“Touching me. Stop touching me. You know damn well you’re manipulating me.” She stepped back, desperate to put space between them.
Sawyer stared intently at her, his blue eyes boring holes through her. “You can’t run from us anymore,” he said quietly, his voice steady, the thread of a vow laced in the words. “And you’re going to stop running from yourself.”
She hugged her arms around her waist, hating the panic that hit her at the determination in his voice, in the others’ expressions.
Hutch stepped between her and Sawyer. “I’m going to take you upstairs. To your room. You’re going to get undressed and get into bed. Unless you’d rather lay on the couch down here?”
“Here,” she blurted.Her room.Just the fact that she had a room in this house scared the holy hell out of her. How long had they planned this? No way she was going up there, to a place they’d prepared for her, made for her.
“I’ll go up and get pillows and a blanket,” Sawyer said shortly.
Before she could utter a word, he turned and walked out of the living room. Her shoulders sagged. Was she determined to make a mess of everything? She couldn’t be around any of them without doing her best to piss at least one of them off.
“You could at least pretend not to be scared shitless,” Cam said dryly. “Our egos are taking a beating, Reggie darling.”
She whirled back to him and promptly regretted that action. The room dipped and swayed. Hutch caught her arm.
“Whoops,” he said as he righted her. “Why don’t you get your ass to the couch before you fall over.”
She yanked out of his grasp and refocused on Cam. “I amnotscared shitless,” she gritted out. “And if your ego is taking a beating, I’d say it’s about damn time.”
Hutch cupped her chin and nudged until she turned her gaze on him. “Yes, Reggie, you are. You can pretend all you want. But I know you.Weknow you,” he added. “You’ve been running hard for a year now, and it’s time you stopped. One way or another, we’re going to face what happened between us.”
She shook her head, causing his hand to slide down her neck.
Cam sighed. “Sit down so I can take your shoes off.”
“Cam, I’m not helpless. I can take them off.”
Cam put his hands on her shoulders and guided her backward until she bumped into the couch. Then he pushed her down until she sat on the cushion. He knelt in front of her and began removing her shoes.
“I’m well aware that you can take off your own shoes,” Cam said. “You could also take a shower by yourself. You could also go home from the hospital, alone, and take care of yourself. But we like taking care of you, Reggie. There’s no reason for you to be alone.”
She stared into his warm brown eyes. A lock of dark hair fell over his forehead, and she reached up to push it back behind his ear.
“Kind of like you’ve always taken care of us,” he murmured. He leaned into her touch, and her fingers slid across his cheek and to the slight stubble at his jaw.
“You need a shave.”
He grinned. “And I’ll get one, along with a shower, just as soon as you settle down and get comfortable. Unless you want to come help me?”
Her lips twitched as she battled the smile. “In your dreams.”
Sawyer walked into the living room carrying two pillows and a down comforter. Cam rocked back and then stood so that Sawyer could arrange the pillows for Regina.
When he finished placing the pillows, he patted one of them and looked pointedly at Regina.
“Assume the position,” Sawyer said.
Regina carefully reclined, settling against the plush cushions of the couch. Her head sank into the feather pillows, and she groaned in pleasure. They did know her. Too well. Her likes and dislikes. The things she loved. No one else knew her so well. Certainly not her parents. She almost laughed. No, she was a mystery to her parents. A puzzle they’d never tried to unravel.
But Cam, Sawyer and Hutch? Theygother. And while it should have comforted her that she had people who cared about her, all she could focus on was the thought of losing one or all of them through her own stupidity.
Sleeping with them, making love with them . . . that had been stupid.
She closed her eyes, unwilling to let the memory of that night intrude on her thoughts. Not now.
The down comforter surrounded her, embracing her in a cloud of softness as Sawyer arranged it around her body. She felt his lips on her forehead, heard him whisper next to her ear.
