Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(52)

Cade closed his eyes, his jaw tight and bulging. He leaned forward, his body pressing into hers, and then he went rigid, all his breath escaping in one forceful exhale.

He lowered his body to hers, until they were flush against each other, his weight anchoring her to the bed. He was warm and hard over her. She wrapped her arms around his body, holding him tightly to her as she reveled in his scent and the feel of him molded so tightly to her.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

THE NEXT FEW DAYS WERE a whirlwind of endless activity. They guys met with every one of their clients to reassure them that losing the office in no way diminished the services they were able to offer, and fortunately, since their client list was small but intensely loyal, only one opted to go with another company.

Cade’s dad had pounded the pavement to find them office space to lease, and the men had worked around the clock to get the business back up and running. Elle restored their computer systems after the new equipment had been delivered to the house, and she soon had everything back in working order.

Merrick’s workouts had suffered as a result. Though he’d gone the morning after the fire, he’d skipped several after in order to help Cade. When Elle cautiously brought up the fact that his fight was bearing down on them, Merrick had grimaced and muttered that shit happens and he had to do what he had to do.

Still, she hated that she couldn’t do more to bear the load for Cade and Merrick. She put in long hours of clerical work. She took over all phone calls, whether it was making calls to reassure clients or taking calls from clients with concerns or needs.

She was a part of this. She felt a part of it. For the first time in so many months, she had a purpose, and she was part of something much bigger than herself. She had a family. Men who loved her.

After a week of no sleep for any of them, Elle drifted off at the desk of her makeshift office in their house. There were stacks of paperwork surrounding her, and she’d just completed doing manual updates from the back-up file to the brand-new computer the guys had bought to replace what had been lost in the fire.

And that was how Cade and Merrick found her. Cheek down on a stack of printouts, hair over her face, slumped over the desk, about to fall out of her chair.

“Hell,” Merrick muttered. “We’ve been working her way too hard. She’s exhausted.”

“We’re all exhausted,” Cade said. “It’s been a tough week getting back on our feet and keeping our clients. She’s been a big part of that. We couldn’t have done it without her and Dad.”

“She’s been nagging me about getting down to the gym,” Merrick said grimly.

“Someone needs to,” Cade said as he walked quietly toward the desk where Elle was sleeping so soundly.

Merrick’s brows drew together. “Don’t you start too. I couldn’t leave this on you, man.”

Cade looked up, pausing, his hand in midair as he’d reached for Elle. “This fight is important. You can’t lose an entire week of training and expect to win. Dad and Elle have been invaluable in helping. We’ll get back on our feet. But it makes no sense for the fire to take not only our office and part of our business, but your career as well.”

“I’ll get back,” Merrick said in a determined voice. “I just needed to make sure we were going to be okay.”

“We’re going to be fine.” He glanced back down at Elle, who hadn’t stirred the entire time the two men had been talking. “Right now, what we need to do is get her to bed and make sure she stays there for about twelve hours. None of us have slept worth a damn in the last week, and we’re all suffering for it.”

“Amen to that,” Merrick muttered. “Let’s take her to bed and tomorrow… Tomorrow I’ll head into the gym to start catching up. But I don’t want Elle picking up my slack with the business. She’s at the end of her rope.”

Cade went to his knees by Elle’s chair and pulled her gently into his arms so her head rested in the curve of his neck. He looped one arm underneath her knees and then pushed himself upward.

It was a testament to her fatigue that she never even stirred. She lay limply in Cade’s arms as he carried her out of the office and toward the bedroom.

Despite the stresses of the past week. The fear of losing Elle in the fire. The utter devastation to their office. The missed workouts and the shift in focus from his upcoming fight to the preservation of their security business. Despite it all, Merrick was calm and centered, and he felt a bone-deep contentment.

Dallas was working on the paperwork for Elle, and it should be ready in the next couple of days. All that was left was for her to then marry Merrick and keep Cade’s name as well as Merrick’s on all her legal documents.

They’d already decided to circumvent any complicated, time-consuming steps and make a weekend trip to Las Vegas to tie the knot there. In Vegas, no one was going to blink an eye if Cade stood in the marriage ceremony and took an actual part.

Yeah, the legalities would be between Merrick and Elle, but Cade would be a part. She’d say vows to both men and they in turn would give them back to her.

It was the final step in not only giving her back an identity and a fresh start, a new lease on life, but also binding her irrevocably to them. And if Merrick was honest, the latter was what concerned him more. He wanted that knowledge, that reassurance that she was his. Not just as some private agreement between the three of them, but to the rest of the world as well.