26. Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-six
Roman
I squeezed my brother’s hand. The motherfucker. Where the hell did he get off giving us a scare like that? Unconscious for seven minutes…what was that about?
Ben winked at Shira, who had been huddled by the wall, trying to make herself as invisible as possible, until he’d insisted she come stand by his bed. “Sorry I cut your first rugby match short. I’ll make it up to you.”
She let out a mix between a sob and a laugh. “I think you’ve cured me of rugby, Ben.”
“Nooo.” He lifted his free hand to his chest. “Say it isn’t so. I promise they don’t all end in bloodshed.”
“Your blood wasn’t shed,” Adrian intoned. “Your brain was scrambled.”
Ben snapped. “That’s right. My scrambled brain forgot why I was in this bed. Think they’ll let me keep the snazzy gown?”
Ben was fucking terrible at reading the room. Nate, Ade, and I were beside ourselves, and good ol’ Benny was cracking jokes. I knew it was his defense mechanism, his way of handling the situation. So he didn’t have to worry about how bad of a hit he took or what that meant for his season, but he needed to give it a rest. Ade looked about two jokes away from exploding, and Nate and I weren’t far behind.
His doctor came in, taking time to show us the images of Ben’s brain and neck. He was concussed and his neck strained. Since it wasn’t his first of the year, they’d have to do follow-up tests. But there were no immediate signs of bleeding or swelling, which made us all release a collective sigh of relief.
“He’ll need to stay with someone for at least tonight, ideally two or three nights.” The doctor scanned the room. “I see he has no shortage of family. I’ll let you all decide who will be responsible for Mr. Wells once he leaves.”
As soon as the doctor exited the room, I declared, “Ben’ll come home with me.”
Ben grinned at Shira. “I think he loves me.”
“Shush, you,” she admonished. “You worried us.”
Adrian folded his arms and lowered his chin. “Where will he sleep? Have you gotten a guest bed yet?”
“I—” I opened and closed my mouth. He had me there. I racked my brain for another idea. “He can take my bed. I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“Nah, I’m not kicking you out of your bed,” Ben declared. “One night on the couch will tweak the hell out of your shoulder.”
He had a point, but I didn’t want to admit it. He’d be fine staying with Nate or Ade, but I wanted him with me. It was irrational, but when it came to Ben, my literal other half, thinking straight when he was hurt was difficult.
“I have a guest bed,” Shira said softly. “You both can stay with me.”
“Okay, this I like the sound of. High five.” Ben held up his hand, and Shira smacked it with great care.
“Sounds like a good plan to me,” Nate said.
Adrian shook his head and growled under his breath. I hadn’t missed the looks he’d been giving Shira all night. He wasn’t convinced I’d been wrong about my first impression of her, and he was worried I’d end up screwed over. It came from a good place, but I seriously didn’t like it. After I ensured Ben wasn’t going to have a brain bleed and pass away overnight, Adrian and I were going to address his behavior. Not tonight, though.
“He needs to be with family,” Adrian stated lowly.
“And he will be,” I replied.
His eyes shifted, narrowing on Shira. “You know what I mean.”
“I do. Like I said, everyone in this room is family.” I folded my arms across my chest. “This discussion is over.”
Adrian’s jaw rippled. “You’re making a mistake, Rome.”
Adrian was the most distrusting of us, and he had his reasons to be, but he should have known my judgment was sound. He didn’t have to love Shira, but he knew I was levelheaded enough to choose who I brought into our fold. Pregnant or not, I would never have invited Shira into our collective lives if I thought she would harm one of my brothers. That Adrian was questioning that pissed me off. That he was doing it right in front of Shira, who had done nothing to deserve it, really pissed me off.
“I’m staying at Shira’s,” Ben announced. “The rest of you can fuck off.”
I shot Ade a smirk. “Looks like Benny had the last word.”
Shira went home ahead of us to get things ready for Ben. When we arrived a couple hours later, she’d set up the guest bedroom with fresh flowers and a basket of water bottles, juice, and snacks on the nightstand. The bed was turned down, the pillows fluffed, and a bathrobe was draped across the corner.
Mary hopped up on the bed with Ben, padded up his abdomen, and nuzzled her head beneath his chin.
“Hey, princess,” he cooed, stroking her silky fur. “Are you gonna take care of me tonight?”
Shira stood in the doorway, one foot on top of the other, chewing on her bottom lip. “I can take her out of here if you don’t want her in bed with you.”
Ben wrapped his arms around the cat and scowled at Shira. “Nope. No way. She chose me. I’m keeping her.”
