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She went liquid around Michael’s cock, and suddenly he could move with much more ease. He stroked harder and faster until she was sobbing with the enormity of her orgasm.
Time slowed. The room blurred. She lost awareness of everything but mind-bending pleasure that bordered on very real pain. Never before had she been taken on such an intense sexual ride. Her experience to now had been sweet. Soft. Unthreatening. Comforting, even. Predictable.
She didn’t know it could be this way. Didn’t realize that she could lose control so completely.
She flew. This was what it felt like to be free and to face the wind. She never wanted to go back. She wanted to grab onto this—to them—and hold on forever.
Air blew cold on her face, and she realized her cheeks were wet with tears. And still she could make no sense of her surroundings.
Gradually she became aware of soothing hands and gentle voices saying such sweet things to her. She was beautiful. She was incredible.
She smiled and closed her eyes as she absorbed the feeling of being at peace. For the first time in so very long, she could feel the hole in her heart close just a little bit.
Healing and forgiveness were necessities of life. And in the arms of the Colter brothers, she began to believe that she just might have both.
Chapter Twenty
Lily was still sleeping soundly, curled into a ball in the middle of the bed, her head buried in a mound of pillows when the brothers dressed and crept silently from the room the next morning.
Michael avoided making eye contact with Seth and Dillon as they walked quietly to the kitchen. Dillon took out ingredients for a quick breakfast while Seth sat at the bar. The silence was so smothering that even the slightest noise Dillon made was like a cannon shot.
Michael sighed. “Okay, so who’s going to bring it up first?”
“Bring what up?” Dillon muttered.
Seth glanced sharply at Dillon. “Don’t be an ass. We might as well get it out in the open now before Lily wakes up. If we have issues, now is the time to discuss them so they don’t cause problems later. ”
Dillon shrugged. “Look, I don’t have a problem. Am I always going to want to make love to her with you two in the picture? Hell no. But I doubt you want that any more than I do. It was important to her that she not show preference by making love to one of us first. If that makes her feel at ease with the situation then I’m all for it. I’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy. ”
“Never thought I’d say this, but I agree one hundred percent with you, Dillon,” Michael said.
Seth nodded slowly. “So do I. Right now, I’ll do anything to make her more comfortable. We have plenty of time to work the kinks out of our relationship as we go. ”
“So what’s on everyone’s agenda this morning?” Dillon asked as he dished up the bacon and eggs onto plates.
Dillon always was the planner. It was why he was so damn successful at everything he tried. He planned to the nth degree, and he followed through. He didn’t know the meaning of the word fail. If he wanted it, he went after it.
“Lily needs to get into the clinic if you can arrange it, Michael, but the problem is, I can’t take her. I’ve got a meeting with my accountant that’ll probably take most of the day. I have to get my taxes squared away and take care of my quarterlies while I’m at it. Going to be a long damn day. ”
Michael grimaced. Dillon got downright cranky when it came to money. Funny, considering how easily he seemed to be able to make it. He had a Midas touch when it came to enterprise. He could take any business and turn it around or get it off the ground. Not everyone knew it, but Dillon damn near owned most of Clyde in one way or another.
“I can probably get her in, but I’m full up with appointments today. Seth, can you take her?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, I could take her and go by to fill out all the necessary paperwork for the new job. At some point this week, I’m going to have to go back to Denver to give notice at my house and move my shit. ”
Dillon rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “What if we got Mom to go with her? It would accomplish a few things. One, Lily might be uncomfortable over the nature of the visit if one of us goes. Plus, I know she’s ashamed of the fact that she can’t foot the bill. If Mom took her, she might relax a bit about it all. It would also give Mom some time with her, and I want Lily to feel like she’s part of the family. ”
“Not a bad idea,” Michael said. “Why don’t you give her a call while I call Dr. Burton. It might be later this afternoon when he can work her in, but I’m sure he’ll do it if I ask him to. ”
“I could run Lily over to Mom’s so she wouldn’t have to tag along with me to fill out paperwork,” Seth said. “She’d probably be bored out of her mind, and if Callie’s around, she might like to go riding again. ”
Michael scowled. “She’s not going riding until I check her arm again and make sure the wound isn’t showing signs of infection. I swear everyone acts like she didn’t just get shot a few days ago. ”
“I didn’t see you worrying about that last night,” Dillon drawled.
“Fuck you. I was very careful with her. ”
“Cut it out, you two,” Seth said.
Dillon and Michael both held up their middle fingers at the same time, and Seth just shook his head.
“I swear you two always did share the same twisted, demented brain. ”
Michael raised an eyebrow in Dillon’s direction. “I think he just tried to insult us. ”
Dillon shrugged. “I suppose we’re going to have to put up with him since he did bring Lily to us. I’m sure he’ll be smug about the fact that if it weren’t for him we’d never have met her. ”
“I hadn’t even thought about that, but you’re right,” Seth said with a grin.
“You and your mouth,” Michael grumbled in Dillon’s direction.
Slight movement from the corner of Michael’s eye had him turning in the direction of the doorway of the kitchen. Lily stood there looking delectably rumpled. Her sleepy eyes took in the three brothers, and she fidgeted nervously in the doorway. It was obvious she’d dug out one of Dillon’s button-up shirts. The problem was it hung clear past her knees and she had rolled up the sleeves several times just to get them over her wrists. She looked so darn cute that Michael had to smile.
“Good morning,” he called out to her. He held out his hand and waited for her to come to him.
Dillon and Seth both turned to look in Lily’s direction, and she gifted them with a shy smile.
She walked barefooted across the floor and slipped her hand into Michael’s. He pulled her into his side and gave her a long, leisurely kiss.
When he pulled away, he stroked the hair from her eyes and trailed his fingers down the strands, tucking them over her ears.
“Sleep okay?”
She blushed. “Yes. Wonderfully. The bed is like sleeping on a cloud. I didn’t want to get out of it. ”
At that, Dillon and Seth both frowned at the subtle reminder that just days before she’d been sleeping on thin cardboard. Hardly a barrier to the rough concrete of an alleyway.
Michael’s own jaw twitched because he remembered all too well the sight of her huddled in the alleyway, scared out of her mind. As God was his witness, she’d never spend another day unprotected from the harsher realities of life.
“I have to go soon,” he told her regretfully. “I have a full day of appointments. ”
She snuggled into his chest and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tight to her. “I’ll miss you. Will I see you tonight? I mean, I don’t even know where I’m staying or where you’re staying. ”
“You’re staying here,” Dillon growled.
