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“No… um, that’s way too much, Connor. Is there a small bedroom out of the way I can stay in for the time I’m here with you? I mean, not with you, with you, but living… here?”

Flush with the possibilities his innocent words conjured in my mind, I jumped when someone cleared their throat.

“Why don’t you put him in the room next to you, Con? That way, he can come to you if he needs anything?” Landon suggested.

Ollie, not getting the sexual connotation from my little shit of a brother, blinked at him and said, “I would never want to be a bother, so a room out of the way is perfect. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, I wake up and write or take notes when I have an idea. I’d hate to wake anyone.”

One triplet hugged him, and based on Ollie’s earlier description of the three, I’d guessed it was Linus. “You’re not in the way, Ollie. Follow me. The room I have in mind will be perfect for you.”

As Lyric took Ollie’s other arm, they walked him down the hallway toward what I called in my mind the ‘tan’ room.” With antique wooden dressers and nightstands, along with an elegant desk facing the corner with two windows that would give him plenty of light for writing. It was perfect.

But when they entered the room, Ollie stopped in his tracks. I snuck around the group with his suitcase and placed it on the loveseat at the base of the bed. When I turned around, his eyes were wide and his mouth open as he took in the room.

“What do you think?”

Rather than answering right away, he nibbled on his bottom lip and looked at me with wide, pleading eyes.

“Um, isn’t it kind of… big?”

His question had my lips tipping up.

Lyric, or hell, it might have been Linus, scoffed and said, “You should see the bedroom Con claimed for himself. No one needs a full-sized sauna in their bathroom.”

Before Ollie talked himself out of the bedroom so close to mine, I said, “This is the smallest one we have. And yes, it’s closeto my room, so if you need anything, I’ll be right here.” I pointed down the hall toward the double doors.

His eyes widened, and I noted Ollie scandalized was a sight to behold.

Linus then took the bag from his shoulder and laid it on the desk. When he turned back, he said in a sweet, quiet voice, “I’m glad you’re here, Ollie. We’re gonna be great friends.”

Ollie’s face softened, and he pulled both my brothers into his arms and said, “Thank you, and I’d love to.”

With reluctance, I followed them out of Ollie’s room.

“Good night, Ollie, sleep well.”

“Night, Connor, and thanks again.”

His smile spiked my pulse, making me want things I shouldn’t.

After the exhaustive day; the end of the shoot and the long flight home caught up to me the moment I was out of Ollie’s presence. I staggered toward my bedroom and closed the door behind me, walking over to my bed as I shucked off all my clothes, before collapsing on the downy softness and closing my eyes. Blackness surrounded me as soon as I covered myself with a sheet.

It could’ve been hours, or days, later, but I blinked open my eyes in my darkened bedroom. I’m not a heavy sleeper, so when I noticed my surroundings, I realized a sound had woken me, but for the life of me, I couldn’t identify it. The unfortunate side effect of consciousness was I was up for the day. A sigh of happiness escaped when I glanced at the clock and noticed it was closer to noon than early in the morning.

I threw on a tee and a loose pair of sweats, pressing the button to open the blackout curtains, and took a minute to adjust to the bright sunlight streaming through the windows. The triplets giggled right outside in the hallway and I openedthe door to see them disappearing into Ollie’s room. Frowning, I followed them.

“What are you three doing?”

Linus, I was getting better at finding their distinctive qualities thanks to my new friend, glanced up and said, “Ollie sleeps like the dead. You don’t have to whisper. Besides, mama sent us up because she made a full breakfast and is worried about him not eating enough.”

Ollie shuffled on the bed and turned to face away from us, but he didn’t wake. As he hugged a pillow to his chest, he kicked the blanket, which exposed his bare back and the swell of his bare ass, and I fought to swallow against my dry throat.

“Okay, out!” I said as I pushed my brothers toward the exit, ignoring their loud complaints.

Once the door shut behind me, I turned toward Ollie and noticed he turned back toward me during all the commotion. His face was relaxed in sleep and he looked even younger without his glasses perched on his nose.

“Ollie, honey,” I reached out and shook his shoulder.

No movement or sound came from the younger man, and the heat coming off his skin seared my hand. I hesitated, but knowing he needed to eat, I caressed his arm, hoping a gentler touch would work. While Ollie didn’t move, I became hyper focused on the way his soft skin made me itch to explore more of him and craved to learn his reactions to my touch.