She stood and started up the stairs, weariness and disquiet both invading her system. Could she really sleep in that room alone tonight?
"No, you're not, Belle." That voice told her instantly that Kellan intended to put his foot down and defend his decision.
At the foot of the stairs, she turned. "I can't go to sleep? Really?"
He marched to her side, then ascended the stair above her, blocking her path, arms crossed over his wide chest. "Until we know for sure it's safe and that no one could possibly get to you, you can either sleep in one of the bedrooms on the second floor near ours or we can sleep on the floor in your room. Your choice."
Tate rushed to her side. "We're just worried about you, baby. If whoever wrote on your wall in animal blood comes back, what will they do?"
"Belle?" Eric approached, his expression both imploring and gentle. "I'm sure you're thinking we don't have the right to tell you what to do since you don't work for us anymore and we … well, we fucked up in Dallas. But as a favor? Please don't make us worry about you more than we already are. Thinking we may have lost our chance to be with you hurts, but imaging we could lose you forever … " He shook his head. "I couldn't take knowing that I hadn't protected you."
She let out a shuddering breath, trying not to be touched, but she was. Yes, they'd laid a fairly slick guilt trip on her, but their expressions also told her they really meant it. They cared. At least Tate and Eric had told her a dozen times that they wanted a chance to right their wrongs following Gigi and Butch's wedding. Kell had even bared his scars to her. She really did love these men.
So where did that leave them?
The guys were hoping to wait her out and wear her down, she knew, so she'd come back to Chicago. That wasn't going to happen, but in the meantime, they crowded her half naked and whispered wicked suggestions. She would have done her best to keep resisting them. But she was a total sucker for their concern. She knew Kell well enough to know that this high-handed ploy was the only way he'd allow himself to express affection. The hard insistence on his face told her that he cared every bit as much as she'd suspected when he threatened to spank her for wanting to help Kinley a few months ago.
Belle teared up. What was she fighting exactly? She wanted them. They wanted her. She wasn't expecting them to stay forever and she wasn't intentionally holding onto her virginity. What if business called them back north? Her new life was here. Theirs was there. What if she never saw them again? The thought stabbed her in the heart. She hurt and bled, but forced herself to face reality. They would return home and find someone who was right for them, who could bring them all together. Belle knew they weren't really in love with her-lust maybe-but if Kell had actually given her his heart, she'd be able to heal him. She couldn't, but that woman was out there, just waiting for them.
But why couldn't she enjoy a few nights with them before they left and found the one who completed them? She was tired of being close to them and not touching them. Was it so bad to want to feel their protection when she was afraid? To ache for the chance to experience their passion while she still could?
Her stare caressed them. They were so smart, gorgeous, kind, funny … The woman who ended up with them would be lucky beyond compare, and knowing it wasn't her tormented Belle. She'd counted their friendships as some of the most important in her life and had hoped she could have Kinley's sort of happily ever after. But no. The best she could do now was embrace them and experience pleasure at their hands. Then she'd know what it felt like to be held and loved by them, what it meant to be their woman-even if it was only for a night or two. Once they'd gone, she'd have beautiful memories for the rest of her life.
"What do you say, Belle?" Eric prompted.
"All right. I'll stay in your room. But only if you stay with me."
* * * *
Eric stared at her. Had she just said what he thought she'd said? "You want me to stay with you?"
"Yes. Please." She bit her full lip, looking somehow incredibly sexy yet pensive at once.
Of course she was afraid. He shouldn't read anything sexual into her request.
"Sure. Let me grab some pillows and blankets. I'll sleep on the floor so you can rest easier."
He turned away to find what he needed. His back would probably hurt like a bitch tomorrow, but Belle was finally reaching out, finally softening toward them. Well, at least him. Surely it didn't matter to her which one of them protected her.
"Wait." She touched his arm-a whisper of her skin over his. Then she pulled away, looking downright nervous. "I want you beside me."
Eric stared. Had she meant that the way it sounded, like she wanted sex?