Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Hope
I don’t know how I let them convince me to go on a date with all three of them at the same time, but here I was, in the summer sun, on a large, checkered blanket, with a picnic basket between us and an overprotective Daddy spending an awful lot of time putting sunscreen on me.
“Hold still, button,” Master Tyrell murmured, like I was a skittish animal instead of a grown woman who had willingly shown up to be fussed over.
Though, to be fair, I was squirming a bit because this wasn’t the kind of attention I was used to.
His fingers were warm and careful as he smoothed the lotion along my shoulder, down my arm, pausing at my wrist like he needed a second just to hold me there.
“I am holding still,” I protested, even though we all knew I was talking nonsense.
Perry snorted from where he was arranging strawberries into what looked suspiciously like a heart shape. “You keep squirming. Daddy has to start over every time.”
“I do not squirm.” I pushed out my bottom lip in a pout. “I’m the picture of sweet and still,” When Perry giggled again I stuck out my tongue at him. And when he blew a kiss my way, I felt the butterflies take flight in my stomach.
“You absolutely squirm,” Master Lee said mildly.
I tried to glare at him and failed miserably when he smiled at me, warm and slow, like he knew exactly what he was doing.
“This is ridiculous,” I said, but my voice came out breathy instead of stern. “It’s just a picnic, we won’t be out here long enough for me to catch too much sun.”
“Sunburn is not ridiculous,” Master Tyrell replied. He tilted my chin gently with two fingers so he could dab a careful line across my cheekbones. “And you,” he added softly, “are too important to us for us to let you get hurt on our watch. Even if it is just a bit of sunburn.”
My heart did a stupid little somersault.
Obviously, I couldn’t let that show, so I snarked back. “I don’t see you giving Perry the same kind of treatment.”
He sent a blindingly beautiful, yet somehow cocky smile my way. “That’s because Perry got his treatment this morning before we left the room.”
The way he said it made my entire body go warm.
Not to mention the naughty thoughts that were absolutely not meant for open air, juice boxes, and strawberries arranged into hearts.
Perry giggled again at the expression on my face. “Daddy is the best at giving me special treatments.”
Tyrell didn’t even look embarrassed. He just pressed a soft, deliberate kiss to my temple and murmured, “Careful, button.”
“I didn’t say anything,” I protested weakly.
“You didn’t have to,” Master Lee replied. “Your face said it all. And even though none of us would blink twice at giving you that kind of special treatment, this really isn’t the place.”
Oh.
Oh, they were enjoying this. Teasing me. Torturing me. Embarrassing me.
I crossed my arms, trying to gather whatever dignity I had left. “You three are ganging up on me.”
Master Lee shifted closer, the fabric of his sleeve brushing mine. “We prefer the term coordinating.”
“That sounds worse.” I pouted.
Perry abandoned the strawberries long enough to crawl a little closer across the blanket, eyes bright and completely unashamed. “We just like you,” he said simply. “A lot.”
The teasing tone dropped out of his voice just enough to make it real, and that did something dangerous to my chest.
Master Tyrell finished with the sunscreen and sat back on his heels, studying me like I was something precious he’d been entrusted with. “You can tell us to slow down,” he said quietly. “Any time.”
The fact that he meant it made my throat tighten.
“I don’t want to slow down,” I admitted before I could overthink it.
All three of them stilled.
Perry’s hand found mine first. Warm. Slightly sticky from strawberries. Completely sincere. “Okay,” he said softly. “Light speed here we come.”
That drew another smile from me as Master Lee brushed his knuckles along my knee, barely there, a whisper of touch that still made my breath hitch.
“Maybe not light speed, but we’ll keep to a pace that everyone is comfortable with,” he murmured.
Master Tyrell leaned in last, slow enough that I could move away if I wanted to.
I didn’t.
His kiss wasn’t rushed. It was steady and grounding and tasted faintly of coffee.
