Stay With Me (5 page)

He couldn’t know how much it hurt her to be this close, to feel him touch her so lovingly. If he did, surely he wouldn’t do it.

He ushered her into the elevator, Logan crowding in behind them. She backed away as he closed in on her. His hands cupped her shoulders, and he kissed her deeply, hungrily.

“Do you remember, baby?” he asked huskily. “Remember when the elevator broke down in our old apartment?”

Fire bloomed in her cheeks. Oh yes, she remembered. Logan and Rhys had been insatiable. They’d taken her on the floor, against the doors, one holding her while the other fucked her in long delicious strokes. Then they held her between them, one fucking her ass while the other fucked her pussy. By the time the elevator was up and running again, she’d been thoroughly exhausted, and Logan had carried her back to the apartment.

“I remember,” she whispered.

The elevator doors opened, and Logan reluctantly stepped away. He reached back for her hand as Rhys curled his fingers around her other. They pulled her toward their suite, and she followed, her heart lodged painfully in her throat.

Cooler air hit her, sending a shiver down her aching spine. Rhys turned and took her into his arms, his hands sliding up and down her back.

“What do you want, Cat? Tell me. I’ll do anything for you.”

“A long soaking bath,” she mumbled against his chest. “You need to shave.”

He chuckled. “Let me take care of you. I’ll go draw you a bath and while you soak, I’ll shave, and we’ll talk. We used to do that a lot.”

“Yeah, we did,” she said with a smile.

“I’m going to hit the shower,” Logan said. “I imagine we’ll all feel better and
calmer
after a bath.” He eyed her pointedly as he made his statement as though her hysteria could be blamed on the need for a bath. She almost laughed.

“Sit here,” Rhys said as he eased her down on the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

With a sigh, she let him put her where he wanted and watched as he hurried to the bathroom. She slipped her flip-flops off and flexed her toes. She was tired. Weary to her bones. Just when she had her mind made up about the direction she wanted her life to take, Rhys and Logan stormed in and turned everything around.

She couldn’t let them change her mind. Not when she’d finally grown a spine and decided to stop being the martyr in the relationship. On the other hand, was she being fair? How could she expect them to change, to make her happy, if she didn’t tell them what she wanted, needed, and give them the chance to react?

A dull ache began at her temples. About the time she thought she’d taken a proactive stance, she realized that she’d reacted like a twit. Reactionary. Instead of standing up, fighting back and saying
no
, it’s
not
okay for you to ditch me again, she’d stomped off like a sulky child.

Rhys returned and reached down for her hand. At first he just stroked it lightly with his fingertips, reawakening her to the pleasure she always found in his touch. She’d often told him that his fingers were the sweetest kind of magic.

Gently, he took her hand in his and pulled upward until she stood in front of him. Wordlessly, he undressed her, his palms and the pads of his fingertips brushing over her skin.

“Come,” he said in a husky voice. “I’ve got your bath ready.”

She followed him into the bathroom and gasped in surprise when she saw the beautiful arrangement he’d made. The tub was full of sudsy water, and lining the sides were scented, lit candles. Interspersed between the candles were red rose petals from the bouquet on the counter.

He kissed her once, lingeringly, before helping her over the side of the tub. She settled into the hot water with a blissful sigh. Oh, she needed this. Needed it badly.

She closed her eyes and leaned her head against the rim of the tub. The sound of the shower being turned on registered, and she heard Rhys get in.

A few minutes. It was all she needed. Just a few minutes to rest and relax.

Catherine’s eyes fluttered open to see Logan sitting on the edge of the tub at her feet, studying her. She glanced over to where Rhys was shaving by the sink, his face still half-covered with shaving cream.

“I’m tired,” she admitted.

She knew she had her pregnancy to blame for some of her fatigue. Honestly, there were days she couldn’t even hold her head up, but she hadn’t slept well at all since she’d left New York to come on vacation alone.

Logan’s expression softened. “I think we could all use some rest. I know I’d sleep a lot better with you cuddled between us. What do you say we take a nap, order in some room service and spend the day together.”

She was tempted. God, it sounded like heaven. Her indecision and temptation must have shone on her face because both men honed in.

“I’ll give you a foot rub,” Rhys said. “Logan can brush your hair. You always loved that.”

