Page 129 of Hot Knot Summer
I sit up straighter in Levi’s arms. “Oh my God, seriously?”
“Picture this,” River gestures wildly, nearly spilling his beer. “Fifty grown adults screaming and running for the house while a three-hundred-pound black bearand her adorable little babies help themselves to our entire buffet spread.”
“We all ended up crammed inside like sardines,” Levi adds. “We were watching through the windows while the bears systematically demolished everything we’d spent hours preparing.”
“Everything?” I ask, though I’m laughing so hard, I can barely breathe.
“Potato salad, corn on the cob, an entire sheet cake that spelled out Happy Fourth of July,” Atlas lists.
“The cubs were actually pretty cute, though,” River admits. “One of them got its head completely stuck in the watermelon. We were all pressed against the windows taking pictures while it stumbled around blind.”
“So, what did you do? Just... wait for them to leave?”
“We watched through the windows for about two hours,” River says, gesturing wildly. “Fifty people crammed into the house like sardines, trying to stay quiet while mama bear and her cubs had the feast of their lives.”
“Two hours?” I gasp.
“They were very thorough,” Atlas says dryly. “Ate everything, then took naps on our lawn furniture.”
“The cubs curled up in our hammock,” Levi adds with reluctant fondness. “It was actually pretty adorable.”
“Finally, around sunset, they wandered back intothe woods,” River continues. “But by then, everyone was starving, and we had zero food left.”
“That’s when we ordered twenty-seven pizzas,” all three of them say in unison, which sends me into another fit of giggles.
“Twenty-seven?” I gasp.
“We had a lot of hungry, disappointed people to feed,” Atlas explains. “Plus, by that point, we were all pretty drunk from stress-drinking while watching bears destroy our barbecue.”
“The pizza delivery guy was not happy about driving all the way out here with that many boxes,” River adds.
“Did you tip him well?” I ask.
“We gave him a fifty percent tip and a beer,” Levi says. “He earned it.”
“We spent the rest of the night in the basement playing pool and darts,” River continues. “We occasionally checked to see if our furry party crashers had returned.”
“Hey, wait,” I say, suddenly remembering something. “You have a game room downstairs? I haven’t seen it yet.”
“Had,” Atlas corrects. “We’re converting it into a home gym now.”
“Though we’ll probably turn it back into a family room eventually,” Levi says, his voice casual but his arms tightening around me. “You know, for when we need space for the baby.”
“Babies, plural,” River clarifies with a grin that’s pure mischief. “At least five.”
I nearly choke on my own laughter. “Five? You guys are getting way ahead of yourselves here. I’m in no rush for babies. I want to enjoy being thoroughly corrupted by you three for a while first. Besides, I’m on Depo—the birth control shot. Good for three months at a time.”
River nearly spits out his beer. “Sweetheart, you do realize that sometimes an Alpha’s seed is potent enough to override even the strongest birth control, right?”
“That’s not actually true,” Levi murmurs near my ear. “Though there have been documented cases in medical literature.”
My eyes widen. “Are you guys serious?”
“Dead serious,” Atlas confirms. “My cousin’s mate was on the pill, had an IUD, and was using spermicide when she got pregnant with their first.”
“Holy shit,” I breathe. “Well, maybe we should invest in some condoms, then.”
The suggestion sends all three of them into hysterics.
