Page 72 of Rescuing Ally: Part 1

Gabe’s eyes lock with mine, intense and uncompromising. “But yeah, we want to push you. Test your limits.” His mouth curves into that wicked smile. “Find out what makes you break and then put you back together.”

“We can take you places you’ve never imagined,” Hank adds, his voice a low promise that makes my core clench. “If you’re brave enough to let us.”

The challenge in his words sends liquid heat through my veins. I’m terrified and thrilled in equal measure.

“I…” I take a deep breath. “I need a minute to process all this.” I wrap both hands around my mug, anchoring myself. “I’ve never had men talk to me like this before—so openly about what they want, about domination, about… any of it.”

Gabe’s eyebrows lift. “Your previous partners never discussed these things with you?”

I let out a short laugh. “God, no. It was always fumbling in the dark, hoping we’d somehow end up on the same page.” I shake my head. “No one’s ever been this upfront about anything sexual.”

“That’s …” Hank frowns.

“Bullshit,” Gabe finishes for him. “How the hell can you give someone what they need if you don’t know what that is?”

Something in their expressions shift—concern replacing the hunger from moments before.

“We didn’t mean to overwhelm you,” Hank says, his voicegentler now. “Being direct is just… how we operate. In the field, in bed?—”

“In life,” Gabe adds.

“We’ve found honesty works better than mind games.” Hank watches me carefully. “Have we scared you off?”

I shake my head immediately. “No. It’s… refreshing.” I hesitate, remembering something. “Earlier, when I snuck that piece of bacon, and you… ” I feel my cheeks flush. “When you swatted my ass and mentioned punishment. Did you mean that the way I think you did?”

“Yes.” His eyes darken.

The promise in his words sends a shiver down my spine that has nothing to do with fear.

A quiet settles between us, something charged but comfortable.

I set my mug down, tracing the rim with my fingertip, my voice softer now. “This is crazy,” I murmur, more to myself than them. Need still thrums through me, barely contained.

Hank lifts a brow. “What is?”

I let my gaze drift between them, taking them in—really taking them in. Two men who should be intimidating as hell. Two men who have saved my life. Who have taken me in ways no one ever has. Who aren’t asking for anything, and yet, I feel the pull of them, both of them, in ways that have nothing to do with sex.

I smile, stirring my coffee. “Being here. With you two. It’s insane.” I glance up. “And yet… it feels right.”

A beat.

Gabe’s smirk fades, his expression softening, something unreadable flickering in those sharp blue eyes.

“We’re glad you feel that way,” he says, voice lower now, more serious.

Hank nods, eyes dark and steady. No teasing now, no smirking—just intent. He leans forward, forearms braced on the table, voice dropping into something that feels like a promise. “You’re the missing piece we didn’t know we were looking for.”

My breath catches.

I don’tmove. I don’t speak.

Because this isn’t something I expected.

These past few days have been an indulgence of sex—anover-indulgence. It’s new and raw and consuming.

I swallow hard, my fingers curling around my coffee mug as warmth spreads through my chest, heady and unfamiliar. The raw need from moments ago transforms into something deeper—something that goes beyond the carnal pull of their dominance.

Gabe watches closely, like he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

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