by Anya Nowlan
It was obvious she was nervous, as she waited for them to respond, shuffling on her feet and fidgeting with her hands.
“If we accept your apology, what then? Are we supposed to be your dirty little secret, sneaking moments together?” Dante asked, cutting Dominic off just as he was about to say something.
Her apology did strike a chord with him, and he knew it couldn’t have been easy for her to show up here and bare her soul. But he couldn’t just forgive her and leave it at that. He had to think about the future. It was important both he and Dominic knew exactly where they stood.
He knew they both wanted more than a fling with Chloe. They wanted all of her. Anything else would be a cruel tease, a constant reminder of what they can’t have.
“I’ve always cared too much about what people think. It started with my father. I never felt good enough for him, so I overcompensated, trying to like everything he liked, attempting to be the perfect daughter even though he really wanted a son.
“I’m done living like that. I know what I want now, and that’s you two. I’ll do anything to prove that,” she said, her eyes growing shiny.
Before Dante could say anything, could grab her into his arms and tell her it was okay, that everything would be alright, she pulled out her phone. Quickly dialing a number and putting it on speakerphone, she pressed a finger to her lips as the line rang.
“Yes, Chloe?” Janice’s voice flowed over the speaker. “Are you calling about the announcement? The Shovelers just announced their roster for next season.”
“Hi, Miss Lance. No, I actually have a confession to make,” Chloe replied. “It’s about Dominic and Dante Kenner,” she said, taking a deep breath as if to steel herself.
Dante and Dominic shared a panicked look. They both knew exactly where this was going. She was going to confess to sleeping with them to prove she was willing to give this a real shot. It was a hell of a gesture, and Dante more than appreciated the length she was willing to go to, but he couldn’t let her sabotage herself like this.
It’s not that he didn’t want everyone to know Chloe belonged to them, but there had to be a way for them to be together without her losing her job.
Without even thinking, he grabbed the phone from her, holding it up to his face.
“Surprise! It’s Dante. Dominic’s here, too. We thought we’d all find out together what the team decided,” he exclaimed into the microphone.
“Hey, Janice,” Dominic interjected. “Don’t keep us in suspense, now.”
“It’s good news,” Janice said with a smile in her voice. “You better pop some champagne, you’re both going to be on the Shifter Grove Shovelers!”
“Yes!” Chloe exclaimed, throwing her fist in the air.
Her excitement was entirely adorable, especially since she was still standing on his front porch, her hair a mess and her pajamas flapping in the wind.
“Didn’t doubt it for a second,” Dominic announced, high-fiving his brother so Dante almost dropped Chloe’s phone.
“Thank you, Janice. We’ll go do that now,” Dante said before hanging up.
“Congratulations,” Chloe smiled. “But you should have let me tell her.”
“You don’t need to prove anything more to us. Our feelings can be scary sometimes, I get that. I wish you would have discussed your doubts and fears with us before convincing yourself we’re no-good liars, but I get it. You had some stuff to figure out, and we shouldn’t have cornered you at that party like we did.”
“Yeah, what he said,” Dominic ever-so-gracefully added. “In our defense though, you looked way too good in that dress for us to stay away.”
“And you don’t need to throw your career away for us. We can figure out a way for you to transition from our agent to our girlfriend. If that’s what you’ve decided you want,” Dante said.
“Of course that’s what she wants. She wouldn’t be standing here in her jammies, looking like she spent the whole night thinking about us rather than sleeping otherwise,” Dominic chuckled, earning a glare from Chloe.
“Come inside before Dom manages to change your mind,” Dante sighed, elbowing his brother in the ribs as he opened the door for her.
“I just want to say, I don’t care what people might think,” Chloe said, stepping inside the house. “I want to be with you, and I’m not going to let anything get in the way of that.”
It was said with such conviction, Dante couldn’t help but snake an arm around her waist and pull her close. It was all he’d ever wanted to hear, and he knew it couldn’t have been easy for Chloe to come to this decision. She had a lot to lose by entering into this relationship, which was more than just unconventional by many standards.
Seeing her face her fears for them made his bear let out a satisfied grumble. Along with the news they would be starting on the team to beat next season, this day was shaping up to be the best one he’d ever had. The only thing that could possibly make it better was carrying Chloe upstairs to his bedroom and making up for all their lost time, rediscovering every part of her gorgeous body.
Dominic stood on the other side of her, sliding his hand into hers. It felt right, the three of them together again. Nothing was going to tear them apart now, that much Dante was sure of. They had learned from their mistakes. No more secrets now, they had to be upfront with each other going forward, and he believed they all knew that.
“Hey, have you seen Dante’s bedroom? It’s pretty awesome,” Dominic grinned, as subtle as ever.
“You guys are incorrigible,” Chloe rolled her eyes at them.
“You mean irresistible?” Dante teased.
“That, too. What are we waiting for, then?” she asked, her honeyed voice sending heat through his veins.
She yelped when he tightened his grip around her waist and threw her over his shoulder, just like that first time in Shifter Grove. He had known back then they belonged together, even if it had taken some time for them all to get on the same page.
“Nothing at all,” he said, mirroring the smile on his brother’s face. “Nothing at all.”
Epilogue
Chloe
Snow crunching under her feet, Chloe pushed her body forward to catch up with Dominic and Dante. Usually, they waited up for her when they went on runs together, but this time it seemed like they’d deliberately shaken her.
