by J. L. Wilder
Wyatt cleared his throat. “It would help us if you could just tell us which one of us you feel stronger about.”
Her face burned and her stomach soured. “Which one of you I feel stronger about?”
Sawyer grunted. “We need to know. Whichever one of us you want more, you can have. The other two will back down so this doesn’t continue on like this.”
Two of them would back down...Maggie’s heart squeezed painfully and she shivered. They thought that she could choose one of them. They thought it was that easy, that she had a favorite, but she just kept seeing the other two, as well?
“We can’t chance this going on too long and it ruining us. Sharing you, it’s bound to destroy us.” Wyatt’s voice was sad as he revealed their thoughts. “Things will be tough after you choose, but we’ll be okay. And whichever one of us you choose will take care of you.”
“We’ll always take care of you, Maggie.” Maverick sighed. “And even if you don’t choose me, I’m Milo’s father. I’ll always be there for him.”
Her head spun and she blinked rapidly, trying to clear the haze. She couldn’t. She couldn’t pick one of them. She loved them all so much that the idea of walking away from two of them was too much. She shook her head hard and rubbed at her chest. Was she even breathing? How could she choose? She wouldn’t.
She realized that she wouldn’t pick just one of them and that she would likely lose all of them because of it. Her heart broke as she sat there, tears leaked from her eyes, and all she could do was hold herself. She didn’t deserve their comfort.
Choose one of them...she shook her head again. She just couldn’t. Maverick was the father of her child, but even more than that, he was sweet and so caring that it shocked her at times. He was beautiful and free-spirited, never too far away when she needed him. Sawyer was strong and responsible, never missing a single thing that she might want or need. He was a silent force of nature that she loved being swept up in. And Wyatt, Wyatt was her best friend. He was loyal and fiercely protective of everyone around him. She could talk to him for hours and he never stopped listening.
She loved them all so much that it hurt. But she was hurting them. She looked at them, their faces drawn as they waited for her to deliver a blow that would destroy the bonds that she shared with two of them.
“I can’t.” She stood up and walked a few feet away, her chest still so tight that she could barely gasp in breaths. “I won’t.”
Sawyer stepped towards her. “Maggie, come and sit down. It’s okay. Everything’s okay.”
She shook her head again, her hair coming loose from its bun. “I can’t do it.”
Wyatt growled. “Maggie, breathe. It’s okay.”
She was hurting them. She could see it on their faces. She was awful. How could she hurt them? She didn’t deserve their care.
“Maggie, dammit, breathe!” Maverick was suddenly in front of her, shaking her by the shoulders. “Stop it. Everything is okay, baby. Just take a deep breath in for me.”
She couldn’t. She couldn’t pick one of them when she loved them all. She was going to lose all of them. Lose all of them again. She wasn’t sure how she’d do it. She loved them.
24.
***Sawyer***
Sawyer sat outside on Sasha’s porch and looked up at the stars. He felt like shifting and taking a long flight through the darkness. He knew that wouldn’t make him feel better, though. He wasn’t sure he was ever going to feel better again. He looked over and saw similar expressions on his brothers’ faces.
“Safe to say that was a fail.” Maverick tugged at the end of his beard and sighed. “We nearly killed her.”
He shivered as the image of Maggie panicking and then passing out replayed through his head. The pain was so clear on her face, he wouldn’t have been surprised if there were bones broken in her body; that was how physical it looked. She’d just stopped breathing, and then her eyes had rolled back in her head. Thankfully, Maverick had been right there to catch her.
Wyatt hadn’t spoken much once they’d gotten her leveled out and brought her to Sasha’s so she could wake up somewhere familiar and safe. Sawyer could tell his brother was beating himself up for initiating the conversation.
“Well, it’s also safe to say that she’s not going to pick one of us.” He shrugged. “Not that it matters if she’s not okay.”
Sasha stepped out on the porch with them and sank onto the swing next to Wyatt. She patted his hand and didn’t bother covering a yawn.
