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She gasped for breath from the pain, her hand clawing at Trey for help. He sat her up so swiftly that everything around her spun for a moment. It took several minutes to regain normal breathing.
“It is too painful for you to lie on the hard ground, isn’t it?” he asked.
She nodded and saw that Mary looked at her with concern from the opposite side of the fire, Allena asleep and cuddled against her.
Trey didn’t hesitate; he moved to sit behind her and reached out to ease her into his arms.
She shook her head and pointed adamantly back and forth between him and the blanket on the ground.
“No, I am not going to lie down and sleep while you sit up all night.” He waved her to him. “Now come here to me.”
She shook her head again.
He grinned. “Shaking your head will get you nowhere. I’ll have my way.”
She jutted her chin out stubbornly.
He leaned closer to whisper, “I need you in my arms. I need to feel your warmth. I need to hear your heart beat against me. I need to know you are safe. Won’t you satisfy my need for you?”
She sighed, his words so lovely that they stole her heart. She didn’t object when his arms wrapped around her and gently drew her into them.
“Find a comfortable spot against me,” he said, “and I will see that you stay there throughout the night.”
That he would so unselfishly give up a restful night’s sleep so that she could sleep without pain was another reason among many others that made her see what a wonderful, caring, unselfish husband Trey would be to his wife.
She did as he asked and, surprisingly, found herself more comfortable than she thought she would. Still, she felt guilty that she should rest so peacefully while he sat cradling her all night.
“Do not worry about me,” he said, once she was settled. “I am where I want to be.”
He leaned down and kissed her lightly. “A brief kiss, or else I might excite you,” he teased.
“Too late.”
He laughed. “How easy it will be to keep you in my bed.”
“It will be hard to get me out.”
He laughed again, and she couldn’t help but laugh herself ... a mistake. It sent a stabbing pain through her, and she gasped.
“Easy,” he urged, and stroked her cheek with a gentle hand.
His touch soothed and helped ease her pain, and her eyes fluttered closed.
“I’ll take care of you. I’m right here, I’ll always lo ...”
Her mind had gone fuzzy, and she repeated aloud what she was sure she had heard him say, “I love you.”
Did Bliss say what he thought she did?
“It is so gratifying to see two people so much in love,” Mary said with a smile before closing her eyes and snuggling closer around her sleeping daughter.
Trey stared down at Bliss, sleeping peacefully in his arms. Love certainly poked at him though he had yet to acknowledge it. But why? Did Leora still haunt his heart? Did he feel guilty for allowing himself to feel again?
He gently lifted a strand of Bliss’s blond hair and carefully tucked it behind her ear. She was such a beautiful woman and in so many ways. He grinned. He loved waking up and seeing her face first thing in the morning. He loved holding her hand when they walked. He loved her smile, which seemed to brighten even the most dismal day; he loved her unselfishness; and he truly loved the passion for him that forever burned in her light blue eyes.
He chuckled quietly. He had no choice but to finally acknowledge what he knew from the very first. He loved Bliss, loved her more—
He shook his head. It wasn’t possible, but his heart told him differently. He loved Bliss more than he had Leora. There was so much more to Bliss than there had been to Leora, and it made him wonder why he had fallen in love with Leora in the first place.
