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Ember I was used to. Rian didn’t feel threatening. But Ben and Alejandro were alphas capable of hurting me.

Except both of them had done nothing but show me they loved me. That I had space. Neither of them had ever pressed me to be knotted, and I had to maneuver my way to the bottom if I wanted to feel their weight on me.

Ember was right. I wasn’t ready for bonding, but it almost didn’t matter. They knew me well enough to know when I wanted space and when I wanted attention.

I opened the door and found Ember curled up on the couch. She had a million candles lit and had a blanket wrapped around her. I came over and gave her a kiss. “How was work?”

“Fine. You?” She pulled me down to her, and I curled up under the blankets gratefully.

“A trash fire,” I said. “Greg found out about you being bonded and was in a pissy mood all day.”

Ember rolled her eyes. “That was never going to happen.”

“I told him as much.” I shook my head. “And then the portal we submit our projects into won’t stop messing up.”

Ember made a face. “Our matching software is still being stupid. I’m beginning to suspect computer gnomes.”

I sighed and put my head on her shoulder. “You might be right.”

I’d had to work some overtime for taking heat leave and then being there for Ember and Rian being bonded. My boss had made some snide comments about how it must be nice to get off work early to get railed, and it was all I could do not to punch him.

She pulled my hair out of its braid with a smirk that said she was getting away with murder. “We’ll check the systems tomorrow.”

I muttered a yes, and she worked her fingers through my hair. I didn’t like people playing with my hair, but Ember, and now my pack, was the exception.

“You’re still happy?” I looked at her out of the corner of my eye. She obviously was, but I wondered if having three other people’s feelings inside her wasn’t…crowded.

“Ecstatic.” She beamed and touched her chest. “I thought being bonded would feel…suffocating. But it’s not. It’s like having snuggles, twenty-four seven.”

That actually sounded…nice. Maybe soon. The more times I felt Ben or Alejandro inside me, the more connection I wanted. I wanted it deeper, stronger. It was on the tip of my tongue the last time we’d had sex to beg them for a bite, but then I came to my senses.

The men in question came home, and we cuddled on the couch. Ember put on her bloodthirsty documentary, and Ifound myself considering starting another orgy when my phone beeped.

I looked down. It was my boss.

Mr. Arnold:

Your work has been shoddy for months. The project you submitted tonight had unacceptable mistakes in it. Coming back from heat and bonding leave is no excuse. See me in my office tomorrow.

Blood roared in my head,and I felt sick. I swallowed hard, locking down my emotions.

“What’s wrong?” Ben touched my shoulder.

I sighed and pulled my laptop out of my bag. “Nothing. My boss is an ass.”

Ember snatched my phone out of my hand, no sense of boundaries. “‘Your heat leave and unacceptable mistakes’? What does the fucker mean by that?”

I rubbed my temples. “I keep submitting projects and they wind up screwed up on the other end. First it was here and there, but now it happens regularly. I don’t know why.”

“Do you have the original version? Like, before you upload it into the portal?” Ember asked.

“It’s still on my laptop.”

“Let’s go through your code. We can compare to what you did and then what came through.” Ember yanked her laptop into her lap with a determined look.

I groaned. “That’s going to take hours.”

“Better to have the proof for tomorrow.”