Colters' Gift (Colters' Legacy #5)(17)

Noah reached up to softly caress her cheek. “Please don’t be embarrassed by the question. We wanted—needed—to know because we have feelings for you, Lauren. And before we can proceed, we need to know if those feelings are returned.”

She swallowed hard, her pulse thundering in her temples. “You both have feelings for me?”

“Yes, we do,” Liam said in that same matter-of-fact tone.

She licked her lips, and suddenly Liam was there, his mouth covering hers in a heated rush. For a moment she had no idea what to do, but then she found herself responding, returning his kiss, opening her mouth to the thrust of his tongue.

There was nothing perfunctory about the kiss. She loved the roughness, how unsteady and eager he seemed. Almost like he was doing everything he could to hold himself in check. Joel had rarely kissed her, and when he had, it felt more like a punishment than a gesture of affection.

When he pulled away, his breath hiccupped over his lips and his eyes glowed warm and dark. He smoothed a thumb over the fullness of her bottom lip, now swollen from his kiss.

“I could so easily fall in love with you,” he said in a near whisper.

Her heart clenched and she soaked in the words like a parched desert soaking up rain.

Noah made a sound and she jerked toward him, suddenly numb with guilt. He immediately shook his head.

“Don’t look at me like that, sweetheart. You have nothing to feel guilty over. This is what we want to talk to you about. The thing is, we both care about you. We both want to see where our relationship will take us. But we have to make sure you’re on board for something like that. Plus, this isn’t the most ideal time to embark on any relationship, much less one with our particular elements. Our first priority has to be keeping you safe.”

“You want to have the sort of relationship that the Colters have,” she said, her mind whirling with the implications.

She’d known of the “different” marriage that Holly and Lily Colter had with each of their three husbands even before she’d ever met them. She’d learned of it from Max. She’d known what to expect, so when she’d witnessed firsthand the bond between the women and their husbands, she hadn’t been taken aback.

No, she wasn’t shocked. She’d been curious and more than a little envious because it was so obvious that the Colter men adored their wives. She’d often wondered what it would be like to be the center of such a relationship, the very heart and the core in which the arrangement was centered on.

Never in a million years would she have dreamed that such a relationship would find her.

Noah nodded. Liam squeezed her hand.

“Would you even consider such an arrangement?” Liam asked. “I know we’re asking for a lot. We’re nowhere near the permanent commitment stage. We haven’t even had what qualifies as a date. All we want is a chance. We want to open your mind to the possibility and see where it takes us.”

“This is a lot to take in,” she murmured. “I had no idea. I mean that you returned my interest.”

Noah’s eyes gleamed in sudden triumph. “So you are attracted to us.”

Her cheeks flamed, but she nodded. They’d given her the truth, and while she’d certainly started their acquaintance with lies, she didn’t want to continue that path.

Liam leaned in and kissed her again. Long and sweet until she was breathless. This time she slid her hand around the back of his neck and buried her fingers in his long hair. He groaned against her mouth and then pulled back, his eyes blazing.

“If I had my way, we’d bypass the dating stage altogether and I’d have you in my bed every damn night.”

She gaped at his bluntness and nearly glanced in Noah’s direction, but remembering his admonishment the last time she’d looked his way to gauge his reaction, she forced herself not to peek at him.

“We’ll take things slow,” Noah said. “We’ll go whatever pace you need, Lauren. You’ll take the lead and we’ll do whatever we need to for you to be comfortable. We want this to work.”

“Okay,” she said in a shaky voice.

Noah touched his finger to her cheekbone and ran it down to her jaw and then over to trace a line around her mouth.

“I want very much to kiss you,” he said huskily.

“Then kiss me,” she whispered.

He leaned in, slowly, angling his head so their mouths aligned. And then he pressed his lips to hers. Lightly at first. Then he deepened the kiss, tentatively seeking entrance with his tongue.

It was sweet and slow, like the first kiss between lovers. A kiss to be remembered for the way it made her feel when things were all shiny and new and emotions were still running high.

His hand fell to the side of her neck and then, as she’d done to Liam, his hand crept upward, into her hair.

He broke away but rested his forehead against hers, his chest heaving as he rested there a moment, their mouths so very close.

“I want this,” he whispered. “I didn’t think I did, but God, I want this, Lauren. I want you, and I’ll make any sacrifice for this to work.”

His words opened a part of her soul that hadn’t been previously opened. He and Liam had reached a part of her she’d closed off, a protective measure so that Joel couldn’t reach the very core of her and damage it.

It was scary and exhilarating all at the same time to open up and allow herself to trust again. But mostly it terrified her because she knew she hadn’t made good decisions in the past. How was she supposed to know if she was making the right ones now?