word feels full of everything I can’t quite express.

Todd leans in, eyes locked on mine. “What does ‘oh’ mean?”

I can’t help myself—I tease him. “You mean in general? ‘Oh’ is an exclamation of surprise or?—”

Todd growls.

Not a metaphorical growl. An actual deep, reverberating sound that rolls through me like a physical thing, lighting up every nerve ending in my body.

Heat slides low in my belly, liquid and wanting. My voice is breathy when I admit, “I want you, too.” I turn to Colton, snaring his gaze with mine. “Both of you.”

* * *

Todd

She wants us. Both of us!

My heart soars, and I act on instinct. I jump up, grab Savannah by the waist, and lift her from her seat.

With her securely in my arms, I ignore the clatter when her chair topples over and drops to the kitchen floor.

“Todd!” She clings to my shirt. “What are you doing?”

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