“We have time yet. A few hours more.”
Liam pulled one of the pillows up to prop behind her back and the headboard so she’d be more comfortable while the two men continued to rest on their sides.
Lauren wanted the quiet, comfortable time between them to discuss the future. It was all still so new and exciting in her mind that she could speak of little else for the next weeks.
“Can I ask you two something?”
“Anything,” Liam said firmly.
“Of course,” Noah said at the same time.
“What do you see in our future?” she asked. “Do you see us together long term?”
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Noah said in a serious tone. “I can’t predict what will happen a year or five years down the road. But if you ask me what I
“I see you with us for as long as either of us is breathing,” Liam said, his lips set into a determined line.
“And children?” she asked hesitantly. “What are your thoughts on children and a family?”
Both men were angled so they could see her face and she could see theirs. Light warmed Noah’s eyes. He looked . . . hopeful. And happy.
“I’d love a family one day,” Noah said.
She could hear the yearning in his tone.
“I’d want everything that I was denied as a child. And I’d never do to our children what my parents did to me,” he said fiercely.
“You’d make a great father,” she said in just as fierce a tone.
Liam smiled, warmth traveling to the very depths of his blue eyes. “I could see a few rug rats.”
Her breath caught in her throat as she was struck by a longing so powerful that she simply couldn’t breathe.
“Do you want children, Lauren?” Noah asked.
“Oh yes,” she breathed. “My own family. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
She touched both men, letting her hands creep over their arms so she had contact with them both.
“How would we do it?” she asked hesitantly. “I mean if we were trying to have a baby—down the road of course—would it matter to you if we didn’t know which of you fathered the child? Or would you want to make sure you each had a son or a daughter?”
Anxiety had crept into her voice and she glanced between them nervously.
“I can only speak for me,” Liam began in a low tone. “But for this kind of relationship to work, we’d both have to accept and love
“Amen,” Noah said. “I completely agree. If you’re asking if we want to ensure that a child you bear is ours biologically, then no. I say when the time comes, we both try as hard as possible to knock you up and let the seed fall where it may.”
Liam chuckled. “You certainly have a way with words. But I agree completely. Not knowing allows us both to believe that the child is ours. And it will be ours no matter who fathers it. You’re their mother and for me that’s enough.”
“What did the Colters do, do you know?” Noah asked curiously. “Holly had four children.”
Lauren laughed. “It’s a running joke in the family that no one knows where Dillon came from. Holly swears he was switched at birth. But no. She doesn’t know—or care—who the biological fathers were for her children. Neither do any of her kids.”
“I think that’s the best way,” Liam said softly.
“Do you know how overwhelming it is for me to be sitting here between you two contemplating a normal life, a normal relationship and things like family and children?” Lauren asked, her voice choked with emotion.
Noah grinned. “Well, I’m not sure you could consider our relationship
“I don’t care what anyone else thinks,” Lauren said in a determined voice. “All I care about is what you two think and what you want and that I’m able to make you happy.”
Liam reached up to pull her down into a kiss. “You make me very happy, baby. Never doubt that for a minute.”
She melted into him, kissing him back with the same fervor. Against her back, Noah’s lips pressed into her flesh as he kissed a trail down her spine.
“Do we have time before we go out to the Colters’?” she asked in a husky voice.
Liam’s eyes gleamed with purpose just as Noah’s hands slid to her hips. “We’ll make time.”
CHAPTER 30
LIAM and Noah packed the back of the SUV with their bags and then went back to the hotel room to get Lauren. Both men were wearing shoulder harnesses with pistols holstered and light leather jackets to cover both holster and gun.
“You ready?” Noah asked in a low voice.
She took a deep breath and nodded. Though they were just going up to the Colters’—a place she felt very much at home—the knowledge that in just two days she’d leave that shelter and make a trip into the unknown was playing havoc with her nerves.
Liam offered her a quick hug and a kiss, and then ushered her out the door and to the SUV. He put her in the front seat and then climbed in behind her while Noah walked around to the driver’s side.
As they pulled out of the hotel parking lot, she glanced down Main Street with the quaint shops, the bustling diner, her old apartment and the Mountain Pass Bar and Grill that Dillon Colter owned.
It was hard to leave behind everything that was familiar and achingly comforting. Thank goodness for Liam and Noah. How could she possibly face doing this alone? But then if it weren’t for Noah and Liam, she wouldn’t have the knowledge she now possessed, nor would she have had the courage to stand up and face the devil.
They turned out of town and she stared out the window, absorbing the beauty of the mountains. The Colters didn’t live very far, distance wise, but it was a drive up the mountain that had several switchbacks, and the going was slow.
But it was a drive she didn’t mind, because it had views that were breathtaking. Views she couldn’t see anywhere else in the world.
“We’ve got company,” Noah said tersely.
Liam immediately swiveled to stare out the back. Lauren’s heart did a flip in her chest and she yanked her gaze to the side-view mirror to see a truck bearing down on them.
“Moving too fast just to be another person on the same road,” Liam said grimly. “Lauren, does anyone else live on this road?”
She shook her head, her horrified gaze still glued to the mirror. “Only the Colters and Max and Callie. The doctor in town makes house calls and sometimes they have groceries delivered, but mostly they go into town for what they need because they don’t like their privacy intruded on.”
Just then the truck rammed them and Lauren was thrown forward, her seat belt cinching tight around her to prevent her from crashing into the dash.
“Son of a bitch!” Noah cursed.
He hit the accelerator, lurching forward, but the road turned into gravel less than a quarter mile ahead, and there was no way to have a race up the mountain without killing themselves in the process.
“Hold on,” Noah ordered grimly as he sped up.
They hit the dirt road, fishtailed slightly before Noah corrected and hit the first switchback going as fast as
