Page 84 of Reckless Hearts

Chapter 26

Maverick

Callie’s warmthrises and falls in the hollow of my neck with each soft breath she takes. Her head is tucked beneath my chin, her naked body pressed against mine, one of her knees slipped between my thighs like she belongs there. Like she’s always belonged there. Colt is curled around her from behind, his arms looped tightly around her middle, like letting even an inch of space come between us would be unbearable.

She was barely standing in the shower, her body swaying between us as we washed her, exhaustion pulling at every limb. By the time we carried her to bed, she was already drifting, sleep swallowing her whole. She didn’t even stir as we tucked her between us, didn’t wake as Colt pressed a kiss to her damp hair or I wrapped an arm around her waist.

Without saying a word, Colt and I made the same choice: stay. Sleep beside her. Keep her safe.

I stroke a strand of her copper hair through my fingers, twirling it softly between the pads of my thumb and forefinger, memorizing the texture. This… this moment, this closeness, thispeace, feels like coming home. Like I’ve been waiting for thisexact shape of love my whole damn life and didn’t know until now.

Colt’s nose is pressed into the back of her neck. His eyes are closed, but his breathing is off, uneven. He’s not asleep. He’s feeling this too.

It took me too long to realize I haven’t just been waiting for Callie. It’s the three of us.Together.That’s what makes everything click into place. That’s what makes it right.

That first kiss with Colt in the locker room.Jesus. It wasn’t planned. It wasn’t calculated. It was instinct, years of pent-up tension and frustration bursting like a dam. By the time my brain caught up, he was already gone. Bolting.

I can’t forget the way he fled. Panic carved into every line of his face, like the ground had given out beneath him.

It’s haunted me ever since.

Now, I know—helikedit. Whether he’s ready to admit it or not, Colt wants this too. He wantsme.Or, at the very least, he wants Callie enough to explore what this could be between the three of us.

Tonight was different.

Where our first kiss had been rushed, frantic, tonight I took my time. I kissed him like I meant it because Idid. I devoured him, slow and thorough, learning what made him shiver. He likes having his tongue sucked. Likes when I scrape my teeth along his bottom lip. And the way he responded to my voice, to my hands… he took direction so well it made my chest ache.

I couldseethe war inside him. One part ready to fight, the other aching for more.

And God help me, I want them both. So badly it’s eating me alive.

If I expect them to trust me, tofollowme, I have to go slow. I have to be steady. It’s my job to make this feel safe. To takecare of them so completely that they never have to question how much I want them. How far I’ll go to keep them.

They were so good tonight. They listened. They trusted me.

But I was walking a tightrope, and I knew it. We’re past the point of pretending this is casual. We crossed a line, and there’s no way back.

I don’t want to go back.

This is what I’ve been missing. Not just Callie, not just Colt.Us.The three of us. This wild, messy, beautiful thing that only works when it’s all three pieces together.

I used to think I hated Colt. I used to wear that hate like armor.

But it was never hate. It was fear. Loss. Longing. Everything I didn’t want to admit.

Callie said she’s leaving at the end of the season. Colt probably thinks we’ll go back to being rivals the moment she’s gone, but they’re both wrong.

Because now that I’ve had this—them—I’ll burn the whole damn world down before I let it go.

The thought of losing them splits something open in my chest. The ache is sharp, brutal. Unrelenting.

I press my lips to the top of Callie’s head and whisper the truth into her hair, barely audible.

“I love you.”

She doesn’t stir. Still fast asleep. Still unaware of the weight I just handed her in the dark.

But Colt hears it.

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