Ruled

by Elle Kennedy

  But just as that thought entered her head, he threw her for a loop.

  “I love you,” he said fiercely.

  Reese’s gaze flew to Sloan, but he looked calmer and more content than she’d ever seen him.

  “We love you,” Rylan continued.

  Her pulse grew erratic. “I thought you didn’t believe in love.”

  He reached out and stroked her cheek. “I’m a changed man, baby. Ask Sloan—he can vouch for that.”

  Sloan leaned closer, resting his chin on her shoulder. “It’s true. Our man loves the hell out of you.” His warm breath tickled her bare skin on a ragged exhale. “And so do I.”

  29

  Sloan felt Reese stiffen, but she didn’t pull away. Not from him, and not from Rylan. She remained seated between them, her gorgeous face flushed from her shower, and maybe something else. Maybe arousal, but he hoped it was more than that.

  “We love you,” he murmured in her ear, and she shivered in response. “So fucking much, sweetheart.”

  Rylan nuzzled the other side of her neck, eliciting another shiver from Reese. Sloan saw the pulse point in her throat throbbing wildly, and he leaned in to press his lips against it.

  This time she shuddered. “You’re crazy. Both of you.”

  He chuckled. “Loving you is crazy?”

  “Yes,” she whispered.

  “You know what made us even crazier?” He trailed kisses from her throat up to her jaw. “The thought of losing you.”

  “Lost our goddamn minds,” Rylan agreed, and then he was kissing her too, a hot, slow path that brought his lips inches from Sloan’s.

  Smiling, Sloan brushed his mouth over Rylan’s, then gave the man’s bottom lip a playful bite.

  “Fuck,” Rylan choked out. “You’re supposed to be turning her on, brother, not me.”

  “How about we all turn each other on?” he countered.

  Reese released a wheeze of laughter. “You’re crazy,” she repeated. “Crazy to want this.”

  Sloan nibbled on the corner of her mouth while Rylan’s lips danced over her delicate jaw.

  “But I guess I’m crazy too,” she murmured. “Because I want the same damn thing.”

  Sloan lifted his head so he could see her eyes. Those big, beautiful, brown eyes. The emotion he saw shining in them robbed him of breath.

  The corners of her mouth quirked upward. “Rylan’s not the only one who’s changed. I’ve changed too.” She ran her fingers through Sloan’s beard, and he almost purred in happiness. “I’m done pretending I don’t feel things. I’m done pretending I don’t love you.”

  His breath hitched.

  Rylan’s did the same when she turned that infinitely gentle touch to his cheek. “And I’m done pretending I don’t love you.”

  Sloan took her left hand and entwined their fingers. Rylan did the same with her right hand.

  “I’m still going to be a bitch sometimes,” Reese confessed. “I’m still going to make decisions both of you might disagree with. I still . . .” Her voice caught. “I still can’t give you children.”

  “I don’t want children,” Sloan said instantly.

  “Me neither,” Rylan piped up. “They’re a pain in the ass.”

  Her expression became grave. “You say that now, but . . .”

  “It won’t change.” Sloan’s tone was firm. “Kids have never interested me, sweetheart. I don’t want or need that responsibility.” He laughed ruefully. “Besides, we’ve already got enough on our plate dealing with the children we have now.”

  Rylan backed him up. “Yup, we’ve got a camp full of children to take care of. Or rather, you do. You two can play mom and dad to all those assholes out there. I’ll just hide in this cabin until you guys feel like playing a different kind of game.”

  Sloan reached over and gave Rylan’s cheek a light slap. “Bullshit. You don’t get to dodge your responsibilities. If you’re our man, you lead with us.”

  “Con might not like having his leadership challenged . . .”

  “Nobody’s challenging shit. We take care of our people, he takes care of his.”

  Rylan paused thoughtfully. “Actually, I take it back. I bet Connor would be happy to let Reese lead everyone. He’s never wanted the job for himself.” He shrugged. “But enough with this business talk—we’re talking love, remember?”

  Reese rejoined the conversation with a laugh. “This is the weirdest relationship I’ve ever had.” She hesitated. “I’m still not sure it’s ever going to work.”

