by Mia Moon
I passed only a few doors behind which I could hear talking or laughter. My phone told me it was dinner time. My body wasn’t sure—so luxuriously worn out from being tormented in unbelievably sexy ways.
I made my way to my door and unlocked it. My apartment seemed even more bleak and lonely than when I’d left it. Compared to the warmth and joy that filled the one so far above me, I could clearly see the half-life I’d been living there. I made my way into the kitchen and opened the cabinet below the sink, where I kept two small battery-powered lanterns. They were bright enough to cast the whole tiny living room in their blue-white light. Outside my big windows, the street lamps were out, too. Any light I could see seemed to emanate from below—the world turned upside down, the snow the source of the dim glow.
I sat on my sofa, a lantern on each side of the present from my sisters.
I pulled back the lid of the exterior cardboard box and dug out the wrapped present inside. The moment felt important, so I slipped my fingers beneath the paper, rather than tearing it to shreds. I lifted the lid from the unwrapped box and peeked inside. I chuckled as I pulled out the contents. Yep, as expected.
The Abbie Surprise.
A bright red blindfold.
A glittery green vibrator.
And…oh for fuck’s sake. An anal plug with jingle bells on the outer end. Wouldn’t they just get in the way? And also be annoying as hell with every thrust?
What was I? A sex kitten with bells? I giggled aloud as my hand roamed the box, hitting a hard object.
Lube?
I broke out into a laugh. A Christmas-themed sex box. Leave it to the sister who thought she was the adventurous one. Little did she know…
There was one last thing tucked in the box. A large, flat white envelope with a heart drawn on it. I pulled it out, expecting some artwork from my nieces and nephews. They loved to doodle.
But my hand flew to my mouth when I pulled the papers out from inside.
I read over the papers twice. I couldn't believe what I held. It was legal paperwork from my sisters. They’d signed over their interests in the family cabin to me. It was mine. All mine.
My first reaction was shock and sadness. The fact that they’d given the cabin to me said loud and clear that our old family traditions were forever changed.
Something caught my eye, and I lifted the envelope again, dumping out a pile of photos. The photos were holiday cards from each of my sisters. They showcased the families—children laughing, husbands and wives kissing. Husbands.
I think I’d known what I wanted all along. But it didn’t really hit me until that moment.
My own little slice of family.
How selfish I felt now. Now that I knew the stories from Ty, Pax, and Ethan, my loneliness felt like nothing. Well, not nothing. It was still there. It had shifted, though. Family meant something different to everyone. For Ty, it meant sincerity. For Pax, it meant devotion. For Ethan, it meant belonging.
And for me, it meant togetherness. Being surrounded by loved ones. And the ones I loved were upstairs. I didn’t want to be apart from them for a second more. I raced for the door and tore it open.
Chapter 12
Three huge, hot bodies tumbled in like they’d been poised to shoulder the door open by force.
Pax was the first to haul me into his arms. “Hope! Fuck! You’re okay!”
I released a soggy laugh into the wrinkled sweatshirt he wore. It looked like each of them had grabbed whatever they could find, and Ty was definitely wearing Ethan’s pajama pants—backward.
“I’m fine,” I said, wiping happy tears from under my eyes. “I was coming right back. I wanted to open my gift from my sisters.”
I pointed to the table before I remembered the Abbie Surprise. The guys looked inside, curious.
“I like your sisters already,” Pax said, releasing me into Ethan’s hold and heading to give the toys a closer inspection.
He held up the butt plug and laughed out loud. “Jingle all the way, angel!”
I snorted and shook my head as I buried my blush in Ethan’s shirt. Ty closed in from behind me. It would’ve been hot if it weren’t so sweet. The biggest, snuggliest bear hug from both guys.
“Why are you crying, sweetheart?” Ethan asked, brushing my hair back to inspect my face.
Ty squeezed me again from behind, tucking his chin into my shoulder to hear my response.
I breathed them both in. Drew strength from them. “My sisters signed the family cabin over to me,” I said. “End of an era.”