Sawyer felt like even more of an asshole. She was sick, and there she was, awake in the middle of the night because of them. “I’m sorry, Sasha. Why don’t you go back to bed? We can take turns looking in on Maggie.”
She waved him off. “It’s fine. Getting shitty sleep is my normal now.”
Maverick leaned forward with his hands tightly clasped. “Anything?”
“She’s sleeping. I wonder if she hasn’t been sleeping all that well, either. I hear her up a lot, but it never crossed my mind that she wasn’t resting. I just figured she was just going to the bathroom or something.”
“We pushed her. We shouldn’t have pushed her. I shouldn’t have demanded that we ask her to decide between the three of us.” Wyatt sounded broken as he stared down at the porch. “I don’t deserve her.”
“We all thought it was time, Wyatt.” Maverick growled and stood up to pace the length of the porch. “You saw her. She can’t do it. She was in real pain at the idea of it.”
Sasha raised her hand. “If the three of you are finished beating yourselves up, I have something I’d like to mention.”
Sawyer nodded. “Doubt we’re finished but go ahead.”
“Have any of you ever thought about why she can’t choose between the three of you? Ever?” She curled her feet under her and frowned. “I know that some people in the clan think poorly of Maggie for being with the three of you, but my sister is a good woman. She was never the bad kid she thought she was. She slept with the three of you and did it in ways that raised eyebrows at times, but she never touched anyone else. She never did anything that wasn’t in defense of you three.
“She punished herself for years in the city, being someone she’s not. She forced herself to live the most boring life. Even after two decades of living like that, she came back here and immediately started seeing the three of you again. You think because she’s just wild and carefree and can’t control herself when it comes to you three idiots? No. It’s because she loves all three of you.”
Sawyer frowned. “How can she love us all the same, though?”
“I don’t know, but she does. She doesn’t realize it, but she has the willpower of a monk. If she didn’t care for you each, she wouldn’t be in this position again. There’s no way she would’ve let herself be in it. Not being able to choose between you three the last time nearly broke her. She spent so many nights in bed, crying because she felt so terrible about wanting all three of you.”
“We each feel the mating pull to her. None of it makes sense.”
Sasha grinned then, her lips pulling up in the same smile as her sister’s. It was a wide, fun smile that demanded a smile in return typically. “It’s happened before.”
Maverick stopped pacing. “What?”
She nodded. “I spoke with your uncles about it. I know that Maggie feels the mating pull towards each of you. Her dragon, when Maggie isn’t shutting her down, really, really likes the three of you. So, I talked to your uncles and they told me about a story they heard a long time ago about a female dragon having two mates.”
Sawyer felt anger boil under all the sadness. “Why didn’t they mention anything about it?”
“They don’t know how true it is. They don’t know your feelings towards Maggie. All of you are so tight-lipped about everything. They didn’t want to speak without knowing what the situation was, I’m assuming.” She laughed. “But I’m not a leader of the clan and I say whatever the fuck I want.”
“What about the stor
y?” Wyatt was sitting up, turned to Sasha.
“I mean, there was a lot of kooky speak about dragon tradition and heritage and all that shit, but the gist is that fate granted this female dragon two mates. They were alphas, according to the story, and the gods thought the female dragon wouldn’t get enough from just one mate. The alphas were twins, of course, and the story goes that they all accepted it and it worked out happily ever after.”
Sawyer narrowed his eyes. “You’re bullshitting us.”
“Did they...share?”
Sawyer looked over at Maverick and grimaced. “Share? As in...sex?”
Sasha snorted. “God, you guys are like children. Do you ever just talk to each other? Maybe if you did, this wouldn’t be happening.”
Maverick growled. “Yes. I’m asking if the men in that story shared their mate in sex. Because that’s not something I could do.”
Wyatt shuddered. “Fuck no.”
“Oh, my god, you idiots. I didn’t ask that question of your uncles because that would be weird, but I’m assuming if you’re all mates, but you don’t want to take my sister to bed together, then that’s not right for you. Sex isn’t fated, guys. Sex is just preferences and consent. If none of you are into that, then don’t do it.”
