Valen caught the pillows, tucking them between Harris’ and his own. Then he bounced on the bed, looking at Sam with those hopeful eyes. “C’mon, don’t make me wait, Sam.”
So Sam crawled onto the bed, carefully sliding his feet under the covers. Watched as Harris rounded the bed, slipping under the covers with him. On his other side, Valen snuggled up close, sliding his arm around Sam’s waist. Sam sat upright, afraid of snuggling down between them. It wasn’t his bed.
Valen pressed a kiss to Sam’s hip. “Lie down so I can hug you.”
But maybe it was okay to relax here. Sam obeyed, burrowing under the covers. The moment his head touched the pillows, he remembered the fatigue in his limbs, the heaviness that had weighed him down.
“Who do I face?” he asked. Harris lay facing him, and so did Valen. Sam didn’t want to ignore either of them.
“Face Valen,” Harris said, slipping his hand under Sam’s back. Then he turned Sam over, so Valen’s bright smile filled his vision.
“I love you,” Valen said, dropping kisses all over Sam’s face. Then he pulled Sam against himself, his warmth soaking into Sam’s body.
Behind him, Harris snuggled close, too, slipping his arm around Sam’s waist.
Sam fell asleep to oak and sandalwood, and the safety of two alphas around him.
16
Sam
Sam woke to slow caresses on his belly. He snuffled, breathed in a lungful of sandalwood and oak, and froze. Blinked his eyes open.
Valen smiled warmly at him, his other arm tucked under his head. “Morning.”
Sam’s pulse stumbled. How had he gotten into bed with Valen?
And it wasn’t just Valen, too, from the warmth radiating into his back, and the callused hand on his waist. Harris was behind him.
They’d all slept together the night before—just sleeping, nothing else—after that bath. And the rain, and the robbery.
Oh.
“I—I shouldn’t be here, should I?” Sam blurted. The bed smelled like Valen and Harris, and a little bit like Sam. This was the bedroom Valen shared with his lover.
Valen leaned in, pressing a slow kiss to Sam’s lips. “You’re welcome here, if that’s what you’re asking.”
I love you, Valen had said last night. Sam’s pulse stuttered.
“You’re welcome to return tonight, too,” Harris rumbled behind him.
Which made things complicated, didn’t it, with the three of them? Sam liked Harris. He loved Valen. He didn’t want to pull Harris and Valen apart.
“Shh,” Valen murmured, tracing his thumb over Sam’s lips. “You’re fine.”
“We should talk about last night,” Harris said behind Sam.
Awkwardly, Sam squirmed around. Sat up in bed so he could look at both of alphas, instead of turning his back to one of them.
The digital clock read 9 AM, too early to be staring down two sleepy-eyed alphas, both naked, their gazes drifting down Sam’s body. Sam gulped. “What about last night?”
“The robbery,” Valen said, his eyes narrowed. “Not putting you in danger again, Sam.”
“I’ve left Wyatt a voicemail,” Sam said. “He’ll probably see to it.”
Crap, Wy would want to know how Sam was, wouldn’t he? Sam glanced down at his bare skin. There were no clothes in the bedroom. Where was his phone? He didn’t even know.
He covered his face, groaning. “Wy’s probably mad at me. I told him I was fine, but that was right after the robber left...”
“I spoke with him,” Valen said. Sam blinked. “Your phone rang last night,” Valen continued. “I answered it. Wyatt Fleming, right? I told him you were with us and he didn’t have to worry about you.”
“Oh.” Sam’s cheeks heated. He hadn’t told Wyatt he’d moved in with Valen and Harris. Wyatt was going to give him that look. “I didn’t realize it woke you up.”
“It’s fine. I’m up at odd hours. And I didn’t tell him you’re sleeping in our bed, if you were worried about that,” Valen said, easing into a grin. “I have better sense.”
Sam huffed, torn between laughing and crying. “Oh.”
“Feel better today?” Harris asked, slipping his fingers into the crook of Sam’s knee, massaging his calf. “You looked tired yesterday.”
Sam hadn’t thought Harris noticed. Embarrassed, he nodded. “Yeah. Thank you.”
“Is it okay if you worked fewer hours for now? The fatigue won’t last your whole pregnancy,” Valen said.
“I’ll make up the balance of your pay,” Harris said, meeting Sam’s eyes, his expression serious. “Whatever you need, put it on that card.”
“Then it’ll feel like you’re paying me for the baby, doesn’t it?”
“Not if we’re yours.” Valen sat up, catching Sam’s hand. Then he kissed up Sam’s arm, nosing at his armpit. “You smell good.”
Sam blushed. “I smell like day-old sweat.”
“It’s just from last night. I’d lick it off you.” Valen slipped his tongue under Sam’s arm, and Sam yelped. Valen grinned. Then he tackled Sam, caught the back of Sam’s head to brace his fall, and shoved his nose into Sam’s armpit. “Gods, you smell edible.”
“I do not!” But Sam held his arm out, watching in disbelief as Valen nuzzled the hollow under his arm.
To the side, Harris squeezed Sam’s other hand. “Seriously, use that credit card,” Harris said. “V and I are paying for it. Lunch, gas money, whatever.”
“Even that wheel of Parmesan at the deli counter?” Sam asked as a joke.
“Sure,” Harris said, unflinching.
Really? Sam gaped. “It’s $20 a pound,” he said. “Imported straight from Italy! The entire wheel is 84 pounds.”
“If it makes you happy.” Harris shrugged. “I don’t care.”
Sixteen hundred dollars, and Harris would buy it, just because? Sam looked between them in disbelief.
“What Harris cares about is that you’re happy,” Valen said, his voice muffled against Sam’s side. “And that the baby’s safe.”
“We’ll pick you up from work,” Harris said. “Valen and I work 24-hour shifts—we do the entire day, and then get the next 48 hours off. Plenty of time to send you to the drive-in and take you home.”
Sam stared. Harris wasn’t kidding, and neither was Valen.
“And if you can work part-time for now, that’ll be great,” Valen said.
“What do I do with