“Not funny, guys,” she called out, her breath hanging in the cold air.
The snow had really come down heavy last night, making Shifter Grove look like a real winter wonderland. The brothers’ footsteps in front of her were the only things cutting a path through the fluff, the forest otherwise untouched around her. She had come to appreciate the quiet seclusion, so much so that the world beyond Shifter Grove now seemed noisy and distracting.
Rounding a curve of the path now as familiar to her as the back of her hand, she squealed when two snowballs came right at her, hitting her in the shoulder and chest.
“Gotcha!” Dominic exclaimed, his laughter echoing off the trees.
“Nice one,” Dante said, bumping fists with his brother.
“You two are such children,” Chloe sighed dramatically, walking over to them.
“You knew what you were getting yourself into,” Dominic remarked, blue eyes glimmering mischievously.
“I sure did,” she replied, quickly scooping up a fistful of snow and jamming it in between his collar.
“I think we might be a bad influence on her, brother,” Dante chuckled, watching Dominic squirm around and scoop the melting snow out of his clothes.
“And to think, she was supposed to keep us out of trouble,” Dominic replied.
“Har-har,”she retorted drolly. “Now that you’re done goofing around, can we get back to the house? I’m starving.”
“As the lady wishes,” Dante said with an exaggerated flourish, cutting a path through the snow as he started moving towards the house.
The piles of snow were too tall near the end of the path to continue running, so th
ey walked the rest of the way home, with Chloe sniffling as her nose started to drip. After the brothers found out they were going to be on the team, they immediately started looking into being able to permanently stay at the house they’d all shared when they had first come here for the training camp.
Chloe hadn’t even known about it until they arrived, the brothers announcing that this was now their home over a delicious home-cooked dinner, courtesy of Dante. They all had such fond memories of the place, and it already kind of felt like home, so living there with the brothers felt inevitable, in a way. It was where they belonged.
Janice had not been happy when Chloe announced she’d be moving to Idaho with her two boyfriends, especially since the news came only a month after she had insisted the brothers be assigned a new agent. Once she had put two and two together, though, her boss had only given her a mysterious smile, and said something to the effect of “You’ll have your hands full”.
Chloe had been sure moving away would mean the end of her career at TP, but it seemed fate had other plans. Hearing about her relocation, the Shifter Grove Shovelers management had contacted Janice directly, enquiring about the possibility of Chloe representing some of the rowdier new recruits.
From what Janice had told her, the logic behind that decision had been that if Chloe had managed to keep Dominic and Dante mostly in line, she could probably handle anything thrown her way.
Having these two troublemakers as my first clients really did prepare me well, Chloe grinned to herself.
The trees began to clear as their house came into view, which was greatly appreciated by Chloe’s freezing toes. They made their way inside, Chloe sighing as she kicked off her shoes.
“Why exactly did we decide to go for a run with the snow up to our ankles?” she asked, grabbing a blanket from the couch and wrapping it around herself.
“We decided to go for a run,” Dante replied, gesturing towards Dominic. “You’re the one who wanted to come along.”
“We’re bears, remember? A little snow isn’t exactly a deterrent for us,” Dominic said, shrugging off his jacket and heading to the kitchen. “Tea?” he asked, hand hovering over the kettle.
“Yes, please,” Chloe replied, feeling some of the cold starting to leave her bones.
“Or we could warm you up another way,” Dante grinned, closing in on her.
“Now you’re talking,” Dominic agreed.
She could hear his footsteps behind her, and suddenly she was between them, their broad bodies dwarfing her. They always ran a little warmer than regular humans, and the heat emanating from them sank into her skin. Their smell, warm and musky, swirled all around her, and suddenly tea was the last thing on her mind.
They were still like a drug to her, an addiction she would never grow tired of. Dominic’s hands were on her hips while Dante took her face into his hands. Here, surrounded by them, she felt so secure and protected. The outside world hardly mattered.
There had been some commotion, even a magazine story or two about how two of hockey’s most eligible bachelors were both suddenly off the market. And when word got out they were both dating the same woman… Well, it certainly got people talking.
Everyone knew shifter relationships worked a little differently, but for the average person, it was all still a little scandalous. But even to her own surprise, Chloe didn’t care about what people said. She was too wrapped up in her own happiness to pay attention to what people she didn’t even know were saying about her.
And here, in Shifter Grove, no one even batted an eye at all three of them, walking around hand in hand. With a mostly shifter population, it couldn’t have been a more normal, accepted sight to see. The people here had been nothing short of amazingly welcoming, and the Shovelers treated her like an unofficial team member.
Getting on her tiptoes, she planted a lingering kiss on Dante’s lips, while Dominic’s hands travelled south and cupped her ass. Her body was already covered in tingles, anticipation building in her stomach. These men knew exactly how to treat her right, both in and outside the bedroom.
“I am the luckiest girl in the world,” she sighed, pressed tightly against the men she loved.
“Finally, the recognition we deserve,” Dante said with a self-assured smile on his face.
“Wouldn’t mind hearing that every day,” Dominic added, kissing her neck.
Will they ever change? she thought with a roll of her eyes.
She had a feeling they wouldn’t. And she didn’t want them to. One thing was for sure, her life in Shifter Grove would never be boring, and she had her two hot lovers to thank for that.
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