Page 23 of Bred Winner

“Alora plans out everything. Even when presented with this job—a huge promotion for her—she spent six weeks charting out the pros and cons. Do you remember how many dinners we had trying to convince her to go for it? She thinks things through—forwards and backwards and forward again. That’s why we tried to date her individually first. We were supposed to be light and breezy.” Coen’s voice sounds tired and defeated.

“We lied—to her and ourselves. Tell me you don’t feel exactly as I do. Could you really go back to how it was before after having her?”

They shake their heads. “No.”

I take in a deep breath and exhale it slowly because this next part hurts to say out loud. “If she doesn’t want the non-traditional family we’ve presented her, then maybe she’d like a life with one of us. We said we’d never allow a woman to come between us, not even her, but I don’t know if that’s an option anymore.”

Tristan stares at me for longer than comfortable and then shakes his head, pulling open the refrigerator door. “You want a beer, Coen?”

“Sure,” Coen says through clenched teeth.

“We should have done this a long time ago, before we followed her out here. We’ve been making decisions about our lives for over a decade—we moved across the country—for a woman who might choose none of us, much less all of us, in the end.”

“She’s worth it,” Tristan points out, handing Coen a bottle.

“I bloody well know that!” I snap. Everything is unraveling quickly, and I’m thinking maybe I need to shut up. We’ve been friends forever, have rarely had an argument, able to mind meld on almost every topic. Which is exactly why we didn’t do this earlier, didn’t pursue her harder, because we didn’t want to risk our friendship. Deep down, I think we all knew this was the inevitable conclusion if we got a shot with her. The only way to save our friendship was her finding that perfect man.

But she didn’t.

And then we got our shot.

So here we are.

“We have two days to think about this.” Coen stands abruptly. “Fuck that. I have two days to decide what I want. I suggest you do the same.”

He walks out, leaving us standing there, soaking in his words. Tristan puts his unopened beer back in the refrigerator. “I’m going for a run.”

The front door slams shut and two seconds later, Alora appears in the kitchen doorway, stopping him in his tracks. She has tears in her eyes as she glances at me and then back at him before jumping into his arms. Tristan catches her, pulling her close as she wraps her legs around his waist. She claims him with a deep kiss, framing his face with her hands.

“I’m sorry. I’m so so so sorry.” She whimpers against his neck, but is looking at me. “You’re right, Oakley. There is no going back. I don’t need two days to know I love and want you—all of you. Let’s be a family. Let’s make this work.”

I take two long strides forward and place my hand on her cheek, kissing her lips wet with her tears. “We are a family, love.”

Coen must have heard the door slam shut because he comes into the kitchen to see the three of us and lets out an audible sigh of relief. “Thank God.”

Alora looks over her shoulder and reaches for him. “I’m sorry, Coen.”

“It’s okay, sweetness. This is a big change, but it’s the right one.”

“Oakley was right. We need to bust through any unknown barriers left.” Tristan smoothes her hair back from her face. “And that’s what we’re going to do. Right now.”

He carries Alora into her bedroom, the one we designated and decorated for her when we bought this house four years ago. Coen and I exchange a look as we follow behind him. None of us have done this before—three men with one woman—and especially not with someone we care about, like Alora. There were a couple of crazy nights in college where two of us would end up fooling around with the same woman and then there was Amanda who we tried dating openly between us, but that didn’t last long.

Coen walks into the bedroom before me, leaving me to stand in the threshold and take in the scene. Tristan has laid Alora out on the bed, pulling off her high heels and tossing them behind him. He pulls off his shirt and also tosses it to the chair.

He puts his hands on his belt to undo his pants before glancing over at me and Coen, who stand by dumbfounded. I know I’m the one to suggest this, but I don’t have the foggiest idea how this would work.

Tristan smiles and puts a knee on the mattress between Alora’s splayed legs. “I’m not waiting for you, but if you need a place to start, I suggest one of you feed our beautiful baby your cock, and the other one can play with her gorgeous nipples while I suck on her clit.”

He lays his body atop hers and kisses her breathlessly. “This is what you want—right, babe?”

“Yes.” She reaches for us. “I want all of you.”

Coen looks at me and shrugs, pulling off his shirt and walking toward the bed. He slides his hand over her belly as Tristan settles his face and shoulders between her thighs, spreading her wide.

Tristan groans. “Look how wet our lady is before we’ve even touched her.”

I tilt my head and glance at her pussy spread wide and on display. She is indeed soaked, glistening with her arousal, which sends a signal straight to my cock to stand up and pay attention.

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