drink, then put her to bed with her clothes on, on her side, while she blatantly tried to molest him. It would have been hilarious if he hadn't been worried about her.
She was asleep in seconds, although he hung around for a little while, watching her sleep, just in case.
Then he pried himself away and headed back out to the party. If it hadn't been in his honor, he would probably have stayed put.
His brothers met him immediately.
"She's fine. Sleeping it off."
The next morning, when she awoke, there were three men sitting on her bed.
Laurie sat up. "What—what are you guys doing here? Didn't I say no orgies?"
Ryan laughed, Adam chuckled, and Jace grimaced.
"How do you feel?"
She yawned and shrugged. "I don't really know yet, but okay, I guess."
"You had a bit too much to drink last night, hmm?"
"Yeah. It's all Lita's fault."
Ryan patted her leg over the covers. "I think it was more that you got a taste of what it's like for us, twenty-four-seven."
That threw her out of whatever fog she might have still been in. It sounded too depressing not to be true.
"Holy crap. I didn't think of it that way."
Adam nodded. "We know."
"We're not mad or anything, nor are we complaining about the situation in the least. We're all incredibly happy and we love you to bits. Nothing has changed about that; nothing will change about it. We just wanted to bring it to your attention that that is what we see every day."
Laurie dragged her hand over her face. "How do you not kill each other? I wanted to rip their faces off and feed them to them!"
"And we understand that impulse. But you can't act on it, just like we can't—whether you're drunk or not," Adam warned. "If Ryan hadn't caught you, we would have really needed Nick's expertise."
"Oh, God."
"Yes. Oh, God. And if you ever do it again, there will be a reckoning." Ryan tilted her chin so that she had to look at him. "Understand, hon?"
"Yes, Sir. Sirs," she corrected.
"Good girl," they all said in unison as they kissed her quickly and got up.
"You owe me a beer."
"Don't mention beer!" Even she heard Tanner's tortured cry from the hallway as he stumbled blearily down it and laughed at his pain.
A week later, they were all huddled around Adam at the airport, and she was very grateful to see that she wasn't the only one who was crying, although she was certainly the worst of them. Even her big strong men had tears in their eyes, although she didn't think they actually let them flow until he'd checked in and was heading to join the enormous security line.
He went through the ranks of them, hugging and getting punches and hard pats on the back. There were lots of "see you later, bros" and absolutely no promises to behave, but lots to Skype or Facetime or email.
He cautioned both Ryan and Jace to take care of her, and they expected nothing less.
Then the four of them stepped away to give them some privacy, and she was alone with him, trying desperately not to break down in front of him.
"So you'll call me when you can?" she said, adjusting the collar on his coat and babbling because she was nervous and trying not to cry.
"Yes, dear," he stole her line, and she swatted him for it before he pulled her against him, hugging her tight.
"And you'll be careful, please?" The last word was barely a whisper.
"Absolutely. You, too." His tone was stern. "I had better not hear anything about speeding tickets while I'm gone, lead foot!"
"Yes, Sir," she promised, and he kissed her then, through her tears.
"I'd better get going, honey. That line looks hours long. I love you so much. You make me happy every single day."
"Oh God, I love you, too, and me, too!"
He shouldered his carryon and meant to leave, then he turned and grabbed her again for another sloppy, wet kiss. "I will be thinking of you every second of every minute of every hour of every day—even after I'm home with you again."
Then he buzzed her again, hard, and left, without turning back.
She stood there, watching him, until the boys came and surrounded her, blocking him from her view and corralling her—bodily—out of the airport.
It was bad for her after he left, especially at first. The balance wasn't there, and she was upset all of the time. But eventually, things evened out again, and Ryan and Jace were wonderfully understanding