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Her taste exploded on his tongue and his cock sprang to life, forcing him to hastily sit before his burgeoning erection could embarrass him in front of his family.
Sitting beside Jane, Rafe dug into the feast she’d prepared and listened to his family shower his lover in compliments. Watched her wave them away as though her culinary talents were nothing at all.
But he saw the pleasure in her eyes, the pride she took in a job well done.
Reaching for the bacon, he said, “So, what do we all think about Jane moving into The Forge?”
Jane immediately began coughing as though something had gone down the wrong way. Rafe patted her on the back until she waved him off too.
“You’re moving in?” Abby’s eyes widened and her smile was instant. “Yes,” she said to no one in particular and pumped her fist in the air.
“I haven’t said yes yet,” Jane said, shooting a glare at Rafe.
“You will,” Abby said, reaching for the toast. She shrugged one shoulder, nonchalant, as though Jane moving in were a foregone conclusion. “You have to.”
Rafe smiled at the confidence in her voice. It was a sound he hadn’t heard in far too long and Rafe would be forever grateful to her fiancé, Wolf, for the gift he’d given not only his sister, but all of them.
After two abusive relationships followed by years of living in near seclusion, Abby had been resistant to the author’s attempts to woo her, preferring instead to use him for sex. But love had won out eventually and Wolf had brought Abby back to them, stronger, happier.
And he didn’t miss the parallels between their situation and his. That in some respects, he now faced a similar challenge with Jane.
“I have to, huh?” Jane’s brow slid up and her lips twitched with amusement.
“Yes, you have to. I am seriously outnumbered now that Dad, Ollie and Rafe have moved home again. I need another woman around to help even the odds. Besides,” she continued, a wistful tone sliding through her voice, “I wanna help out with my new niece.”
Rafe cast a sidelong glance at Jane as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She was gnawing on her lip and avoiding Abby’s gaze, and he realised what she was probably thinking: Jane was pregnant and Abby was unable to bear children. How could she deny her friend the chance to be a mother? Even if only temporarily?
His protective instincts took over and there was no indecision about who he was protecting.
Jane.
Frowning at his sister across the table, he said, “Hey. No guilt trips, Abbs. If Jane moves in, I want it to be because she wants to be here, not because she feels obligated to you or me or anyone else.”
“Guilt trip?” Abby returned his frown before understanding widened her eyes with horror and her mouth fell open. He didn’t even need to hear the catch in her voice when she spoke next to know he’d made a huge error in judgement. “How could you think—”
“Liebchen, look at me,” Wolf commanded sharply, his deep voice booming in the suddenly quiet kitchen.
She stared at the table and shook her head. “I didn’t mean—”
Wolf gripped her chin in one hand and squeezed her fingers with the other. Forcing her to look him in the eyes, he said, “Breathe, little nymph.”
And she did.
Rafe watched his sister’s anxiety ease out of her with every deep breath she took at Wolf’s command, and within moments she was back to glaring at him. Along with everyone else at the table.
Her free hand clenched into a fist. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
Oliver shook his head at him. “Arse.”
Then Jane elbowed him in the ribs, and not gently. “Apologise. Now.”
His jaw tightening with self-reproach, he said, “I’m sorry, Abbs. I didn’t think before I spoke.” Then he blew out a breath and looked sideways at Jane.
She stared back, shaking her head, a frown pulling at her brow and mouth. “Idiot.”
“Don’t be too mad at him, my dears,” his father weighed in. “Men will say and do all manner of foolhardy things in the quest to protect their family.”
Oliver pointed his fork at him. “You’ve been away from home too long if you think for even a second anyone would have to protect a baby from Abby,” he growled. “She’d throw herself on a live grenade to save a kid. Especially family.”
