13. Colt
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Colt
The smell of bacon and eggs filled the cabin, mixing with the aroma of freshly brewed coffee.
The crackling of the fire in the hearth was a cozy backdrop, but it didn’t do a damn thing to ease the tension thrumming in my chest.
I leaned back in my chair at the dining table, arms crossed as I watched her.
Lila.
She moved around the kitchen, humming softly under her breath, a smile teasing the corners of her lips as she poured coffee into mugs.
Her hair was loose today, tumbling over her shoulders in soft waves that I wanted to run my fingers through.
She wore one of those oversized sweaters that somehow managed to make her look even sexier, because of the way it hung off one shoulder, hinting at the smooth skin underneath.
And her legs… damn, those legs. She had on tight leggings that left absolutely nothing to the imagination. I caught myself staring, my jaw flexing as I tried to pull my focus elsewhere.
Anywhere else.
But it was impossible. She was the only thing I could see.
Ryan was at the stove, flipping pancakes with that quiet efficiency of his, and he didn’t even look fazed by the way Lila floated around the kitchen like she belonged there. Like she’d always belonged here.
She brought Ryan a cup of coffee first, setting it on the counter with a quiet “thank you” for breakfast, and he shot her one of those small, knowing smiles that made my fists clench under the table.
Then she turned toward me.
Her smile widened, and I swore the air left the room. She walked over, holding a mug out to me, and all I could do was stare up at her like an idiot.
“Morning, Colt,” she said, her voice soft and warm, like she didn’t have a clue what she was doing to me.
“Morning,” I managed to say, though it came out rougher than I intended.
Her fingers brushed against mine as I took the mug from her, and that tiny touch sent a bolt of electricity through my body. My grip tightened on the handle, and I forced myself to look away before I did something stupid.
But it was too late. The image of her was burned into my mind… her flushed cheeks, the way her sweater dipped to one side, the way she licked her lips absentmindedly as she turned back to the counter.
It wasn’t just attraction.
It was more than that. It was need, plain and simple. A raw, burning need that was eating me alive.
“Colt, you okay over there?” Ryan’s voice cut through the haze, his tone even but laced with something I couldn’t quite place.
I glanced at him, saw the faint arch of his brow, the way his eyes flicked between me and Lila like he knew exactly what was going on in my head.
Damn him.
“Fine,” I muttered, taking a long sip of coffee to avoid saying anything else.
But I wasn’t fine. Not even close.
She turned back around, leaning against the counter with her own mug in hand, her eyes sparkling as she laughed at something Ryan said. And that was it. That was the moment I realized I couldn’t take it anymore.
The tension in my chest was at a breaking point, and I was done pretending I didn’t feel the way I felt. I was done pretending I didn’t want her more than I’d ever wanted anything in my life.
I pushed back from the table, the chair scraping against the floor as I stood.
“Colt?” Lila’s voice was curious, her brow furrowing as she watched me approach.
I didn’t answer.
Couldn’t.
In three steps, I was in front of her, close enough to see the flicker of surprise in her eyes. Close enough to feel the warmth radiating off her body.
“Colt, what are you?—”
Before she could finish, I cupped her face in my hands and kissed her.
It wasn’t a soft kiss. It wasn’t tentative or careful. It was everything I’d been holding back, all the frustration and longing and need poured into one desperate moment.
She froze for half a second, just long enough for me to wonder if I’d made a mistake. But then she melted into me, her hands clutching at my shirt as she kissed me back with just as much intensity.
The world fell away. It was just us… her lips on mine, her body pressed against me, her soft gasp when I deepened the kiss.
It wasn’t until I heard a loud clatter from the stove that I remembered we weren’t alone.
Ryan’s spatula had hit the floor, and he was staring at us with wide eyes, his mouth slightly open like he couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing.
Lila’s lips parted, her breath shaky as she stared up at me, her cheeks flushed a deep pink. She looked like she was about to say something, but nothing came out.
“Lila…”
“You’re out of line,” Jaxon’s voice cut through the moment like a knife.
I turned toward him, my grip on Lila’s waist loosening but not letting her go entirely.
Jaxon had stepped fully into the room now, his arms still crossed, his jaw tight. The calm facade he usually wore was gone, replaced by something sharper, something dangerous.
“Out of line?” I scoffed, though my pulse was hammering. “What, for kissing a woman I…”
I stopped myself before the words spilled out. A woman I care about. But the tension in the room made it clear to everyone what I had left unsaid.