“Cool. Every ending brings a beginning,” Ty said, stroking my hair back so he could kiss my cheek. I didn’t miss the tiny thrust of his hips against my ass, and I leaned back into that motion.
“You’re right,” I said, reaching my hand up to clutch his neck, to drag him closer for a real kiss.
Suddenly, my bleak and lonely apartment seemed full of life. It was these boys. My perfect, handsome, hotter than hell men. They lit up the whole world wherever they went.
“Where’s your room, angel?” Pax asked when I pulled back from the kiss with Ty.
I giggled. “Seriously, Pax? My apartment is the size of a matchbox. Pick any door, and you’ve got a fifty-fifty shot.”
Ethan gathered the sex toys in his hands, shaking the anal plug at me. “Sass only gets you in trouble in my bed, baby,” he reminded as he waited for Pax to open doors.
My whirlwind man found the right one on the first try. He spun and grabbed me by the thighs, hiking me right up to wrap my legs around his waist. Then I was on my bed, Pax still between my legs, the bed dipping in every direction as Ty and Ethan climbed up, too.
“Oh my God, guys! My bed isn’t made for this!” I cried, laughter getting the best of me when the bed creaked and groaned under the weight.
Ty leaned in to kiss the sensitive skin below my ear. “Hear that, guys? We need a bed that can handle all four of us at one time.”
“Noted,” Ethan’s voice was gravel as he eased my shirt up and latched onto my nipple with his lips.
The sound of bells filtered through the air as he set the sex toys aside.
“Shit,” Pax said. “Condoms, anyone?”
Ethan leaned back and patted his pocket before pulling out a short chain.
I swatted his chest playfully. “Thought you guys were worried about my safety!”
He chuckled and moved his lips to my other breast. “I’m used to carrying gear all the time. Guess it was a force of habit.”
I swatted him again, but he caught my hand and brought it to his hard dick. I eased his pants down, needed that skin-on-skin contact.
A whirring noise started next to my ear and Ty chuckled. “Yeah, I’m thinking I like your sisters, too,” he said when he held the vibrator out for all to see. It lit up on the inside with a light show that was enough to make me cross-eyed.
“Yikes,” I said with a laugh.
He pulled it out of sight. “Not for you?”
I blushed. “Oh…no…I’m pretty familiar with vibrators. Just…that one is tacky as hell.”
Pax leaned on his elbows, his breath caressing my pussy where he’d tugged my pajama pants down. He clicked his tongue at me. “Our sweet angel is familiar with vibrators, guys. We’ve got a lot to make up for.”
I covered my face with my free hand to hide my blush. “I actually really like them…like…even when I can get it other ways. It adds a special something.”
The whirring sound came closer again, and Ty’s whisper told me his devious side was taking control. “You do, beautiful? You want us to play with you? You want a special something for Christmas?”
My thighs clenched on their own around Pax’s head, and he chuckled against my skin. “If that’s what you want, you know the drill, angel. You have to tell us.”
“I want you to,” I moaned.
“To what?” Ty asked, handing the vibrator off to Pax, but not close enough to my body for me to seek relief.
“To play with me
,” I cried out.
“Greedy girl,” Ethan teased. He reached over me at the same moment I felt the first electric touch from the vibrator against my skin, and I bucked so hard I nearly threw them all off the bed.
“You want this?” Ty asked, dangling the soft ribbon ties of the blindfold over my belly, teasing them up my chest, around my nipples.
I couldn’t speak. I moaned out a desperate, “Mmm hmm,” and Ethan lifted my shoulders, supporting me as Ty secured the blindfold, careful to avoid my hair. When it was in place, they lowered me back down.
“Anything off limits, angel?” Pax asked.
“No. Please. I trust you,” I panted, reaching for hands I couldn’t see.
The sounds that came from them caught in my heart. I would hold those noises. The joy they felt at my words. I trusted them. I really did.
“You say stop, we’ll stop,” Pax said, a firm hand I could only guess was his grasping my fingers and pulling my hand closer to kiss. A promise. I trusted.