The slow claiming steadily built and built until it felt like my heart would jump right out of my chest. When he pulled back, his thumb stroked once along my jaw like he was memorizing me, and it took everything inside me not to lean forward and take his mouth again.
Before I could have a single coherent thought, Master Lee tipped my chin toward him. His kiss was different—deeper, slower, like he was testing how much I’d give. I felt myself lean into it without thinking, pressing my breasts against his chest, seeking some kind of... friction.
When he eased away, Perry was watching me like I was magic.
“Well,” he said, voice a little breathless. “Guess it’s my turn.”
He cupped my face carefully, checking my expression first. I nodded, because apparently I had lost all ability to speak.
His kiss was softer than the others. Sweet. A little playful at the edges. While the other two had dominated me in their own quiet ways, kissing Perry was like playing a game of tag. Our lips and tongues kept chasing each other. When he pulled back, he rested his forehead against mine and grinned.
“It’s been like a real long time since I’ve kissed a girl... but I think we did okay, don’t you?” he whispered.
I burst out laughing, the tension instantly dissolving.
Perry’s whole face lit up like he’d won a prize at a fair. “That’s a yes,” he declared, nodding very seriously. “We definitely did okay.”
“You’re ridiculous,” I told him, still smiling.
He gasped. “Excuse you. I am adorable, my Daddy says so all the time.”
“You are sticky,” I corrected, holding up my hand. Strawberry juice glistened on my fingers.
Perry beamed. “Still adorable.”
Master Tyrell shook his head fondly and passed me a napkin. “He’s a sneaky one, our Perry. He comes across all sweet and docile, until he’s pleased with himself. Then he’s just impossible.”
“I’m sorry, have you met me? There’s lots to be pleased about,” Perry said, scooting closer until our knees touched. “Especially when I kiss pretty girls until they’re all blushy and stuff.”
I tried to roll my eyes, but the warmth in my chest betrayed me. “You’re very full of yourself for someone who got himself all sticky playing with fruit.”
“Making strawberry hearts is an advanced art form,” he replied primly. “You wouldn’t understand unless you’ve spent years perfecting it.”
Master Lee leaned back on one elbow, watching us like he was enjoying a private show. “Careful, Hope. He’ll have you decorating cupcakes next.”
Perry perked up instantly. “We could decorate cupcakes.”
“Oh no,” I said, laughing. “Absolutely not. I already agreed to a picnic with three men. I am not agreeing to sprinkles.”
“But sprinkles make everything better,” Perry insisted, eyes wide and earnest. Then his voice softened just a little. “So does laughing. And… not thinking too hard.”
That quiet shift caught me off guard.
He nudged my shoulder with his. “You keep doing this thing where you look like you’re solving impossible, icky math problems in your head. Stop that.”
“I do not,” I protested weakly.
“You do,” he said, utterly certain. “You get this tiny wrinkle right here.” He tapped lightly between my brows. “And then you forget to have fun.”
I swatted his hand away, but not very convincingly.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
I was thinking.
About what this meant. About how easily I fit with them. About how dangerous that all felt.
It felt like I belonged with them. Forever.
Like I could just let go, give in to the Little girl inside me, and just be.
And that thought scared me witless.
Because if I let go, really let go, there would be no pretending after. No safe Little experiment I could pack away when my time at the Ranch ended. No tidy version of me who went home untouched.
There would just be… this.
“Hope,” Perry whispered.
I looked up.
He was already leaning in, slow enough that I could stop him, gentle enough that it didn’t feel like pressure. His fingers brushed my cheek, thumb tracing that tiny wrinkle he’d been teasing me about.
“You’re thinking again,” he murmured, soft and fond. “C’mere. No scary maths. Just this.”
His lips touched mine before I could argue.
My hands curled into his shirt without meaning to. I felt him smile against my mouth, heard the tiny, pleased sound he made when I kissed him back properly.
And just like that, the storm in my head went quiet.
For one perfect, terrifying, wonderful moment, I stopped thinking.
I just kissed him.