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.