Chapter 7
It’s New Year’s Eve, and I let the guys plan the evening. Leo’s idea includes champagne. Dane said he’s in charge of the candles.
After dinner, I decide to take a long shower and pamper myself a little. When I come downstairs, the living room is cozy and romantic. There’s a fire going, and candles are placed around the room. Leo is in the kitchen, uncorking a bottle.
This doesn’t seem as weird as it would have two months ago, but anxiety has been my constant companion all day.
Leo and I agreed on a timeline. I was supposed to be his freeuse plaything through the holidays, and we never actually discussed how long this is going to last now that things have changed.
“There she is.” Leo walks out from the kitchen carrying three crystal champagne flutes. “You clean up nice, lass.”
His gaze drops to my simple green dress, but the way he’s looking at me makes it feel like couture.
“I showered and put on a clean dress. Real high bar.”
He grins. “Now come here.”
He’s so damn sexy it makes my pulse speed up. When I get close, he opens his arms, and I hug him. He’s careful not to spill the champagne as he wraps his arms around me. I breathe in his familiar scent and relax a little. It’s hard to be wound up around Leo.
He kisses my temple, and his lips linger there. “Happy New Year’s,” he murmurs.
“It’s not midnight yet.”
“I’m getting a head start.”
I smile against his collarbone. Everything seems so simple with him.
Dane comes downstairs. He’s been quieter than usual today, and neither of us has pushed him to talk. He’s clearly thinking about something, but he’s the type who needs to mull things over before he shares.
I take two of the flutes from Leo and bring one to Dane. Our fingers brush when I hand it to him, and his eyes hold mine a beat too long. I swear I can see a whole debate going on in his head.
“Thank you,” he says.
It’s just two words, but my body reacts to his gravelly tone as if he’s caressing me. Yep, I want them both.
There are still a couple hours until midnight, and we settle on the couch with me between them.
Leo’s arm stretches behind my shoulders, his fingers playing with the ends of my hair.
Dane sits with his ankle crossed over his knee.
The TV is low with a New Year’s broadcast. Fireworks are already popping somewhere outside. People are eager.
I take a sip of champagne. Past Alice wouldn’t be drinking champagne in this gorgeous house.
I suddenly realize I can’t do this.
I can’t sit here making small talk while the clock ticks down on whatever the hell we are.
“So,” I say, and my voice is steadier than I expected. “Tomorrow is January first.”
Leo’s fingers go still in my hair. Dane’s gaze sharpens.
“Aye,” Leo says.
“The arrangement was through the holidays. That was the deal.” I stare at my champagne because if I look at either of them while they are telling me this is over, I might start bawling. “So I’m wondering what happens now.”
“Alice,” Dane says, and the way he says my name makes me look up.
His eyes are steady. “I need to say something first.”
My pulse kicks hard against my ribs. Oh fuck, this is going to hurt.
He’s quiet for a second, and when he speaks, his voice is low. “I came here for Christmas because that’s what I do every year. Leo opens his house to me, and I spend a week pretending I have somewhere to belong.”
He pauses.
“I didn’t expect you.”
Oh god.
“Since my divorce, it’s just been consulting contracts, hotel rooms, and airports.” He’s not looking away from me. “I told myself it was freedom. That I didn’t need roots because roots were what went wrong with Claire.”
His thumb traces the rim of his champagne flute.
“But this week? I woke up every morning with you between us. And I didn’t want to leave.” His voice drops. “The thought of going back to my apartment made my chest hollow.”
“Dane,” I whisper.
“I’m not done.” His eyes don’t waver. “I don’t want to go back to my empty apartment and my suitcase. You changed me.” He swallows. “I know that’s a lot to put on someone I’ve known for a week, but I’ve never been good at pretending.”
My eyes are stinging. My champagne flute is shaking in my hand.
Holy shit.
I turn to Leo. He’s watching me with warmth under all that intensity. Fingers are still in my hair. He’s not surprised by any of this.
“You knew,” I say. “You knew he was going to say this.”
Leo’s mouth curves. “Dane and I talked. We’ve been discussing a lot of things while he’s been here.”
“And?”
He takes the champagne flute from my hand and sets it on the coffee table before taking both my hands.
“Alice.” His accent thickens. “The arrangement ended almost as soon as you moved in.”
My entire body is buzzing, and I stop breathing.
“The moment I watched you fall asleep in my bed and realized I didn’t want you to leave? It stopped being a transaction.”
Oh fuck, I’m going to cry. I do my best to blink back the tears.
“Stay,” he says. “This is your home, lass. It has been for a while now. What do you say?”
I can’t stop the tears, and there’s a painful pressure building behind my ribs. I cover my mouth so I don’t start sobbing too. Fuck. I’m a mess.
The guys don’t say anything as they give me time to process.
“Okay, my turn,” I say once I feel it’s safe to speak without blubbering. “I want to be here with both of you.”
Deep breath, Alice.
“It’s not just the sex, even though—holy hell, the sex.” A watery laugh escapes me. “I want the singing in the morning and the oatmeal. I want to belong somewhere for the first time in my life.”
My voice cracks, but I keep going.
“I want movie nights and arguments about whose turn it is to choose. I want to paint in a studio I never dreamed I’d have.”
I take a shaky breath. My face is wet, and I don’t care.
“I want you both. I want all of it.”
Dane moves first. He kneels in front of me.
And oh. Oh god. This man who has had me on my knees is now on his. That sight nearly breaks me.
He cups my face in both hands and wipes a tear from my cheek with his thumb.
