As she heard him walking down the stairs and answering questions in clipped replies, Eric approached, speaking in a tone meant to calm everyone. “Tate, why don’t you take Belle downstairs and get her a cup of tea while we wait for the police?”
Tate nodded, taking her hand and linking their fingers. Eric tore his gaze from the warning on the wall before the two men shared a long, tense stare.
“What is it?” Belle asked, scooping Sir against her with her free hand. Something was going on, and they knew more than they were telling her.
Tate shook his head and urged her toward the door. “It’s nothing, baby. We’re going to let the cops take a look at this. Let’s get you downstairs. I’m sure they’ll have questions for you.”
She dug her heels in. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
Eric’s eyes closed briefly, but when he opened them he nodded, as though he’d reached a decision. “I’m pretty sure that’s blood, Belle. The brownish cast to it makes me think it’s dried though, so I don’t think the person who did it is still here. But I want to check the rest of the house. We need to get you out of this room and let the cops do their job.”
Blood? Belle hadn’t let herself dwell much on that possibility, but in the back of her head, she’d suspected the same thing. Desperately, she’d hoped the thought was simply an illusion generated by her fear. Knowing the guys had drawn the same conclusion didn’t comfort her. She shivered and let Tate hustle her down the stairs.
An hour and a cup of tea later, she was calmer as the police left with reassurances that the house was secure and they would start looking into everyone who had been there earlier that day.
“You really didn’t see those words on the wall before you went to bed?” Kellan hovered above her, his tone pure interrogation.
Belle had already retraced the evening about a dozen times with the police, but she grasped her patience firmly in hand to answer. If one of the guys had woken up screaming, she’d likely be freaked out, too.
“No, but I was exhausted. I literally fell into bed with my clothes on, so I didn’t have any reason to turn on the light.” Of course if she had, she would have noticed the message someone had seen fit to leave her. But on the bright side, she’d already been fully dressed when the police had arrived. “I didn’t see it. And I have no idea who would be trying to scare the bejeezus out of me. I don’t have any enemies that I’m aware of, especially in this city. I just got here.”
The police had done some quick forensic thing and determined the message had been written in pig blood. They said they’d investigate the vandalism and possible break-in, but much of the department was mired in the madam murder that had taken place a few blocks away and was now gaining national news attention.
“I think we should pack up and head home until we know who’s trying to scare Belle and why.” Eric paced the kitchen.
Tate nodded. “We can spend tonight in a hotel and catch a flight home tomorrow.”
She was afraid, yes. Terrified that someone had come into her house, in her bedroom, intending to frighten her. But she wasn’t leaving. Her future was here, and these men didn’t seem to understand that she couldn’t go back to the relationship they’d had before. If she followed them back to Chicago, she would be just their secretary again, taking care of their professional needs, but not really fulfilling any of her own.
“No. This is my home now, and I’m not going to let some jerk scare me out of it.”
“Belle, someone broke in. It’s not safe, especially until we know who and what we’re dealing with.” Kellan’s voice sounded hard as nails.
“You know that’s not totally true.” She shook her head. “No one had to break in. Did you see the list of contractors and delivery people I gave the police? Probably twenty people were in and out of here today, including the creepy old guy next door who told me my grandma was a witch and I shouldn’t follow in her footsteps.”
Two of her neighbors had shown up in fact, one a very nice woman who wrote novels for a living and had brought her muffins. The other had thumped a bible in her face. Belle knew which neighbor she’d be inviting to dinner parties.
“There were the interns from the law office,” she went on. “Don’t forget the electrician, the plumber—”
Tate frowned. “Was that the guy with the beer belly and the mullet who told you to call him Captain Ron?”
“That’s him.”
“Was he in the military or something?” Eric looked confused.
“No, that’s just what he likes to be called.” Belle sighed. It followed that such an interesting city would have lots of colorful characters. She just wished they weren’t all in her house at once.
Tate just shook his head. “And I thought I was weird…”
“Focus, guys,” Kellan snapped.
“I remember everyone who came through—the UPS guy, the handyman who gave you an estimate, even the teenager who delivered our pizza.”
“How about the three couriers who needed your signatures on documents? There were tons of people here today,” she pointed out. “Any one of them could have come into my room at any time. The house was wide open.”
Tate tapped his fingers along the kitchen table. “The question is, why would someone do that? The weird neighbor and Captain Ron guy I can see since they kind of seem unhinged anyway.”
“Which is what I told the police,” she said to Kell.
“What’s creepy neighbor guy’s name? Did you catch it? I was on a call when he stopped by.”
“He was an ass who maligned my grandmother. I blocked out his name.” Belle smiled tightly.
“I’ll find out tomorrow. I know the police say they’ll look at everyone, but I’ll put some extra effort into him,” Eric promised.
