Page 96 of Boneyard HEA

“I’m the jalapeno.” Tomás’ teeth meet on my nape, and I shiver, closing my eyes and feeling my nipples spike under his fingers.

I open my eyes to find Aaron smiling at me. He grasps the front of my bare neck, half-circling it. “Your collar went missing. I’m not going to try finding the original, so we need a new one. A special one.”

Another hand clasps my neck from behind—Tomás’s. “I have an idea and a friend who can make it for us.”

“Before you both strangle me for calling you bread, there’s one last thing I want to do before we fly out.”

“Want? Do you have permission?” Aaron asks.

“There’s the Aaron I remember,” I whisper.

He grunts.

“What do you want, poquito,” Tomás says.

I run my hand over his and Aaron’s hands where they circle my neck, bumping from finger to finger, enjoying the movement of them as I breathe and the possession embodied in their grip. There is also the scrumptious feel of their hard muscles against my legs, back and belly. I wriggle around onto my back, settling into the best spot between them, then place my hand on Aaron’s chest where his heart must be and do the same for Tomás.

“I’d like to visit Riley’s grave. I went to her funeral, but I’ve never been back. It’s only an hour’s drive to get there.”

“Oh.” Aaron grimaces.

“If he doesn’t say yes, I will spank his ass,” Tomás says.

Aaron reaches across me to punch his shoulder lightly. “I’d wipe the floor with you.”

Tomás snorts and gets up on his elbow. “Winner of an arm wrestle gets to do that.”

Bemused, I watch the minor fracas. “Children, settle down. This is serious.”

Aaron bumps his head softly into mine and nuzzles my ear. “Of course you can. We’ll go today.”

“Thank you.”

“She calls me children? I am offended.” Tomás cups my breast. “Punishment? What about ass hook, tonight, while we fuck her and clamp these with weights?”

“Shit. I didn’t mean it that way. Well not…” I sigh.

Hell, I may as well give in. I’ll get an O out of this, and this is bonding. We all need some happy, hot, smutastic memories to blot out the other ones.

“I surrender.” I turn over and offer them my butt.

Smiling into the pillow, I listen to them debate whether to spank me now, as well, or just go out and eat breakfast somewhere at the beach. I’m betting they’ll do both.

Hoping for it, really.

As we walk in through the cemetery gates, I feel a surreal disbelief that I am here in these circumstances. I killed her rapist, perhaps her killer, even. The possibility that her suicide was really a murder has slowly surfaced. We don’t know the whole truth and likely never will.

The new but temporary plaited leather collar they bestowed on me rubs on my neck. I’m fairly sure it belonged to Lucy, but I really don’t care. It’s the thought that counts. Besides, I love that dog. I can’t help my reflexive touching of it. It means more than I ever thought it could.

Possession equates with trust, and it goes both ways now. Riley would be happy for me, maybe even jealous. The happy kind of jealous only she could do.

I smile at the memories that rekindle, of us playing console video games and calling each other rude names for the stupidest of reasons.

“Here.” Aaron indicates the row of tombstones where we will find her grave.

There it is. “Riley Freyers.” Her family gave her a headstone with a floral bouquet engraved on it, which makes my gift apt. I kneel on the grass to lay the bunch of red roses on her grave. Tears flow, but I let them do so, for once unembarrassed by my weakness. My men kneel beside me and place their warm hands on my back.

I pick some grass off my leggings at the knees, adjust the hem of my dress, and clear my throat.