Page 124 of Daddies on Ice

This isn’t just sex, it’s a claiming, a promise, a declaration that I’m not alone in this fight.

Afterward, we lie tangled together on the couch, my head on Jake’s chest as he runs his fingers through my hair.

The storm continues to rage outside, but here in his arms, I feel safe.

I must drift off to sleep, because when I wake up, I’m no longer just with Jake.

Somehow, I’m snuggled between both Carl and Jake, their warm bodies creating a cocoon of safety around me.

44

ASH

The rumble of the bus engine beneath me does nothing to drown out the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen table.

I shift in my seat, trying to focus on the passing landscape outside the window, but my eyes keep drifting back to them.

Tish sits between Carl and Jake, her head thrown back in genuine laughter at something Jake just said.

Carl’s hand rests casually on her shoulder, his thumb tracing small circles against her sweater.

The sight makes my chest tighten.

I lean back in my seat, running a hand through my hair as the memory plays out again in my mind. I’d left her alone with Jake so I could talk to Trent, thinking I’d be gone maybe twenty minutes.

When I came back to her cabin, ready to apologize for being an ass about the whole sharing thing, I heard them before I saw them. Soft moans, the creak of her bed, Jake’s low voice murmuring her name like a prayer.

I should have knocked. Should have announced myself.

Instead, I stood there like a fool, watching through the crack in the door as Jake moved over her, his hands tangled in her dark hair, her legs wrapped around his waist.

They were so lost in each other they never noticed me.

The way she arched beneath him, the breathless sounds she made, it was everything I’d been missing, everything I’d thrown away because of my stubborn pride.

I’d left without a word, my jaw clenched so tight I thought my teeth might crack.

But that wasn’t even the worst part.

Later that night, I’d seen Carl making his way to her cabin, a bottle of wine in his hand and that determined look in his eyes that I recognized all too well.

He didn’t leave until the next morning, and when he did, there was a satisfied smile on his face that made me want to punch something.

She’d chosen. Both of them, apparently. Just not me.

The talk with Trent hadn’t gone any better.

My best friend still hasn’t forgiven me.

So, I’ve lost the siblings.

I’ve lost my best friend and Tish.

What good are my principles if they cost me the woman I’m in love with?

Another burst of laughter draws my attention back to the kitchen table.

Tish is leaning into Carl now, her hand on his thigh as she whispers something in his ear that makes the older man’s eyes darken with heat.