Page 104 of Better When Shared (Kristin Lance Anthologies #2)

Kiaan

I paced the hardwood floors of our new living room, checking my watch for the fifth time in as many minutes.

My stomach twisted with a familiar mix of excitement and terror as Ryker adjusted a vase of wildflowers on the coffee table.

In an hour, Skylar would walk through that front door, and our lives would either slot perfectly into place or crumble around us.

“She’s going to love it,”

Ryker said, his calm voice cutting through my spiraling thoughts.

He stood in a shaft of late afternoon sunlight, looking so at home in this space we’d created together that my chest ached.

“You don’t know that,”

I countered, resuming my pacing.

“What if she hates it? What if—”

“Kiaan.”

Ryker caught my arm as I passed him, stopping me in my tracks. “Breathe.”

I inhaled deeply, letting his steady presence anchor me.

The past month had transformed us both.

Ryker had wrapped up his life in Denver, transferring to the San Juan Island Fire Department with surprising ease, and I’d hired a house sitter to watch my Malibu house, figuring it wouldn’t hurt to have a place at the beach when we wanted a vacation.

And now here we were—moved in, unpacked, waiting for our third to complete us.

“I just want it to be perfect for her,”

I admitted, surveying the space we’d created.

Ryker snorted.

“Is it possible that surprising her by finishing the renovation while she was on that sailing trip wasn’t the best choice if it’s giving you this much anxiety?”

I stuck my tongue out at him, and he laughed.

The house wasn’t ostentatious by my standards—a renovated farmhouse with four bedrooms, two offices, a gaming room in the basement, and a large kitchen that opened to a living area with vaulted ceilings.

But compared to Skylar’s tiny house, it was a mansion.

I’d wanted to go bigger, more luxurious, but Ryker and Skylar had reined me in, claiming they wanted something more homey.

And it was, not just because of my money, but because Ryker had been working on it for the past few months, with project after project that showed his loving touch.

“It doesn’t have to be perfect,”

Ryker said, guiding me to the oversized sectional we’d chosen specifically to accommodate all three of us comfortably.

“It just has to be ours.”

“Did we pick the right kind of washer and dryer? I can have them replaced before she gets here—”

“Kiaan.”

Ryker’s voice carried a gentle command that always made my racing thoughts slow.

“The washer and dryer are fine. The house is great.”

I collapsed onto the couch beside him, leg bouncing with nervous energy.

“I’ve never done this before.”

“What, bought a house?”

“No,”

I said, staring at my hands.

“Asked a woman to marry me. Us.”

Ryker’s arm slid around my shoulders, pulling me against his solid warmth.

“Welcome to caring about people more than yourself, Kitten. It’s scary as fuck, but worth it.”

I leaned into him, still marveling at how natural it felt to be touched by him, to be held by him.

A man.

Not that I’d ever looked at another man the way I looked at Ryker.

In the month since our Denver reunion, I’d had plenty of opportunities to test that theory.

Plenty of attractive men had crossed my path, and I’d felt absolutely nothing.

No stirrings, no curiosity, no desire.

But Ryker? The moment his arm wrapped around me, heat bloomed in my chest and spread lower, an automatic response I’d stopped fighting weeks ago, my hole fluttering with the insistent need to be stuffed full of him.

“What if she thinks the house is too much?”

I asked, voicing my deepest fear.

“She won’t,”

Ryker assured me, his hand sliding from my shoulder to the nape of my neck, thumb circling the spot where my collar would rest when Skylar was feeling dominant.

“She loved it when we toured it. And she knows you. Knows your heart.”

“I still don’t understand it. I look at other men and feel nothing. Zero attraction. But with you...”

I trailed off, gesturing helplessly.

His smile was gentle, understanding.

“We love each other. That’s all you need to know. Maybe you’re only attracted to men you feel deeply connected to. Or maybe you’re only ever going to want my cock, no other.”

