Prologue
Berkley
I’ve never felt more exposed or more certain.
Rowen’s touch is reverent, warm where it glides over my skin. His voice is low and careful, brushing against my ear as he presses a kiss to the crook of my neck. “Are you sure?” he asks, and the way he says it... like I’m something fragile, like I matter more than air. “We don’t have to rush this. I’d wait forever if that’s what you need.”
I pull back just enough to meet his eyes—steady, sure. Because I am. This isn’t nerves or second-guessing. It’s real. “I’m sure. I want this. I want you... all of you.”
The breath he lets out feels like a held truth finally released. His eyes burn, not just with hunger but with something deeper. Something that sinks into my chest and takes root.
“I’d do anything for you, Berk. You ask it, and it’s done. No questions.”
God. The way he says it melts something in me. I smile, soft and a little shy—but real. Because that promise? I feel it down to the bone.
When he kisses me again, it’s slow, unhurried. Like we’ve got all the time in the world. His hands map the curves of my body like he’s memorizing every inch, like I’m something sacred.One slides behind my knee, guiding my leg around his waist—and the shift sends a tremble through me I don’t even try to hide.
He feels it. “You doing okay, baby?” he murmurs, brushing my hair back like I’m something delicate.
“Perfect,” I whisper, and it’s the truth.
Then his voice turns rougher, teasing—Rowen can’t help himself. “You gonna be this sweet when my brother’s slide between these luscious thighs?”
My eyes go wide, heat blooming in my cheeks fast and furious. I whip my head to the side, but Rowen just laughs—soft and unfiltered like I’m his favorite thing to look at.
He hooks his finger under my chin and gently coaxes me to face him again. “No more hiding, Berk,” he says, and it’s softer now. “We’ve already done the hardest part. We want you—and you want us. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
The kiss that follows settles something inside me. Like he’s saying, we’re in this now. All of it.
Clothes hit the floor in a rush, like we were never meant to wear them to begin with. And then it’s just us. Nothing between us but skin and years of feelings that have been waiting for this moment to catch fire.
Rowen takes his time, like there’s no one else in the world but me. Every look, every touch, feels like worship. His mouth finds my breast, and my breath stutters. My fingers twist in his hair, needing something to anchor me because I’m already floating.
When he trails lower, kissing over my stomach, my whole body tightens with anticipation.
And then his fingers find me. He groans low in his chest, and I swear I feel it everywhere. He touches me like he already knows what I need. Like I’ve been his all along.
He teases first—slow, deliberate. I’m writhing before I can stop myself, and then he’s inside me. One finger. Then two. Stretching. Preparing. I bite my lip to hold in the sound clawing up my throat, but it escapes anyway—a soft moan that betrays just how much I want this.
“You feel so fucking good, Berkley.” His voice is rough, reverent, and when I look at him—really look—he’s already watching me.
He kneels back, wrapping a hand around himself, and I can’t look away. He spreads my slickness over himself, and I feel heat flood every part of me. Then he hovers over me again, steady and close, and his voice—God, his voice—drops.
“You ready for me, baby?”
My answer slips out before I can second-guess it. “Mmhm… yes.”
He stills, like my words hit him square in the chest. His hands find my hips, grounding us both, and I feel the full weight of what this means. This is no longer a maybe. It’s us—real and raw and inevitable.
His tip nudges against me, dragging slowly, and my breath catches.
“Eyes on me, Berk,” he murmurs, voice rough with restraint. “I want to see you… every second of me sinking inside you.”
And I do. I hold his gaze as he presses forward, inch by inch, so careful like he’s afraid to break me. I can’t breathe, can’t think—only feel.
“That’s it,” he whispers, his breath hitching as he draws back before easing in deeper. I gasp, legs tighten around his waist instinctively, and he freezes. “Just a little more, baby… hang on to me.”
I do. I hold on to him like he’s the only thing keeping me grounded.