by Maya Banks
“We’re going to stay tonight in a hotel so we can talk about everything that’s going to go on and so you’re comfortable with the plan. Tomorrow we’ll drive back out to the Colters’, where we’ll stay until we fly out to Raleigh.”
Liam opened the door to the backseat and slid inside. “All set. Let’s roll.”
“You two don’t mind staying at the Colters’,” she asked as Noah pulled out of the parking spot.
Noah shook his head. “It’s isolated. It’s private. It comes with a hell of a lot of built-in protection. And they’re your family. That’s good enough for me.”
She smiled.
“But for tonight, we wanted you to ourselves,” Liam said from the backseat. “We have a lot to talk about, yes, but we also want a night with you where we aren’t concerned with what your family can or can’t hear or who’s right down the hall.”
Her cheeks grew warm, but she couldn’t control the shiver of delight at the veiled promise in his voice.
Noah reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers.
“We wanted one night—this night—to show you just what you mean to us before we have to deal with what’s coming down the road.”
CHAPTER 27
NOAH went inside the hotel to check them in while Liam waited in the car with Lauren.
“I hope you and Noah aren’t expecting much with this hotel,” Lauren hedged. “Clyde doesn’t have much in the way of fine hotels or lodging. Those are all over in the ski resort towns to the north.”
“We aren’t concerned with how nice the room is,” Liam said. “As long as you’re in it, we’re fine.”
“I love you,” she said quietly, testing the newness of the words on her lips.
He looked surprised, but then his eyes burned with heat, leaving her no doubt as to the satisfaction she’d brought him.
“I love you too, baby.”
“I’ve never told anyone that before,” she blurted. “I mean except Max and family.”
He reached up to touch her hair, stroking his fingers through the strands. “Then I’m glad that Noah and I get to be the first.”
“You’re the first in a lot of ways,” she admitted. “You’re the first men I’ve ever actually made love with. I haven’t been with that many, but love certainly wasn’t a factor in the sex.”
“You understand that we intend to be the last,” Liam said with a low growl. “This isn’t something we take lightly. As far as I’m concerned, this is forever.”
She smiled ruefully at the irony. “Joel used to say that he and I were forever, and God, I hated that word. He would tell me that I’d never get away from him. But when you say it, it sounds . . . wonderful.”
“Noah and I will always put you first, baby. Your wants, your needs, whatever it is that makes you happy.”
“I used to believe that the Colters and my brother were the only good men, and that they were some kind of aberration. I was so jealous of Holly and Lily that I ached with it. I never thought I would find someone to love me like their husbands love them.”
She turned her smile up to Liam, allowing her love to openly shine.
“I was wrong. You and Noah are my white knights.”
“I wouldn’t go that damn far,” Liam grumbled. “We’re pretty tarnished knights. We aren’t perfect, Lauren, and I don’t want you going into this thinking we are. We’ve made mistakes. We’re rough around the edges. And we’ll screw up. I guarantee we’ll screw things up. Just promise me—and us—that you’ll be patient and stick it out because I guarantee you, no one will ever love you more than me and Noah.”
Her heart melted, and she wanted to reach over the seat and grab him into a huge hug.
“Well, just in case you and Noah ever have any doubts, there is no one who will ever love you more than me,” she said fiercely. “Don’t even think about browsing anywhere else.”
Liam grinned and then leaned forward to kiss the tip of her nose. “You sound mighty possessive, Miss Wilder. I like it. You can be possessive of me anytime. I guarantee I won’t mind a bit.”
Noah slid into the car and handed Lauren and Liam each a keycard. “All set,” he said. “I’ll drive around to the parking spot outside our room.”
Liam dug in the bag on the seat next to him and pulled out a zip-up hoodie. He thrust it over the seat to Lauren.
“Put this on, baby. Hood up. Cover up as much of you as possible. I’d rather not broadcast the fact that you’re staying here.”
