EPILOGUE
six months later
Cora sipped her drink as partygoers cruised by her table in tuxedoes and fancy dresses. The policemen’s ball was in full swing, and the band was starting to get more takers on the dance floor. Cora watched in amusement as her mother was escorted onto the dance floor by Andre’s husband, Jace. Her mom was laughing and waving a dismissive hand like she really didn’t want to dance, but the flush high on her cheeks said she wasn’t immune to the man’s charms.
“He’s going to get me fired.”
Cora peered up to find Andre standing behind the empty chair at her table, eyeballing the dance floor and looking dapper in his tux. His wife, Evan, was hooked on his arm in a sparkly green dress that set off her dark hair and creamy skin.
Cora smiled. “Or promoted. He’s treating her like the belle of the ball. I say let him do his thing.”
Evan smirked. “I think he’s just trying to make us jealous. Your mom’s gorgeous.”
“Thanks,” Cora said, though it wasn’t like she could lay claim to her mom’s good looks.
Evan nodded toward Cora. “And I adore your jumpsuit.”
Cora glanced down at the black halter-style jumpsuit she’d worn. Ren had bought it for her when he’d heard there’d be a ball, and she’d fallen in love with the outfit. She’d been oddly touched that Ren had known exactly what she’d like. Those guys got her. She wasn’t sure she’d ever felt prettier or sexier at a party. “Thanks.”
“I wish I would’ve thought of wearing one,” Evan said, smoothing the hem of her dress. “I haven’t been able to sit down in this thing all night without risking Andre’s co-workers knowing far too much about me.”
“Sitting’s overrated,” Andre said, looking down at his wife with a sexy smile.
Evan rolled her eyes. “Boys.”
Andre nodded toward the empty seats at Cora’s table. “So where are your dudes?”
Cora shrugged. “I think they weren’t sure if I was ready to out my relationship to all my co-workers yet, so they told me not to feel obligated to bring them. I could’ve brought one but that feels a little weird, you know?”
“I totally know,” Evan said, peering at the dance floor toward Jace and then back to her. “It’s hard to be in the closet about the whole thing. I remember how tough that was.”
“It is. And to be honest, my mom knows and is . . . dealing. That’s really all that’s important to me. I mean, I’d hope the people in the other precincts I’m working in now wouldn’t judge me, but I’m not all that concerned if they do. I’m over putting on masks for others’ benefit. But I wasn’t sure if the guys would be cool hanging out with a ballroom full of cops. No offense, Medina.”
“None taken. And I don’t blame them. But my guess is they would happily be here for you, especially with you looking so hot, Junior. That really shouldn’t be wasted.”
She groaned. “Please don’t tell me that. It feels like my big brother telling me I’m hot.”
Andre chuckled. “Just calling it like I see it. It’s nice seeing you come out of your shell and doing you. And I’m damn glad they finally hired you full-time. I’m not sure we would’ve solved that Driskoll case near as quickly without all your help.”
“Thanks.” She took a long sip of her drink, letting his words settle in and press those happy buttons inside her. She loved that she’d been able to help.
“Well, I’m about to take this hot woman in the too-short dress out on the dance floor. I’ll catch you on the other side.”
“Have fun.” Cora gave them a little wave and then leaned back in her chair. Her table was empty yet again, but somehow it didn’t feel awkward like it had at that party all those months ago. She was content to sit here and enjoy the goings-on and do some people-watching. She didn’t need someone to sit down and prove she was worthy enough to talk with. She already knew that. Plus, watching cops get tipsy and attempting to dance was more than a little entertaining.
Her phone buzzed in her purse, making the silverware on the table vibrate. She pulled it from her bag.
Dmitry: I’ve been thinking about you all day.
Cora smiled at the screen, at the old, familiar words. Her thumbs moved over the screen.
Lenore: Same here. Long, lonely night.
Dmitry: Such a shame. Don’t your men take care of you?
Lenore: No men tonight. Stuck at a boring work thing.
Dmitry: Boring? Since when is doing high-level hacking work for the police department boring?
Cora glanced around at the crowd, at all of her co-workers, at her mom. This was her world now. A world she hadn’t been sure she wanted but now couldn’t imagine anything else. She’d liked the idea of running her own business, but when her mom had told her she should try to apply with the department again, Cora hadn’t been able to resist. Tracking down Gordon had been terrifying because of who was at stake if she was wrong, but the detective work itself had been like finding a new piece of her internal puzzle. This was what she was meant to do.