He tilted his head.

“You know what, I’m voting for that one.”

Then his hand was sliding down my back, under the waistband of my jeans, fingers seeking and finding the plug I’d been wearing all day to help ease the constant need to be filled by him.

I gasped as he gripped it, twisting it gently, sending sparks of pleasure up my spine.

“You need desperately to be filled up, don’t you, Kitten,”

he murmured, his breath hot against my ear.

“Fuck,”

I hissed, pressing back against his hand. “Yes.”

In one smooth motion, he pulled the plug free, setting it aside on a tissue he’d tugged from a box on the end table. Then his fingers were back, circling my already slick entrance, teasing.

“You’re so ready.”

He pressed two thick fingers inside me without resistance.

“So open for me. For us.”

I groaned, spreading my legs wider to accommodate him, still sitting side by side on the couch. He knew how safe I felt with his fingers buried inside me, stretching me, preparing me for what might come later.

“She’s going to love what we did to the house,”

he promised, curling his fingers to hit that spot inside me that made stars explode behind my eyelids.

“She’s going to love that we did this for her. That we’re building a home for our little family. All of us, together.”

I nodded, unable to form words as he continued to work his fingers inside me, turning anxiety into arousal with practiced ease.

“I just want her to be happy,”

I managed, gasping as he added a third finger, the stretch exquisite.

“She will be,”

he assured me, his free hand coming up to turn my face toward his for a gentle kiss.

“We all will be. And I don’t forget. She started birth control, so maybe tonight she’ll finally let us fuck her raw. Breed her. Fill her the way she needs.”

A tentative knock at the door sent my heart into overdrive.

Ryker squeezed my shoulder, slipped his fingers out of me, and wiped them clean on a wet wipe from a box on the counter.

We’d been with Skylar this morning in her tiny home, but she hadn’t seen us since.

The moment of truth had arrived, and I couldn’t remember how to breathe.

Ryker moved toward the door, his calm presence the only thing keeping me from spiraling into full panic mode.

“Coming!”

he called, shooting me a reassuring look before turning the knob.

Skylar stood on the porch, wearing leggings and one of Ryker’s old fire department t-shirts she’d claimed during his last visit.

Her dark hair was pulled back in a messy bun, glasses slightly askew.

Her eyes widened as she took in Ryker, then peered past him to see me standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room.

“What’s going on?”

she asked, stepping inside.

“I thought we still had months before we could move in.”

“We may have stretched the truth on the real estate hassle,”

I said.

“While Ryker worked on some projects. He had a real vision for the bookshelves.”

Skylar laughed, the sound bright and perfect in the new space. She turned as she laughed, her eyes landing on the photographs of the three of us already hanging on the walls. Her mouth dropped open.

“How long have you been planning this?”

Ryker moved to the kitchen sink, washing his hands thoroughly.

“About a month,”

he admitted.

“We wanted to surprise you with a move-in ready house. The place was in pretty bad shape and needed some work.”

“Oh, I remember,”

she said, laughing.

“I could have helped, though?”

Ryker shrugged.

“The summer is your busy season. You and Makai have had clients, and you’ve been so tired. We just wanted everything to be smooth and easy for you.”

Skylar’s eyes glistened with unshed tears.

“You did all this for me?”

“For us,”

I corrected, finding my voice.

“All three of us. And for our future family. Our children.”

“Fuck, why does that make me so wet?”

she asked, laughing as she stared at us.

“You can change anything you don’t like. Like the washer, or the dryer.”

I said, ignoring Ryker’s snorted laugh.

“We just love you so much, and we wanted to build a home with you.”

“We want to build a life with you,”

Ryker added.

“Starting here.”

She crossed the room in quick strides, wrapping her arms around both of us, her slight frame somehow encompassing us both.

“Show me everything,”

she demanded, pulling back with excitement dancing in her eyes.

We led her through the main floor first, pointing out the changes we’d made, things we’d fixed.

