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“You have mine,” Elisa said quietly.
His chest suddenly felt far too tight. Worth. He wasn’t even sure what the word meant, but the way they held him, protected him, made him feel something he’d never felt before. Precious. Beloved.
Was he so afraid of losing them he was willing to push them away?
He wouldn’t let them push him away if the situation was reversed.
If he wanted to be part of a family, he had to be brave enough to accept everything about them. Including the fact that he could lose them. He had to be brave enough to take that risk.
Emotion welled inside him, hard and fast, and suddenly the world seemed more vivid than it had before. It was brighter and louder and more beautiful as he dumped any idea of trying to deal with this situation alone. He turned and hauled her close. “You have to promise me you’ll be careful.”
Relief was plain on that gorgeous face of hers. “I will.”
He twisted so he could see Van. “And you.”
“I will hide anytime I see a douchebag in designer wear,” Van promised, a smile on his face. “And I think you’ll find the whole town will be on the lookout. They made sure the lawyer lady couldn’t find us. I can’t wait to see what they’ll do to a tourist who’s trying to kill one of us. You aren’t alone. Not even close.”
It struck him how fragile it all was, how odd that all the events of his life and theirs had brought them here.
If he’d had a different childhood, he’d likely be living in Texas, working some meaningless job.
If he hadn’t been homeless, he wouldn’t have met Van.
If Van hadn’t gotten into that bar fight, they wouldn’t have found Bliss.
If Elisa hadn’t gotten cancer…
If Mel Hughes hadn’t had an affair while he was in the military…
So many ifs. So many ways this thing between the three of them might not have happened, but they were here. They were together. Maybe it was time to stop thinking of what they had as fragile and put his full trust and faith in it.
Maybe that was what having a family meant, and maybe he was worthy of belonging to this one.
He leaned over, kissing her. This wasn’t a tentative kiss, exploring the possibility of intimacy. He was too far gone for that. He blew past opening kisses and simply devoured her mouth, letting his tongue plunge deep. He felt Van move around, getting behind Elisa so they had her wrapped up between them.
Where she was meant to be.
Maybe it wasn’t coincidence that led them all to stand on the porch in the snow beneath a blanket of stars.
Maybe it was fate, and the best kind.
He pressed her against Van and let his hands find her waist, tugging at the shirt she had on.
“Inside,” she whispered against his mouth. “Come summer I’ll take that risk with you, but I’m not into frostbite, babe.”
He loved it when she called him babe. He picked her up and carried her inside, Van holding the door for them.
He walked past the living room and made for the primary bedroom with a bed that was big enough for sharing. She was right. This was exactly what they needed after a day like today. They needed to remind each other they were here and whole and together. He loved them both. She was the physical conduit of the love he and Van shared, too. It was a neat circle, and he was so happy to have a part in it.
He needed to remind her exactly how happy he was she’d made the decision to fight.
He set her on her feet in the middle of the room and made quick work of her shirt and bra, getting his hands on her breasts and showing her how much he appreciated them. He loved every scar because they meant she was alive. He got to his knees, kissing them and rolling his tongue over her nipples.
Van was behind her, his big hands cupping her breasts and holding them. Offering them out to Hale.
He nipped at one. “You are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Ever will see.”
“You can’t know that,” she teased with a smile, her hand coming out to smooth back his hair.
“I can.” She didn’t understand that he wouldn’t ever look at another woman the way he did her. There was something different about her, something that had changed him for the better.
“I can, too.” Van was right there with him. “I won’t ever find a woman as gorgeous as you. I don’t even want to look. I’m happy right here.”
“I love you both,” she vowed.
He was going to show her how loved she was.
Starting now.
Chapter Seventeen
The relief she’d felt when she’d realized Hale was with them again had fled, completely annihilated by the wave of lust that had crashed over her when he’d kissed her. He’d been so overwhelming that she’d known something had changed inside Hale.
