Theirs to Keep(37)

“What did you bring to eat?” she asked eagerly.

Merrick chuckled. “You look like a kid in a candy store, baby.”

She grinned, her enthusiasm not at all dampened by his gentle teasing.

Cade drew her in to kiss her forehead and then reached to open the basket.

“I made some kick-ass sandwiches. I brought some chips and sodas, but the pièce de résistance? Fudge brownies.”

“Oh my God. Gimme!”

Both men laughed, and Cade snatched the basket up before she could attack.

“Be a good girl and eat your lunch first,” Cade admonished. “No dessert until you’ve cleaned your plate.”

She elbowed him in the ribs and sat down cross-legged, a disgruntled twist to her lips.

Cade chuckled again. “Whoever says pouting doesn’t work clearly hasn’t seen you pout. I’d damn near give you anything with that bottom lip stuck out so prettily.”

Her cheeks warmed, and then she eyed him devilishly. “Does that mean I get to eat dessert first?”

“Dive in,” Cade said.

Merrick shook his head. “What a wuss. You didn’t hold out five seconds against her.”

Elle turned her pout on Merrick and gave him her best impression of doe eyes.

“Ahh, hell, give her the damn brownie,” Merrick grumbled.

Cade burst into laughter, and then Elle followed suit. Merrick grinned good-naturedly and made a grab for one of the sandwiches.

Elle devoured the brownie first, groaning in pleasure the entire time. As she licked the last of the crumbs from her fingers, Cade held out a sandwich to her.

After eating her fill, she eyed another brownie and sighed wistfully.

“I want it, but I’m so stuffed I can’t possibly eat it.”

Then she yawned so broadly that she nearly cracked her jaw.

Cade smiled and patted his leg. “Lie down for a while. Take a nap in the sun. You can eat the brownie when you wake up.”

She reclined between him and Merrick, resting her head on Cade’s thigh and propping her feet over Merrick’s lap. Cade ran his fingers through her hair, smoothing the strands in a soothing rhythm.

Contentment eased through her veins, warming her from the inside out. A lazy, lethargic sensation took hold, a gentle lullaby that had her eyelids fluttering with the effort to stay awake.

Cade’s palm descended over her forehead, and he traced lines from her temple over the curve of her cheek. She lost the battle and closed her eyes, sinking further into the darkness that awaited.

She dreamed of a beach. Warm sand beneath her feet. Waves lapping at her toes. And she was happy. Laughing and smiling.

Firm hands gripped her waist and then went to her arms, sliding down their length until they captured her hands.

There was power in his hold. And it was a man. Someone she knew intimately. She could see the muscles ripple in his chest and forearms. How broad his shoulders were.

And then he kissed her. Hard, deep. Like he knew everything there was to know about her and how she loved to be touched. His hands roamed freely over her body, possessive and demanding.

She wasn’t afraid. She welcomed his touch. She wanted more.

She looked up, straining to make out his features. To put a face to this nameless man who knew her so intimately. She squinted against the sun, blinking as he pushed in close to once again claim her mouth.

I love you.

She came awake, gasping as the words echoed through her mind. She’d been thinking them. That she loved this man. Someone who was no more than a stranger to her. Or was he? Was he someone from her past?

“Elle? Elle? Are you all right?”

Cade’s voice broke through the haze of confusion surrounding her. She pushed herself upward, warding off his and Merrick’s hands and instead wrapping her arms protectively around her waist, hugging herself tight.

She climbed onto the rock, seeking the warmth of the stone surface as she huddled, knees drawn to her chest, staring out over the water.

What had the dream meant? Had it even been real? Was it a memory tucked away in the dark recesses of her mind, or was it just a dream and nothing more?

She touched her forehead to her knees and closed her eyes, trying to recapture the images from the dream. If she only knew what he looked like. What his name was.

“Elle, baby, talk to us, please,” Merrick said just beside her. “Tell us what’s going on. Did you have a bad dream? Did you remember something?”

How could she say no, it wasn’t a bad dream. It was a good dream. She’d been happy. Full of joy and love.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “I don’t know if it was real.”

“Tell us what it is so we can help you sort it out,” Cade said.

“I wasn’t afraid,” she choked out. “I don’t know if it was a memory or just a random dream.”