But love was weird. It wasn’t something she’d ever recognized, and in fact, she’d thought all along it was loyalty. It made her wonder why she’d questioned Leyton’s loyalty to Max. She’d never questioned Jase’s loyalty to her, but she’d questioned Leyton’s. The fact of the matter was, it was love all along. Leyton had needed them as much as they’d needed him. He was family, always had been, always would be. The same went for Jase; he’d only come into their lives at a much later time, but the impact he’d made hadn’t been any less.

Ashlynn loved them both, would always love them both.

They offered her the safety and security she’d always sought, the love and passion she’d always needed. And she knew without a doubt, they’d always be loyal. Beautifully loyal.

As she closed her eyes, listening to Leyton’s heart beat beneath her ear and the sound of Jase’s steady, deep breaths behind her, Ashlynn was grateful for that loyalty. It had brought them all together. And in the long run, it would keep them together.

And as she drifted off, she accepted that it was love.

Epilogue

Not sure who thought this was a good idea.

Present day

Thursday, November 26 th

Thanksgiving

Leyton sat back and watched the chaos that ensued. He fought the urge to laugh his ass off at the sights and sounds before him. He wasn’t sure who’d thought this was a good idea, bringing together all these people who were so different from one another, but it was providing him with endless entertainment.

“Something funny?” Jase asked, dropping onto the sofa beside Leyton, a drink in his hand.

Leyton chuckled. “I’m surprised the house is still standing.”

“This was Courtney’s idea, right?”

Leyton nodded.

“I’m guessin’ Max’ll make the plans for next Thanksgiving.”

“Probably,” Leyton said, laughing as Max’s cousin Dani stormed through the room, lips pursed, forehead creased. She clearly wasn’t happy that Hunter Kogan was there. He didn’t know the story behind that one, but he sure as hell hoped he got to hear it sometime. It was beyond evident that those two had it bad for one another, but neither of them was happy about that.

And then there was Genevieve and Casper. Even before dinner had started, Casper’s wife, Elizabeth, had taken to Ashlynn’s mother, and the two of them had been talking nonstop. From where he sat on the other side of the room, it was evident Casper wasn’t sure what to think about that.

“Where’d Rock disappear to?” Ashlynn asked when she perched on the arm of the sofa beside him.

Leyton glanced up at her. “He was stalkin’ that nurse, I think.”

“Aidan’s nurse?”

“That’d be the one,” Jase offered.

Leyton smiled. He’d been with Rock when that woman—Brooklyn, he thought her name was—had come into the house. The guy’s eyes had widened so big Leyton had thought for a moment they’d fall right out of his head. Turned out that Max had convinced the nurse—and by convinced, he meant paid off—to nurture Aidan back to health. The undisclosed location where Aidan had been stashed had been local, so she’d agreed, and in turn, she’d become quite attached to Aidan. As friends. But clearly, her arrival had been a total shock to Rock.

“They’re out by the pool,” Ashlynn said.

They all turned to glance out the windows overlooking the pool. Rock had given Brooklyn his jacket, and it swamped the woman, but she seemed content and so did he. Never in all the time Leyton had known Rock had he seen the man quite so infatuated with someone.

“Anyone seen RT and Z?” Bryce Trexler, one of the owners of Sniper 1 Security, asked when he stepped into the living room, his wife, Emily, at his side.

“They’re in the game room,” Jase offered. “Playin’ some dance game.” Jase chuckled and turned to look at Leyton. “That big guy can move.”

“Who’s Victor talkin’ to?” Leyton asked as he slid his hand up to Ashlynn’s back.

“That’s Z’s sister, Jensyn.”

“Is it just me, or are those two gettin’ cozy?”

“Don’t know about that,” Jase noted. “But I damn sure wouldn’t wanna have a conversation with those two. A lawyer and a psychologist. They’d rip me a new one, I’m sure.”

Leyton laughed, placing his hand on Jase’s thigh. “They’d rip all of us a new one.”

“What’s cute,” Ashlynn said, “is that Walter’s in the kitchen with the Trexlers’ housekeeper, Lilah. They’re swappin’ recipes.”

“Where’s Aidan?” Jase asked.

“Eating. I don’t think the boy has stopped since he got here,” Ashlynn told him.

Not surprising. His jaw was still wired shut, but it seemed there wasn’t enough food to satisfy him considering he was starving. According to him, taking his meals through a straw was the worst form of punishment.

The huge dining room table hadn’t been big enough to fit everyone, so they’d fanned out. Some were at the smaller kitchen table, others at the breakfast bar. Hell, some had taken their food into the game room upstairs to watch Brent and Courtney’s niece Shelby battle it out on the Xbox. Apparently the fourteen-year-old was making mincemeat of Brent on some shooting game.

“Since everyone’s preoccupied…” Ashlynn began.

Leyton peered up at her and saw the naughty gleam in her beautiful eyes.

“I like the way your mind works,” Jase said, getting to his feet and taking Leyton’s hand, pulling him up from the sofa.

Without argument, Leyton allowed the pair to lead him upstairs. He half expected Ashlynn to want to get busy in the hallway, but with so many people around, he knew that wasn’t an option. As much as he didn’t mind her public exhibitionism, there was a time and a place for everything. And here, tonight, wasn’t the time or place for a public rendezvous.

So, when she went straight for the bedroom he’d previously used when he’d lived with Max, he breathed a sigh of relief.

Not that that lasted long once she closed and locked the door behind him. He could tell his dirty little girl was about to give him a run for his money.

And he knew it was going to be worth every fucking penny.

Ashlynn had been waiting for this moment. Waiting for an opportunity to slip away with Jase and Leyton ever since they’d arrived two hours ago. Granted, the dinner Walter and Courtney had prepared had been phenomenal, but there was something else she wanted to feast on.

Two men in particular.

“Strip,” she ordered, smiling as she said the word.

One thing she’d learned over the course of the last few months was that her control was shit when it came to Leyton. It was a give-and-take with him, but more often than not, she wasn’t the one taking.

And she was okay with that.

“I think you’ve got that all wrong, little girl,” Leyton stated, staring down at her. “You’re not the one who gives orders these days.”

Her smile widened as she waited for him to take over. Little did he know, but he always played right into her hands. Giving up control to him was far easier than she’d ever thought it would be. And Jase … he’d started taking cues from Leyton, allowing her less and less control.

Which she loved.

“Have a seat,” Leyton commanded, nodding toward the single upholstered chair near the window.

Ashlynn walked over to it, turned to face them, and slowly lowered herself into the chair.

“It’s a good thing you wore a skirt,” Jase mumbled, dropping to his knees directly in front of her.

“Why’s tha—”

Before she could get the sentence out, Jase shouldered her thighs apart, then propped them up on the cushioned arms of the chair, forcing her to lean back.

She hissed in a breath when his fingers tugged her panties to the side as he stared between her legs.