Chapter 16 Not Covered in the Welcome Packet
Not Covered in the Welcome Packet
Iemerged from the shower in a daze, cocooned in what felt like an entire sheep’s worth of fluff in towel form. My skin was flushed pink from the heat, but my brain remained as fogged as the bathroom mirror.
The last twenty-four hours kept replaying on a loop: flying across the country on reindeer-men, seeing a world blanketed in snow, and arriving at a cabin that looked like it had been plucked straight from a Christmas catalog for billionaires with a festive fetish.
I wiped a small circle in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back.
My damp hair hung around my shoulders, the silver now twelve inches long, fading into my dyed color.
The effect was like some expensive ombré I’d never have paid for at a salon but suited me in a way that made my eyes look even more intensely blue.
Every time I blinked, I half-expected to wake up in a hospital bed with a fever, hallucinating this entire thing.
Instead, I was standing in the bathroom Dash and Dane shared. It had heated floors, a shower with approximately twenty jets, and a tub that could comfortably fit three people—an observation I immediately tried to un-think.
I secured the towel more firmly around my torso, unlocked the door connecting to Dash’s room, then cracked open the door into Dane’s, where I’d be sleeping.
I stepped into the bedroom, immediately stopping short at a shirtless Dane with his back to me. He stood in his closet, rifling through a collection of sweaters. The muscles in his back shifted beneath his skin as he moved hangers aside, unaware of my presence.
My mouth went dry. The towel suddenly felt very insufficient, and the room very warm despite the snow-covered landscape outside the windows.
I took a silent step backward, planning my strategic retreat into the bathroom. Maybe I could just live there. The shower was nice. I could survive on tap water and fancy hand soap.
My back collided with something solid and warm. Not a wall. A body. A very large, very firm body. Strong hands steadied me by my biceps, and I knew instantly whose they were before he even spoke. Dash.
His lips brushed against the shell of my ear, sending an entirely inappropriate shiver down my spine. “What are you doing spying?”
I froze, caught between the man behind me and the still-oblivious man in front of me. “I’m not spying,” I hissed. “I’m avoiding an awkward encounter with a half-naked man while I’m in a towel.”
“And yet here you are, having an awkward encounter with two half-naked men while you’re in a towel.” His thumb traced a small circle against my skin, and heat spread from the point of contact.
Dane turned, a dark blue sweater in hand, his eyes widening slightly before his mouth curved into that maddening grin that made my stomach do gymnastics.
Dane tilted his head, studying me. “This is a nice surprise.”
I clutched the towel tighter. “This isn’t what it looks like.”
“It looks like you took a shower with Dash.” Dane tossed the sweater onto the bed and put his hands on his hips, drawing all my attention to the V-shaped muscles leading right into his pants. “Were you planning on inviting me to your little party?”
“I was planning to spontaneously combust from embarrassment, actually.” I tried to step away from Dash, but my feet refused to cooperate. “Which is going spectacularly well so far.”
“You don’t need to be embarrassed.” Dash’s voice was a low rumble against my back. “We’ve seen women in towels before.”
“Glad to know I’m not breaking new ground in the towel-wearing department.” Irrational jealousy wormed its way into my brain, and my fingers tingled. How often did these men see women in towels?
Dane took a step closer. “You aren’t just any woman in a towel, though. You’re ours.”
I glanced between them, trapped in the most awkward and somehow thrilling moment of my adult life. Two gorgeous, shirtless men, one keeping my back warm, the other advancing with eyes that sparked with something dangerous.
“I should go find...” My voice trailed off. Find what? Dignity? Clothing? A fire extinguisher for the heat under my skin? “Why can’t I think straight when you all are near me?”
“That might be a side effect.” Dash’s fingers traced lightly up my arm.
I raised an eyebrow. “Of what? Magical reindeer pheromones?”
Dane’s laugh rumbled through the room as he took another step closer. “Something like that. We’re connected to you, Neve. You’re feeling it now because you’re allowing yourself to.”
The space between us shrank to nothing as Dane stood directly in front of me. I was officially sandwiched between them, my skin prickling with awareness.
“I’m not sure this was covered in the welcome packet.” I swallowed hard, looking up at Dane.
His fingertips brushed my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Some things can’t be explained on paper.”
Dash’s hand slid around my waist. “We should give her space.”
