36. Naked Stroll
Chapter 36
Naked Stroll
CALLIE
I was supposed to be resting.
I was not, in fact, resting.
I was restless .
And not just the needy kind.
Although that, too.
In the more than a week since we’d become an us , everything had been perfect. Not simply okay. Or better than it could be. Or even great.
It’d actually been perfect.
The only tiny rain cloud in that was that Marco had been working a lot the previous few days. In addition to his usual job, he’d been tasked with personal guard duty for some visiting big shot while Ash played tour guide.
Unsurprisingly, that last part wasn’t left to my grumpy mountain. One who was made grumpier by the fact he was out of the house before I awoke and returned long after I was asleep.
That meant it’d been three days since anyone had been inside of anyone else, thanks to our rule—one that everyone seemed to regret.
At first, my body had appreciated the recovery window, but I was apparently already addicted to the three of them. I was going through withdrawals.
Beyond my body, my brain was a whirl of rapid activity.
That morning, Cole had come with me to my doctor’s appointment. Thanks to the lack of previous medical care in my life, Dr. Pierce had wanted to see me himself rather than shipping me off for my new primary care doctor to deal with. He’d ordered a million additional labs, leaving my arm feeling like a pin cushion. I got the impression the doc was almost as much of a control freak as the rest of the men. Especially Cole. Not giving me the option, he’d come into the room itself, something Dr. Pierce hadn’t seemed surprised by. Since I’d been a nervous wreck, having the support was appreciated.
Much like the hospital, regular appointments weren’t as exciting as the medical shows portrayed. No doors were thrown open as dramatic cases were rushed in. No unsolvable medical mysteries. No pen tubing combined with a paper clip and a bottle cap to MacGyver a lifesaving device.
And no doctors caught making out in closets—that I saw, at least.
Boring.
The only time Cole had made his presence known beyond silent support was when I’d asked about birth control. He’d tried to tell Dr. Pierce that it wasn’t necessary, but the doctor had ignored him and added a prescription for the pill to the rest of his recommendations.
It was shocking that he hadn’t tossed the pill pack the moment we got it from the pharmacy. It was sitting on the counter in the bathroom, along with my other shiny new meds.
After I’d spoken to Dr. Pierce about my struggles, he’d called in a favor from another doctor to see me during her lunch break. She’d barely scored half of the form I’d filled out before confirming the suspicion that I had ADHD. The meds were there to try if I wanted, but she’d also given me some other resources that could help.
I’d left the appointment in tears, and Cole had been panicked at them. He’d been about to pull Freddy and Marco away from work until I’d assured him it was unnecessary. I wasn’t upset at the diagnosis. Maybe I would be down the line once it sank in, but right then, I felt one thing.
Relief.
Why I was the way I was.
Why my sleep—and schedule in general—sucked.
Why my interests hyper-focused temporarily before moving on to the next thing.
Why I could never just be without multitasking, fidgeting, or feeling wired.
I finally had answers. That alone made me happy.
But it was the confirmation that I wasn’t stupid that’d made me tear up.
After the early morning and long, draining day, I’d wanted to nap. But since that wasn’t happening, I grabbed the reading tablet.
As Juliet and Mila promised, their tastes in books weren’t the classics. They were way better.
In honor of my relationship, they’d chosen a highland romance with multiple heroes—only two, though—for our first book club.
I started reading before quickly realizing that although it was a good distraction, it was not helping the other situation. I exited from the book but kept thinking about it.
Since using my computer was out of the question for obvious reasons, I loaded the laggy browser on that device and looked up what they’d been doing in the story. It made my stomach clench with nerves, my heart race, and my core pulse.
I skimmed through the first couple of articles before landing on a video. Pressing play, I watched for a minute before exiting.
A minute later, a throat cleared, and Cole’s gaze moved from me to the tablet. “What were you doing?” I opened my mouth to lie, but he held up a finger. “And before you say nothing, I can smell your sweet pussy from here.”
That would’ve been embarrassing if not for the hard-on straining against the confines of his track pants.
Since he would know and punish the lie, I went with silence, but that didn’t work, either.
“Daddy asked you a question.”
“I was reading,” I said since that was technically true.
“And then?” he pushed as he approached.
I looked at the tablet I’d thought was safe, then back at him. “You did your techy stuff on there, too, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
I got onto my knees to argue my point. “Then I should note that I wasn’t breaking any rules. There was no touching happening. Even if I wanted to, knowing it’s against the rules would turn my clitoris into a clitorisn’t.”
“The fuck, baby?” he asked with a chuckle.
“I wouldn’t be able to get off without you three.”
He tugged me to the edge of the bed, his hardness pressed against my stomach. “But you liked what you were watching?”
I grimaced and shook my head. “Porn is too aggressive and cold. The book I’m reading is better, but I couldn’t visualize how something would work.”
That something being one of the heroes in the lucky heroine’s sex while the other was in her ass as they took turns plunging in and out.
“And?”
“And I think I’d like to try it. At some point.”
“Fuck,” he groaned, yanking me closer to kiss me. It stole my breath, but it was way too quick before he released me and stepped away. “I wasn’t just coming up here to bust you. Marco forgot there’s a delivery today, so if you want to rest, you need to go to one of the other rooms.”
My brows lowered, but I shook my head. “I’m too wired.”
He slowly took in my pajamas—cute heart ones that Marco of all people had bought—flushed cheeks, and wild curls. “Too bad. I don’t want any of them seeing you, so stay in another room anyway.”
