Their Forever Home (18 page)

“I would never hurt her, Lance, but I can be harsh and not think things through. Don’t let me jeopardize my relationship with her by accident. Remind me sometimes to do something that will make her smile so she knows how important to me she is. That is the main thing I’m worried about. I’m scared I’ll lose her love because I don’t know how to keep it—I don’t know—going.” Carver shrugged. “You know what I mean.”

The other man smiled and nodded. “I honestly don’t think you have to worry about that. Somehow you do things for her that seem normal to me, but to her they are important. The fact that you walked all that way to get her clothes when we first found her meant more to her than you may ever understand. Then on top of that, you brought her all of that smell-good stuff, and she cried every time she put some on her hands or washed her hair.”

“It made her cry? Why didn’t you tell me? It wasn’t supposed to make her cry. You should have gotten rid of it.” Carver jumped up and started to pace.

“Hey. Hold on, Carver. You really don’t get it, do you?” Lance stood up. “They’re happy tears, you idiot. She loves the stuff you got her. It just overwhelms her that you thought so much of her that you spent time looking for it and then brought so much of it back to her.”

“Happy tears?” he asked. “There’s such a thing as happy tears? I’m fucked. I’ll never figure out how to handle her.” Carver sat back down and propped his head on his hands.

“You don’t have to, Carver.”

He jerked his head up and looked over to where Vella stood next to him with a sleepy smile on her face. He hadn’t heard her open the bedroom door. Some protector he was.

“All you have to do is be yourself. Lance will be himself, and we’ll all get along just fine. I don’t want you to try and figure anything out or change who you are. I love you just like this. You’re perfect.” She kissed him tenderly on the lips and then on each cheek. Then she walked over to where Lance sat and did the same to him. “You’re both perfect the way you are. If you change, you won’t be the men I fell in love with.”

Carver got up and walked over to where she stood next to Lance’s chair. He picked her up in his arms and hugged her as tight as he dared without hurting her. She was perfect, just like he and Lance had said earlier.

“Have I ever told you how much I love these tattoos you’re sporting?” she asked him out of the blue.

“Uh, no. Thanks.” He wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

“I want to trace them with my tongue. Are there a lot of them? Because I don’t think I’ve gotten to really see them all up close and everything. There’s never been a lot of light.” She kissed his neck then licked over to his chin.

“Yeah, there’s a lot of them. It might take a while to get to all of them,” he said, getting into her little game.

“Let’s start with the ones I can see, and then tomorrow, before it gets dark again, we need to explore the rest of them.” She pulled out of his arms but clasped his hand in hers. She looked over at Lance and curved one of the fingers of her other hand to get him to follow them.

“Are you sure you want me, too? I can always come to bed later, hon.” Lance grinned at them. “I’ll keep the dog company.”

Carver studied the other man closely but saw no hint of jealousy or resentment. He was truly okay with him and Vella going off together without him. Suddenly he didn’t want that yet.

“Come on, man. The dog is fine in here, but I think I need some help with our wife right now. She’s gotten a little out of hand lately,” he said, forcing his mouth into a smile.

“Wow!” Vella said, looking up at him.

He frowned. “What?”

“Smile again. I’ve never seen you smile all the way like that. I love it. You’re so damn good-looking,” she told him.

Carver shook his head but smiled down at her. It didn’t take nearly as much effort as the first time had. Actually, it felt kind of good.

“Watch out!” Lance called out with a huge grin, jumping away from them.

“What?” he and Vella asked at the same time.

“Lightning’s going to strike. You actually smiled!”

“Asshole,” Carver said, popping him on the back of the head.

“Boys.”

Carver happily followed Vella back into the bedroom. Lance poked him in the back, telling him to hurry up. This was what a real family felt like. He would do whatever it took to protect his and help their new community protect theirs, as well. This was what life was supposed to be like, and he knew they’d found their forever home.

THE END

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Marla Monroe has been writing professionally for about eleven years. Her first book with Siren was published in January of 2011, and she now has over 70 books available. She loves to write and spends every spare minute either at the keyboard or reading. She writes everything from sizzling-hot contemporary cowboys, emotionally charged BDSM, and dangerously addictive shifters, to science fiction ménages with the occasional badass biker thrown in for good measure.

Marla lives in the southern US and works full-time at a busy hospital. When not writing, she loves to travel, spend time with her cats, and read. She’s always eager to try something new and especially enjoys the research for her books. She loves to hear from readers about what they are looking for next in their reading adventures.

You can reach Marla at [email protected], or visit her website at www.marlamonroe.com

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