It didn’t pay as much as working for a big company and it didn’t pay as much as she could’ve made signing on to be permanent at FoxRen, but this had never been about money. So she’d applied and with her mom’s blessing (and her long lecture about safety and privacy and not putting herself at risk), she’d landed a full-time position helping multiple precincts. She was helping catch bad guys for a living. Nothing had ever felt as rewarding.
Well, almost nothing.
Lenore: No hacking tonight. Just a lot of drinking and watching people dance.
TheRen: Heavy drinking? I knew I should’ve gone.
Lenore: I’m starting to regret not taking you two. I’ve never seen y’all in tuxes. And I *am* looking particularly hot tonight. I had a rookie cop try to flirt with me. I think he may have been a few days over twenty-one and a little drunk, but hey, I’ll take it.
TheRen: Is she trying to make us jealous?
Dmitry: She is.
TheRen: Unacceptable.
“Agreed.”
The spoken word made her startle and clutch her phone to her chest. She spun around in her chair, almost bumping her knees into the man behind her. The broad, beautiful tux-wearing man behind her. Warmth rushed through her. “Hayes.”
He put out his hand, green eyes sparkling. “My girl should never be left alone at boring work things.”
She took his hand and let him pull her to her feet. His gaze slid over her with slow, appreciative heat.
“You like?” she asked.
“I like. Spin around.” His voice had dropped a register, husky. That sexy tone he got when he slid into dom mode. “Let me see all of you.”
Slowly, she turned around, letting him see the backless state of the jumpsuit. He put a hand on her shoulder to pause her spin and then dragged his knuckles lightly over her spine, sending goose bumps over her skin.
“Damn. No wonder you didn’t let us see you before you left. You never would’ve made it out the door with that in one piece.” He turned her back to face him, illicit promise in his gaze. “You might not make it now.”
She smiled, her skin growing warm and sensitive from the way he was devouring her with his eyes. She put her hands to his chest under his jacket. “You look damn fuckable yourself.”
“You say the most romantic things,” he said with a sly grin.
She pushed up on her toes and pressed her mouth to his. It’d become so easy with him and Ren, so natural. She didn’t care that her co-workers might be looking her way—or her mother for that matter. Let ’em look. She was kissing that guy who’d gone to prison. So what. She loved that guy.
But when Hayes clasped her waist and she felt herself taking the kiss to a more heated place, she had to reel it in. This was still a work event even if her body suddenly had no qualms about that. “You’re going to get me in trouble looking this tempting. Stop being so irresistible.”
“I’ll try, but no promises.” He brushed a hair away from her face. “Wanna dance?”
She licked her lips, still tasting him there. “Not really.”
“Wanna drink?”
“Nope.”
“What do you want to do?”
“How about get the hell out of here?”
He lifted a brow. “You sure? I didn’t show up to try to rush you out.”
“I’ve done what I needed to do here. I even managed to mingle a bit. But I think I’ve hit my socializing limit. I’d rather join my party of three instead.”
“You’re definitely not going to hear any complaints from me on that. Let’s go.” He lifted his phone to type something, probably to let Ren know they were on their way home, and then took her hand. She grabbed her purse, dropping her phone inside.
She didn’t bother saying good-bye to anyone. Hayes had sat down with her mother and had a long conversation after everything had happened. They were on good terms. But she knew being around a bunch of cops was still uncomfortable for Hayes. So she let him lead her through the crowd, under the sparkling chandeliers, and behind the bar on the far side of the room.
She peered over her shoulder when she realized which way they were headed. “Where are we going? The door to outside is that way.”
“You go where we tell you.”
“We?”
“Yep.” He tugged her into an alcove off the main ballroom and then they slipped through a half-opened door.
Cora squinted in the low light. A coatroom, but there were no coats in this weather. It was just rods and shadowed darkness. For a moment, she felt like the naive girl in a horror movie. This looked like the place where monsters hung out. But before she could get her bearings or question Hayes, an arm clamped around her waist from behind. She automatically yelped, but it got caught in her throat.