As Noah pulled into one of the back parking spaces, Lauren thrust her arms into the sweatshirt and pulled the hood securely over her head, making sure her hair was hidden from view.
“Go on inside,” Noah instructed. “Liam and I will get the bags.”
Lauren got out of the car and hurried to the door. She inserted her keycard and then pushed inside.
She took in a deep breath, gratified that it didn’t smell smoky or musty. It smelled clean and the furnishings weren’t threadbare.
She blushed when she took in the fact that there was only one bed. It was plenty big for the three of them, but it was obvious they had no intention of her sleeping away from them.
A few moments later, Liam and Noah came through the doorway, their arms full of her luggage and their own bags. They dropped them inside the door and then shut it behind them.
“First order of business is what you’d like to eat for dinner,” Noah said as he pulled Lauren into his side.
He kissed her temple, brushing his lips over her skin.
“Dillon has offered to do delivery service for us from the pub. Anything he has on the menu, he’s said he’ll deliver personally.”
“I’d love a club sandwich,” Lauren said.
“I can handle that,” Noah said with a smile. “Why don’t you go get changed and relax. Put on some comfy pajamas and I’ll order our food. We can eat and talk when the food gets here.”
That sounded perfect to her. She was ready to wilt after the emotional twists and turns of the day.
She hurried in the bathroom, wanting to get back to her guys. There was nothing she wanted more than to curl up against them and just . . . be.
They had a lot to plan. Her entire life was going to change. But they’d sworn to stay with her every step of the way. If she’d had any doubt about their love, she couldn’t possibly doubt it or them now. They were making huge sacrifices and putting their own lives on hold. For her.
When she was dressed in pajamas and hastily ran a brush through her hair, she ventured out of the bathroom to see Liam sprawled in one of the chairs in the living section of the hotel suite. His cell phone was to his ear and he seemed relaxed. Noah was seated by the window, occasionally sticking his fingers behind the blinds to pull them out enough to see the parking lot.
When Liam saw her, he slipped his hand over the end of the phone and mouthed, my parents.
Lauren’s eyes widened and she went to sit in the armchair directly across from Liam so she could listen in on the conversation.
“She’s amazing,” Liam said softly, his gaze riveted to Lauren as he spoke. “You’ll both love her.”
Lauren blushed and squirmed under his tight scrutiny. It was odd to hear herself being talked about in such glowing terms.
“There’s something else you should know, Mom and Dad,” Liam said, his voice growing serious.
Even Noah turned from his perch by the window. When he saw Lauren, he got up and crossed the room. He extended his hand down to Lauren to pull her up, and then he sat and tugged her down into his lap.
“Now comes the fun part,” Noah murmured.
Lauren fought the smile. Yes, she was nervous about how Liam’s parents were going to take the explanation of their relationship, but she wasn’t so uptight that she couldn’t appreciate the humor in such an unexpected and somewhat awkward conversation with his parents.
Liam looked nervous. He wiped his free hand down his jeans repeatedly.
“Our relationship is not
exactly . . . traditional,” Liam said, unease apparent in his voice.
Then he blanched, his eyes widening and he immediately began to sputter. “Mom, no, I’m not gay and Lauren isn’t a cover name for a man. Yes, I know you’d understand and that you aren’t judging me, but that’s not what it is.”
Lauren started giggling and Noah shook with laughter against her. Liam sighed and closed his eyes as he listened to what apparently was a long stream of conversation from his mother.
“Mom, I appreciate that you’re so understanding, but will you listen to me please? I’m not coming out of the closet here. I’m trying to tell you that Noah and I both are involved with Lauren.”
There was a long period of silence on Liam’s end, and there must have been on his parents’ end too because Liam said, “Mom? Dad? Are you still there?”
He gripped the phone a little tighter and then took a deep breath. “It’s really not that complicated when you look at it. We met her because her brother hired us to protect her, and we both fell in love with her. It’s really that simple. She makes us happy and we’re going to do our damn best to make her happy.”