  “It’ll work,” Sloan said roughly. “We love each other, it works. There.”

  “You sound confident of that.”

  “I am confident. I’m your rock, remember?” He jerked a thumb at Rylan. “I’m his rock too. And you . . .” He brushed his lips over hers. “You’re our fire.”

  “What am I then?” Rylan asked curiously.

  Sloan thought it over. “You’re the wind,” he finally answered.

  “No way. That sucks. The wind blows out the fire.”

  “Naw.” He met the other man’s eyes, a slow smile stretching his mouth. “It kindles it.”

  The darkly seductive look he got in return succeeded in turning his cock to granite. “Yeah . . . yeah, you’re right.” Rylan toyed with the top of Reese’s towel for a moment. “I’m really good at stoking fires.”

  Damn straight he was. And he was fast too—Sloan barely had a chance to blink before Rylan had their woman completely naked, the towel tossed aside.

  Sloan’s breath lodged in his throat at the vision of pure perfection in front of him. Smooth, pale skin. Long legs and silky thighs. Reese’s tits, round and plump, begging for his mouth. But Rylan beat him to it.

  Reese moaned when Rylan’s lips closed around one puckered nipple. “I thought you wanted me to eat,” she reminded them.

  “Decided I was hungrier than you,” Rylan rasped before flicking his tongue over her other nipple. “Sloan, my man, you look famished too.”

  A laugh rose in his throat. “Starving,” he confirmed, and then he slid between Reese’s legs and captured her clit in his mouth.

  Her hips shot off the bed. “Jesus. Are you two trying to kill me?”

  “Naw, sweetheart, we’re just loving you.” He sucked on that rapidly swelling bud before licking his way to her opening, where he lapped eagerly at her arousal.

  He wasn’t sure how or when his clothes came off, but suddenly he was naked and his lips were no longer on Reese’s pussy, but kissing her eager mouth. He chased her tongue past her lips and deepened the kiss, ravishing her mouth with damn near desperation.

  A rough hand closed around his cock, stroking and pumping until he was seeing stars, until he wasn’t certain who was even touching him anymore. Or who he was touching. Soft curves and hard muscles skimmed beneath his hands. Reese’s lips, Rylan’s lips traveled along his heated flesh. Hoarse groans and heavy breathing filled the cabin.

  He fisted his heavy shaft and brought it to Reese’s pussy, rubbing the head over her clit in a sensual caress that made all three of them groan. Then he slid inside her tight, wet channel, and a rush of pleasure roared through him with so much force he feared he might come if Reese so much as twitched. She lay sprawled beneath him, legs parted, breasts flushed with excitement as he slowly moved inside her.

  “Sloan,” she moaned, but he couldn’t answer her, because the mattress creaked and suddenly there was a cock in his mouth.

  Sweet fucking God.

  * * *

  Rylan groaned as Sloan licked at the piercing on his tip. Then the man drew the shaft all the way to the back of his throat, while Rylan’s hips pumped in a fevered rhythm. When Reese reached out and squeezed his balls with one delicate hand, he nearly fell over and had to brace himself on Sloan’s rock-hard shoulder.

  Sloan chuckled aroun
d Rylan’s cock.

  “You’re laughing now, fucker, but I’m the one getting my dick sucked and my balls squeezed,” Rylan said. He transferred his hand to Sloan’s head, running his palm over the closely-cropped hair.

  Sloan responded by swallowing him deeper. The piercing pulled away from the end of Rylan’s cock, the deliciously painful sensation making him dizzy with need. He was one hard suck away from coming, but he wanted to be inside Reese. Her absence had filled him with gut-wrenching agony that was only going to be assuaged by fucking her long, deep, and hard.

  With a tiny bit of regret, he tugged his dick out of Sloan’s mouth, who released him with a scrape of teeth in punishment and a grunt of disapproval.

  “I wasn’t done there.” Sloan frowned, his rhythmic pounding of Reese’s sweet pussy halting for a moment.

  Rylan slipped his hands under Reese’s shoulders. “I know, brother. It felt too good.”