Tears pricked her eyelids. It had been so long since they’d taken care of her. She missed them so much it was a physical ache. She longed for those much simpler days when they didn’t have anything more than each other.

“We were supposed to talk,” she said firmly.

“And we will,” Logan interjected. “I can’t think of a better way to spend the day. In bed, with you, talking.”

“No sex?” she said with a raised eyebrow.

Logan uttered a soft hmmmph.

“No sex,” Rhys said, and Logan shot him the evil eye.

She suppressed her smile and languidly began washing her body, raising one leg to run the cloth down then lowering it before raising the other.

Two sets of male eyes were glued to the motion of the cloth, and unable to resist teasing them a bit, she lifted her arm, making her breasts bob above the waterline. Carefully, she ran the cloth down the length of her arm and then over the taut tips of her breasts.

Logan’s breath released in a hiss, and he changed his position on the tub’s edge. His erection couldn’t be disguised, however.

Feeling only a little guilty for inspiring lust she had no intention of sating, she tossed the washcloth aside and started to rise.

Logan reached for her hand, and after a brief moment of hesitation, she wrapped her fingers around his and let him pull her to stand in the tub.

Water and soapy bubbles cascaded down her body, and she hurriedly stepped out to wrap herself in the towel Rhys held. She let herself be enveloped, not only by the warmth of the towel, but by the heat of his embrace as he gathered her tightly to him.

“What would you like to eat?” Logan asked. “I noticed you didn’t eat breakfast.”

She shook her head. “Nothing yet. I’ll wait and eat lunch with you and Rhys.”

She tucked the end of the towel between her breasts and walked out of the bathroom, leaving the men to follow. The lushness of the bed called to her. Unable to resist, she shed the towel, crawled into the middle and collapsed facedown into the pillow.

Tired. She was so tired.

The bed dipped beside her, and gentle fingers tugged at her chin. “Sit up, baby, and I’ll brush your hair.”

She struggled to her knees, but her breast glanced over Logan’s fingers. She nearly moaned when he tugged at one stiff nipple. He scooted against the headboard then turned her until her bottom was nestled between his thighs.

Rhys sat down at the end of the bed and cupped one of her feet in his palms. As Logan gathered the long strands of her hair, Rhys began massaging her instep. She sighed deeply as the men showered her with love and affection. She soaked it up like a rain-starved desert would a drop of water.

For several long minutes, they tended her, the only sounds being her sighs of pleasure. When she was nearly asleep sitting up, Logan leaned down and kissed the curve of her neck. A delicate shiver cascaded down her spine.

Rhys let her foot fall as Logan maneuvered from behind her. He plumped pillows and situated her in the middle as they took their places on either side of her.

Rhys reclined on his side, resting his cheek in his palm as he gazed at her. Logan adopted a similar position and let his fingers drift lazily over her hip and down her leg.

“Don’t leave us, Catherine,” Logan said abruptly. “I know you’re hurt and angry, but we can work this out.”

“Can we? And are you speaking for Rhys now?”

Both men looked startled at the bitterness in her voice.

“Of course he doesn’t speak for me, Cat, but in this case, everything he says is true. We
can
work this out. I love you.”

Her lips turned down into a resigned moue. “There’s so much I want to say,” she said in frustration. “So much that should have been said years ago.”

“Then say it now,” Logan said calmly. “We can’t fix it if we don’t know what’s wrong, and damn it, Catherine, we—
I
—want to fix it.”

She looked at her fingers clasped together in her lap. She pressed them together until the tips whitened. “Each of you has been handing me off to the other for a long time. Taking a team approach to our relationship.”

Logan’s protest was swift, but she silenced him with a look. “Let me finish. It’s true. At first you both took your commitment to me very seriously. You took nothing for granted. Over time it became easier for the two of you to rely on each other instead of nurturing your relationship with me.”

Logan made a strangled sound of irritation. He’d never been able to stomach touchy-feely emotional talk, and she knew it, but he couldn’t avoid it this time. She would have her say. Rhys was more subdued. He wore an almost guilty expression as if she had touched on something he’d already realized.

”That’s bullshit,” Logan muttered.