He glanced toward Noah and Lauren. “Yes, Noah’s here. He and Lauren both are. Uh okay, hang on a minute.”
He held the phone toward Noah. “Mom wants to talk to you.”
“Ah hell,” Noah muttered.
Lauren got up so Noah could lean forward and get the phone from Liam, and Liam pulled Lauren back toward him so she could switch spots from Noah to him.
“Hi, Mom,” Noah said.
Even though Lauren knew he was nervous, he seemed to relax the moment he spoke to Liam’s mother.
“Your family really is Noah’s family, aren’t they?” Lauren murmured to Liam.
“Yeah,” Liam said quietly. “Noah didn’t have an easy childhood. He was a burden to his parents. He was an oops baby to extremely selfish, self-absorbed people who didn’t have time for a child nor the desire for one. He spent more time at my house than he did at home. I can remember times when they’d literally drop him off at my parents with a note saying they were going to be gone for two weeks. Sometimes longer. They’d send one change of clothes in a plastic grocery sack. It pissed my parents off to no end, but they knew if they interfered they’d likely never see Noah again, and by then they considered him their son as much as I was.”
“That can’t have been easy for Noah,” Lauren said sadly. “No one wants to feel like they’re unwanted.”
“I think it was hard for him when he was younger, but by the time he hit his teen years he just seemed to accept it. He loved my parents and they loved him. One day he came to our house with everything he owned in a duffel bag. My dad went outside to talk to him and when they came back in, my dad simply announced that Noah would be moving in with us and would become a permanent member of our family. I never saw or heard from his parents after that day, and I don’t know that he has either.”
“Wow, just wow,” Lauren said in shock. “I can’t fathom that kind of emotional disconnect between parents and their child. That couldn’t have been easy for your parents to take in another child.”
Liam shook his head. “It wasn’t. My dad did shiftwork at the local paper mill, and my mom worked in the school cafeteria. They didn’t make a lot of money and it was a struggle to make ends meet with just the three of us. We lived in a two-bedroom wood-frame house, and Noah and I had to share a bedroom. But they always seemed to manage. They had a lot of pride too. I’ll never forget when Noah and I were seniors in high school, we came home one day. It was a Friday, Dad’s off day from work, and he and Mom were pissed. Not upset. Just extremely angry.”
Lauren’s brow furrowed. “Why?”
“Apparently Noah’s parents had a brief moment of guilt, but not a big enough one that they actually tried to see Noah or come to visit him. They sent my mom and dad a check to cover his expenses. My dad hit the roof. And you’d have to understand. Not much makes my dad angry. He’s a very laid-back, mild-mannered man. But that day, he was livid.”
“I can imagine,” Lauren murmured.
“He gave the check to Noah and told him it was rightfully his to do what he wanted, but that he and my mom wouldn’t accept a dime for doing what was right. My dad told Noah that he loved him like a son and he didn’t take him in to get some check in the mail.”
“Did Noah take it?” Lauren asked.
Liam shook his head. “He told my dad to tear it up and return it to sender. Then he told my mom and dad that they were his parents, and that they’d given him something way more valuable than a check with a lot of zeroes. They’d given him love and acceptance.”
“That’s a beautiful story,” Lauren said with a sniff.
“My parents are pretty special folks,” Liam said seriously.
“And what did they say when you told them about us?”
Liam smiled. “They were surprised, of course. And they wanted to talk to Noah. I’m their son, but to them so is Noah, and they want to make sure he’s happy with the arrangement and isn’t settling.”
Lauren glanced back toward Noah, who was smiling as he spoke into the phone.
“We’ll bring her to meet you as soon as it’s possible. It may be a while before you hear from us again, and I don’t want that to worry you. We have some things to take care of and it’s very likely Lauren is going to have to testify in a criminal trial. Once we’re sure that the threat to her has been eliminated, then we can lead a normal life together. You’ll like her family. They remind me a lot of you and Dad.”