Sawyer shook his head hard. “Nope, definitely not into sharing.”
She laughed, clearly at them. “Then don’t do it. It seems to be working out just fine between the four of you so far. My sister comes home walking funny almost every day, so clearly none of you are struggling with the idea of having her while the others are also having her.”
Wyatt shifted uncomfortably and winced. “Not sure this is conversation that I want to have.”
“No, let’s have it. You fools need some assistance, obviously. You are all aware that the others are having sex with Maggie, right? Wyatt, you know that your brothers are screwing Maggie. Maverick? Sawyer? Wyatt is screwing Maggie. Yes? We’re all aware?”
Sawyer groaned and rolled his shoulders. He felt like a little kid, getting chastised in the worst of ways. “Yes. I’m aware that we’re all having sex with Maggie.”
Maverick grunted his agreement and Wyatt nodded.
She studied them and smiled again. Sawyer was starting to think that Sasha was the dangerous sister. She was a little scary.
“Weird. I’ve never met a mate who would even let another man touch his mate.” She narrowed her eyes at Sawyer. “When that guy mentioned liking the way Maggie ran away naked, how did you feel?”
They all growled and then stared at each other in amazement. Maverick tilted his head and rubbed his jaw. “I wanted to murder him. But...I don’t feel that way with you guys.”
“Despite knowing that they’re doing the dirty with her all over the place. Whichever one of you had sex in my shower with her owes me huge, by the way. My shower is off limits. That’s where I do my business, not you.”
They all looked away and even coughed awkwardly at the same time. Which Sasha really seemed to enjoy.
“Look. Don’t ask her to choose again. If what I think is true is true, then she won’t be able to, and the very idea will hurt her.” She gave them each a pointed look. “She might even have a panic attack and pass out.”
Sawyer stared at his brothers and confusion rattled around his brain, but there was something akin to hope at the back of his mind. Could she be right? Could they all be her mate? What would that even look like? How would that work?
Wyatt met his gaze and nodded. “We need to pay a visit to the uncles.”
“That sounds like you’re going to jump them down on the docks.” Sasha slowly unfolded her body and stood up. “Sounds like fun.”
Maverick jumped to her aid when she stumbled a bit and growled when she tried to push away his help. “You’re exhausted. You need to go to bed.”
Sawyer nodded. “Let us help.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re not my alphas yet. I do what I want.”
Wyatt stood up and flanked her on her other side. “As your almost alphas, you’re going to let us help.”
Growling, she shrugged. “Fine. But you’re not walking me past my bedroom door. I have enough of your funk in my bathroom. You’re not getting it in my bedroom, too.”
Sawyer pushed open the door for them and watched as Sasha struggled against their help the entire way to her bedroom. She even smacked Wyatt’s hand when he tried to push her door open for her. She was going to give someone absolute hell when the right person came along, that was for sure. Until then, it seemed like she was just going to give everyone hell.
She might’ve saved them if what she was saying was right, though. If Maggie didn’t have to choose, if there was a way, then they would owe Sasha the world. Judging by the twinkle in her eyes, she knew it, too.
“Good luck beating up your uncles. If anyone asks, I’ll say you were here all night. But definitely not sharing...sex...because that’s so gross. Blah.” She whispered the word sex and shuddered so dramatically that a blind man would’ve seen she was making fun of them. “Night, boys.”
Sawyer looked at his brothers and shook his head. “What the fuck just happened?”
25.
***Maggie***
Maggie woke up alone in her bed and felt disoriented. How had she ended up in her own bed? When did she come home? She remembered being at the ranch and then...
She gasped. Oh, no.
“It’s okay, Mags.” Wyatt’s soft voice came from the chair on the other side of her room. When she looked up, she saw that he was watching over her. “It’s just me.”
Tears immediately peppered her eyes and she wanted more than anything for him to comfort her. She couldn’t ask him for that, though. She didn’t deserve it. She was awful.
