“Okay, you use it first. We’ll grab showers in the morning. I think we both need some sleep right now.”
“Clay?” she asked as she climbed off the bed.
“Yes?”
“Will I like it at your place?” she asked.
“I sure hope so. It’s going to be your new home.”
Chapter One
16 years later
A loud banging woke Lila instantly. With a gasp, she sat up, scooting against the wall behind her. She reached out for the bat she kept close by.
You could never be too careful in this neighborhood.
“Lila, please open the door.”
She froze and looked over at the bedside clock. 1:21 a.m.
“Lila,” a different voice added. “Open up or we’re going to break this door down.”
Lila groaned. And they’d do it, too. She climbed off her bed, which was actually just a worn mattress on the floor. She left the bat there. It wouldn’t do her any good. Not against them. Never against family. And that’s what they were despite the lack of blood tying them together.
Clay had made it very clear years ago that they were her family now. Forever. She’d wanted to believe him. Desperately. But there had always been some part of her expecting it to end. Expecting that Clay or his sons would get sick of her and kick her out.
Lila was so grateful to Clay for everything he’d done for her. He’d saved her when he could have just left her in that alley and gone on happily with his life. Hell, many people would have.
She’d done everything she could not to let Clay down. She’d been a model student, had done all that was asked of her and stressed the entire time that it wasn’t enough, that she’d do something to ruin it.
Turning on the light, she walked over to the door in the one-room apartment and peered out the peephole. Only two of them had come, Colin and Trace.
She was surprised Gavin wasn’t with them; it wasn’t like him to stay behind. The oldest of the three, Gavin was a take-charge sort of guy, plain-speaking and confident. He could be both terrifying and magnificent, making her feel safe one moment and then angry enough to kick him the next.
Damn, she missed him, missed all of them.
It had been six months since she’d seen the boys and she’d thought about them every day.
“Lila, stand on the opposite side of the room,” Trace ordered. “We’re coming in.”
Lila suddenly realized that their patience had come to an end.
“Wait, I’m opening it. I’m opening it.” She wrenched open the door to find Trace and Colin standing shoulder to shoulder in the hallway.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a frantic whisper. “You’ll wake my neighbors.”
“If they haven’t come running by now, shorty, then they ain’t coming. Now, be a good girl and invite us in,” Trace told her. A slight frown wrinkled his forehead, but his eyes were filled with concern. She’d always felt at ease with Trace. There was something soothing about him.
“What do you want? Why are you here?” She attempted to sound uninviting, even as she watched them hungrily. God, she loved all of them more than life itself.
More than she should. She didn’t love them like a sister should. She was in love with them. They didn’t love her back. They were kind to her, tolerated her for Clay’s sake, but they didn’t love her. Staying would have brought her more heartbreak than she could have managed.
Instead she’d moved to Phoenix and lived in misery apart from them. Some choice.
Colin ran his gaze over her, his eyes eating her up. At twenty-nine, he was two years younger than Trace and a few inches taller. Colin’s deeply tanned skin went perfectly with his sun-kissed hair and deep brown eyes. Right now the heat in those eyes sent a shiver down her spine. Her clit tingled as she tried to hide her reaction. She was obviously imagining things. No way would Colin ever be interested in her.
Trace’s bright green eyes watched her carefully, but with no less heat than his brother. They were looking at her like they wanted to eat her alive. Her insides clenched at the thought of both of them touching her, tasting her. Flushes of heat assailed her, weakening her knees. If she just reached out she’d be touching them. Just one small touch…