Three Swedish Mountain Men

by Lily Gold

Not to be dramatic, but this has definitely been the worst week of my life.

I figured if I went far, far north, all the way up to Lapland, there’d be no chance that anyone would find me. And I’d be safe.

This guy looks like some kind of Nordic God. A gruff, grizzled face, a blonde beard, and ice-blue eyes.

Thor turns to someone behind him. “She’s a tourist,” he says in English, his words dripping with utter disgust. “Oh, in that case, we may as well just leave her to die then,” a low voice drawls back.

He’s just as hot as the first guy—all sharply cut cheekbones and full, pouty lips. His eyes are a very light green, and his hair is a bright coppery-brown colour, falling in tousled curls over his forehead.

I hate tourists. None of them can drive up here.

I run my eyes over her. She’s tiny; all soft curves wrapped in a pale pink ski jacket.

I tug her fluffy hood down, freezing when I get a good look at her face. Oh. She’s beautiful. Really, really beautiful. Soft cheeks, massive brown eyes, and a little pink-valentine mouth.

Next to me, I see Eli twitch with interest.

They look at the locals like we’re a bloody museum exhibit.

He’s stunning. Deep brown skin and high cheekbones.

I have to fight the urge to gasp as the three men push me back into the chair. It’s overwhelming to be touched in so many places, with so many big, warm hands.

“I can walk myself,” I mutter. “Did you learn recently? You’re not good at it.”

He couldn’t keep himself away from a beautiful woman if his life depended on it. And of course, she has to be beautiful.

Eli starts clattering around in the kitchen, and I relax slightly. At least one of them likes me.

He looks so earnest, and so genuinely upset that he’s scared me, that embarrassment blooms through me.

Daisy offers me her hand. I don’t need it, but I’m certainly not going to say no to any opportunity to touch her.

He looks delicious.

It feels like there’s something missing. What if it’s her?

“You don’t touch her, you don’t talk to her, you don’t fucking look at her,” I snap. “Do you understand me?”

It’s like she was made to match us.

Even though I keep buying more bookshelves, I can never keep up with my book-buying habit. It’s probably a diagnosable addiction at this point.

“I feel happier than I have in a long, long time.”

He saw that I was upset about my broken canvases, and he decided to fix the problem. That’s an apology.

“I’M NOT LOSING BOTH OF YOU!” Cole roars, getting right in his face. “YOU’VE ALREADY TAKEN HER AWAY FROM ME, YOU’RE NOT FUCKING DYING AS WELL!”

I’m going to find him, and he’s going to pay for hurting her this much.

I wouldn’t be scared of Cole if he came into my bedroom with a chainsaw. He’d probably just be building me a bedside cabinet, or something.

One kiss. That’s all it took for her to unravel me completely.

Well. My hips. It’s only up to Cole’s thighs. He sees me struggling, and his mouth quirks. “Why are you so small?” “I shrank in the wash.”

“God, I love you.” “I love you, too,” I say. I don’t even have to think about it. I know it’s true.

think I love all of you,” I say quietly. There’s no I think about it. I know I do. I just don’t know what the hell to do about it.

I push back his auburn curls. “I love you,” I tell him again. His eyes close. His arms tighten around me. “You’re so fuckin’ special,” he grates out, rubbing his rough cheek against mine. “You, too.”

She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

“You always do the thing that keeps you safe,” he says gruffly. “Always. No exceptions. We will deal with the consequences after. You never jeopardise your safety just to make someone else happy.”

We all glance at each other, and none of us can hold back our smiles.

“And now, you think you can judge her for the relationships that she actually chooses? You think your opinion matters to her? To any of us? You don’t deserve to be a member of her family. You don’t deserve to be related to her. She’s a better person than you’ll ever be.”

“Good. Now everybody knows. Everybody knows how much I love all three of you.”

“Hm?” I loll lazily against a muscled chest, blissed out. “We all feel free again, too.” I smile, and tip my face up for a kiss or three.

Cole grumbles when I say the word husband. I can tell he’s pleased. He loves when I call him that.

“H-husband?” the woman stutters. “Yep!” I show her my hand. She takes in the three gold wedding bands stacked on my ring finger.

“We’re not whole without you,” he mumbles against my cheek.