I shrugged, mouth full of toothpaste. Scrubbing my teeth thoroughly didn’t leave much room for talking, so I waved my hand back and forth in a “so-so” gesture while I grimaced around my toothbrush.
At least I was alive, and the baby was turning somersaults, so he was okay. I spat and rinsed. “How are my boys?”
“Fine. Worried about you.” Anthony pulled the ponytail holder out of the end of my hair and combed his fingers through the braid Tammy had probably put in to keep it from tangling.
I looked down at my pajamas. One of my guys had definitely dressed me. A silky, lace-edged nighty would not have been my choice of sleepwear considering the situation. I would’ve put on one of Elias’s worn-out and extra soft gym shirts.
“I love you guys,” I said as I took off the pretty, but uncomfortable, nighty.
They passed a look between them, unable to gauge my mood. “We love you, too. So much.” Anthony ran his hands along my shoulders as I stepped into the oversized shower stall.
When we’d remodeled our bedroom, we also did the bathroom. It was now twice the size it had been. It had an enormous tub I could actually swim in, and a shower that fit four or five people with room to spare. It had three different showerheads and sprays on the sides. It was a heavenly, tiled masterpiece.
I turned back to them. They looked like lost puppies outside the shower stall, unable to leave me alone. “Come on, then. But I’m in no mood for sex.”
They stripped in record time. “Of course not,” Elias said as he pulled his shirt over his head.
“We just want to be near you,” Anthony added, hopping on one foot to remove his socks.
They stepped into the shower, and I walked into their arms. “I missed you,” I whispered, my emotions overwhelming me. “I feel so safe in your arms.” The water flow hid the tears rolling down my cheeks.
Hands caressed my hair, my back, my sides. I didn’t realize they were both crying too until Elias let out a sob and clutched me tight against his body, pulling me away from Anthony.
Anthony rolled with the movement and pressed himself behind me, water cascading over us, soothing away the pain and fear.
“At least for a while, I don’t want to go anywhere without all three of you,” I said, cheek pressed against Elias’s chest. The thought of stepping foot out of the manor made my chest tighten and my neck crawl. “I’ve felt so strong since we left the isle. Not now. Now I feel vulnerable.”
Elias’s chest rumbled as he spoke. “If you think we’re letting you out of our sight, you’re crazy.”
Anthony laughed behind me. His voice was a little strangled. I looked back and his eyes were red. He was laughing through his tears. “Not even for a minute. One of us has been with you since we got to the hospital.”
“Hospital?” I asked. “What hospital?” What the hell happened after I passed out?
“You’ve been out for nearly a week. A lot has happened.” Elias pushed my hair out of my face and, without pulling his body from mine, leaned to the right and back to grab my shampoo. We all shifted to the left to get out of the stream of water while he lathered up my hair. It proved too awkward from the front, so I turned and hugged Anthony while Elias worked his fingers through my hair and massaged my scalp.
“That feels amazing.” I’d never doubted that we’d be together again, somehow. They’d move mountains for me if I couldn’t do it myself. “I missed you.”
I let my head fall back while Elias massaged and Anthony used my upturned lips as an invitation to plant a quick kiss. “I missed those lips,” he said.
He grabbed my body wash and pouf and squeezed the gel on it, working it into a good foam before carefully washing every inch of me. I’d told them I wasn’t interested in sex, and he was as gentlemanly as it was possible to be when washing my hoo-ha. Even exhausted, mentally worn, and ravenous, I had a hard time ignoring the tingles he created as he washed me.
On his knees in front of me, he grinned, blinking into the water that still splashed over us even though we’d moved out of the direct stream. “You like that?”
“Yes.” I laughed. “But not now.”
He nodded and smiled while he worked his way down my legs. “It makes me happy to know I cause that reaction in you even when you feel the way you do.”
“I think you two would turn me on if I was dead.”
Elias's hands paused on my shoulders, where he was massaging. My shampoo dripped down my back. “That's not funny.”
Anthony stopped his ablations on my foot as well. “We were really scared, Riley.”
Foot in mouth complete.“I'm so sorry. I know you were. But you know, I got a little worried, a bit anxious, but I never truly got scared. I knew, if I couldn't free myself, you'd find me. You'd never stop looking for me.”
Elias put his hands on my hips and guided me back to the spray. Anthony stood and grabbed his and Elias's shampoo and made quick work of his own bath. Elias moved away from me to do the same and suddenly the water wasn't as soothing.
I rinsed my body quickly, distracted from my melancholy by the spray they'd installed at exactly the height of my butt. I was able to bend over and rinse all the cracks and crevices and feel my cleanest.Ahhh. It's the little things in life.