“Yeah, out of line,” Jaxon snapped, his icy calm cracking. “What the hell are you doing, Colt? This isn’t… she’s not…”
He gestured toward Lila, then ran a hand through his hair, clearly struggling for words.
“I’m standing right here,” Lila muttered, her voice shaky but with an edge of irritation that made me grin, even in the middle of the brewing fight.
“Exactly,” I shot back at Jaxon. “She’s right here. And maybe if you weren’t so busy standing on the sidelines, you’d?—”
“That’s enough,” Jaxon growled, taking a step closer.
Ryan, who had been quiet up to this point, finally spoke. “Guys, maybe this isn’t the time…”
“Stay out of it, Ryan,” Jaxon and I snapped in unison.
Ryan raised his hands in mock surrender but didn’t back down. “Fine. But you’re both acting like idiots. And for what? Because you can’t handle the fact that Lila isn’t something you can claim like a trophy?”
That stung, mostly because he wasn’t entirely wrong.
“I’m not trying to ‘claim’ her,” I said, my voice rough. “I just… I can’t stand this anymore, pretending I don’t feel the way I feel. Watching you two circle her like sharks while I?—”
“While you what?” Jaxon snapped, stepping closer. “While you act like you’re the only one with feelings here? Newsflash, Colt… you’re not the only one losing his mind over her.”
That admission hung in the air, silencing all of us. Lila’s wide eyes darted between Jaxon and me.
“I…wait, what?” she finally managed, her voice barely above a whisper.
Ryan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, this is going great. Real smooth, guys.”
I ignored him, focusing on Jaxon. “If you feel that way, then why the hell are you acting like this? Why not just?—”
“Because it’s not that simple,” Jaxon barked. “This isn’t just about me. Or you. Or Ryan. It’s about her. And I don’t think throwing punches and staking claims is what she needs right now.”
“Okay, hold up,” Lila said, stepping between us. “You’re talking about me like I’m not here. Like I don’t have a say in any of this.”
That shut us both up.
She looked at each of us in turn, her eyes blazing with a mix of confusion, frustration, and something I couldn’t quite place. “What is this? Some kind of weird territorial thing? Because if it is, I’m not interested.”
“It’s not that,” Ryan said, his voice calm but firm. “At least, not entirely. But let’s not pretend there isn’t something happening here. With all of us.”
Lila blinked, her lips parting as she tried to process his words. “All of us?”
The room went quiet again, the weight of his statement settling over us.
“You’re saying...” She trailed off, her gaze darting between us. “What exactly are you saying?”
Ryan exhaled, stepping closer but keeping his tone even. “I’m saying that maybe… maybe this doesn’t have to be a competition. Maybe it’s not about choosing one of us.”
I frowned, the idea twisting something in my gut. “You think we could all just… what? Share?”
Ryan met my gaze, his expression steady. “It’s not unheard of.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” I shot back. “You remember how it went last time we tried something like this?”
Ryan’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look away. “Yeah, I remember. And I also remember that it didn’t work because we weren’t honest with each other. Because we didn’t trust each other enough to make it work.”
Jaxon, who had been quiet, finally spoke.
“I’ve never done anything like that,” he admitted. “And honestly, the idea sounds… complicated.”
“You’re not wrong,” Ryan said. “It is complicated. But sometimes the best things are.”
Lila looked utterly bewildered. “So, what? You’re all just… okay with this? With sharing me?”
“It’s not about being okay with it,” Jaxon said. “It’s about figuring out what feels right. For all of us.”
“And does this feel right to you?” she asked, her voice shaking.
There was a long pause before he answered. “Yeah,” he said quietly. “Yeah, it does.”
I looked at her, at the confusion and vulnerability in her eyes, and felt my own walls start to crack. “It feels right to me, too,” I confessed.
Ryan nodded, his expression resolute. “Same here.”
Lila stared at us, her lips trembling as she tried to process everything. “I don’t know how to do this,” she whispered.
Ryan stepped closer, his calm presence steadying her. “You won’t have to figure it out alone. We’ll teach you.”
She looked at each of us again, and for the first time, I saw something other than uncertainty in her gaze.
The quiet hum of the moment stretched between us, each of us waiting for Lila to process everything.
Her chest rose and fell with quick breaths, her heart racing as she absorbed what we were saying. The tension was thick, the air almost suffocating with unspoken emotions and raw need.
