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Thorne didn’t fool himself into thinking that they would never have an actual fight. Being in a relationship with two men would make things more complicated, but he wasn’t afraid of complicated. What he feared was regrets, and he was going to make sure he didn’t have any.

He couldn’t deny that he felt out of his depth. He wasn’t used to any of this. In fact, he was used to controlling everything. It was part of his job, and his life had been so simple over the past few decades that it’d been easy for him to settle into a routine. Samuel had challenged that, which was one of the reasons they’d clashed so hard in the beginning, but now, Thorne could see that the challenge didn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, it could be a very good thing.

It would be.

He took a step forward. Matthias’s eyes widened, but Samuel looked delighted. Thorne had to decide who to go to first, and since Matthias was obviously the one who had more doubts, he moved toward him.

Their first kiss was soft and gentle, and Thorne suspected that was precisely what Matthias needed. He melted into Thorne’s arms, and Thorne bit at his lower lip, wanting him to open up. He could feel Matthias smile against his lips as he obeyed the silent order.

That wasn’t the only thing he could feel. Clearly Samuel didn’t like to be left out because he was crowding in behind Matthias’s back, wrapping his arms around both of them. He felt like he might haul them into his arms and guide them toward the bed, and Thorne found that, surprisingly, he wouldn’t mind.

Would it be too soon? Maybe, but they’d been dancing around each other for weeks. This was what all their discussions, bickering, and the time they’d spent together talking had led to. He wasn’t afraid because there was nothing to be afraid of. He already knew these two men. He knew what they could give him and what he could give them, and he wanted that. There was no reason for them to delay the inevitable.

And inevitable, it was. Thorne could feel it deep in his bones. This was what had been meant to happen from the beginning, and he was glad they’d finally reached this moment.

* * * *

THIS WAS EXACTLY WHAT Samuel had wanted. He hadn’t even realized it until recently, but it was what he’d been looking for all along. It was why he’d left his birth clan, although he told himself it was to follow Winter, and that hadn’t been a lie. He wouldn’t have let Winter go anywhere on his own, especially when Winter had decided to move here to the castle, but still. Samuel had been chasing something, and he knew what it was now.

He’d wanted someone he could have a connection with even without the bond that mages and dragons shared. He didn’t want that bond. He didn’t want to feel restrained, to feel like part of himself didn’t belong to him anymore. Maybe that was how he would feel anyway after a while, but he suspected that there was a very big difference between loving someone and the bond between a dragon and their mage.

He wanted a connection and intimacy built on choice, and that was what he was getting with these two. They’d chosen him because they wanted him, not because they wanted a dragon or a shield. They didn’t need one. They were human.

Samuel knew that his mother wouldn’t be happy, but he couldn’t have cared less as he crowded in behind Matthias and pressed himself against his back. He was happy, and that was all that mattered. His happiness and the happiness of the two men he was wrapping his arms around right now.

It wouldn’t be easy, but they could do it. He was sure of that.

He lifted his eyes to meet Thorne’s.

Thorne was watching him now, his expression darker than Samuel had ever seen it. Samuel pulled back from Matthias, who made a noise of protest that Samuel felt all the way down to his gut.

“Come here,” he told Thorne.

Thorne closed the distance between them, and his mouth was on Samuel’s before Samuel had fully straightened. He kissed the way Samuel had expected—deliberate and controlled like everything he did—but there was heat underneath it, and it made Samuel grab the front of his shirt and pull him closer. Matthias pressed himself against Samuel’s back, his hands sliding around to his stomach, his lips finding the back of Samuel’s neck.

Samuel broke the kiss long enough to breathe. “Bed.”

Nobody argued with that.

He guided Matthias toward it, and Thorne followed. Matthias sat on the edge of the mattress and reached up, grabbing Samuel’s shirt and pulling him down into a kiss while Thorne moved in behind Samuel, his hands working Samuel’s belt with an efficiency that surprised him and made him laugh against Matthias’s mouth.

“Something funny?” Thorne asked.

“Not at all.” Samuel reached back, grabbed Thorne’s hip, and pulled him closer. “Keep going.”

Thorne did. Samuel’s pants hit the floor, and then Thorne’s hands were on him, sliding under his shirt, pushing it up. Samuel lifted his arms and let him take it off. Matthias took the opportunity to pull his own shirt over his head and toss it somewhere, and then Samuel had his hands full of him, pressing him back onto the bed and following him down.

Matthias laughed, breathless, and grabbed Samuel’s shoulders. “Thorne,” he said, craning his neck to look past Samuel. “Stop standing there.”

“I’m not just standing here,” Thorne said, which was true because he was already climbing onto the bed behind Samuel, his chest warm against Samuel’s back. His mouth found the curve of Samuel’s shoulder, and Samuel closed his eyes for a second, enjoying the weight of both of them surrounding him.

Then Matthias shifted under him, and Samuel got back to work.

It took a moment for them to get situated, and more clothes flew off as they did so. Once they were naked, though, they found a rhythm that worked, the three of them moving together, adjusting, figuring out how to work together. Samuel had his mouth on Matthias’s throat while Thorne pressed against him, and at one point, someone’s elbow caught Samuel in the ribs, which made all three of them laugh and broke whatever tension was left. It hurt a little, but the reward was definitely worth it.

Matthias eventually ended up between them, his back against Thorne’s chest, Samuel pressed against his front. Samuel wrapped a hand around both of them, and Matthias’s head dropped back against Thorne’s shoulder, his fingers digging into Samuel’s arm almost to the point of pain. It was a good pain, though, a pain that reminded Samuel that this was real.

“Okay,” Matthias managed. “Okay, that’s—”