Colters' Gift (Colters' Legacy #5)(21)

The men certainly weren’t going to fit on the love seat, so after much discussion, Liam went down the street to buy sleeping bags at the sporting goods store.

It was decided that one of them would sleep in the living room, and since there wasn’t room for two sleeping bags unless they moved furniture out, the other would roll out his sleeping bag on the floor directly below where Lauren slept on the daybed.

She felt guilty until she remembered that she hadn’t asked for this, and yes, they were helping her. They were protecting her. She was extremely grateful. But there was no definite timeline on how long they would need to shadow her every movement. If she knew it was only for a few days or even a week or so, she would be willing to move to a hotel or consider other accommodations, but it could be much longer. She had a job. It was a job she liked and one she couldn’t afford to lose.

Sure, Max would help her. She wouldn’t even have to ask. But it was important to her that she stand on her own two feet and stop relying on her big brother to bail her out of trouble.

He was married now. He had Callie. It wasn’t fair to saddle him with the responsibility of his younger sister when he should be focused on his new family.

The men decided to alternate nights in her bedroom, and Liam claimed the first night. Lauren felt ridiculously nervous about having him in her bedroom, but he acted as though it was an ordinary occurrence.

He paid her no attention when she went into the bathroom to change into pajamas, brush her teeth and brush her hair. She spent longer than necessary and then realized he or Noah would likely need to use the bathroom before they went to bed.

But when she reentered her bedroom, Liam was already in his sleeping bag, one of the cushions from the couch tucked underneath his head.

At first she thought he was already asleep, but when she turned off the light and began to make her way toward the bed, he said, “Be careful. Don’t fall.”

She stepped over him and then crawled onto the bed. He’d pulled back the covers for her. The sweetness of the gesture made her want to hug him. It was a simple thing, but it showed his thoughtfulness and his determination to make her comfortable.

She settled underneath the covers and turned on her side, edging closer to the outside so she could peer over at Liam on the floor.

“Liam?” she called softly. “You still awake?”

“Yes, baby. You okay?”

She smiled at the soft endearment and the concern in his voice. It was nice having someone other than family care about her. It filled a void that had long been empty.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just wanted to say thank you.”

There was a rustle and movement and suddenly Liam was staring her in the eye. He’d pushed up and leaned in close until their faces were just inches apart.

“Don’t thank me for protecting someone I care about. I don’t give a damn about your brother hiring us. That’s not why we’re here. He could fire us tomorrow and we’d still be right here. With you. We aren’t going anywhere.”

She lifted her head, shifting so she could rest it in her palm, her elbow dug into the mattress.

“I wasn’t going to thank you for protecting me, though I am grateful.”

“Then what were you thanking me for?”

“For being so patient and understanding. For knowing all the right things to say to ease my fears. I know they’re irrational, but you never got annoyed. I’m still taking it all in. That you and Noah both care about me when I was already struggling to understand the feelings I had for both of you.”

Liam got to his knees and propped his arms on the mattress just in front of her. He rested his chin so their noses were nearly touching, and then he pushed forward, the barest of inches, and brushed his lips across hers.

She could barely make out in the dim light that shone from the streetlights through her window that Liam was shirtless. She wished there were more light, because she wanted to see if he had more tattoos or how far up his arms the sleeves extended.

Who was she kidding? She just wanted to see his body. Wanted to touch him. He stirred feelings of desire that she’d sworn she’d never feel for a man again.

He kissed her again and smoothed a hand over her face.

“I love the feel of your skin,” he said. “I could keep touching you forever. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of it.”

She gathered her courage and held it tightly to her. Joel had taught her that rejection was pain. It was humiliation. It meant feeling completely alone. He’d rejected her advances at every turn until she’d numbly fallen into the robotic routine of only doing what pleased him and never acting spontaneously. Did she dare risk being rejected by Liam?

She closed her eyes, her pulse accelerating. It was such a simple thing and yet she was terrified that he’d back away.

“Hey, are you okay?” Liam asked. “You just went incredibly tense. You know I’m not going to hurt you, don’t you?”

“I know,” she whispered. “I was going to . . .” She swallowed hard. “I was going to ask you . . .”

He trailed a finger down her cheek and then back up again. “What do you want to ask me, baby?”

Bracing herself for crushing disappointment, she held her breath and voiced her request.

“I was going to ask if you’d hold me. There’s enough room,” she hastily added before he could respond. “And I understand if you’d rather stay where you are. I know the bed is small—”