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I woke up hot, sticky, and feeling smothered. In my dreams, it was an avalanche of hot mud that was crushing me, but when I woke up with a gasp, it was two big, muscular bodies doing just that. Somehow I was the meat in a very nice sandwich, so why was my heart racing like I’d just run a marathon?

Any other girl would’ve laid back down and counted her big-dicked blessings. Still more would’ve pushed one guy or the other on his back and woken him with a series of long, slow kisses before going back for another round. The slow, dull ache between my words wasn’t the thing that had me wriggling free and picking my way across the bed.

I was forced to freeze when Hunter snuffled, again when Hayden rolled forward, hand sliding across the space I’d just vacated. He searched for me blindly, but I had to smile when his hand landed on Hunter. Watching him snuggle into his brother had me smiling, wondering if this was what it was like when they were in utero, but not for long. The same urge that was kicking me in the guts to get away, get out of here and go home, was growing.

Because I didn’t belong here.

Most of my damn life I’d wanted to be a McDonald. I knew I idealised Millie’s family to a degree, but it was hard not to. The guys put shit on their baby sister and each other, but there was something gentle and warm about that. They’d never cross a line and hurt someone, consciously or without thought, and even if they did, their parents would step in to make clear their mistake quietly, but firmly.

They were all safe.

And I felt safe whenever I was with them. It beat in my chest right now, that feeling of being held, being seen, being protected, but that’s when old instincts kicked in. The same ones that had me pulling away, going home, not wanting to make a pest of myself when I was a kid, had me dropping off the end of their bed.

Pulling on my clothes rebuilt my defences. Looking back for a second at the two of them hurt, but it was a sensation I knew well. This was another perfect moment, but they never lasted. Reality always cruelly shouldered forward, so I could either rush to meet that situation or sit around waiting for it to happen.

I chose to move.

There was a wrench as I walked out the door, but the further away from the twins I got, the better I felt. The pain became like the ache in your muscles after you’d pushed yourself hard. It hurt, but it was necessary. I found my phone then started scrolling through the apps, looking for a cab service, when I heard the soft sounds of footsteps.

“Sneaking out?” Hunter looked tired, but his smile was gentle as he emerged from the darkness. My thumb froze midway through tapping on my phone screen. “I thought that’s what guys did?”

“You can’t sneak out of your own bedroom,” I said, forcing myself to smile. “So I’m doing it for you.”

“Not for me.”

He moved slowly, but soon enough his body was slotted against mine, his arms going around me as the phone was plucked from my grip and then laid down on the kitchen counter. “Never for me. If you were doing me a favour, you’d come back to bed.” A soft, tickly kiss was placed on the back of my neck. “If you were just trying to make me happy, you’d never leave.”

I tensed against him without even thinking, and he went so-very still in response. My heart pounded frantically, unable to decide if his grip on me was comforting or a cave I needed to fight free of. Instead of giving voice to that terror, I kept my tone light as I replied, “I need to get home. I’ve got work tomorrow.”

“We can get you to work in plenty of time.”

A shadowy presence in the darkness, he was like some kind of demon lover, tempting with every hidden desire.

“Unless you’ve got a pair of overalls and steel cap boots I can wear, I’ll need to go home to change.”

“We can get you home in time to get changed.”

I looked up to see that Hayden had emerged, a strange kind of look in his eyes. One part exhaustion, one part resignation, one part challenge. I smiled in the face of it, trying to deflect that intense attention.

“That’s going to make your morning a whole lot more complicated.”

“Don’t care,” came his short response.

“It’d be easier for me to just go now.”

“Easier for who?” Hunter pulled me harder against his body, the tension there making clear that he wasn’t letting me go unless I demanded it. “It’s pretty damn squishy in my bed, and yet somehow I was sleeping the best I have in years.” I felt his mouth against my nape again. “Any thoughts on why?”

“Hayden’s snores are really good white noise?” I squeaked.

Right now I felt like a mouse caught between the paws of two golden cats.

“Try again.” Hayden stepped forward, blocking off all avenues of escape, until I was wedged between them again. “I can tell you if you can’t work it out.” I stared mutely into his eyes as he stroked my face. “There’s not much that feels that right, but sleeping next to you? Damn near perfect. So much so, I’m not sure how I’m going to sleep without you lying beside me.”

“Y’see, it’d be a public service to come back to bed with us,” Hunter said. “We’ve all got tough jobs to do with power tools, and not enough sleep affects mentally the same way alcohol does.”

“So I need to sleep with the two of you to prevent an industrial accident?” I said, unable to keep the laughter from my voice.

Damn them, I thought. This was precisely what I was trying to avoid. Walking away from any of them was hard, but when they were sweet, my resistance crumbled. The hungry little monster that lived in my heart roared to life, demanding we do exactly as they said right now, because that meant I could bask in their warmth just a little longer.