  “Isn’t that the point?” Reese drawled.

  “Yeah, but I want to come inside you, baby. I want us both to come inside you.” He captured her chin and pulled her up for a tongue-tangling kiss.

  Sloan scooted carefully to the end of the mattress, pulling Reese’s lithe form with him so they wouldn’t be separated. Still embedded deep inside of her, he lifted her slowly while Rylan positioned himself underneath her and palmed her ass. His dick, wet from his own arousal and Sloan’s mouth, twitched in anticipation.

  “I feel like we should swat this sweet ass until it’s red for making us spend almost two days in fucking terror,” Rylan remarked.

  Reese glanced at him over her shoulder. “By the touchy-feely act I saw when I got here, it looked like you two had a real tough time of it.”

  He smacked one cheek in response. “I manned up because you were gone. Somebody had to take on Sloan’s aggression so he didn’t beast out and destroy our new home.”

  “Sweetheart, the only way you’re going to shut Rylan up is to get his dick in your ass. So open up.” Sloan cupped her hips and lowered her over Rylan’s quivering tip.

  She groaned. “Oh shit. You’re killing me.”

  “You can take both of us,” Sloan encouraged.

  Rylan’s eyes rolled back as he pushed past the ring of muscle into the tight squeeze of Reese’s ass. Sloan’s cock pulsed against his. He gritted his teeth, summoning up every iota of control he could find. It wasn’t much. Reese felt too good. Sloan was too intense. Rylan wanted to plunge inside with a violence that caught even him by surprise.

  “Oh baby, you are so fucking hot. With Sloan inside you, it’s tight. You gotta make room for me,” he begged.

  She whimpered, a breathless, ravaged response. Her head lolled back against his shoulder and her arm came up to wrap itself behind his neck. He gently rolled his hips forward and she opened.

  “Ohhhh fuuu-uck,” Reese hissed as Rylan slid home. “It’s too much.”

  “Never,” Sloan said, wrapping a hand in her hair and jerking her mouth against his. “It will never be too much.” Over her head, Sloan’s eyes met Rylan’s. “Let’s show our woman how much we missed her. How much we love her. How much we can’t fucking live without her.”

  He didn’t need to be asked twice. He pushed into her with slow, deliberate movements, and Sloan held her up with one hand as the two men worked her over.

  Rylan felt the orgasm boiling low and knew he wouldn’t last much longer. He reached between them to find Reese’s clit, pinching the bundle of nerves until she began to clench around them. Then he gritted his teeth and addressed Sloan.

  “Brother, I can’t hold on for much longer.”

  But he would. They all knew he’d hold on for as long as it took for Reese to find her pleasure. Luckily, he didn’t have to wait long before she tumbled over the edge, her body shaking between them with the force of her orgasm.

  Rylan couldn’t help himself. He slammed forward, balls slapping against Reese’s ass, sometimes touching Sloan’s body. He felt the other man, just on the other side of a whisper-thin web of flesh. They moved in perfect synchronicity, driving each other beyond sanity into the glorious abyss of sensation.

  “I love you two. Fuck, I love you,” Sloan ground out.

  Rylan felt the man come inside Reese, felt the warm rush of moisture as it dripped out to coat his own cock, felt his own release mix with Sloan’s.

  They collapsed on the mattress, boneless and wasted. Hands slid over sweat-soaked bodies. Mouths traded soft, languorous kisses. And through it all, the more that Reese had once been afraid of pursuing engulfed them.

  “I love you both so much,” she whispered between kisses that had grown soft and caresses that had grown tender.

  “This life . . .” Rylan felt his emotions catch in his throat. He tried again. “The two of you are worth every bad thing that’s ever happened in my life. I don’t deserve either of you, but I’ll be damned if I give you up.”

  Sloan reached over and grabbed Rylan’s hand. Reese laid hers on top of the joined fingers.

  “Good thing we’re staying together then,” Sloan growled.

  It was almost more threat than promise, but in this untamed land, wild souls needed fierce promises. Just like the ones they’d made tonight.

