'How can we make that happen for you?'

After the unexpected death of my abusive husband, I did the only reasonable thing someone could possibly do when one was utterly broken and looking for direction.

I moved across the country and started over.

It worked in my favor, thankfully. I had a roof over my head, food on the table, and I was slowly starting to accept the fact that I would never be the same girl—the girl who thought romance and intimacy should be nothing but sunshine and fairy tales—again.

That version of Rory Vale died with him.

Instead, I was a girl who desired a unique sense of darkness. A girl who not only wanted to be chased and adored, but also hunted and owned.

The only hangup?

I had found two men who wanted to give me everything I could ever desire. Two Navy SEALs who knew exactly how to give me what I needed. But if I said yes to them—to us—then I would belong to them forevermore.

Because while they wanted a third, they also wanted… a family.

And shockingly, I think I wanted that too.