She eyed him straight on. “You didn’t have to be there all the time if Rhys was around. Rhys didn’t have to feel bad about missing an event or special occasion if you were going to be there. You tag-teamed me instead of treating our relationship as one between the two of us instead of the three of us. You had it good. One of you was on standby at all times. Can’t pay attention to poor ole Catherine? She has two husbands. She doesn’t need but one around, right? Well, you were wrong.”

She crossed her arms over her chest as her anger grew.

“Eventually you stopped even that, and both of you shut me out, placed everything ahead of me, your business, your colleagues, even your personal assistant got more of your attention than I did.”

“We were busy making our business a success,” Logan said tightly.

“At the expense of your marriage? Tell me, Logan, was it worth it? I’ve long thought money and success was more important to you than I was, but I want to hear it. Maybe I need to hear it, because imagining it is so much worse. Maybe I need to face it instead of wavering back and forth as I wonder if I’m overreacting.”

Rhys sucked in his breath, and Logan’s eyes widened in shock. For a long moment, there was complete silence as if both men were absorbing, finally, how dangerously close they were to a relationship that wasn’t salvageable.

“We did it for you,” Logan said, his voice strained and low. “We wanted the best for you.”

“You and Rhys are…were what’s best for me.”

She uncurled her fingers and crossed her arms, trailing her hands up to her shoulders in an effort to instill comfort, anything to make the feeling of emptiness go away.

“I can’t go on living like this,” she whispered. “I deserve better.”

Logan stared at Catherine. His wife. She looked utterly small and defeated and so damned sad. Worse, she looked resigned. She didn’t see any other option other than leaving.

Panic knotted his stomach. He couldn’t wrap his brain around a future without Catherine. No, he hadn’t been around much. He and Rhys had been throwing themselves into their company. Making it a success. Never had he imagined that it could cost him the one person who’d loved him when he’d had nothing, been nobody.

He exchanged glances with Rhys, and Logan could see the same despair in his friend’s eyes. Sex wouldn’t fix this. Catherine was right about that much. Hell, he didn’t even know what would fix this.

Or if it could be fixed at all.

He opened his mouth to speak. To say something, anything, but nothing came out. How could he possibly make up for years of hurt and neglect in a few days’ time?

It seemed so simple now. He could have done so much differently, but she was right. He and Rhys had taken her for granted. She’d always stood by them, supported and loved them unconditionally. And now they faced losing her because they’d squandered her gift.

Rhys reached out and took Catherine’s hand. She glanced at the other man, pain burning brightly in her eyes.

“Don’t give up, Cat,” Rhys said in a voice that sounded very close to pleading. But hell, right now Logan would beg if that’s what it took, and he and Rhys had never begged for anything.

“We’re here now. Give us the vacation we promised you. It’s a starting point. We have a lot to work out, but we can’t do that if you aren’t with us.”

“No cell phones, no email,” Logan interjected. “Just you and us. Give us a chance to work this out, Catherine. I won’t let you go without one hell of a fight.”

Her eyes widened as she turned to stare at Logan. “Can you do that? Don’t you have deals to work, people to stay in touch with?”

Logan cursed under his breath. Then he reached out to cup her chin. “You are more important than all of those things, baby. I know we haven’t acted like it, and we have a lot to make up, to prove to you. But it starts now.”

Indecision flickered in her expressive eyes, giving her a fragility that inspired every one of his protective instincts. And then he nearly laughed. Protective? When had he protected her? She’d been fending for herself for years.

“Give us a chance, Cat,” Rhys asked softly. “Please.”

“Answer me one question,” Logan said, still holding her chin. His thumb stroked across her cheek and then over the fullness of her lips. “Do you still love us?”

Liquid emotion surged and welled in her eyes. Beneath his touch, her lips trembled and quaked.

“Because we love you, baby,” he said softly. “That much hasn’t changed. Will never change.”

“I do love you,” she whispered. “But sometimes…sometimes it just isn’t enough.”

“It will be,” he said firmly. “I swear it will be.”

Logan dropped his hand away from her face, and she glanced between him and Rhys. She drew in her bottom lip between her teeth, her brow creased in concentration. It bothered the hell out of him that she had to stop and consider for so long whether she was willing to stay with them.

“Catherine?” he prompted.

“All right,” she said. “No cell phones, no emails, just us on vacation.”