But he had to wait. She wasn’t ready. Not yet.
Damn it was hard.
He paced up and down the passage before knocking and entering her room. She was lying in bed, rubbing her eyes.
Gavin walked over to her bookshelf and pulling down an old favorite, sat in the armchair by her bed.
“Are you going to read to me?” she asked.
It was something Clay had always done when she was feeling upset or lonely.
“I sure am, precious. You just lie back, close your eyes and listen.”
Gavin started reading. She was asleep by page five, but he stayed there, just watching her sleep for a long time.
*****
Lila woke up slowly, she stretched, surprised to find that her bottom no longer hurt. She’d still expected to feel the effects of last night’s spanking. Reaching down, she massaged her bottom. Her eyes shot open as a low chuckle filled the room. She glanced over to find Trace sitting in the chair that Gavin had been sitting in last night.
“Sore, little girl?” he asked in a low voice.
She scowled at him. “Not really, although I thought I would be. That man has a hand like a wooden block.”
Trace grinned and leaning forward, pushed her hair back off her face. “Pff, he went easy on you.”
Easy? Hell’s bells.
She coughed a little, her mouth dry. Probably from all the crying. Trace reached over and grabbed a glass of water, holding it as she sat up. She took it gratefully. “Thanks.”
She put the empty glass down on the table. “You guys are so good to me. I’m worried I’m not giving you all the same attention. How do I keep up with all of you? Three men to look after is a lot when I’m not used to even one man. I mean, what if Colin and Gavin get jealous of you being in here with me, I mean, I don’t think I can handle keeping track…” she started to grow panicky.
“Shh, honey,” Trace soothed her. “You aren’t to worry about any of that stuff, okay? We won’t get jealous and if that ever did happen then it would between us. We all want time alone with you, of course, but we’ll work that out. I know it seems pretty intimidating, especially since we’re all fairly hard-headed men, but just remember that you know us.
“We are always here for you. The good thing about having three men is that one of us will always be available to you. If you need a hug or some advice or that jar of pickles opened, then one of us will be there. You just have to ask. We are here for you, Lila girl.”
“I’ll do my best never to hurt you guys, too,” she said. She looked down at her hands. “Is Colin home yet?” She’d been hurt when he didn’t want to go out for dinner with them and she couldn’t help but feel he was ashamed of her.
“Yes, baby, he came home last night. Hey, why so sad?” Trace placed his fingers under her chin, raising her face.
“Did he really have to work last night?”
Trace looked surprised then he sighed. “Yes, he did.”
“Why do I feel like he doesn’t really want to be seen with me? Is he ashamed of me?” she asked, ashamed of her insecurity, but she had to know.
Trace gathered her into his arms, rocking her. “No, God, no. Never think that.” He kissed the top of her head then set her back. “This is something that Colin should talk to you about.”
“Please tell me,” she begged. “I feel sick at the idea that he doesn’t want to be around me.”
Trace kissed her. “He loves you, I know he does. But about eight months ago he was hurt badly. Hocken lost one of their vets when died of a heart attack, so Colin was helping them out two days a week. He was really enjoying it, even though it was a bit of a drive back and forth.”
“He had this assistant, Sara. She had the hots for him, it was easy to see when we met her, but he wouldn’t listen to me or Gavin. He just figured she was being friendly. You know what Colin’s like, he’s friends with everyone.”
She nodded. Colin did see tend to try and see the good in everyone. Or he had, she sensed something had changed about him. He’d become harder.
“Well, she started to get pushier and bitchier when he didn’t buy what she was trying to sell. He returned to his motel room one night to find her in his bed. She threw herself at him. Colin tried to let her down gently, so he explained about our feelings for you.”
She winced. “Oh, crap.”