Chapter 17 Naomi
Chapter seventeen
Naomi
We stumble back into the chalet, tracking snow and chaos into the mudroom. My toes are numb, my face is probably permanently pink, and I can’t stop grinning.
“Okay,” Felix pants, shaking his head like a golden retriever and showering us all in snow. “That was officially the most fun I’ve had this year.”
“You’re still a traitor,” Silas mutters, wrestling with a frozen bootlace. The corner of his mouth twitches like it’s trying not to smile. “Pack loyalty clearly means nothing to you.”
“I have a weakness for underdogs,” Felix declares.
“Pretty sure the side with the lawyer is never the underdog,” Liam says mildly as he hangs up his coat. When he glances at me, the look is so warm it feels like we just stepped into mid-July.
“Regardless,” I say, peeling off socks that squelch in a way no sock ever should, “my feet are ice. I need a shower hot enough to defrost.”
Felix goes still for half a second, then brightens like someone just lit a string of bulbs behind his eyes. “Better idea. Sauna. Out back. It’s like being hugged by the sun.”
A small wooden box full of steam and mostly naked hockey players.
Terrible idea. Professionally.
…very appealing idea, personally.
“Sounds great,” I hear myself say before my brain can file an objection.
“Same,” Liam adds immediately, voice a touch too casual to be truly casual.
Felix practically vibrates. “What about you, Silas? You in?”
Silas looks back with a smirk, already heading back out. “I’ll go fire it up. Takes about twenty minutes to heat. Someone grab towels.”
“On it,” Felix crows, fist-pumping before darting toward their hallway.
Liam turns back to me, softer now. “There should be a swimsuit in your dresser,” he says. “We’ll meet back here in twenty?”
“Got it.”
My heart does a weird, unsteady stutter as I head for my room.
It’s fine though. It’s just a sauna. Warmth, sweat, relaxation. That’s it.
In the dresser, I find a simple black bikini in the pile of clothes. It fits shockingly well when I tug it on, hugging every curve. I stare at myself in the mirror, suddenly very aware that I haven't worn a bikini since... when? College? I've just been working so much…
Shame though, I'm pretty sure I still got it…
The latch clicks lightly and the door swings inward.
“Naomi, I—oh.” Liam freezes in the doorway, towel in hand. His gaze hits my bare shoulders, drops for one stunned heartbeat, then snaps to somewhere approximately three inches above my head.
“Sorry,” he blurts, going visibly pink. “The door—uh—the hinge is loose, it does that thing, I just wanted to—” He holds up the towel like a peace offering. “Thought you might want one already so you're not cold on the walk over.”
Something warm uncurls in my chest. “That’s really thoughtful. Thank you.”
“Of course.” He swallows. “You look… uh, ready. I mean. For the sauna. Anyway, I’m going to shut up now. See you at the entrance.”
He retreats so fast he almost trips over his own feet.
I stare at the closed door, then back at my reflection, at the faint flush on my cheeks that has nothing to do with the cold.
Apparently I can throw off a high-level athlete. Satisfying.
So it's confirmed, I definitely still got it…
Before I forget, I grab a DuoBlock from the pill case on my nightstand and swallow it dry. Then I wrap the towel around myself, knotting it securely above my breasts, take a steadying breath, and head back to the living room.
They’re all waiting by the entrance, and—oh.
Oh.
My brain stops working for a second.
I know they're athletes, but hockey gear really hides a lot because sweet mother of legal precedent.
Felix is all golden, lean muscle, with well-defined abs that make my mouth water.
Liam has more of a swimmer's build with broad shoulders and a lean torso, his dark hair curling slightly at his neck.
I've never been particularly attracted to necks before, but his looks really hot, and for a fraction of a second I see myself nibbling it.
.. And Silas. Silas is... solid. Powerful.
Broad-shouldered, thick-chested, his body clearly built for impact.
For a second, I imagine myself being cradled against all that strength.
I shake myself back to reality, suddenly very aware of my own body in this tiny bikini. Thank god I'm wearing a towel. And yet… all three sets of eyes are on me.
Felix’s jaw tightens. Liam inhales like he forgot how breathing works. Silas’s gaze flickers down my towel and back up so fast I’d miss it if I blinked.
And just like that, we’re all trying very hard to look politely anywhere else.
“Right,” Felix says, clearing his throat. “Sauna. Out back. It’ll be cold for, like, twenty seconds, but that’s part of the authentic… Nordic experience. Keep your towel tight until we’re inside.”
“Copy that,” I say, hoping my voice doesn’t sound as breathless as I feel.