  Epilogue

  Reese slid out of bed just before dawn, before the first rays of light had even sliced through the dark sky. She thought she was being quiet, but Sloan’s dark eyes instantly slitted open as her bare feet silently hit the hardwood floor. Yeah, she was silly to think she could make a single move without triggering Sloan’s finely tuned alarm system.

  “Go back to sleep,” she whispered to him. “I’m just going for a quick run. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  He gave a small, sleepy nod, then closed his eyes and nestled closer to Rylan, who was sprawled on his stomach. The blanket had gotten tangled sometime during the night, revealing Rylan’s taut, bare ass and the sculpted muscles of Sloan’s arm as it lay draped over the other man’s broad back.

  Warmth spread to every inch of Reese’s body as she stared at them.

  Her men.

  Fuck. She loved them more than she’d ever thought possible.

  Wrenching her gaze away from the perfect scene on the bed, she reached into the duffel bag on the floor. Sloan and Rylan had brought all of her belongings from Foxworth, and her heart swelled even more. The fact that they’d done that meant they’d never doubted, not for one second, that they’d get her back.

  She slipped into a pair of stretchy pants, a hooded sweatshirt, and her ratty old sneakers. Then she crept out the door and stepped outside.

  The air was cold, but it didn’t bother her. Neither did the crisp wind that hit her face and snaked under her ponytail as she took off running toward the path. Foxworth might be gone, but her routine hadn’t changed. Waking up at the crack of dawn. Running to clear her mind and prepare for the day.

  But, no. Something had changed. The weight that usually crushed down on her shoulders was no longer there. The fear in her throat, the ever-present worry that regularly gnawed at her insides . . . it had dimmed, almost to the point of nonexistence.

  She didn’t have to lead alone anymore. She had Sloan. Rylan. Connor. Tamara and Hudson and, hell, even Dominik. The burden didn’t fall squarely on her anymore, and holy fuck was that liberating.

  She slowed her pace as she neared a few of the more isolated cabins, not wanting the thump of her footsteps to wake anyone. To her surprise, someone was already up. Two someones, actually—Bethany and Archer. The new mother was on the unlit porch, curled up on a wicker chair with a blanket wrapped around her as she nursed her baby.

  Bethany looked startled when she spotted Reese, but then she relaxed, smiled, and lifted her hand up in greeting.

  For the first time since Bethany had given birth, the sight of the infant didn’t bring a deep ache to Reese’s heart
.

  She waved back, then continued down the path. The forest was muddy. Her sneakers sank into the wet earth and made soft plopping noises with each step, so eventually she slowed to a walk, the leisurely tempo allowing her to really take in her surroundings.

  Connor’s camp was quiet and remote. Peaceful. Beautiful. It wouldn’t be so terrible living here, she decided. And it helped that Con’s security was top-notch; he and his men had rigged every inch of the huge property with motion sensors, explosives, and security cameras that Xander monitored on his computers.

  She wasn’t quite sure how Dominik and his men fit into this picture, but she imagined Hudson would be running a lot of interference. She also suspected there were going to be a lot more strategy meetings in the near future. Arguments between her and Mick. Decisions to be made by all the camp leaders. Cities to siege and council members to kill. And she still had to drive back to the farm to check on Scott and Anna, who Sloan said had refused to join them. If they’d survived the appearance of the Enforcers, then she planned on moving heaven and earth to convince them to come back with her.

  Yeah, there was a lot of excitement to look forward to. A lot of changes, both good and bad.

  But those changes didn’t seem so terrifying anymore. When Reese had told Christine she was invincible, she’d only been joking. And yet that was exactly how she felt at the moment. Invincible. Strong. Free. She felt as if she could face any challenges that came her way, any storm that threatened to knock her down, any enemy that threatened to destroy her.

  She could face it all, conquer it all, because she wouldn’t have to do it alone. Sloan and Rylan would be there with her. Her right hand. Her left hand. The rock and the wind. Unshakable strength and soothing sunshine.

  As long as the men she loved were by her side, she could handle anything the future decided to throw at her.

  Don’t miss seeing how Jamie and Lennox got together in

  ADDICTED