Colters' Wife (Colters' Legacy #1.5)(2)

“Uh huh.” Her tongue felt too thick to form words. Her eyes closed wearily against his chest as he continued his rub. The sleepless nights caught up to her as Ethan worked magic with his hands. Her eyelashes fluttered and she struggled to try and stay awake.

Ethan looked down as Holly’s eyes closed in her battle to stay awake. He continued stroking her back, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. He silently urged her to submit to the desire to sleep. God knew she needed it.

He hated that she still fought with the nightmares. Oh, she wouldn’t ever admit to it, but he heard her quiet whimpers, felt her flinch and shake in her sleep. The others were just as aware.

They made sure she was never alone during the night. When the nightmares began, they held her, comforted her, but they felt helpless as her terror continued.

He looked down again to see her face buried in his chest. Still, he waited, wanting to make sure he wouldn’t wake her when he carried her inside.

He turned his head when he heard the front door open. He raised his finger to his lips when Ryan slipped outside. Ryan’s gaze swept hungrily over Holly, worry darkening his blue eyes.

“I’m going to take her in,” Ethan said quietly. “Open the door if you don’t mind.”

With great care, Ethan eased his arm from around Holly and stood up. Then he bent and curled his arms underneath her, lifting her up against his chest. He moved slowly to the door, stopping when she nuzzled her cheek further into his neck.

When she settled back down, he proceeded through the door that Ryan held open for him. He walked to the bedroom and eased her down on the bed. She made a sound of protest when he moved away from her. Taking only a second to shed his shoes, he crawled into bed with her and cuddled her close.

She let out a sweet sigh of contentment as she snuggled into his arms. He resumed rubbing her back as he had on the porch until she relaxed completely in his embrace. Soon her even breathing filtered through the room, and Ethan closed his eyes, content to lie there with the woman he loved filling his arms.

***

When Holly awoke, she first registered that Ethan was no longer in front of her. But her back was cradled into a hard chest and a hand rested possessively on her rounded abdomen. She smiled. Ryan.

She blinked the cloud of sleep from her eyes and marveled at how much better she felt. Part of it was the extra hours of sleep she’d needed but the other part was the reassurance she felt with Ryan curled around her body.

Wanting to face him, she struggled to turn over, a not-so-simple feat these days. Gentle hands assisted her and warm lips met hers as soon she eased around.

She sighed in utter contentment as Ryan deepened his kiss, his tongue brushing over hers. She slid her hand up his naked chest then to his shoulder and over the puckered scar from his gunshot wound.

Unexpected tears swam in her vision as she once again relived the horror of that night. Damn pregnancy hormones. She was a walking basket case these days.

“You’re not going to lose me,” Ryan murmured as he pulled away from her mouth.

God, she needed this reassurance. Her heart seized every time she looked at him lately.

“I love you,” she said, her voice whispery with emotion.

“I love you too,” he said gruffly.

The baby kicked and rolled between them and Ryan’s face relaxed into a grin.

“Active today, isn’t he?”

He moved his hand into the waistband of her sweat pants and eased it downward until her belly was bared. His fingers smoothed reverently over the taut skin. Then he bent down to press his lips to the small bump just underneath her ribs.

“Is that his foot?”

Holly chuckled. “Could be. I can’t ever keep up, he moves so quick.”

He slid his hand up, pushing her shirt until he cupped one full breast. Then he bent again and kissed the swollen nipple.

“I’ve missed you,” he said, and she knew he meant their lovemaking.

She moaned softly as he swirled a fingertip around the puckered tip, left damp from his tongue.

“I’ve missed you too,” she murmured.

In reality, she was about to scream in frustration. They hadn’t made love to her in weeks. She knew they were being considerate of her discomfort, but it was an unnecessary restraint of their part.

They’d been nothing but excruciatingly gentle since she’d returned to them, never taking her in the way they had before. They made love to her reverently, almost as if they were afraid they’d hurt her.

Sure, not a day—hell, an hour—went by that they didn’t touch her, caress her, shower her with tenderness, but it wasn’t the same as making love to her.

“I won’t break,” she said.

A ragged sigh of frustration broke from Ryan’s chest.

“I don’t want to hurt you or the baby. Adam, Ethan and I discussed this. We think it would be best to wait until after the baby’s born.”

A frown tugged on her eyebrows. She rose up on one elbow and glared down at Ryan.

“Let me get this straight. You and your brothers decided, on your own, without consulting me, that you would be abstaining until after our baby is born?”

He eyed her cautiously. “Uh, yeah.”

She pressed her lips into a tight line. “I see. And did it never occur to you that maybe I had no desire to abstain? Since when do you make my decisions for me?”