We step out into the cold, feet crunching on the packed path. The sauna sits at the edge of the trees, a small log cabin with a little chimney sending up a thin plume of steam.
By the time Felix opens the door, the air around us has my teeth wanting to chatter, but then heat slams into me in a wave.
It smells like hot wood. The small space is lined with pale benches in an L-shape, with a shorter upper tier.
“Welcome to heaven,” Felix announces, ducking in first.
We shuffle inside. Towels come off and get draped for later. I end up on the lower bench, Felix on my right, Liam on my left. Silas takes the upper bench behind us, his legs stretching down so his knees are near my shoulders.
For a few minutes, nobody says much. The heater hisses. Our breathing evens out. My fingers and toes tingle as feeling returns.
“This was a good idea,” I admit.
Felix beams. “I live for validation.”
Liam tips his head back, eyes closed. "Pretty sure my body just stopped hating me exposing it to the cold earlier."
The heat slowly ratchets up. Sweat beads between my shoulder blades, slides along my spine. I pull on my bikini for a second and inhaling becomes a bit easier as the air hits my bare skin.
Just at this moment, Felix shifts beside me. His arm brushes mine, just a light drag of skin on skin, but it has my nerve endings standing at attention.
I tell myself not to read into it.
Then, deliberately, I let my little finger tilt sideways on the bench until it touches his thigh.
The contact is tiny. Barely there. But I feel the exact moment he notices; his breath catches, just a little.
Slowly, his hand turns, fingertips tracing along my pinky, then my ring finger.
I look up… right into Liam’s eyes.
He’s watching us through damp lashes, mouth parted, something dark and wanting written all over his face.
For a half second, panic sparks. What am I doing? This is insane.
Then something else answers, louder: I want this.
I’m tired of pretending I don’t.
I hold Liam’s gaze and turn my other hand palm-down on the bench, letting my fingers inch toward his leg. My knuckles bump his thigh.
He doesn’t flinch away.
Instead, his hand comes down to meet mine, fingers lacing with mine briefly before he lets his touch trail higher, along the inside of my knee, up to mid-thigh. Just resting there. Warm. Possessive in a way that makes my pulse drag.
A small sound escapes me, half exhale, half sigh.
Above us, a low noise rumbles in the hot air.
I angle my head back.
Silas is leaning forward now, elbows on his knees, gaze glued to the point where both his pack mates are touching me. His pupils are blown, jaw clenched so hard I can see the muscle jump.
He looks hungry. And like he’s fighting himself every inch.
I lift one hand and reach back behind his knee.
For a beat, he doesn’t move.
Then his fingers slide against mine, and I tug gently until his hand comes down to my chest, where he slips his thumb under the edge of my top. His palm presses against my breast as his thumb brushes my nipple.
It hardens instantly under his touch, and he lets out a short growl.
Felix and Liam are still at it. Felix's hand slides up my arm, tracing patterns on my skin. Liam’s grip on my thigh eases, his fingers circling over the fabric of my bikini bottom. Silas leans in, his breath hot on my neck as his free hand cups my other breast.
I'm surrounded. This is wrong. I'm their lawyer, originally here to enforce a contract, not... this. But their touch feels like worship, and their bodies radiate the desire I've been yearning for.
Silas dips his head, mouth ghosting over the corner of my jaw before he finds my lips.
“What the fuck are we doing,” Silas breathes against my mouth, the words more ragged awe than actual objection.
I answer by kissing him harder.
The dam snaps.
Felix’s mouth leaves my shoulder and finds my throat, his tongue chasing a bead of sweat down to my collarbone.
He drags his teeth there, just enough pressure to make my vision fuzz at the edges.
Liam’s fingers go under my bikini and lips catch the other side of my neck, his breath hot as he murmurs, “You have no idea what you’re doing to us. ”
Hands and mouths blur together. Silas’s fingers hook in the top of my bikini, tugging the fabric down just enough to bare me to the heat. His palm cups me, then his head lowers, his tongue circling my nipple before his mouth closes around it.
My back arches off the bench with a gasp I can’t bite back.
Felix’s hand slides over my ribs, down my stomach. Liam’s fingers circle my clit faster now. The combined touch has me shaking.
“Please,” I hear myself whisper, not even sure who I’m begging.
“We’ve got you, angel,” Felix says, voice rougher than usual.
Liam’s mouth leaves my neck, moving lower. I take off my bikini bottom, and his hands steady my hips as he approaches my clit.
My vision whites out for a second.
Silas lifts his head, lips wet, eyes blown wide. “Look at you,” he rasps. His thumb drags over my slick nipple again, slower now, almost reverent. “You’re going to ruin us.”