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I smiled up at him, allowing myself to finally release all those emotions I’d pent up since the last time I was able to share such a time with him. “Duncan, from the moment I met you, I knew that there was a part of me that had been missing until then. Even though you captured me, I still recognised your truth, behind the illusion of Duncan, the Hunter. I saw you, the man I then came to love.” As if that wasn’t enough, I repeated myself, making sure the next five words were the clearest I’d ever said them. “I love you, Duncan Rackley.”

His green eyes softened at the edges, his pink wet lips curving into the most beautiful of smiles. “And I love you.”

I shifted my attention to Erix. There was no ignoring the way his breathing caught in his throat, as if our sudden eye contact was enough to shock him. Duncan’s hand lay on my back, encouraging me to continue my admission.

“Erix,” I breathed his name, feeling the weight of it, the emotion behind it.

“Hello, little bird,” he said, his nerves endearing and no different to my own.

“Thank you,” I sighed, desperate to kiss him but needing to get one last thing off my chest first.

“For what?” He tilted his head, laying his hand atop mine and squeezing.

“For existing. For everything.” I took a deep breath in, preparing to unlock the final bolt upon my emotions, and let them out. Vulnerability always made me feel weak, but for the first time, the release of it made me the most powerful man in the world. “Thank you for sweeping into my life and showing me the person I never believed it possible to become. Without you, without the profound effect you’ve had on me, I don’t think I’d have had the strength to dare to love another person. You showed me the parts of myself that were hidden, and for that I can’t do anything but thank you.”

“Oh, Robin,” Erix exhaled my name, as if the moment warranted the seriousness of using it. It was my undoing. “You have always been my anchor, even when my mind was not my own.”

“And you fought against it, for me.”

“He did,” Duncan agreed. “And for that Robin, take the first step and show Erixhowyou feel.”

Encouraged by Duncan’s words, I leaned into Erix, closed the space and placed my lips to his. The kiss – as it had been with Duncan – was tender. Full of emotion and unspoken words. I delighted in the taste of him, drinking every possible second as if this was a dream. When in truth, nothing had ever felt so real.

Erix was the one to break it. I didn’t need to ask why as he reached over me, took Duncan’s hand and spoke to him directly. “We both love him.”

“More than words could ever begin to explain,” Duncan agreed.

“Your actions have made that clear, both of you,” I said, looking between them both. “Whether I’m deserving of it or not.”

“You are,” Erix whispered. “I have decided.”

“We can both agree on that,” Duncan confirmed. “Words are strong, but actions are ever so powerful. Let’s use them to show one another exactly how deep we feel, and how sure we are.”

How could I refuse?

I rocked back as both men closed the space and laid their mouths on my neck. One from either side.

I faced skyward, eyes locked to the domed ceiling. Pleasure was a tidal wave. A release. I lost myself to the feeling of their mouths, the graze of teeth and the languid sweep of tongues.

It was one thing to lie with one of them, but having them both was otherworldly. If there was any scrap of feeling that I was not worthy, it faded away as Duncan and Erix devoured me.

I was worthy, because they saw me as that. And if I expected them to accept the same feeling, I had to first take it and confidently welcome it too.

I couldn’t get enough. Without words or commands, I begged them each to take turns on my mouth. As Duncan expressed his need for me in the passion of his kiss, Erix would continue roaming his mouth down my neck. At one point, Erix had reached for the button of my tunic and offered me a simple question.

“May I take this off, little bird?” Erix asked.

Duncan withdrew from my mouth just long enough for me to reply.

“Yes,” I exhaled. “Please.”

Erix wasted no time. He began undoing my tunic, tugging the lose material over my shoulders so his mouth could continue its exploration. His tongue lapped up the salt across my skin, whilst leaving a map of marks down my upper arms from his nipping and sucking.

Desperately, I returned my lips to Duncan’s mouth, luxuriating in the divinity of him. There was no stopping as I moaned into him. Clearly it was exactly what he wanted to hear, because he growled in return, his fingers deepening against my skin.

In the moments I found the energy to open my eyes, it was to watch the encouraging glances Duncan and Erix gave one another – as if continuously offering their consent and acceptance to what was happening.

By the time my tunic was discarded on the floor, the possibility as to what was coming hit me. I laid a hand on both men’s chests and pushed enough to signal I needed a moment.