After all the wild encounters we’d had, that one stood so far apart. I didn’t know up from down or what was what. The vibrator touched me here and there, teasing before someone slid it into me. I opened my mouth and greedily—yes, I said it—accepting a penis I found near my face. I swallowed it down, barely able to thrust my head up in the crazy tangle of passion that surrounded me.
At some point, that dick was replaced with cold, hard metal and the sound of bells so close to my face told me what was to come—besides me, of course. I heard what sounded like the cap being popped off a bottle and a squeeze noise.
“More lube,” Pax murmured. “She’s so tight back there.”
I knew to relax when I felt the cool, slickness press against my ass muscles. The jingling was hilarious, and the whole mood took on a more playful tone than I’d ever known in the bedroom. Yes, the passion was there. The moans, licks, sucks. But so was that light and joy. My perfect fucking men. Perfectly fucking me.
Bells still firmly in place, my giggles turned to a squeal when I heard the rip of a condom wrapper.
All movement froze, and hands fell to my shoulders and face.
“Was that a ‘stop’?” Pax asked.
“No,” I said, gasping at the sudden loss of sensation—everywhere except my ass which was so full I was ready to blow. “That was a please. As in, please, yes. Do that.”
“Do what, baby?” Ethan asked.
“Fill me up,” I demanded, reaching out for where I thought he was. “And don’t you dare call me greedy, Ethan Wright. I will take that vibrator and get myself off if I have to.”
“Is that what you want?” Ty teased.
“No!” I cried, unsure if I should laugh, scream, or come right then. Holy hell, I ached for release. How could that be possible? Wasn’t I bound to run out of orgasms at some point? Oh, God. I hoped not.
“This?” Ethan asked, edging his latex covered head against me. At least, I guessed it was him. He seemed to be the one between my legs. He leaned down, lowering weight. Yes. Definitely Ethan. No one else’s hips spread me so wide.
“Yes!” I hissed at the brush of his cock over my folds.
“Careful, man,” Ty warned. “Easy.”
“You shush,” I laughed. “I’m in charge here.”
That lightness, that joy, and laughter filled the air.
“Yes, ma’am. You sure as hell are,” Ty said, closing in and kissing my cheek as I felt the first press of Ethan’s dick into my body.
If there had ever been a time when I didn’t think I would feel fulfilled, I made a vow to forget it in that moment. The fullness of my body mirrored the fullness of my life. And, oh, fuck. I was so full. I floated high above the clouds. The winter snow below forgotten, except for what it had brought me. These men. These nights. The days to come. Come, come, come.
And holy hell, did I come.
Jingle all the way.
The power didn’t come back on that night. When I locked my apartment up, the guys crowded around me, protecting me as the helped me back upstairs. By the third flight, my trembling legs gave up, and Pax lifted me up, carrying me the rest of the way. How he didn’t have to take a break, I’ll never know. I didn’t seem to be any sort of burden in his strong, loving arms.
I burrowed deep in a pile of men, muscles, and soft, soft blankets. With the power out, it was up to us to keep each other warm. Sleep claimed me and took me under. Held me until the earliest touches of sun shone through the full windows in the penthouse apartment.
Sun! I sat up, taking Ethan’s arm with me to look. The sun was just beginning to peek its head out of hiding. I looked back on the men around me. The daylight had arrived, and they were still there.
“Don’t look at us like that,” Ty mumbled turning his head out of a sliver of sun that was creeping over his pillow.
“Like what?” I asked.
“Like you’re surprised we’re still here,” he said, blinking lazily and reaching out to curl his hand into mine.
“You choose, remember?” Ethan said. His morning voice was hoarse, and he scrubbed a hand over the scruff that was definitely starting to border on serious beard territory. Who’d have guessed, as clean shaven as he’d been when I’d met him.
Pax sat up suddenly, from a dead sleep to wide awake in one motion. “Holy shit, sun!”
“Ahh, my whirlwind,” I teased.