“You can have all of it,” he says quietly. “We want to give you everything.”
I turn to Leo. The dominant is gone. What’s left is a man who looks like I’m a gift he never expected.
“I love you, Alice. And I agree, we want to give you everything and anything you want. You just have to ask.”
My voice breaks. “I love you so much it scares me.”
His hand comes to the back of my neck. Pulls me forward until our foreheads press together. He kisses me hard. I grab the front of his shirt with both fists and hold on.
When we break apart, I turn to Dane. He’s still kneeling on the floor, and his eyes glisten.
I reach for him. My fingers slide along his jaw, over the dark scruff. The muscle there tightens under my touch.
“I love you too, Dane.” I say it clearly. Deliberately. The way he would. “I know it’s only been a week. I don’t care. I love you.”
He closes his eyes. When he opens them, there’s a wonder in his expression. “I love you, Alice.”
I pull him up to the couch, and then I’m wedged between them again, Dane’s arm around my waist, Leo’s hand on my thigh. I’m crying and laughing at the same time like a complete disaster of a human being.
My two men.
Me. The girl who couldn’t pay her rent two months ago is in love with two impossibly sexy commanding men who somehow love me back.
Is this real life? Am I dreaming?
“So what do we tell people?” I manage, wiping my face with the back of my hand. “I have a relationship with bonus content?”
Leo chuckles. “You tell them whatever you want.”
“Bonus content,” Dane says dryly.
“You’re the DLC, Dane. The premium expansion pack.”
Leo barks a laugh. Dane makes a sound that might be a laugh or might be resignation. I grin into Leo’s chest.
We open a second bottle, and Leo puts on music and hums along while he refills our glasses. Dane tells the story of how they met in college, and I find out Leo was apparently even more reckless at twenty-two than he is now.
Which is saying something.
“He got into a fight,” Dane says. “First week of classes. A guy was harassing a girl outside the library, and Leo walked up and decked him.”
“He had it coming,” Leo says.
“You broke two knuckles.”
“Aye, and he broke his nose. I came out ahead.”
I snort. Of course he did.
“And then you became friends?” I ask.
“He sat next to me in the emergency room and offered me half his sandwich,” Dane says. “Then he told me my posture was terrible and I looked like I hadn’t slept in a week.”
“Both true,” Leo says.
“Both true,” Dane agrees. “Haven’t been able to get rid of him since.”
Leo reaches across me to shove Dane’s shoulder. Dane’s mouth twitches.
I fit here. Between them. With them.
Holy shit, I actually fit somewhere.
At 11:30, Leo pulls me into his lap on the couch. Dane’s in the armchair with his legs stretched out, watching us.
“I’ve been thinking,” I say, tracing the collar of Leo’s shirt.
“That’s dangerous,” Leo murmurs against my hair.
I pinch his arm. He catches my hand, presses a kiss to my fingers, and tucks them against his chest.
“When I said all of it earlier?” My face is already getting hot. “I meant all of it.”
“Explain,” Leo says.
“Yeah.” Okay, my face is on fire now. “When you say things during sex. About filling me up.” I force the words out. “About it sticking. I want it for real.”
It’s barely a whisper, but I said it.
Neither of them says anything. Oh god. Did I just ruin this?
I look up at Leo. His hazel eyes have gone dark, but it’s not the predatory intensity I’m used to. It’s softer, like I’ve handed him something he didn’t dare ask for.
“You want that?” he asks.
“I want the possibility when the time is right.” I glance at Dane. “With both of you.”
Dane has an expression I’ve never seen on him before. Stunned is the closest word.
I remember what he told me about Claire and how she wanted him settled and the white picket fence dream, and suddenly, I’m afraid this is the deal breaker for him.
His “yes” comes before I can spiral.
“Yes?” I echo, not sure I actually heard him correctly.
“Yes.” He smiles, and his whole face lights up. “With you. Yes.”
They really are willing to give me everything.
Leo’s arms tighten around me. “We probably shouldn’t wait too long to get started on this baby. You’re shacking up with two old men.”
I laugh and press closer to him while my whole body shudders from relief. “I mean, we might need practice sessions. Lots and lots of practice.”
Before anyone can respond, the countdown starts on TV. The crowd on screen is screaming. Confetti is already falling.
Ten. Nine. Eight.
We all stand up.
Seven. Six. Five.
I’m standing between them. Leo’s hand on my waist and Dane’s fingers laced with mine.
Two. One.
I kiss Leo first. The fire catches the silver in his hair. The laugh lines beside his eyes. The man who gave me a home before I knew I needed one. His mouth is warm, and he kisses me like he’s staking a claim. His hand slides into my hair, and when his tongue sweeps against mine, my knees go soft.
Then I turn to Dane. He’s tall and still, with that gravity that pulls me in every single time.
The man who kneeled at my feet tonight and told me he loved me.
His kiss is slow and thorough. His hand cups my jaw while his thumb traces my cheekbone.
He kisses me like he wants to memorize the shape of my mouth.
When I pull back, I’m breathless and tingling, standing between two men who love me.
Two months ago, I would’ve laughed in anyone’s face who told me this would be my life.
Two months ago, I was broke, alone, and not sure how I was going to find an apartment I could afford.
Now I have everything I could imagine wanting.
I squeeze Dane’s hand and press closer to Leo’s side, giving them both my best coy look. “Now, Sirs, are you going to take your freeuse slut to bed and breed her for the first time this year?”
Leo’s grin goes wolfish. Dane’s eyes darken.
They don’t have to be told twice.