The kitchen had new countertops and state-of-the-art appliances.

The cozy breakfast nook she’d loved when we toured the house now sported new cushions in her favorite shade of teal.

The living room sported new built-ins and a massive sectional couch, like the one in her tiny house but twice as big.

“We haven’t done anything with the spare bedrooms yet. Weren’t sure if you’d want offices or guest rooms,”

Ryker said.

“Or kids,”

I blurted out, immediately regretting my directness when Skylar’s steps faltered.

“I mean, not that we’re pushing for that or anything. Just... options.”

Skylar’s expression softened. “Kids,”

she repeated, her hand landing on her belly, as a wicked smile crossed her lips.

“Back on breeding me?”

“We don’t have to decide anything now,”

Ryker assured her quickly.

“It’s just space. For whatever we want.”

“And I just got on birth control.”

She tilted her head.

“Though, I can go off birth control, if my boys want to breed me for real.”

My cock was rock hard, but we hadn’t even done the tour yet.

“Let’s show you what we did with the gaming room. Ryker built some really cool stuff there!”

We led her down to the basement, now finished to house our pride and joy—a room designed specifically for the three of us to game together.

I’d purchased three high-end PC gaming stations, and Ryker had built custom desks that put us facing each other at the center of the room, creating a triangle of screens, mechanical keyboards, and customized gaming chairs.

A large TV mounted on one wall stood ready for console gaming, surrounded by comfortable seating.

But it was the display case along the far wall that made Skylar gasp.

Ryker had built a new shelf for her vintage game collection, even better than the one in the cabin.

And beside it, three framed prints of our Legend of the Twin Blades characters commissioned from a digital artist I’d found online.

“We saved the best for last,”

Ryker added, guiding us up the stairs, and toward the master suite.

The bedroom was my favorite room in the house—a spacious sanctuary with a custom-built king-size bed big enough to comfortably fit the three of us.

With a beefy canopy frame that had custom loops built into it for bondage.

Floor-to-ceiling windows looked out over the property, while blackout curtains could be closed for privacy.

A sitting area with a small fireplace created a cozy nook, and I’d hired a team to redo the en-suite bathroom to make sure the shower was big enough for three.

Skylar wandered through the space, touching things gently, as if afraid they might disappear.

When she finally spoke, her voice was thick with emotion.

“You did all this for me. For us.”

“Yes,”

Ryker and I said in unison.

She turned to face us, and I was startled to see tears streaming down her cheeks. But she was smiling—that radiant, full-body smile that made her entire face light up.

“No one has ever...”

She wiped at her tears impatiently.

“Ryker, did you build this bed? I love it so much.”

I crossed over to her, gathering her in my arms.

“So you like it? Because we can change anything. Well, except Ryker’s bed. He’s pretty set on his design for that… and I have no idea how we’d get it out of the room if we did want to move it.”

Ryker joined our embrace, his arms encircling us both. For a long moment, we stood like that, holding each other in the room we’d created to share our lives.

Then Skylar pulled back, her expression shifting from emotional to predatory in a heartbeat.

“I think this huge bed calls for a proper christening, don’t you?”

I grinned wickedly at her.

“Want us to breed you, Duchess?”

Ryker elbowed me and whispered.

“You were supposed to do the proposal first.”

“Oh! Right. As I was saying before we got sidetracked. Will you marry us?”

As we’d rehearsed, we went down on one knee together, and Ryker produced a small box with a flourish from his back pocket.

“We love you, Duchess. And we want to build a life with you.”

Skylar opened the ring box and squealed.

“It’s the one I pointed out in that store window a few weeks ago? You’re kidding!”

I shifted nervously, and cleared my throat.

“We did ask you a question.”

She laughed.

“Yes. Obviously yes! I love you both so much!”

As we crawled into the bed together, laughing and cuddling, I finally felt settled. Finally felt like I was home.