Maya Banks - Colters’ Gift

She nodded and then impulsively wrapped her arms around Noah’s neck, hugging him tightly.

Noah felt her go tense against him. She went so still, he was sure she was holding her breath. Waiting. For what? Did she expect a reprimand? Fuck that.

He wrapped his arms around her and hauled her into his lap, hugging her fiercely. He kissed the top of her silky hair and she gradually relaxed in his arms, melting sweetly against him.

“He never was affectionate with me,” she whispered. “I hated that. I hated what I became. I’ve always been a demonstrative person, and he took that away. He hated for me to touch him.”

Noah’s lips tightened as he met Liam’s surly gaze across the table. God, he wanted to kick Joel Knight’s ass. Men like him didn’t deserve to breathe.

Carefully he pulled Lauren away and pushed the hair from her face.

“You can touch me anytime you feel like it, sweetheart. I guarantee I won’t complain. And you can bet that I’m going to want to touch you often. I won’t be able to resist.”

“Come here, Lauren,” Liam said.

Noah kissed her temple and then helped her to her feet so she could walk around the table to Liam.

Liam opened his arms and she went willingly, and soon Liam had her nestled on his lap, his arms snugly around her. She cuddled into his embrace like a kitten seeking warmth, and Noah realized that what she needed most was comfort. She was starved for the things that most people took for granted. Affection. Tenderness.

Love.

“Anytime you want a hug, you come to me,” Liam said gruffly. “I’d happily spend all damn night holding you.”

“I’ll make mistakes,” Lauren said painfully. “I don’t know how to have a normal relationship, but I want to learn.”

“We’re going to make mistakes too, Lauren. We’ll just be patient with each other,” Noah said.

She straightened in Liam’s lap and looked directly into Noah’s eyes, her expression fierce and determined.

“I want this,” she said in a rush, almost as if she’d been afraid to admit it before. “I want it more than I can say. I’m just so afraid of screwing up.”

Noah’s heart melted. If there had been any lingering doubt on his part about the viability of entering a relationship that involved sharing a woman with his best friend, it was swiftly removed as he stared into Lauren’s eyes.

She was starkly vulnerable. She was afraid and she was still beaten down by a man whose hold on her had yet to be fully broken. But he saw hope in her eyes. He saw fierce determination to make things work between the three of them.

If she could take such a huge step and put her trust in him and Liam, then he could certainly do the same.

It was time to stop overthinking all the what-ifs and maybes and focus on the only thing he could control. His contribution.

“I want this too,” Noah said honestly.

There was relief in Liam’s eyes, and his hold tightened around Lauren.

Liam’s gaze met and held with Noah’s as silent understanding passed between them.

For better or worse, they were in this together.

WHEN Noah and Liam had inserted themselves into Lauren’s life—and apartment—they obviously hadn’t given a lot of thought to sleeping arrangements. The one bedroom was tiny, and Lauren had a daybed instead of a regular bed. There was barely room for the small chest of drawers she’d crammed into the room so she’d have a place for her clothing.

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.