Complete Abandon by Julia Kent Page A

lack of appreciation for good wine had been a joke when they’d met, and now it was a running tease between them.
    The answering laugh came out of her unbidden, her muscles relaxing, the room like something out of a fantasy, all a pale, creamy glow, with the darkened forest peeking in through the wide windows like a protective mother, tree branches embracing the tall, circular building. It really felt as if this cabin had grown out of the ground like a tree, the knots in the wood visible in the walls, the scent of cedar filling the room.
    Laura sipped the rest of her glass and said nothing when Mike, after pouring a glass for Dylan, refilled hers without asking. The three stood and faced the large picture window, eyes unfocused and lost in the splendor of the view as the dusky, pink-streaked sky faded with a sepia tone.
    It was the most time she’d spent just being with them since the baby had been born.
    The baby. Jillian. Motherhood. For a short half hour she’d somehow pushed all thoughts of the baby aside and taken halting steps toward just being Laura again.
    And it had felt good.
    Reproach and guilt poured in. She batted it away. Jillian was fine. Fine. Alex and Josie could manage just fine.
    Fine.
    And she still felt good. She felt damn good.
    Speaking of things that felt good...Dylan’s arm found its way around her waist and he kissed her neck, the scent of wine and citrus mixed with his earthy, spicy aftershave. A deep inhale and another kiss, this one below her ear, and she felt her heart pick up, her body responding with a finely-tuned keening that made her feel empty, wanting him in her. The sudden rush of warmth and eagerness surprised her, making her smile, for it also pleased her.
    Maybe more of the old Laura remained than just her wine cluelessness.
    Maybe she really could find her way back, for one night, to the way they were.
    Dylan turned her toward him, finished his glass of wine in one big swig, and with a tight power in his face that she would have thought was anger if she didn’t know otherwise, reached for her hand. He pulled her toward the bed. He didn’t ask.
    This wasn’t up for discussion.
    Mike—to Laura’s deep amusement—finished the rest of his wine with an audible gulp and joined them. The air in the room was suddenly cold and hot at once, the candles making the bed seem to float in the middle of the room. Acutely aware of every muscle in Dylan’s hand, the way the hair at the top of his chest peeked out from the V of his shirt, how Mike’s tall, lean body cast a shadow in the ever-darkening room, Laura felt transported. Loved. Wanted.
    Desired.
    Four hands made ready work of removing her clothes as Laura closed her eyes, so vulnerable and accustomed to the two men, yet hesitant and a bit shy. Dylan eased her heathered-lilac shirt up over her head, hands sending the shirt to the ground, then cupping her full breasts with a sense of want she could feel in her core, her body tightening and opening at the same time, ready for what he so desperately seemed to want to give. Mike’s fingers pulled at the zipper at her waist, letting her skirt drop to the ground. She slid her shoes off, now in her panties and bra, hating how awkward and self-conscious she felt.
    It had been so long. Her fault, entirely—Mike and Dylan had asked plenty of times for more sex, though over the last month they’d backed off, probably tired of her endless rejections.
    Mind looping with all these thoughts, she couldn’t just relax.
    Even worse, she struggled to hide that fact. Because who gets uptight and awkward around the men you’ve pledged to love forever? Their bond was sacred, the three connected and forged into one soul, it seemed. If Laura had been told two years ago that she would soon meet two protectors who would love her forever and unconditionally, and would give her the greatest gift ever in baby Jillian, she would have scoffed at the sheer impossibility of such a life.
    Yet here she was, now,