Chapter 40
1577 Words
Cash
The new suite was bigger than I expected—even for us.
Three bedrooms. A private living room. Floor-to-ceiling windows. The kind of space that said you belong here now.
I hauled another box through the doorway, tossing it on the couch with a grunt.
“I call dibs on the big bedroom,” I said.
“We’re literally rotating who sleeps where,” Cole muttered, flipping open a cabinet. “You can’t call dibs.”
“I can try.”
Cain shot me a look from where he was hooking up the TV. “Just don’t break the sound system again trying to ‘fix’ the Bluetooth.”
“That was one time.” I smirked. “And technically, that speaker broke itself.”
Cain rolled his eyes, and I was about to shoot back with something smart when I caught Gwen across the room, folding one of her sweaters into a drawer.
She looked small in the space, like she was still trying to shrink herself to fit into all this—our life, this bond, this pack.
I set the next box down gently.
Time to stop making jokes and start being a damn partner.
I crossed the room and touched her shoulder. “Hey, can I talk to you for a second?”
She turned to me immediately, warm and open. “Of course.”
We stepped into the hallway outside the suite. The hum of activity faded behind us.
“I’ve been a d**k,” I said.
Her eyebrows rose.
“To you,” I clarified. “Just… I haven’t handled everything well. Not the waiting. Not the sharing. Not the feeling like maybe you want someone else more than me.”
Her face softened instantly. “Cash…”
“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty,” I added quickly. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry. You’ve been through hell and I made it about me.”
She didn’t speak right away.
Instead, she stepped close and took my hand.
“What can I do to make it better?” she asked.
Gods, that undid me.
“I just want a night,” I said. “Just us. Something simple. Movie, snacks, stupid banter. No pressure. Just… you and me.”
Gwen smiled. “That sounds perfect.”
Behind her, the suite door opened again.
“You two sneaking off already?” Cain called, grinning.
Gwen leaned her head against my shoulder. “Movie night. Just us.”
Cain raised a brow, mock-offended. “Unbelievable. I get zero Gwen time today?”
Gwen laughed and blew him a kiss. “You’ll survive.”
The moment felt easy.
Natural.
Like we weren’t just trying to fit our lives together—like maybe they’d already started fitting on their own.
Gwen
Cash had gone all out.
Popcorn in a big ceramic bowl, a blanket fort made out of the couch cushions, two fizzy lemon sodas with mismatched straws, and a stack of DVDs that screamed nostalgia and bad decisions.
“This is exactly what I needed,” I said, plopping down beside him in the nest of pillows.
“Told you,” he said, looking smug. “I’m excellent at date nights.”
“Is this a date night?”
He blinked at me, then leaned in, grinning. “Only if you want it to be.”
I nudged him with my elbow. “I didn’t know you were such a softie.”
“Don’t let it get around,” he said. “I’ve got a reputation to protect.”
He handed me the remote. “Dealer’s choice. We’ve got The Mummy, Clueless, Mad Max, or Shrek 2.”
I gave him a look. “Shrek 2?”
“It’s cinematic gold, Gwen.”
“Fine,” I said, hitting play. “But I’m judging you.”
He threw an arm over my shoulders and pulled me closer, just enough that my head fit perfectly against his chest. I could hear the steady thump of his heart. It was grounding.
“I like this,” I murmured.
“I like you,” he replied, fingers brushing lightly up and down my arm. His touch was gentler than I expected from someone so broad and intense. “I like you a lot.”
Halfway through the movie, we were tangled together under the blanket. Cash kept making commentary, occasionally quoting Donkey and dramatically mouthing the words along with the characters until I was laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe.
“I think I just pulled something,” I wheezed.
He laughed with me, then quieted.
I felt his hand drift from my arm to my waist. Still slow. Still gentle. Still asking.
I turned into him.
He met my gaze, his own expression turning serious. “Gwen…”
I kissed him.
Softly at first, then deeper as his arms curled around me. My fingers gripped his shirt, tugging him closer. I felt his chest rise with a shaky breath as I pressed against him, kissing him again and again until his hands slid up my back, into my hair.
When I moaned into his mouth, I felt his restraint falter—just a flicker—and then he pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against mine.
“You sure?” he asked, voice rough.
I nodded, but then hesitated. “I want to go slow.”
“You set the pace,” he said instantly, brushing his lips across my cheek, my jaw, my neck. “Always.”
He kissed down the line of my throat, hands warm and careful on my hips. I arched slightly toward him, letting him explore, letting the tension build between us until it was a low, humming ache.
But I didn’t push further.
And neither did he.
We just lay there, wrapped up in each other, his nose brushing against my collarbone, his lips murmuring sweet nothings into my skin.
Then, barely a whisper:
“I love you, Gwen.”
I froze.
Not because I didn’t want to hear it—but because something in me cracked open in the best possible way.
I pulled back just enough to see his eyes.
“I love you too, Cash,” I whispered.
The smile he gave me wasn’t cocky or flirtatious.
It was real. Soft. Unburdened.
He tucked me closer and kissed the top of my head. “Movie’s almost over.”
“Doesn’t matter,” I said, closing my eyes.
Because here, in this blanket nest with Cash holding me like I was precious—
Everything finally felt safe.
Cole
The rhythmic clicking of buttons filled the room, the occasional burst of animated gunfire flashing across the TV screen. I leaned back on the couch, thumbs flying as I executed another combo with more muscle memory than thought. Cain, sitting beside me, was uncharacteristically quiet.
We were both playing, but only one of us was actually there.
“Dude,” I said, not looking over. “You’ve died, like, six times in two minutes.”
Cain grunted, tossing his controller onto the cushion. “Yeah, well. My head’s not in it.”
“No shit.” I paused the game and turned toward him. “What’s going on?”
He rubbed a hand over his jaw, stubble rasping under his fingers. “I don’t know. I guess…” He sighed. “I’m just having a hard time adjusting.”
I waited, letting the silence pull more out of him.
“For so long it was just me and Gwen. I was the one protecting her. The one she looked to. Now—now it’s like I’m being pushed out.”
I blinked. “Seriously?”
He frowned. “You don’t feel that?”
“No,” I said flatly. “Because I’m not letting my ego get in the way.”
He scoffed and looked away.
I sat forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Cain. You’ve had Gwen’s trust from the beginning. You earned it, and yeah, you were the first one there. But you’re not being pushed out. Cash and I are just… catching up.”
“It doesn’t feel like that,” he muttered.
I exhaled, then said what I’d been sitting on for days. “You know she’s going to have s*x with you first, right?”
Cain’s head jerked up. “What?”
“It’s obvious,” I said with a shrug. “You’re the one she’s closest to. The one she feels safest with. You’ve known each other the longest, and let’s be real, after everything she’s been through, safety matters.”
Cain stared at me, trying to process it.
I kept going. “Cash and I—hell, even Achilles knows—she’ll turn to you first. And that’s fine. We love her, not just claim her. So get over yourself and be patient.”
He was quiet for a long moment, brows drawn tight, but not defensive anymore.
“You really think that?” he asked.
I nodded. “I know it.”
He leaned back with a sigh, some of the tension in his shoulders finally easing. “I guess I needed to hear that.”
I smirked and picked the controller back up. “Anytime. Now, get your head back in the game, or I’m going to crush you again.”
Cain chuckled, a real one this time, and grabbed his controller.
- Writer
