Theirs to Keep - Maya Banks Page 0,65

to circumvent any complicated, time-consuming steps and make a weekend trip to Las Vegas to tie the knot there. In Vegas, no one was going to blink an eye if Cade stood in the marriage ceremony and took an actual part.

Yeah, the legalities would be between Merrick and Elle, but Cade would be a part. She’d say vows to both men and they in turn would give them back to her.

It was the final step in not only giving her back an identity and a fresh start, a new lease on life, but also binding her irrevocably to them. And if Merrick was honest, the latter was what concerned him more. He wanted that knowledge, that reassurance that she was his. Not just as some private agreement between the three of them, but to the rest of the world as well.

He wasn’t going to breathe easy until the “I dos” were said and their signatures were on the dotted line of a marriage certificate.

Cade eased Elle down onto the bed, and then both men worked to get her out of her jeans and shirt so she’d be more comfortable. Merrick unhooked her bra and left her in her panties before he lifted her and moved her to the center of the bed.

She still hadn’t even so much as flinched, and it stirred the guilt inside him that she’d worked so tirelessly over the last week. He was going to make it up to her. A good night’s rest. Breakfast in bed tomorrow. And then she was going to take it easy for the entire damn day.

“I’m going to grab a shower, and then I’ll be to bed,” Cade said in a low voice so he didn’t wake Elle.

Merrick stripped down to his boxers and climbed into bed next to Elle, pulling her into his arms. She gave one of those contented, breathy sighs that he loved so much, and she snuggled into his body like a kitten seeking warmth.

He loved that about her. How affectionate she was and how she sought out his touch even in her sleep. Though he and Cade hadn’t pressed the issue of sex since that first night they’d finally consummated their relationship and taken things to a whole new level, Elle had still slept between them every single night.

And with the fire and the fallout afterward, they were simply too damn tired at night to focus on the physical aspects of their relationship.

Merrick wasn’t wholeheartedly convinced that Elle was ready to take on a normal, healthy physical relationship with one man yet, let alone two. The first time had been just fine. But who was to say that she wouldn’t have issues the second or third time?

It was something he was already mentally preparing for because he knew Elle still had a long way to go in order to completely heal from her ordeal.

But she was his. And soon he’d have all the loose ends tied into a neat bow. Her past would no longer be a worry. Who she was no longer mattered. Because who and what she was…was his and Cade’s. Their wife. Their woman.

She mumbled something in her sleep and then threw her leg over his. He smiled in the darkness and then tucked her leg between his so that he covered the lower half of her body.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead and barely whispered, “I love you, baby.”

Merrick forced himself out of bed at five a.m. He didn’t bother with a shower yet. He’d save that for after his run. He needed to get in at least five miles and hope to hell he wasn’t sucking serious wind after having worked out so sporadically over the last several days.

He was dressing quietly in the dark and reaching for his cross-trainers when he saw Elle rise from the bed.

Cursing under his breath that he’d awakened her when he’d wanted her to sleep in this morning, he started to move toward her when she walked toward the door.

It was an eerie glide, as if she had no care of stumbling in the dark. It wasn’t the careful walk of someone finding her way in a dark room. She walked boldly forward, out the door and into the hall.

Son of a bitch. It was happening again.

“Cade, get up!” Merrick called out as he made a run for Elle.

He heard Cade’s feet hit the floor as he sped down the hall. This time he caught up to Elle before she left the living