Finally, she exhaled, a soft, shaky sound. She glanced from one of us to the next, her eyes lingering on me a little longer than the others.
I could see the battle behind her gaze, the war between fear and curiosity, hesitation and desire. But there was something else there, something deeper that told me she wasn’t shutting down.
She was still here, still listening, still trying to figure out if any of this could actually make her happy.
“I...” She swallowed hard. “I’ve been through so much. I don’t know if I can handle… all of this. But I also don’t know if I can walk away from it either. From any of you.”
Her words hung in the air, fragile, tentative, but I could hear the vulnerability beneath them.
She was scared, but there was a piece of her that wasn’t going to let fear dictate her decisions. She was trying to trust herself again. And maybe this would help her find the happiness she deserved.
The tiniest of smiles tugged at the corners of her lips.
“Okay,” she said, almost shyly. “Let’s try this. I don’t know if I can promise anything, but I’ll try.”
The room held its breath as Lila’s whispered agreement settled over us.
For a moment, no one moved, the weight of her words filling the space. Then, almost as if drawn by some magnetic force, Ryan was the first to close the distance.
His large hands cupped her face with a tenderness that seemed to catch her off guard.
He tilted her chin up, his thumb brushing lightly over her cheek, and when he kissed her, it was slow, deliberate. So different from my own kiss just moments ago. It wasn’t rushed or fiery. It was patient, like he had all the time in the world to savor her.
Her body relaxed into him, her hands coming to rest against his chest as she kissed him back. The soft sound she made sent a sharp jolt of jealousy and something else—something darker and more primal—straight through me. But I didn’t interrupt. I couldn’t.
Seeing her like this, caught between passion and surrender, was enough to render me speechless.
When Ryan finally pulled back, his forehead rested against hers, and a small, knowing smile curved his lips.
“That’s how I feel about you,” he said softly, his green eyes locking onto hers.
Before Lila could respond, Jaxon moved forward. His steps were cautious, like he was still working through his own hesitations. But when he reached her, there was no hesitation in the way his hand slid to the back of her neck, his fingers threading through her hair.
“Jaxon,” she breathed, her voice trembling.
He leaned down, his lips hovering just above hers.
“You’re driving me crazy, Lila,” he murmured, his voice low and rough. And then he kissed her.
Jaxon’s kiss was different from Ryan’s, too. Possessive, consuming, like he was staking a claim. His other hand gripped her waist, pulling her flush against him, and the intensity of it made her gasp against his mouth. But she didn’t pull away.
Instead, her hands found their way to his chest, clutching at his shirt as she kissed him back just as fiercely.
Watching them was like standing too close to a fire, the heat and tension threatening to burn me alive. But instead of retreating, I stepped forward.
When Jaxon broke the kiss, his hands lingered on her, his breathing uneven. He didn’t move away entirely, and neither did Ryan. They both stayed close, their gazes fixed on her like she was the only thing that mattered.
And then it was my turn.
“Lila,” I said, my voice rough as I reached for her.
She turned to me, her cheeks flushed, her lips swollen, her eyes wide and filled with something that looked an awful lot like anticipation. My hand slid to her hip, pulling her toward me as I bent down.
“I’ve been waiting for this,” I said against her lips, my voice a low growl before I finally kissed her.
Unlike before, this kiss wasn’t rushed or desperate. It was controlled but no less intense. I wanted her to feel every ounce of the desire that had been eating away at me, to know she wasn’t just some fleeting infatuation. She was everything.
Her hands slid up my arms, clinging to me as I deepened the kiss, and when she sighed against my mouth, I felt a possessive pride swell in my chest. She was ours… whether she realized it yet or not.
When I finally pulled back, her breathing was ragged, her eyes darting between the three of us as if she was struggling to comprehend what had just happened.
The tension in the room was palpable. A charged silence stretched between us.
“We’re not playing games, Lila,” Jaxon said, his voice steady but filled with emotion. “This isn’t about proving something or winning. It’s about you. About us.”
Ryan nodded, his expression softening as he reached for her hand. “We’ll take this one step at a time. Together.”
She looked at each of us, her lips parting as if to say something, but instead, she nodded. It was a hesitant, uncertain gesture, but it was enough.
We weren’t just three men vying for her affection anymore. We were a unit, bound by something bigger than any of us could fully grasp in that moment.
And for the first time, it felt like we were all exactly where we were supposed to be.