Hutch’s hand tangled in her hair as he stroked the unruly curls. Then Cam touched her arm, above the brace, light and comforting. Even with her eyes closed, she knew each one, the differences.
And then lips against hers, loving and gentle. Cam.
“We’ll talk later, Reggie darling. That I promise. But for now, get some sleep.”
“Stay with me,” she whispered. Had she said that? Was she forever contradicting herself? Her mind was a muddled mass of confusion. She thought one thing and another came out of her mouth.
“I’ll stay, Reggie. Now sleep.”
His hand crept around hers, laced her fingers with his. She gripped his hand tight and surrendered to the shadows.
CHAPTER 7
The three men sat at the breakfast table just a few feet away from the couch where Reggie slept. Cam stole a glance every once in a while, but she hadn’t moved since she’d gone to sleep an hour earlier.
There was a fragility to her that bothered him. Reggie? She was usually tough as nails, full of sass and an attitude to rival a pit bull. Her brush with death had scared her. Hell, it had scared the shit out ofhim.But he knew that wasn’t the only thing that had put that vulnerability in her eyes.
With a resigned sigh, he faced Sawyer and Hutch.
“All things considered, I think she took it well,” Sawyer said with a shrug.
Hutch laughed. “She took it well because we drugged her ass and she was in shock. We won’t get off so lightly when she wakes up and the drugs wear off.”
“No one said it would be easy,” Cam offered.
Hutch put his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. There was frustration and an edge of fear reflected in his expression. Cam could understand that. He felt the two conflicting emotions, had felt them for a damn long time.
“Are we kidding ourselves?” Hutch asked. “I mean really? Who the hell has the kind of relationship we’re proposing? I wake some mornings and wonder if I haven’t lost my damn mind.”
Sawyer leaned forward, his beefy arms resting on the table. His fists were clenched tight. “We’ve been over this, Hutch. How much more do you want to rehash it? What do you want to hear? That in a perfect world, you and Cam would disappear from the picture, and Reggie would only be with me?”
Hutch looked away, his jaw tight.
“This isn’t helping,” Cam said.
“Oh shut up,” Hutch muttered. “You can’t tell me you haven’t had those thoughts.”
Cam raised an eyebrow. “No, Hutch, I can’t tell you that. But what good does it do me? We’ve had this conversation. We agreed that we all love her and that we wouldn’t make her choose.”
“No, we agreed that shewouldn’tchoose,” Sawyer said quietly. “Oursolutionis our only way to have a part of her. Are you having second thoughts, Hutch?”
Hutch pressed his lips together and finally shook his head. “No. But I’m not going to bullshit you either. Standing back while you and Cam touch her, comfort her, is hard. I’ve loved Reggie since we were children. I’ve always felt as though she were mine. That’s a hard notion to let go of.”
“No one’s trying to take her away,” Cam said.
Hutch rubbed his hand over his face. “I know that, Cam. I do. But I can’t help the way I feel watching another man touch her. Don’t you think I realize that jealousy is the quickest way to make this fail? And that as fucked up and twisted as this is, the three of us sharing her, it represents my only shot at having a life with her?”
“I hear you,” Sawyer muttered.
Cam nodded. “I understand, man. It’s going to take a lot of sacrifice from all three of us. Not to mention patience. Because Reggie . . . she’s going to fight this. Not because she doesn’t love us. I believe she does, and that’s the problem.”
“She’s stubborn and ornery as hell,” Sawyer said wryly. “But she would also cut off her right arm before ever hurting any of us. And in her eyes, this can only lead to inevitable hurt, and so she avoids us, which hurts her.”
“Stubborn is right,” Hutch grumbled.
“In her mind, she’s protecting us,” Cam spoke up. “She’s been protecting us since we were kids. It’s time for that shit to stop. She’s going to balk at any notion that we’re taking care of or protecting her, but after what happened, I’m no longer willing to sit back and wait for the right time.”
Hutch and Sawyer both nodded.