He paused a moment and found Lauren’s gaze, his eyes warming as he stroked over her features.
“Yes, they’re fine with it. It’s not exactly an unusual arrangement in her family. But we’ll explain it all to you when we bring her to meet you. Promise.”
Noah smiled again. “Love you both. I’ll give you back to Liam now.”
He handed the phone back to Liam, and Liam put it to his ear.
“We’ll talk soon,” Liam promised. “Love you both.”
Liam hugged Lauren to him a little tighter as he said his good-byes. Then he punched the Off button and set the phone down on the little end table set up between the two armchairs.
“So it went well?” Lauren asked tentatively.
“Yes,” both Noah and Liam said at the same time.
“They’re very eager to meet you,” Noah said. “They’re pretty mystified over the kind of woman it would take to get mine and Liam’s attention so fiercely. They’ve despaired of us ever settling down and providing them grandchildren.”
Lauren flushed but she was taken with the image of her round with child, like Lily, and the two men fussing endlessly over her. And of having a tiny baby and the expressions on Noah’s and Liam’s faces the first time they saw their child.
She wanted it so much that she ached. She wanted them. Wanted a life with them, full of love and companionship.
A knock on the door interrupted her fantasy.
“That’ll be Dillon with food,” Noah said, as he rose from his chair. “Get comfortable, honey, and we’ll dig in.”
CHAPTER 28
AFTER the three ate dinner, Lauren excused herself to go shower in the small bathroom. She’d closed her eyes and stuck her head under the hot spray, when a warm body pressed to her naked back.
Noah.
She smiled, her eyes still closed. She didn’t need to look to know which of the two it was. She loved that she could tell them apart merely by touch. Smell. The sensation each of them caused against her skin.
His mouth nuzzled up the side of her neck, inciting a full-body shiver even under the heat of the shower.
“Hope you don’t mind me joining you,” he said huskily. “Liam and I thought you would enjoy a little pampering. I get to wash, and he gets to dry.”
“Mmmm.”
It came out as a soft moan, and she leaned further back into him, molding her wet body to his. His hands slid around her waist to her
belly and then upward to cup her breasts. He thumbed her nipples until they were puckered ridges.
She gave a whispery sigh when his hands left her to pick up the shampoo bottle. After squeezing the liquid into his hand, he began to lather her hair, taking his time and working his fingers over every part of her head.
She was nearly in a coma from the bliss of the massage. Her shoulders relaxed and the coiled tension in her muscles fled under Noah’s soothing touch.
“Feel good?”
“Oh yes,” she breathed.
He kissed the spot just below her left ear. “Good. Tonight is for you.”
He turned her so he could rinse her hair, and when he’d made sure all the soap was gone, he set about washing the rest of her body with slow, methodical strokes that had her crazy with desire.
She was so boneless by the time he reached up to turn the shower off, that she wasn’t sure she’d be awake for whatever came next.
When the shower curtain was swept aside, she saw that Liam waited, a large towel in his hands. He opened it to her as she stepped out of the tub and immediately enfolded her in the warm softness.
Noah dried himself off in the shower while Liam toweled Lauren completely dry. Afterward, he wrapped her in a thick robe and nudged her out of the bathroom toward the bed.
Collecting a brush from her suitcase, he followed her to the bed and directed her to sit between his spread legs. To her surprise and utter delight, he began to comb out her damp hair.
“You two are so spoiling me,” she said with absolutely no real regret.
Liam paused a moment and then leaned forward to brush his mouth over her ear.
“That’s the plan. We have to do what we can to ensure you want to keep us around for the long run.”
There was a teasing note to his voice but she responded in all seriousness.
“I’ll never grow tired of being with you.”
It was a statement that sounded new. At the beginning of a relationship when emotions are high and optimism is in abundance. When no one thinks of the potential pitfalls in a relationship. And yet, she believed it with all her heart. How could she possibly ever grow weary of two men who put her above all else?