I turned in Dash’s arms to face him, my back now to Dane. “I don’t want space.”
Dash’s expression darkened, desire replacing the restraint he’d been showing so far. “The nine of us can be a lot, and we don’t want to overwhelm you. It’s okay if you need to take things slow.”
My heart was beating so hard I could hear it in my ears. Taking on nine men was absurd. Well, eight since Rudy seemed to be the odd man out and not at all interested in me.
Dane’s hands settled on my hips from behind. “What do you want?”
The heat of their bodies enveloped me, making my head swim. I’d never wanted anything more in my life. “I haven’t kissed either of you yet.” I didn’t realize just how much it had been bothering me until the words left my lips.
Dash’s gaze dropped to my mouth, and his hand came up to cradle my jaw, thumb brushing my lower lip with excruciating gentleness. “We can fix that.”
When his lips finally met mine, the restraint in his kiss felt as if he was holding back an ocean. I pressed closer, silently asking for more. His control fractured, and he deepened the kiss with a groan.
Dane’s lips found the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder, sending electricity down my spine, and my knees nearly buckled.
Every time I kissed one of these men, it was like discovering a new level of desire.
I reached back blindly, my fingers threading through Dane’s hair, needing something to anchor me as pleasure rippled through my body.
I broke away from Dash and turned to face Dane. His playful smirk was gone, replaced by something far more intense. “Is this what you want?”
I nodded, unable to form words as Dash’s hands splayed across my stomach, holding me steady.
Dane’s kiss was hungry, and his tongue slipped past my lips as his hands threaded through my hair. I made an embarrassing sound as his teeth grazed my lower lip. They seemed determined to make me forget my name.
This felt like the most natural progression imaginable. It was as if my body recognized theirs before my mind could catch up.
Dash turned me back toward him, taking my lips again before he lifted me off my feet. I squeaked in surprise, my legs automatically wrapping around his waist as he carried me toward the massive bed. The towel gave up its valiant fight and slipped away, leaving me completely bare against him.
“You’re beautiful.” Dash’s eyes trailed down my body as he laid me on the bed.
Even naked, I felt powerful with how they looked at me like I was something precious and rare.
I propped myself up on my elbows, drinking in the sight of them both. “Seems unfair I’m the only one naked.”
Dane’s smile turned wicked as he pushed down his sweatpants and kicked them off, leaving me momentarily speechless. Dash followed suit, and holy fucking reindeer, they were huge.
“Is this real?” The question slipped out before I could stop it.
Dane crawled onto the bed beside me. “Let me show you how real it is.” He pressed a soft kiss to my collarbone, then moved lower, tracing a path between my breasts.
Dash settled on my other side, his large hand spanning my ribcage. “Tell us what you want, Neve.”
I wanted everything. All of it. Them. This burning thing building inside me that felt like it might consume me if I didn’t let it out.
“I want your mouths.” My skin burned everywhere their eyes traveled.
“I want to feel both of you until I can’t tell where I end and you begin.
” My chest heaved as desire pooled between my thighs, and I reached out, dragging my fingertips along Dane’s forearm, then Dash’s chest, electricity crackling through my veins at even the simple contact.
Dane’s eyes darkened, and he cupped my pussy, his palm pressing against my clit. “This is a greedy little pussy, isn’t it?”
I started to nod, but Dash leaned in to kiss me. Dane worked his hand in small circles, a finger pushing through my folds and teasing my entrance. My hips rocked into him, wanting more.
Dash broke away and moved to lie next to me, his broad shoulders against the mattress. “Come sit on my face.”
My breath hitched, a shock of electricity racing from my core to my fingertips. I made a needy, desperate sound I barely recognized as my own as Dane removed his hand, leaving me aching and empty.
As I sat up and got to my knees, I caught my lower lip between my teeth, overwhelmed by the thought of straddling Dash’s gorgeous face while his talented tongue explored every sensitive inch of me.
He guided me up and over him until I was straddling his face, his hands on my thighs keeping me steady. The first swipe of his tongue made me cry out, my hands flying to the headboard for support. He found every spot that drove me wild, and I knew I wouldn’t last long.
Dane’s hands slid up my back, steadying me as my thighs began to tremble. “You ride his face like you were made for it. Sink in deeper, let him devour that sweet pussy.”