“Or we could just walk next door and have a nice chat with him.” Kellan had a placid look on his face that didn’t fool Belle for one minute. If she let him, he would threaten the man next door with all manner of violence. After the guys had gone, she had to live next to the him. She couldn’t let Kellan make a bad situation worse.
“No. We’re going to let the police deal with him. Tomorrow morning, I’ll let Mr. Gates know that I won’t allow any interns back in the house. I’ll watch every single delivery man. I’ve already called for a new security system. But for all we know, it was a prank,” Belle theorized, though she suspected otherwise. “I can’t let someone scare me away.”
The memory of that ghostly voice floated through her brain again, but Belle shoved it aside. She was not “getting out.” She also refused to let her active imagination run crazy. Of course she was scared. Whoever had done this could be a whack job of Manson proportions. She hoped this episode was simply the work of someone trying to rattle her. Her house wasn’t haunted, and no ghost had written that warning on her wall.
“I still think we should go home,” Tate said stubbornly.
Belle sighed. They’d been over this. “I’m going back to bed. I have a long day ahead of me tomorrow.”
She stood and started up the stairs, weariness and disquiet both invading her system. Could she really sleep in that room alone tonight?
“No, you’re not, Belle.” That voice told her instantly that Kellan intended to put his foot down and defend his decision.
At the foot of the stairs, she turned. “I can’t go to sleep? Really?”
He marched to her side, then ascended the stair above her, blocking her path, arms crossed over his wide chest. “Until we know for sure it’s safe and that no one could possibly get to you, you can either sleep in one of the bedrooms on the second floor near ours or we can sleep on the floor in your room. Your choice.”
Tate rushed to her side. “We’re just worried about you, baby. If whoever wrote on your wall in animal blood comes back, what will they do?”
“Belle?” Eric approached, his expression both imploring and gentle. “I’m sure you’re thinking we don’t have the right to tell you what to do since you don?
??t work for us anymore and we…well, we fucked up in Dallas. But as a favor? Please don’t make us worry about you more than we already are. Thinking we may have lost our chance to be with you hurts, but imaging we could lose you forever…” He shook his head. “I couldn’t take knowing that I hadn’t protected you.”
She let out a shuddering breath, trying not to be touched, but she was. Yes, they’d laid a fairly slick guilt trip on her, but their expressions also told her they really meant it. They cared. At least Tate and Eric had told her a dozen times that they wanted a chance to right their wrongs following Gigi and Butch’s wedding. Kell had even bared his scars to her. She really did love these men.
So where did that leave them?
The guys were hoping to wait her out and wear her down, she knew, so she’d come back to Chicago. That wasn’t going to happen, but in the meantime, they crowded her half naked and whispered wicked suggestions. She would have done her best to keep resisting them. But she was a total sucker for their concern. She knew Kell well enough to know that this high-handed ploy was the only way he’d allow himself to express affection. The hard insistence on his face told her that he cared every bit as much as she’d suspected when he threatened to spank her for wanting to help Kinley a few months ago.
Belle teared up. What was she fighting exactly? She wanted them. They wanted her. She wasn’t expecting them to stay forever and she wasn’t intentionally holding onto her virginity. What if business called them back north? Her new life was here. Theirs was there. What if she never saw them again? The thought stabbed her in the heart. She hurt and bled, but forced herself to face reality. They would return home and find someone who was right for them, who could bring them all together. Belle knew they weren’t really in love with her—lust maybe—but if Kell had actually given her his heart, she’d be able to heal him. She couldn’t, but that woman was out there, just waiting for them.
But why couldn’t she enjoy a few nights with them before they left and found the one who completed them? She was tired of being close to them and not touching them. Was it so bad to want to feel their protection when she was afraid? To ache for the chance to experience their passion while she still could?
Her stare caressed them. They were so smart, gorgeous, kind, funny… The woman who ended up with them would be lucky beyond compare, and knowing it wasn’t her tormented Belle. She’d counted their friendships as some of the most important in her life and had hoped she could have Kinley’s sort of happily ever after. But no. The best she could do now was embrace them and experience pleasure at their hands. Then she’d know what it felt like to be held and loved by them, what it meant to be their woman—even if it was only for a night or two. Once they’d gone, she’d have beautiful memories for the rest of her life.
“What do you say, Belle?” Eric prompted.
“All right. I’ll stay in your room. But only if you stay with me.”
* * * *
Eric stared at her. Had she just said what he thought she’d said? “You want me to stay with you?”
“Yes. Please.” She bit her full lip, looking somehow incredibly sexy yet pensive at once.
Of course she was afraid. He shouldn’t read anything sexual into her request.
“Sure. Let me grab some pillows and blankets. I’ll sleep on the floor so you can rest easier.”
He turned away to find what he needed. His back would probably hurt like a bitch tomorrow, but Belle was finally reaching out, finally softening toward them. Well, at least him. Surely it didn’t matter to her which one of them protected her.
