Page 40

CHAPTER 40

MIRIAM

I’ve tried hard to temper my mood with the full understanding that it is literally no one’s fault I’ve been restricted for so long.

Really, really hard.

“Miriam, it’s going to be okay.” Kevin, God bless him, tries to placate me, but I just need a fucking moment to be angry.

Dr. fucking Belle took away every bit of freedom I had and put me back on full bedrest because apparently my blood pressure isn’t cooperating. I’m not really mad at him or anyone for that matter, just my body for being a stubborn bitch and deciding I needed to be just that much more miserable.

“I need to throw something,” I bite out. “No, I take that back. I don’t, but I really want to scream right now.”

They’re all watching me like I’m about to blow a gasket and I don’t blame them. Ezra is bouncing on his toes, and Tatum looks worried and sad. Kevin is calm, like always, but it’s not what I need right now.

Richard is the one who surprises me when he wraps an arm around my waist and hurries me to my bedroom, slamming the door shut behind us. Spinning on him, I take a step sideways because the movement made me dizzy.

“Whoa, hold on there,” he says, reaching out for me. Like the asshole I am, I push his hand away in frustration.

“I’m fine. I’m fine! ”

He grabs my upper arms and turns me to walk toward the bed, then sits me down, squatting in front of me so we’re eye level. His eyes roam over my face and I can’t help it; I stick out my tongue.

Faster than I expected, he lunges forward and sucks it into his mouth, kissing me furiously until we’re laying across the bed, making out like two teenagers. When I try to take over the kiss, he pins my hands above my head and pulls away too far.

I snap my teeth at him, but he jerks his head back with a smile. “Come now, Miriam. You can do better than that.”

Yanking my right arm from his hand, I grip the back of his neck and pull him back down to me. It’s the first real kiss we’ve had since the cabin and it’s wildly different from before. When Richard kissed me months ago, it was controlled and calculated, but now? He’s just as passionate as I’m feeling.

Releasing my other arm, I wrap it around his shoulders to hang on while he trails his fingers down to palm my breast, then squeezes it with enough pressure that I whine into his mouth.

He turns his head to dive his tongue further into my mouth and we intertwine, breathing heavily as we do our best to shove our way up the bed. “Richard, the doctor… he said I can’t do this anymore.”

Ripping his mouth away, his hair hangs into his eyes as he stares down at me. “Five minutes more. We can pretend we did this before we left today.” Then he kisses me again as I throw my leg over his hip, grinding my center against his dick.

We continue like this until he finally pulls away again, his hand buried under my shirt and fingers pinching my nipple.

“Fuck, Miriam.” He drops his head to my chest as he continues to tease my peak, bolts of pleasure zipping to my pussy. “You’re like my destruction and saving grace, wrapped into a beautiful fucking package that I want to consume. You’re mi tormenta .”

His words make me pause and I lean my head away to study him, confused. “I’m your storm? What the fuck does that mean?”

“No, you’re my tormentor,” he says, a frown wrinkling the skin between his brows.

Barking out a laugh, I feel bad when his frown deepens, but I can’t help it. “Richard, mi tormenta means my storm .”

His eyes follow his hand as he runs his fingers through my hair and he cups the side of my face. “Well, you’re that too.”

I open and shut my mouth, unsure what to say until it clicks and I push myself to sit up. He backs up, giving me space and a hand when I struggle to move. “Richard, are you trying to learn Spanish?”

Oh my God, Richard Leigh, the seriously formal lawyer who’s infiltrated my life is blushing.

He looks away, but I move to keep his face in my line of sight until he mumbles, “Not very well, apparently.”

“ Qué estás tratando de decirme ?” I ask him what he’s trying to tell me, and my mouth falls open as he answers as if I just spoke in English.

“I’m telling you what it feels like whenever I’m around you, I feel tortured because I’m constantly second guessing if I’m crossing a line, not pushing hard enough, or pissing you off. I want to know that I can be all in with you without holding myself back.”

I poke him in the chest. “You understood that perfectly!”

“Or we can talk about my dismal Spanish skills.” He gives me a dark look, and I bite my lip in response.

“Sorry.” I grab his hands and pull them into my lap to squeeze them tightly. “You don’t have to hold back with me. I just want to make sure you know I don’t want anything from you.” He opens his mouth to argue, but I stop him. “I’m not talking about relationship things; I’m talking about monetarily. It’s important to me that you know it’s not who I am.”

He sighs and pulls me against his chest, hugging me tightly. “I don’t think that and I’m not sure I ever really did, to be honest. Sometimes I can be a real fucking idiot, Miriam. I compared you to people from my past that you are so far above. It wasn’t fair, and I was a dick because of it.”

“A bit,” I tease. He kisses me again, then moves away to stand up. I grab his arm to keep him next to me. “Why are you learning Spanish?”

The look he gives me is priceless. It’s as if he’s second guessing everything he just said and I’m a complete moron. Pointing to my stomach, he dips his head like it’s obvious. He speaks slowly so I’ll understand.

“So I can teach my son.”

Emotion is clogging my throat as I whisper, “Say it in Spanish.” He looks unsure, but I dip my head in encouragement.