“I can’t watch TV downstairs?” I gracefully fell to the side and bent a leg up. I could tell by the way his eyes zeroed in on my ass that the loose shorts had shifted until the cheek was sticking out. I pulled at my top to expose the swells of my breasts. “I’ll just lie there like ah !”
My teasing ended on a scream as he lifted me and flung me up his arm so his shoulder was pressed to my stomach.
“Put me down,” I ordered.
He swatted my ass. “If you think this is bad, wait until Daddy Marco and Freddy hear you even joked about showing what’s ours.”
Uh-oh.
I didn’t think this through.
Whatever was happening next door, it was loud.
I stayed in Marco’s makeshift room, sprawled out on a bed that smelled more like him than his actual one since it was where he slept every night.
It made me miss him.
I grabbed my phone—a new, usable one—and brought up my group chat with my men. I smiled at the way Cole had put everyone’s names when he’d set it up.
Me: I forgot people were here, and I went for a naked stroll. My bad.
Daddy Cole: Nice try, but I’m in the hall and would’ve seen you.
Me: Why’re you in the hall?
Daddy Cole: Making sure no one “accidentally” goes in the wrong room.
Daddy Cole: Or takes a naked stroll.
It was over the top and unnecessary, but him standing guard outside the room was still oddly sweet.
Unhinged, but sweet.
Pretty Boy: I hope you’re finding these jokes hilarious, little steak. You won’t when Marco and I get home.
Me: What? Sorry, I missed that. Daddy Cole’s track pants just fell away, so now we’re locking ourselves in the room together.
A fist slammed against the door, rattling it on its hinges—startling me with the noise and that he really was right there. “Don’t drag me down with you, brat.”
“Sorry, Daddy!” I called back before belatedly hearing the other voices.
Oops.
But also.
Not.
Cole and Marco had already made it clear that they wanted me to call them Daddy no matter who was around. Usually, that didn’t matter since I barely left the house. Right then was the perfect time to test how it felt saying it in front of people while actually being hidden behind a closed door.
It felt as natural as the rest of it.
Pretty Boy: Maybe I’m more into punishment than I thought.
Daddy Cole: Get in line.
I waited to see if Marco would respond, too, but he didn’t.
He must still be busy with that big shot.
With a pathetic sigh, I grabbed the remote and flicked through the TV options, but nothing sounded good. The noise tapered off after an hour or so, and heavy footsteps went by. I waited until the door was opened. I expected to see Cole on the other side.
It was Marco.
I started to lift so I could launch myself at him, but he got there first.
Tackling me to the mattress, he knocked most of the breath from my lungs. Then he stole what was left with a brutal kiss made better by the way he lifted to rock his hardness against me. I yanked at his dress shirt to untuck it, but I didn’t get far before he tore away to bury his face in my neck. “Fuck, I missed you.”
“I missed you, too, Daddy.” I wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
His lips skimmed up my throat as he inhaled and let it out in a rush. It was like every muscle in his body was slowly being unlocked until the last bit of tension eased away.
I loved that I did that for him.
For them .
Because they did the same for me. Allowed me to relax and just be me.
“I would ask if you’re ready to see the surprise, but after reading your texts, we might just go downstairs.”
“I missed you and was acting out and I’m sorry,” I said in one breathless rush.
Though it wasn’t the full truth because while I had missed him and had definitely acted out, I was in no way sorry.
“Whatever your punishment is, I’m adding extra to it for trying to use cuteness to manipulate me.”
“That’s not against the rules,” I pointed out.
He lifted onto one of his arms to look down at me as he brushed my hair from my face. “You okay about the doctor shit?”
“I’m good.”
“Daddy Cole didn’t tell me that you cried until I just got home. Otherwise, everyone else could’ve gotten fucked, and I would’ve been here earlier. You know that, right?”
I nodded. “They were happy tears. Honestly. I’m glad to have answers and a plan.”
“Good, baby.” He arched into me. “Also, if you think those birth control pills are going anywhere but down the toilet, you’re out of your damn mind.”
I didn’t bother responding since it would be pointless to argue. Not to mention, I’d asked for them in case that was what I decided. If I really wanted to take them, I would’ve done it already.
I blinked up at his somber expression that was gearing up for a fight. Instead, I asked, “So what’s this surprise?”
He pressed his smiling mouth to mine before he started to stand.
It was basically the first time I was seeing him in days . My legs joined my arms that were already wrapped around him, and I clung on like a spider monkey who wasn’t ready to let go. It worked out fine because I didn’t have to. My mountain lifted me easily and carried me from his temporary area before setting me on my feet in his actual room.
The space had already contained a large bed. But after the loud construction work, it was now dominated by a massive one. It had to have been custom-designed because no stores carried beds that large.
“I… What? Why?” I asked as I took it all in.
“I didn’t like the face you gave me every night when I went to the other room.”
I flung myself at him and yanked him down so I could kiss him.
It’d been a silly thing for me to always be upset about. What did it matter if he didn’t sleep in the same bed as us? I was asleep during the night. But it had made me sad, and he’d noticed and fixed it.
“Great,” Freddy said from behind us once he’d waited for the moment to be done. “Now we all have to deal with his snoring.”
“Feel free to sleep in another room,” Marco said like it was a gracious offer.
“You’d like that.”
“I really would. More Callie for me.”
“Fine. More tacos for me.”
I perked up even more. “Tacos?”
“Your attention is easily bought,” Marco muttered.
I shrugged. “I’m a simple woman. I like big beds, big tacos, and three big… men.”