That made Shira smile. “If you’re not careful, she’ll purr you right to sleep.”
Ben laid his head against the pile of pillows and sighed. “I don’t have a problem with that.” He scratched Mary’s head, his eyes drooping. “Never been purred to sleep before.”
I patted his shoulder, reluctant as hell to go. If I thought for a second he’d let me sleep beside him, I would have.
“I’m going to be just down the hall. Call if you need anything. Otherwise, I’ll be back in a couple hours.” I pinned him with a glare. “Don’t die on me.”
He shot me a lazy wink. “And leave you to have all the fun? Never.” He waved at Shira. “Night, sweetheart.”
“Goodnight, Benny,” she said softly.
I followed her down the hall to her bedroom. She stopped at the foot of the bed and glanced up at me.
“If you’re not comfortable sharing the bed, I can sleep on the couch. As you’ve seen, I have no trouble falling asleep there—”
“Absolutely not.” Thunder rolled through me, and it took every ounce of grit not to let it out. “Shira, no, absolutely not. I wouldn’t have said yes to staying here if I thought for a second you’d try to give up your bed.”
Her eyes swept to the side, and a shuddering breath shook her shoulders. “I wanted to offer it and not presume anything.”
I advanced on her, cupping her belly from below. I found I had the urge to do that more and more often, but tonight, it was a need I could not fight. “Don’t offer me or anyone anything that would be to your detriment to give away. The mother of my child is not giving up her bed or any creature comforts. And if you thought I would mind sleeping in this bed with you, you haven’t been paying attention.”
Her fingers curled around the top of the footboard, her lashes lowering to brush her cheeks. “Okay, Roman.”
“Okay, Shira.”
Just as I was about to let her go, my right palm received a sharp, distinctive jab. Our eyes collided, both round and wide with surprise.
“Did you feel that?” she whispered, slipping her hand between mine.
“Hell yes, I did,” I whispered in return.
Three more jabs followed— bam, bam, bam . Our boy was on the move and letting us know it.
“Holy shit.” I stared at her, and she stared back. She’d been feeling him fluttering for a couple weeks, but this was the first time I got the privilege of experiencing it too, and dear god was it like magic. “That’s our boy, Goldie.”
She nodded, her lips pressed in a flat line, her eyes shiny. “There he is.”
I couldn’t stop myself from falling to my knees, arms around her, my head against her middle.
“You knew we needed that, huh? Reminding us of everything good and pure we have coming?” I kissed her belly again and again. “We had a rough night, little boy, but you just made it all better.”
“Rome.” Shira’s fingers slid through my hair. “He settled. I think he likes the sound of your voice.”
I looked up at her, closer to tears than I’d been all night. “You think?”
“Mmmhmm. I do.”
“Christ.” I laid my cheek on her belly and sighed. “This is the best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life.”
She let out a little laugh. “Me too. Without contest.”
I gave my boy another kiss, then climbed to my feet, wrapped my hand around her nape, and pressed my lips to hers. “Let’s get ready for bed.”
This wasn’t how the night was supposed to end. What we’d started in the back of the limo wasn’t going to happen, and while that was disappointing, slipping into bed with Shira wasn’t anything to complain about. She rolled to her side, and I molded my front to her back, cradling her soft ass with my hips. It was easy to curl around her and fit her body in my arms.
It took a few minutes for Shira to relax and let her weight melt into me. When she did, I finally exhaled.
“Thanks for letting Ben and me stay here.”
“I’m glad I could help. I mean, you bought the bed he’s sleeping in. It’s the least I could do.”
With a grin, I tucked my face into her hair. “That’s right. So, I should tell him he’s welcome to stay anytime?”
Her hand slid over mine, where it rested on her belly, light as a feather. “I wouldn’t mind, you know. I didn’t have siblings, but I like yours.”
“Hmm. Even Adrian?”
“I don’t dis like Adrian. I think it’s the other way around.”
“He takes his time warming up. He’ll get there.” I moved my nose back and forth along her silky strands. “It’s not something you need to worry about.”
Her movement was subtle, but I didn’t miss her ass wiggling closer. She might not have meant anything by it, but it was hard to ignore those plush cheeks rocking against my half-hard cock.
She yawned and snuggled back into me even deeper. “I’m not too worried.”
Closing my eyes, I soaked in the feel of her, deciding I liked this. I wasn’t fond of the circumstances that led me into her bed, but now that I was here, I couldn’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.
“Goodnight, Goldie girl.”
“Goodnight, Wim.”