Trace smiled wryly. “Exactly. She went off, called him a pervert, an asshole and worse. But she didn’t stop there. She started spreading lies, telling everyone that he’d tried to force her into a relationship with all of us. She had a lot of friends and the community didn’t react well. In the end he couldn’t even walk down the street without someone commenting. Gavin and I could have handled it, but not Colin. He was devastated. Even though he knows no one in Haven would say anything or even think anything bad, the fear is still there.”
“Poor Colin,” she whispered. “That’s horrible.”
“Yes, but he has no right to make you feel unwanted. I’ll have a chat with him.” His face grew grim and she grabbed his hand.
“No, don’t, please. Just let it be. Promise me.”
Looking reluctant, he nodded. “Okay, I’ll leave it. So long as he doesn’t hurt you.”
*****
“How is she?” Gavin asked Trace as he walked into the kitchen. He was worried about how she would feel towards him after he spanked her last night.
“She’s good. Still a bit worried about how the relationship between the four of us would work, but I think I eased her mind.”
“What relationship?” Colin said with frustration. “We haven’t done more than kiss her. She’ll probably change her mind. I mean, what woman would really want the three of us? I should have known this idea was crazy, that it would never work. But I let you guys talk me around. It’s never going to work.”
“It will work, if we all stick together. Don’t let what happened with Sara affect your relationship with Lila,” Gavin urged. He held back his temper. He knew Colin had been hurt badly by what had happened in Hocken, but he wasn’t about to let Colin ruin this for them or hurt Lila.
“She wants us,” Trace reassured him in a far more patient voice than Gavin could manage. “She loves us, Colin. She just wants to take it slow, is that so hard to understand?”
“No sane woman would want what we want, they’d think it disgusting.”
Gavin placed his hands on his hips, but before he could open his mouth Trace caught his eyes, shaking his head. Trace turned to his younger brother.
“I can tell you right now that Lila certainly didn’t look disgusted last night when she danced between me and Gavin at Dirty Delight
s,” Trace told him.
“You went dancing at Dirty Delights?” Colin asked.
Gavin relaxed slightly at the disappointment on Colin’s face. He did want this. He was just too scared to believe in it yet. “If you’d come with us, you’d know she’s not ashamed or horrified by what we want and neither is anyone else. Were you disgusted by Max, Logan and Savannah?”
“That’s different,” Colin insisted. “I know the people here won’t turn their back on me, but will Lila be able to live like this or is the novelty going to wear off?”
“I’m not her, Colin. I will try my hardest not to hurt you.”
They all turned at Lila’s voice.
Fuck, how long had she been standing there? She wore an old pink robe, her hair mussed around her face, her eyes still a bit heavy with sleep. And she looked so adorable that Gavin wanted to grab her and spirit her off to bed.
Gavin opened up his arms. “Come here, baby girl,” he told her, gratified when she didn’t hesitate to fling herself into his arms.” He glared at Colin when he felt her trembling in his arms.
“Are you okay, shorty?” Trace asked, coming up behind her. He ran his down her back, obviously feeling the shudders racking her slight body as he looked up at Gavin in concern. “Why aren’t you in the shower?”
“I wanted to talk to you guys and I didn’t want to lose my nerve. I don’t want to cause any arguments between all of you. I don’t want to hurt anyone. Maybe it would be best if I just left.”
Gavin squeezed her tight, terror filling him at the thought of losing her. “Like hell,” he told her, looking at both of his brothers. They stared back at him, faces filled with worries. Placing his hands under her butt, he hoisted her into the air. Her legs came around his waist. “Let’s get one thing straight right now, precious. You are the most important person in this room. Sometimes we fight amongst ourselves, we’re brothers, that’s what siblings do. But it is not your fault, you are never to blame. Do you hear me?”
“Yes, Sir,” she told him, surprising him. She’d used that title last night, but she’d been in a very vulnerable position at the time.
“Lila, whatever we do, you decide the pace of it,” Gavin told her. “You decide how far we go and when.”
She nodded then looked over at Colin who still held himself back. “Let me down, please.”
Gavin let her go reluctantly, watching carefully as she walked over to stand in front of Colin.
“I want this,” Lila told him. “Being with the three of you is something I take very seriously, which is part of the reason I want to go slow. I’m not holding back from having sex because I’m scared or horrified about being with the three of you, but because I want to build our relationship first. Because once I sleep with you I’m guessing I won’t leave your bed for quite a while.”