“Shh.” His scent hit her before her brain registered anything else, a hint of aftershave and fresh laundry. Ren. His lips landed on her bare shoulder. “Holy fuck, you look hot.”
She closed her eyes and groaned. “What are you boys up to?”
“No good. Always no good.” He planted kisses along her skin, making a trail of tingly heat track down her spine.
The sound of a lock turning over was loud in the quiet space but only made her heart beat faster. All of her co-workers and her mother were only a few yards outside that door. Somehow that was terrifying and hot all at once.
Hayes stepped in front of her, his heat registering before she even opened her eyes. He’d clicked on a bare bulb and soft yellow light filled the small room, bringing into view carpeted red walls and more empty space.
Hayes gazed down at her and cupped her chin. “No one saw us come in here. And Ren bribed the bartender for the key. No one can get in.”
She licked her lips. “Y’all are very bad men.”
“The worst,” Ren said, turning her toward him. His gaze ate her up as she took her own fill of seeing him in his tux. Goddamn, he looked good. He brushed the back of his hand over her breast, the lack of bra making her nipples go hard and sensitive instantly. “But you’re no angel yourself.”
“Definitely not.” His face was half in darkness and it reminded her of the first time she’d seen him, that air of dominance and mystery swirling around him. But now he was hers. She got to be the one to know his secrets. And he knew hers. “So why did y’all drag me into a dark closet? Finally decided you’re done with me and need a good place to hide the body?”
Ren’s lips curled. “Such a cop. Always thinking about bodies.”
“I’m thinking about bodies,” Hayes said from behind her, his fingers teasing at the base of her spine. “Two in particular.”
“I wanted to bring you here,” Ren said, his eyes holding her gaze. “Because I once was at this boring party. And there was this amazing girl who watched me do bad things in a hallway. Who looked at me with such honest, naked intensity that I couldn’t turn away. I wanted her so much. So much more than anything that was happening at the moment. But she was my Cinderella who ran without even leaving a glass slipper behind. I thought I’d never see her again. Then she walked into my office. I’m not sure I believed in fate until that day. Or if I did, I thought fate was a sadistic bastard.”
Cora’s chest squeezed tight.
“And I promised myself when she walked back into our lives that I wouldn’t let her slip through my fingers again. That if she’d let me, one day I’d answer that plea she’d had in her eyes that night in the hallway. That I’d have her just like that. Sneaking away at a party and giving her all the things I knew how to give.” He slid his hand around her hip and pulled her to him. “But I realize now that she wasn’t the one needing things. I was. We were. And she gave those things to us. Somehow in all the chaos, fate decided to make us the luckiest bastards around.”
“Ren . . .” Her heart swelled in her chest and before she could respond further, Ren leaned down and kissed her. Long and deep and like they had all the time in the world. Maybe they did. The party outside didn’t exist. Nothing else mattered but this moment. These men. Their love. And she felt herself falling into the swirl of sensation. Ren’s mouth, his hand kneading her neck, and Hayes not far behind her, holding her waist, his breath warm against her hair.
When Ren moved down to kissing her neck, Cora tipped her head back and Hayes unfastened the hook holding her top together. She didn’t startle or falter or entertain any worries. The trust was absolute. They would protect her. She was safe. The halter fell to her waist, the belt on the jumpsuit the only thing holding the outfit on, and cool air moved over her exposed breasts, making everything hypersensitive.
“So beautiful,” Hayes murmured as he slid his hands around her and cupped her breasts, plumping them for Ren’s mouth.
Cora couldn’t help but glance down, seeing Hayes’s hands holding her, Ren’s tongue gliding along her flesh and kissing the tips of Hayes’s fingers. The two men in sync, always. Just the sight was enough to make her squirm in need, her temperature spiking.
“She needs to stay still,” Ren said against her skin. “Fasten her wrists.”
Hayes’s hands slid away from her breasts and grabbed her wrists. “Hands over your head, L.”
Her blood pumped hot as she lifted her arms. Hayes messed with something behind her, a bag, and then hooked leather cuffs around her, securing her to one of the coat rods. She tugged at the bindings. The rod was solid as steel, not some flimsy thing from a home closet. This one was meant to hold many heavy winter coats. Or a woman.