“ Para poder ense?arle a mi hijo. ” It comes out choppy and a few words aren’t pronounced perfectly, but I don’t give a shit. I hiccup back a sob, bringing my hands to my heart and wordlessly let him know how moved I am at this very moment.

Richard moves closer, bringing his mouth close enough to hover over mine, his eyes searing into me before he whispers, “ Te amo , Miriam.” After a soft kiss, he shifts lower and presses another to my swollen belly, murmuring, “ Y a mi bebé .”

I burst out in tears, startling him by my reaction. Waving it off, I try to control myself, but I’m useless. Loud, ugly sobs explode from deep within my chest, and I pull him up so I can bury my face against him. His arms go around me slowly and I vaguely hear my bedroom door open.

Someone asks a question, but it’s only Richard I can hear at the moment. “I don’t know, but I think she’s alright.”

Turning my head, I keep a fist to my mouth to muffle my sobs and see the rest of them staring at me with worry. It only makes me cry harder because it’s not until just now that I realize they’re all really here for me. Not just Gabriel, but me as well.

After the shit news at my appointment, it’s like everything just got a million times better and I don’t have to bear this alone.

“Snacks!” Ezra calls out before spinning around and running from the room. Tatum hurries over and crawls onto the bed behind me, wrapping his body around me and hugging me tight.

When Kevin approaches, concern etched across his face, Richard disentangles himself from my hold as Tatum pulls me back to the head of the bed. Piling pillows behind my back, I fold myself against Kevin as he settles on the other side of me, then half laugh, half cry when he asks, “Fuck, Rich. What the hell did you say to her?”

“That I was learning Spanish.”

I wail louder, hating everything about me right now and how pathetic I’m acting, but I can’t control it. They start questioning him, but it’s drowned out by my crying, which gradually turns into laughter the longer I go on.

“Christ, Miri. I’m not sure if I should be worrying right now.” Tatum is leaning over me where I’m laying on Kevin’s chest, watching me carefully.

“I-I’m fine,” I choke out, my breath shuddering out as everything I’m feeling ebbs. Finding Richard still sitting at the end of the bed, I mouth, “ Te amo, ” to him. Kevin and Tatum don’t catch it, but Richard’s frown slowly turns up into a sinful smile. Like there’s a secret between the two of us, he immediately brushes off every bit of concern he had and stands up.

“Should we just do a movie in here? I’ll grab the remote.”

I chance a look at Tatum, his brow raised, waiting for me to explain. Giving him a wobbly smile, he huffs out a laugh and shakes his head. “I guess we’re getting back to our regular evening programming.”

Snorting out a laugh just as Ezra returns, I giggle when I see how much food he’s hugging to his body. He must have emptied the pantry with every salty and sweet snack from the pantry.

With my hands out, he rushes over and drops them at my feet in the center of the bed. Kevin’s disgruntled disapproval draws my attention and I glare at him. “I get to eat whatever I want tonight. Fuck today, I want to snack and eat my emotions.”

“Noted,” he says seriously, then settles against the headboard with one arm thrown over my shoulder.

Richard’s found something cheesy to put on and looks at us all gathered on the bed. Tatum and Kevin are on either side of me and Ezra is picking through the food to find the perfect first bite.

Using my foot, I shove the food toward Ezra and clear the space between my legs, then hold out a hand. Richard only hesitates a moment, but must decide to say fuck it because he crawls up the bed and lies on his back between my spread legs. Ezra’s glaring at him, obviously jealous, but keeps his thoughts to himself. Using my thigh as a pillow, Richard gets comfortable and starts the movie.

Ezra bounces on the bed, shifting all of us with his weight as he curls up on the other side of my leg and throws his leg over my ankle for contact. I thread my hand into Richard’s hair and my other one finds Tatum’s. We weave our fingers together just as I lean my head against Kevin’s shoulder.

I only worry briefly that my bed won’t be able to handle the weight of all of us, but figure if the legs give out, we’ll be protected by the soft mattress underneath us.

Four men…

Just considering the situation I’m in is unreal. It’s like one of those deep down, dark fantasies a girl might think about, but it doesn’t happen in real life. Although, Susanna found her three guys, so maybe it’s not totally out of the realm of possibilities.

Trickles of thought that we’re only here because of Gabriel attempt to work their way into my head, but I shove them away faster than they arrive. Richard told me he loves me. Ezra and Tatum don’t know, but I overheard them speaking about how they felt while carrying me back to the house a few weeks ago. I know they have feelings as well, if their actions didn’t make it obvious.

And Kevin?

I tilt my head to look at him as the opening scene flashes on the screen of the TV. He’s not watching the movie. He’s watching me and when we lock eyes, everything he’s feeling is written right there for me to hold on tight to. Pressing my lips to the underside of his jaw, I show him that I feel it all for him as well.

With a happy hum as his hand grips me tighter, I relax against him and let myself focus back on the movie. A few hours later, I hear murmured whispers as they all adjust me to lie back on my pillow, bodies piling around me as I drift back to sleep.

Not a single person leaves my bed tonight.