Theirs to Keep - Maya Banks Page 0,50

toothpaste.

“Ready for bed?”

She let him lead her to the king-size bed, and she crawled up, positioning herself in the middle.

“Where’s Merrick?” she asked, not seeing him.

“He’s showering in the other bathroom.”

Cade slid in next to her and held out his arm. Accepting the silent invitation, she snuggled into his embrace, seeking the warmth and comfort of his chest.

“Take your medicine?” he asked.

She hesitated. “No. I didn’t want it.”

Cade sighed. “There’s nothing wrong with taking the pills. If they help you sleep better and keep you from sleepwalking or putting yourself in a dangerous situation, you should take them.”

“We’ll see how it goes,” she said. “If… If I need them, I’ll take them.”

He kissed her temple. “Fair enough.”

Merrick walked into the bedroom toweling his hair dry. He was wearing boxers and no shirt, and she stared, mesmerized by the beauty of his physique.

He tossed aside the towel, ran his hand over his head and then turned back for the light switch.

“Ready for lights-out?” Merrick asked.

“Yeah,” Cade replied.

Merrick hit the switch, dousing the room in darkness, and then the bed dipped beside Elle as Merrick climbed in next to her.

It was instinctive to move from Cade’s embrace to Merrick’s. She molded her body against the hard contours of Merrick’s chest and nestled her head underneath his chin.

She loved the feeling of being securely between the two men. She’d slept better the last few nights than she had since she’d come here.

She turned over, pressing her back to Merrick’s chest. He put his hand over her belly and anchored her firmly against him, pulling her behind into his groin.

In the dark, she reached for Cade, her hand sliding up his arm until she was touching both men. Cade took her hand, pulled it up to his mouth and pressed his lips warmly to her fingers.

“I love you,” she whispered.

“Love you too, sweetheart,” Cade said, his breath blowing over her forehead.

She’d very nearly drifted off when the peal of a cell phone startled her fully awake. Behind her, Merrick let out a curse and sat up, turning the lamp on.

“Goddamn it. Not tonight.”

Cade’s phone went off, and he reached to pick it up.

“Alarm’s gone off at Bo’s dealership. We better get down there to check it out. Might want to call this one in ahead of time.”

Elle shook the sleep fuzz from her head and pushed herself up into a cross-legged position.

“I don’t think we should leave Elle alone,” Merrick said bluntly. “I’ll go. You stay with her.”

Cade held up his hand. “You aren’t going alone. Call it in and let the police deal with it.”

“The alarms will still have to be reset.”

Cade blew out his breath and glanced at Elle.

“I’ll be fine,” Elle protested.

Over the last seven months, the guys had gotten called out several times in the middle of the night. It wasn’t uncommon.

She could see her assertion hadn’t inspired confidence in the two men.

“I’m not leaving you here alone,” Merrick said firmly. “I don’t think you understand what seeing you walk out of this house, completely unaware of the potential danger, did to me the other night.”

“I won’t go to sleep,” she said. “You know I never do when you’re gone anyway. All the other times you’ve been called out, I’ve waited up for you. You’re wasting time, and you need to get out of here.”

“She’s right, Merrick. We don’t go out alone. That’s the deal. You know it,” Cade argued.

“Christ. I don’t like this,” Merrick said even as he got out of bed to pull on his jeans.

Cade grabbed Elle’s cell phone from the nightstand and tossed it to her. “Keep that close, honey. Call us if you need anything at all. We’ll keep you posted on how long we’ll be out.”

Then he leaned in to kiss her before pushing back and hurrying to dress.

“You two worry too much,” she admonished. “I’ll be fine. Go on and get done so you can come back to me.”

Merrick turned, tucking his shirt in. “You can count on that, baby.”

“Did you call it in?” Merrick asked as they neared Bo Cameron’s used car lot.

The building was new, and Cade and Merrick had advised Bo against having a brand new showroom built in a neighborhood that was as questionable as the one he’d chosen to open his business in.

The area was run-down and high in crime. Vandalism was common, but add in the lure of the automobiles on the lot, and it was a recipe for theft.

“I asked for a squad car to meet