The state of things sent a thrill through her, making her skin prickle with awareness. They’d played a lot in the months they’d been together but always at the house or her place. And rarely with bondage. The new elements were ratcheting up her arousal.
“Safe word,” Hayes said, tracking his hands down over her ribs.
“Red.”
“Good girl.” His voice had gone low and rumbly. “Strip her the rest of the way.”
Ren gave her a wicked smile and unfastened her belt. Then, he carefully slid her jumpsuit down over her hips and off. He laid it over a stool shoved in the corner before coming back to dispose of her panties.
Before long, she was cuffed to the bar and bare, standing under the lone light bulb. The bar was high and she had to rock onto her toes a bit to maintain her balance. She swallowed hard. “Y’all plan on interrogating me? Who’s going to play bad cop?”
“No need to interrogate. You’d give up all your secrets, L.” Hayes pressed his clothed body to her, letting her feel his thick erection, and then reached around to slide his fingers between her legs. He grunted in satisfaction. She was slick and hot already, the touch lighting her aflame. “All I’d have to do is promise to touch you right here or taste you, and all the information would be mine.”
She groaned at the touch, pushing higher onto her toes with the force of the need going through her. “Good thing I really wasn’t an international spy.”
He kissed the side of her neck and tucked his fingers deep inside her, rocking against her ever so gently, making her ride his touch. “Good thing. Then you wouldn’t be here with us right now.”
Ren moved back to the place in front of her, his hand joining Hayes’s but focusing on her clit with slow, almost tortuous circles. Two hands but full coverage of all her hot spots. The combination was going to blow her head off. She jerked in the cuffs and tried to move away to get a breather so she wouldn’t go over too quickly, but the guys were having none of that. They’d locked her in place between them and continued to stroke and fuck her with their fingers.
“Breathe through it, L. Self-control,” Hayes murmured.
She made some unintelligible sound of protest, but she knew it wouldn’t matter.
They had a plan and they weren’t going to let her control it. And the plan seemed to be to drive her out of her ever-loving mind. While their fingers took turns teasing her, they put their other hands and their mouths everywhere, one kiss and bite blending into the next until her entire body was shaking with need. Nipples were pinched, her clit was licked, her pussy filled with fingers, with tongues.
Then when she thought she couldn’t be driven any higher, both of them lowered to their knees and went down on her, their tongues tangling with each other as they tasted her. Hungry. Dirty. And obscene. Arousal coated her thighs and her body pulsed with pounding need to come. All she could do was watch and cling to the edge of her self-control by a thread.
But soon it was all too much, and when Ren pumped fingers into her and Hayes licked over them and every bit of her, the darkness behind her eyelids burst into a white light. She cried out, gasping through the rush and trying not to make too much noise as she came with the force of a freight train.
The bar clinked with the cuffs above her, and the men made those sexy grunting noises as they drove her onto another plane, and she let it all go. No more holding back. She let it take her. Let them have her. She was no longer in the driver’s seat and she couldn’t care less. This was what oblivion felt like. What love felt like.
And when she drifted down from the high, she didn’t attempt to make a joke or adjust her position or take back the reins. She just sagged in the cuffs and let Hayes hold her up.
Without words, they unhooked her from the bar and rolled out a thick blanket Ren had pulled from the bag they’d apparently stashed in the corner. The room had plush carpet but she was grateful for the extra padding when she automatically sank to her knees.
Hayes and Ren were still fully dressed, buttoned up in their tuxedos. But their hair was mussed from her grabbing at it and their flys were distended with their very obvious interest in the proceedings.
She reached for the two of them, her movements a little drunk. “Come here. Let me touch you.”
Ren was the first to step forward. He caressed her hair. “I love the sound of that, but not yet.”
“We had something to ask you first,” Hayes said, joining Ren and gazing down at her in that stoic way he had.
She lifted her brow. “So you got me blitzed with an orgasm first?”
Ren grinned. “We are very smart men.”
“Devious, really.”
She smiled. “All right. Well, now you’ve got me curious.”
Hayes dipped into his pocket and pulled out a key. Not the one for the coatroom door. This one was normal sized. Shiny. New. He got down on his knees to meet her eye to eye. Ren put his hand on her shoulder.
Cora stared at the key.
“Move in with us,” Hayes said, the soft rumble of his voice rolling over her like warm ocean waves. “We know it’s soon and we know you like your place . . .”