“Not sure what that means, H. But you said ‘my’, so I’m thinking that’s good.” He ruffled a hand through his hair. “We should go sledding. No. Snowman! No…snow angels.” He laughed at his own joke, and I groaned, leaning forward to give him a kiss that I knew was only enabling his corny tendencies. I loved them, though. How could I not?
“So?” Ethan said from behind me, leaning up on an elbow.
“So, what?” I asked, breaking my kiss with Pax to give one to Ethan.
He edged his head back an inch before I could reach. “What are you choosing, Hope?”
I sat up all the way, wanting to have their full attention. I dropped a quick kiss on Ethan’s nose, surprising him before he could move out of reach again. “I’m choosing you,” I said. I beckoned Ty, who came straight to me. “I’m choosing something real.”
And then I grabbed Pax’s hand and hauled him forward. “I’m choosing the future. I’m choosing love.”
Epilogue
“Oooh, right there!” I begged.
Ty grinned up at me from between my legs. He had to look a whole hell of a lot farther these days. “Here, beautiful?” he asked, working his hands into the spot that needed it most. My other foot rested in his lap, and I teased his erection with my toes.
“Yes, please,” I moaned when he found the right spot again.
“You can’t just be shouting and moaning, H,” Pax said, laughing as he rubbed his hand over his heart. He was out of breath. “Ran all the way in here because I thought our little pumpkin decided to make an early appearance.”
"Still early, pal." I joined his laugh when he leaned over me to drop that sweet smile into a kiss on my lips. His hand smoothed gentle circles over my enormous belly. “You okay in there, little bean?”
“Please don’t eat the baby. The fuck with all those foods you keep calling her,” Ethan called from the kitchen, his voice full of sweet tease. “My baby’s not gonna know her real name.”
“Or his,” Pax offered.
“Or whatever,” Ty said, kissing my legging-clad knee.
The smell of spice from Ethan’s baking filled the cabin. He was making my mom’s gingerbread recipe. The one we hadn’t made in the long years since my mom had passed away because it reminded my sisters of her and made them sad. I understood, now, why they’d given the cabin to me.
I was the one they trusted to carry on the family tradition in the way they remembered. They weren’t strong enough to do it without Mom. Abbie and I had a good long cry over a video call when I’d figured it out. She’d bawled when she’d acknowledged my theory. She knew my mom would be so hap
py with the love that would fill the cabin for so many years to come.
Surrounded by the warmth and light of my guys, I’d never, ever been happier. And the cabin had never been put to better use.
I remembered that morning—the morning the sun had woken us, the morning we’d sealed our future together. That morning after Christmas when the guys had taken me up onto the treacherously icy rooftop of our apartment. They’d swapped off carrying me to make sure I was safe, even though I’d teased them that it was probably the least secure way for me to travel over ice.
We’d stood up there as we watched families pour out into the park across the street. Little ones and their parents—whom the snow had turned into big kids—played in the carless streets, hauling sleds, having snowball fights. Even making snow angels, as Pax had been quick to point out.
I’d been surrounded by their love. Those moments were the ones when the world shifted, and we saw the little family we were already becoming. The vow was unspoken, but that was the day they all became mine. Even if they still asked me every morning if I was choosing them.
We didn’t finish that gold garland. Trust sealed the deal. Nothing between us from that point forward—until we’d decided to take on our next big adventure.
And what an adventure it’s been.
I rubbed a hand over my tummy. I hadn’t thought I could feel any more love than I already did for my guys. Then we’d made this choice.
When we’d talked about starting our family, Pax and Ty had volunteered right away to add a few more wrappers to the garland. They felt so strongly Ethan should know, without doubt, that he was the father of this first baby. Our baby. I think it grounded Ethan in a way he’d never believed he would experience. A tie to the world, a connection. Proof that he belonged—to me, to our baby, to this family.
Pax and Ty played rock, paper, scissors--Pax's suggestion, of course—for the order of who would be next. That was our plan—three little ones, one from each of my guys.
My guys. That’s how I referred to them. Whenever anyone asked about them, I just said they were my guys and let it go at that.