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Flying back was so much better with a companion. So much more relaxing with Maverick at my side, cuddled together as we stared out the tiny oval window at the clouds and sky.

It had taken me five minutes to pack. Two minutes to call Aric and tell him I was escaping New York for the next few days, and my assistant happily assured me he had ‘had things’ while I was gone.

By the time we landed in Sky Harbor it still seemed like Friday, which it almost really was. Maverick’s hand guided the steering wheel as we sped away from the lights of Phoenix, slipping into the darkness of the desert only to be swallowed by the nighttime sky.

I was exhausted, mentally and physically, but my excitement built again as the house faded into view. I relished the warm, orange and yellow glow of the many windows. Craved the warmth and camaraderie that I knew awaited within.

Devyn and Gage weren’t just awake at this late hour, they were thrilled to see me. They burst through the front door and raced right down the driveway, hugging and spinning me around happily but still gently, each of them staring at my belly and wondering how much I could take.

“Don’t worry,” I grinned back at them. “I’m far from fragile.”

They swept me quickly from the cold night and into the house, where the warmth and coziness enveloped me like a favorite blanket, straight out of the dryer. The kisses came next, first fast and then slow. I stood there in the center of their little circle, kissing them back and squeezing all the various parts of their hard, beautiful bodies that I remembered most.

But it was late. Very late. The wee hours of the morning.

Luckily the guys had that covered, too.

“Come on,” said Devyn, slipping an arm around my waist. “You’ve had a long trip.”

He led me into the living room, where the gas fireplace was already providing its soothing warmth. The windows were shuttered throughout, all the way down to the floor. The lights were off. Everything was dark and warm.

In the dim light I could make out a vast pile of blankets and pillows, spread out across the floor. The guys led me in that direction, then took turns removing my clothing. They stripped me down to my underwear, each taking a moment to glide a slow hand over the slight swell of my pregnant belly. It was cute, watching how tentatively they did this. Maybe the most adorable thing in the world.

Then they were taking their clothes off too, and my eyes were busy crawling over every glorious stretch of firelit muscle.

Eventually they pulled me down into the nest of pillows and comforters, and curled up on either side of me. I was spooned and cuddled. Enveloped by warm arms, kissed by soft lips. They shifted their hard bodies against mine, covering every inch of my exposed skin with the warmth of their own. All while the fireplace crackled in the background.

Mmmmmmm…

It was total heaven. Pure nirvana. Best of all it was the polar opposite of loneliness, as I now had three amazing men surrounding me, holding me, shielding me from the world. Three men that I somehow knew would attend to my every need.

In time the kisses grew sleepier, the touching lazy and slow. Somewhere in the warm shadows of the flickering firelight, my eyelids grew so heavy it became impossible to keep them open.

And so I didn’t.

The last thing I remembered as sleep took me was Devyn wrapped around me from behind, his face resting lightly against my cheek. He whispered softly, sweetly, his breath hot and electric against the outer rim of my ear.

“You’rehomenow.”

Thirty-Eight

JULIANA

I dreamt, and in my dream I was swimming naked through a beautiful, tranquil lake with an island in the middle. The water was warm and soothing. Crystal clear. It enveloped me with a wonderful heat as I swam along, leaving me sleepy and contented.

After swimming for a long time I reached the island, and emerged beneath a breathtaking star-filled sky. I had no clothes, no towel, but I wasn’t cold. The moon cast a strange, blanketing warmth over everything, almost like the sun but somehow different.

At the island’s center stood a house, glowing warmly from within. I entered the house without knocking, and found myself in a hall with many doors. All of them were open. Soft golden light spilled from each one.

I traversed the hall and found each room was filled with people, laughing and drinking and having fun. They ignored me, largely. Almost like they couldn’t see or hear me. Yet one person from each roomcouldsee me, and that person stopped what they were doing to reach out and pluck something from me. Only I had nothing. I carried nothing, I wore nothing.

Looking down, I realized they were takingpiecesof me away.

For some reason this didn’t alarm me, although it should’ve. I kept walking, kept stopping at the doorways. And people kept taking from me. Removing small pieces of my arms, my legs, my torso. It didn’t hurt. It didn’t affect me or stop me from going on. In fact, I sort oflikedit.

The dream went on, with me sharing pieces of myself until there was almost nothing left. And then I was outside, slipping into the lake again. Surrendering to the warmth of the water, and its soothing tranquil heat.

Little by little, I allowed myself to dissolve away into nothing. But I did it willingly. Happily. I just floated there beneath the star-flung sky, until darkness crept in and a comforting sleep I knew would be utterly endless finally took me…