An hour later, I sit on the edge of the bed in the pool house's main bedroom, watching as Declan methodically checks the locks on every window. His movements are precise, controlled, but I can see the tension in his shoulders, the barely restrained fury in every line of his body.
Mateo works at a small desk in the corner, surrounded by cables and small devices I don't recognize. The light from his laptop casts blue shadows across his face, highlighting the determined set of his jaw. His usual laughter and flirtation are gone, replaced by a focused intensity I've rarely seenin him.
Ethan crouches before me, his eyes level with mine. The lamplight casts half his face in shadow, but I can see the concern etched in the lines around his eyes.
"Try to get some sleep," he says softly. "Tomorrow we'll figure out our next move."
I glance toward the door. "And tonight? Where will you all...?"
His lips curve in a small, sad smile. "Declan will take first watch. Mateo and I will rotate through the night. No one's getting past us."
I catch his hand as he starts to rise. "Stay," I whisper. "All of you. I... I don't want to be alone right now."
Something flares in his eyes. Understanding, desire, protectiveness all mingled together. His thumb traces a gentle path across my knuckles.
"Please," I add, my voice breaking slightly. "I need you. All of you."
Ethan's gaze moves from me to Declan, who has paused in his inspection of the windows, then to Mateo, who has stopped typing. A silent message passes between them, and I hold my breath, waiting.
"We stay together," Ethan says finally, his voice rough. "Tonight and every night until this is over."
Relief floods through me, followed by something deeper, more primal. The danger outside suddenly seems lessimportant than the three men surrounding me, my protectors, my lovers.
As Declan turns off the overhead light, the room fades into soft gold. And even though I'm surrounded by them, my protectors, my lovers, I can't stop wondering...
Who else is watching me?
But then Ethan's hand holds mine. Mateo's warmth settles beside me. Declan's quiet breath anchors me.
And I remember something more powerful than fear: I'm not alone anymore.
32
ETHAN
I watch the fear flicker across Jade's face as Declan turns off the overhead light. In the soft glow of the bedside lamp, her skin gleams like porcelain, fragile and precious. Her eyes, those incredible green eyes that haunted me from the moment I met her, dart nervously between the three of us.
There's a part of me, the commander, the protector, that wants to station myself at the door, gun in hand, keeping vigil until morning. But there's another part, the man who's fallen helplessly for this woman, that wants nothing more than to hold her through the night, to remind her that she's not alone.
"You're safe now," I tell her, sinking down beside her on the bed. The mattress dips under my weight, bringing her body close enough that I can feel the heat radiating from her skin. "I promise you, Jade. No one's getting near you again."
Declan takes up position on her other side, the bed groaning softly beneath his bulk. "Not while we're here,"he agrees, his voice a low rumble that vibrates through the air between us.
Mateo closes his laptop and joins us, sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed. The blue light of the security monitors casts an eerie glow from the adjoining room, a constant reminder of the threat lurking outside.
"No one is going to harm our girl," he says, his usual playfulness subdued but still present.
Our girl. The phrase hangs in the air between us, new and significant. I search Jade's face, wondering if she'll object to the possessive term, but she only nods, some of the tension easing from her shoulders.
"Have any of you..." she begins, then stops, a flush creeping up her neck, staining her chest with splotches of pink. "I mean, have you ever done this before? The four of us... like this?"
An unexpected question, but it breaks through some of the heaviness in the room.
"No," I answer honestly. My experience with women has always been one-on-one, mostly long-term relationships before my disastrous marriage.
Declan shakes his head, his dark eyes fixed on Jade with an intensity that would be frightening if I didn't know the gentleness that lived behind it.
Mateo, however, grins. "Well, not with other men," he admits, dimples flashing. "But I've been the lucky guywith two women before." He wiggles his eyebrows suggestively. "Tulum. Too many tequilas."
