Theirs to Keep (Tangled Hearts Trilogy #1)(53)

He wasn’t going to breathe easy until the “I dos” were said and their signatures were on the dotted line of a marriage certificate.

Cade eased Elle down onto the bed, and then both men worked to get her out of her jeans and shirt so she’d be more comfortable. Merrick unhooked her bra and left her in her panties before he lifted her and moved her to the center of the bed.

She still hadn’t even so much as flinched, and it stirred the guilt inside him that she’d worked so tirelessly over the last week. He was going to make it up to her. A good night’s rest. Breakfast in bed tomorrow. And then she was going to take it easy for the entire damn day.

“I’m going to grab a shower, and then I’ll be to bed,” Cade said in a low voice so he didn’t wake Elle.

Merrick stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed next to Elle, pulling her into his arms. She gave one of those contented, breathy sighs that he loved so much, and she snuggled into his body like a kitten seeking warmth.

He loved that about her. How affectionate she was and how she sought out his touch even in her sleep. Though he and Cade hadn’t pressed the issue of sex since that first night they’d finally consummated their relationship and taken things to a whole new level, Elle had still slept between them every single night.

And with the fire and the fallout afterward, they were simply too damn tired at night to focus on the physical aspects of their relationship.

Merrick wasn’t wholeheartedly convinced that Elle was ready to take on a normal, healthy physical relationship with one man yet, let alone two. The first time had been just fine. But who was to say that she wouldn’t have issues the second or third time?

It was something he was already mentally preparing for because he knew Elle still had a long way to go in order to completely heal from her ordeal.

But she was his. And soon he’d have all the loose ends tied into a neat bow. Her past would no longer be a worry. Who she was no longer mattered. Because who and what she was…was his and Cade’s. Their wife. Their woman.

She mumbled something in her sleep and then threw her leg over his. He smiled in the darkness and then tucked her leg between his so that he covered the lower half of her body.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and barely whispered, “I love you, baby.”

Merrick forced himself out of bed at five a.m. He didn’t bother with a shower yet. He’d save that for after his run. He needed to get in at least five miles and hope to hell he wasn’t sucking serious wind after having worked out so sporadically over the last several days.

He was dressing quietly in the dark and reaching for his cross-trainers when he saw Elle rise from the bed.

Cursing under his breath that he’d awakened her when he’d wanted her to sleep in this morning, he started to move toward her when she walked toward the door.

It was an eerie glide, as if she had no care of stumbling in the dark. It wasn’t the careful walk of someone finding her way in a dark room. She walked boldly forward, out the door and into the hall.

Son of a bitch. It was happening again.

“Cade, get up!” Merrick called out as he made a run for Elle.

He heard Cade’s feet hit the floor as he sped down the hall. This time he caught up to Elle before she left the living room. She was standing in the middle of the floor, her expression completely blank as she stared into nothingness.

Then her forehead wrinkled as though she were in pain, and her lips tightened.

“Elle. Elle!” he said louder as he approached. “Baby, it’s me, Merrick. You’re sleepwalking again, baby. Wake up for me.”

“I trusted you,” she said in an accusing tone.

“Huh? What was that, baby? Come on. Wake up for me. Let’s go back to bed so you can rest some more.”

His hands closed over her shoulders, and as soon as he touched her, she jerked to awareness. The cloudiness left her eyes, and she blinked rapidly, and then she lifted her gaze to Merrick.

Then she crumpled on the spot, as if all her composure fled. She sagged precariously, and Merrick caught her against him before she fell. Cade stalked forward, flanking her other side.

“Let’s get her back to bed,” Cade said grimly.

“It happened again, didn’t it?” Elle asked in a small voice.

Merrick sighed. “Yes, baby, it did.”

She closed her eyes as Cade led her gently back toward the bedroom. A moment later, she was sitting on the edge of the bed while Cade rubbed warmth into her hands. She was visibly upset and shaken by the events. And whatever she had dreamed.

“Who did you trust, honey?” Cade asked. “Who betrayed you?”

She raised startled eyes to Cade.

“In the living room, while you were still out of it, you said, ‘I trusted you.’”

Her brow wrinkled, and for a moment, she seemed to fade out again. Then she simply said, “Him.”

“The man who attacked you?” Cade asked gently.

“I think so. I don’t know. Maybe?”

The frustration in her voice ate at Merrick. He hated that this caused her so much pain and heartache.

Merrick eased down on the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms, rocking her carefully back and forth.

“It’ll come, baby. Don’t rush. When you’re ready, it’ll come. When you’re able to cope with the knowledge of what happened to you, then you’ll remember. Until then, your mind is protecting you from what it believes you aren’t ready to deal with.”