“Wait.” She touched his arm—a whisper of her skin over his. Then she pulled away, looking downright nervous. “I want you beside me.”
Eric stared. Had she meant that the way it sounded, like she wanted sex?
The room had gone completely silent. In fact, it seemed like the whole world had stopped. Tate stilled beside him, and Eric felt tension pinging through his best friend. What the hell would Tate do if Belle didn’t want him?
Eric knew on some basic level that he was supposed to be happy that she might desire him above the others, but he’d stopped working that way a long time ago. Maybe he never had. When it came to Belle, he was possessive, yes. He’d caught that overly muscled electrician staring at her ass earlier in the day and it had taken everything he had not to kill the fucker. But Tate and Kellan were different. They were his partners.
He was crazy about Belle, but he didn’t want to hurt his friends. He hadn’t dated a woman without them in years. He wasn’t even sure he could succeed at a solo relationship with a woman.
Tate deflated like a balloon slowly losing its air. He swallowed. “All right. I’m going to bed, then. Good night.”
Shit. His buddy wouldn’t recover from this rejection. One of the reasons Eric had fallen so hard for Belle was because she understood and embraced Tate’s personal brand of crazy. In fact, she seemed to enjoy it. In the past, they’d dated more than one woman together who’d later declared Eric “boyfriend material” while shoving Tate aside. If Belle followed suit, his best friend would erect a fortress against the world and everyone in it.
“Tate, stop.” Belle leaned closer, placing a hand on his arm. “When I said you, I meant all of you. It’s just that Eric’s is the biggest of the guest rooms. I would rather be near you three. I don’t think I’ll feel comfortable in my room until I clean it up.”
Eric let out a sigh of relief. Tate’s balloon was suddenly full again and he puffed up, ready to play protector—and lover, if she’d let him.
Kell wore a satisfied smile. “Good choice.”
Belle was inching closer to giving in, but he was also thankful that she was going to let them watch over her.
Something about the house had made him edgy from the first moment. He hadn’t said anything, but he’d often felt as though he wasn’t alone in a room when logic told him otherwise. Sometimes, he’d even felt someone staring. Gates said the place was haunted. Eric wasn’t a believer…but he wasn’t a disbeliever, either. Belle’s theory was that the zealot next door neighbor had caused tonight’s ruckus to scare her into leaving. Eric didn’t agree, though he didn’t know who else to blame.
“Let’s go upstairs,” Tate directed. “We’ll take care of you so you can get some sleep.”
She seemed to falter, victim of some anxiety Eric didn’t understand. They were going to watch over her and keep her safe. Wasn’t that what she wanted?
“I don’t want to sleep,” she confessed, her voice breathy.
Eric felt as if a boulder had hit his chest—and liquid flame filled his cock. Holy shit, that really did sound like she wanted sex.
“Hot damn!” Tate grinned and lifted Belle off her feet. “You won’t regret this. We’re going to make you feel so good, baby.”
“Stop for a minute,” Eric insisted. “Put her down.”
They all needed to slow down before they made the same mistake they had in Dallas by jumping in with both feet and not talking the situation through. They’d been so happy to have Belle naked and seemingly willing that they hadn’t thought through the ramifications. Her statement just now could be taken in more than one context. No way could they leave any gray area or room for interpretation.
“Why should I do that?” Tate demanded, but he complied, though with obvious reluctance.
“Belle, what exactly are you asking for?”
She bowed her head slightly, as if she wasn’t quite sure she could or should answer. “I want you all to be with me.”
That wasn’t a precise answer. They couldn’t move forward until he knew the truth.
Kellan’s eyes narrowed. Obviously, he wasn’t happy with her reply either. “You don’t have to sleep alone, Belle. We’ll all get pallets made up. One of us will sleep in the bed with you, if you want. Or we can stay up and talk, take your mind off your fears until you’re ready for a good night’s sleep.”
“That sounds horrible,” Tate complained.
&nb
sp; Eric saw Kellan’s tactic immediately, and was glad the two of them were on the same page with making Belle state her wants explicitly.
“But you’ll survive, Tate,” Eric promised, sending him a glare that demanded he get on board.
With a long, unhappy sigh, his big buddy put her down.
If Belle wanted to be held or kissed…or more, she would have to ask for it. Eric wouldn’t take advantage of her vulnerability or give her any reason to wake up tomorrow and blame them for whatever happened.
Eric led an oddly quiet Belle toward his room on the second floor. Tate followed. Kell said he’d gather extra bedding and meet them back in the bedroom. Still she didn’t speak up. Either she’d meant what she’d said literally and they were in for a hard night, or she was being a coward. He hoped they had some ibuprofen in the house for the inevitable backache he would have tomorrow. Nothing would relieve the ache in his cock. He doubted he would get a minute’s sleep knowing Belle was so close and he couldn’t have her.
When he led Belle into the bedroom, Tate prowled in as well, frowning with all the happiness of a thundercloud.