Page 162 of Rescuing Ally: Part 1

Hank steps back, raking a hand through his hair, that knowing smirk still tugging at his lips.

“Come on,” he says, voice rough. “Let’s get dressed before we forget we had a plan.”

Inside, the house feels cooler. Early morning light spills in through the wide windows, casting golden patterns across the floor.

We separate briefly, the hum of movement and the rustle of clothes filling the quiet. I change quickly, the lingering heat of their touches still simmering beneath my skin, anticipation thrumminglow in my belly.

Minutes later, we regroup at the door—Hank in a fitted tee and cargo pants, Gabe in worn jeans and a hoodie that does nothing to hide the tension in his frame. They watch me as I pull my hair into a loose ponytail.

We step outside together, the door clicking shut behind us.

The ocean air is crisp, and the sky is a brilliant blue. A salt-laden breeze caresses my skin, carrying away the heat of our earlier encounter butnotthe memory.

Hank walks slightly ahead, his stride confident and measured, while Gabe stays close to my side, our shoulders occasionally brushing with deliberate casualness.

The world feels wide open.

And I feel… steady.

The panic from last night—its sharp, suffocating edge—is distant like a dream already fading with the dawn.

My body remembers, but it doesn’t ache.

My mind recalls, but it doesn’t spin.

It’s quiet.

Gabe’s voice still echoes softly in the spaces that once held fear—not with the chaos of panic, but the clarity of truth.

Of promise.

His darkness is no longer something I fear. It’s something I understand and waits patiently for me to be ready.

This morning, I was ready for something else.

I took the initiative, taking them both into my hands and my mouth—brought them to their knees with nothing more than the strength of my desire and the thrill of watching them unravel for me.

The power in that… it wasintoxicating.

Knowing that I could drive them to the edge, thatmypleasure could be found intheirs—it stirs something inside me.

Something fierce.

Something free.

Maybe that’s what Gabe meant—that need to take, control, and please, not out of obligation, but because it feeds something deeper, is a powerful force.

My trauma may have faded with the night, but the desires—mine and theirs—they’re wide awake.

And I’m ready to explore themall.

Hanks leads us to a path that winds along the cliffs, revealing breathtaking vistas of the churning ocean below. White-capped waves crash against jagged rocks, sending spray high into the air before retreating, an endless dance of power and surrender. Not unlike what transpires between the three of us.

“You shouldn’t spoil us like that,” Hank says suddenly, glancing back over his shoulder. His voice carries that rough edge that makes my stomach tighten. “We’ll get used to morning blowies.”

A startled laugh escapes me at the incongruity of that word coming from his fierce, protective self.

“Blowies? Really?”

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