Wyatt didn’t need to be asked, though. He crawled into bed behind her, fully dressed, and pulled her into his arms. “It’s okay, baby. Everything is okay.”
She wasn’t sure it was. She turned and curled into his chest, needing him. He shouldn’t even be there. It would serve her right if they all quit seeing her. She’d hurt them.
Wyatt pulled her on top of them and hugged her tight. “It’s okay, Maggie. Don’t cry, baby. You’re killing me.”
She rested her head on his chest and listened to the steady beating of his heart. “Why aren’t you mad?”
He laughed. “Maggie, you passed out in front of me last night and damn near gave me a heart attack. Even if I was mad, I’d just be so glad to see you awake that it wouldn’t matter.”
She wanted to stay there and let him make it better, but she needed to check on Milo and act like a responsible adult. She tried to sit up, but Wyatt didn’t budge his arms from around her. “I need to check on Milo.”
“He’s with Maverick and Sawyer. They’re talking to the uncles this morning and I had guard duty. They’ll be jealous I got to be here when you woke up.”
She wiped her eyes on his shirt and her body naturally relaxed into his. She needed him. She needed to feel like she hadn’t ruined everything for a few minutes. “Wyatt?”
He stroked her hair out of her face. “Yeah, baby?”
“I think...” She took in a deep breath and looked up at him. “I need you.”
He cupped her face in his big hand and smiled up at her. “You have me.”
She lowered her mouth to his and kissed him. Her heart thumped in her chest and her body warmed at the touch. She didn’t deserve for him to make her feel better, but she needed him one more time. If he left her after that, she needed at least one more time to remember him by, one more moment of his scent emblazoned on her brain.
Wyatt held her face as he kissed her, but his hands quickly moved over her shoulders and down her sides as their kiss heated. There was a desperate edge to the kiss, with Maggie worried it would be the last. She fluttered kisses down his jaw and across his neck before sitting up and yanking her shirt over her head. She tugged his off and then ran her hands over his chest.
“You’re beauti
ful.” She lowered her mouth to his chest and kissed his hot skin. Dusted with salt and pepper hair, his strong body moved with hers as she straddled him. Her mouth closed over his nipples and then she kissed back up to his mouth and breathed in his warm breath. “So beautiful and perfect.”
Wyatt growled and rolled them over. He stripped off her bra and fit himself between her open thighs before dropping his head and feasting on her breasts. Watching him, Maggie moaned and ran her hands over every part of him she could touch. There was never enough. She always wanted more of him, needed more.
She gasped when he stood up suddenly and pulled her to her feet. Then he was pushing her skirt off and shoving his own pants off. He seemed as desperate as she was as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her onto his lap. With his arm locked around her waist, he lined up their bodies and pulled her down on his shaft. When her head fell back in pleasure, he kissed the tender skin of her neck and buried his hands in her ass.
Maggie locked her arms and legs around him and gasped as he lifted her up and dropped her back down in a fast and hard pace. It was unlike him, but she could feel he was as on edge as she was. She found his mouth and kissed him hard as their bodies joined faster and harder. His grip was bruising, but she needed it. She clawed his back and bit his lip, her core tightening with pleasure as she got closer to coming.
Wyatt moved faster, a low growl purring from his lips. Just before the tension snapped, he stood up and backed her into a wall, using the new angle to thrust into her at a punishing pace, filling her harder and deeper. He swallowed her cries of pleasure and then buried his head in her neck as he came with a deep growl of her name.
She came with him, her pleasure enhanced by his as she felt him shake. Her body pulsed around his and she dropped her forehead to his shoulder as she panted to regain any sort of composure she could.
When he lifted his head, she met his eyes. He licked his lips and let out a deep chuckle. “That was different.”
She felt her cheeks redden. She nodded and didn’t let go of him as he moved her from the wall back to the bed. He fell into it with her and laughed when the bed creaked dangerously. She didn’t need to ask if the sex was good. She knew. It was always good. She was embarrassed by her desperation, though.