“And there’s no pressure,” Ren added, his gaze tender on her. “But we’re fucking gutted every time you have to go home. The house doesn’t feel right without you in it.”
Hayes pressed the key into her palm and she felt the weight of it in her hand, the weight of the question. She’d spent her whole life fighting to be independent, wanting to be on her own, only feeling truly comfortable when she was alone, her true self only emerging when no one was watching. But this time, when she considered the question and looked at these two men, she realized there’d never been an easier answer. She’d kept her place like a safety blanket and because it seemed logical, practical. She didn’t want to put any undue stress on a new relationship, but she was just fooling herself. Safety blankets were overrated.
Her fingers curled around the key and her lips curved. “We’re gonna need a bigger bed. And a better Internet connection.”
Ren laughed and got to his knees next to Hayes. “Done. So very done.”
She reached out and put her hands to both their faces. “Goddamn. What did I do to deserve you two?”
Hayes smiled, this brilliant warm thing that seemed to fill the dark room. “You were you.”
“And we were us. And somehow that just fit,” Ren added. “Fate is a brilliant bastard.”
She closed her eyes. That was exactly it. Somehow in this universe of chaos, they’d found the combination that worked just right. Found exactly where they were supposed to be.
One day, she needed to thank Grace for dragging her to that God-awful party. That had been the first night she was with both Hayes and Ren, where fate had reached down and laid its hands upon her. She just hadn’t known it yet. Good thing she hadn’t bothered to mingle.
She lowered her head, all three with their arms around one another, and inhaled all that goodness and rightness. “I love you.”
“We love you back,” Hayes said.
Ren pulled away first and brushed tears she hadn’t known she’d shed from her cheek. “You ready for us, Benning? Because we’re more than ready for you.”
She gave a nod. And as if deciding against whatever else they had planned, they picked up the blanket, got her dressed in silence, and then ushered her out. But instead of leading her out to the parking lot, they led her into the hotel that was holding the ball. Apparently, there was another key in this night. A key card that led to a luxury suite on a high floor.
There were no more words as they led her into the bedroom and stripped her and themselves free of everything. Then Ren was climbing on the bed and beckoning for her. He kissed and touched and caressed her until the fires were burning hot again, and then settled her over him. They’d ditched condoms a month back, so there was nothing between them but heat as she slid down onto his cock. The feel of him so deep inside her sent a hot shudder through her and she peered back over her shoulder.
Hayes was watching from the foot of the bed, his desire a palpable thing. She smiled at him. “Going to join us, Master Hayes?”
“Always,” he said, climbing onto the bed with them.
And with that, he got in position behind her, kissed her neck and touched her breasts as she rode Ren. And just when she thought she was nearing her edge again, he bent her forward.
Ren gripped her wrists to his chest and held her gaze, his expression full of pure sin. “We’re all yours, Benning. And you, ours.”
She knew what was coming before it happened. They’d done this separately but hadn’t gone there together yet. But the feel of the slippery fluid against her backside had her toes curling and her heartbeat picking up speed. Fear and arousal twining together.
And when Hayes pushed against her opening with gentle pressure, she let out a low, gritty groan.
“Stop me if it’s too much,” Hayes said, his voice tense, like it was taking every bit of his restraint not to pound her into the bed.
“You two are always too much,” she said between panted breaths. “And I love it.”
Hayes let out a loud breath at that and then sunk home, sliding into her body and making everything feel impossibly full. Both men made sounds of hot pleasure, but her groan trumped them both. Everything felt alive and intense and absolutely perfect. She was between them, every part of their bodies and hearts shared. This was exactly where she was meant to be.
She rocked back against Hayes, giving him the silent go-ahead, and the two men made love to her slow and careful at first and then with the passion that seemed to ignite between them anytime they were together.
And when they were done and curled up in a naked mess, she found that old urge from their very first night together bubbling up. She tried to stop it, tried to press her fingers to her lips, but it burst out of her. Laughter. Loud and long and full-throated. The kind that brought tears.
And almost simultaneously, Hayes and Ren joined in.
None of them could help it. Because they all knew. It was impossible not to feel it.
They’d found something none of them had ever believed they could have.
And now they knew exactly what to do with it.