Chapter 14
Todd
Something shifts against me and pulls me from sleep. Disoriented, I blink into the darkness and try to get my bearings. This is not my room, but Colton’s. Memories of the previous day rush in.
Colton finding Savannah.
Us taking her back home.
Tucking her in Colton’s bed.
I’m in bed with my brother and Starling.
A sense of rightness settles deep inside me, filling my chest with warmth. This is where she belongs. Where we belong.
I turn to my back, careful not to jostle the mattress too much, and blink up at the ceiling. What woke me? I’m a solid sleeper, and not much can rouse me when I’m off into dreamland.
A whimper, barely more than a breath.
I tense and turn my head to the right. Savannah’s fingers are clenched around the sheets, and she’s mewling like a scared little kitten. She’s trembling, her whole body locked tightly, like she’s bracing for something bad—really bad.
What the hell?
Is she having a bad dream? Some sort of reaction to what happened yesterday?
Colton sits up instantly on her other side and murmurs. “Nightmare?”
I fumble around, find the light switch, and turn on the nightstand lamp. “Looks like it.”
She shifts, her mumbling incoherent, her breath coming in ragged little gasps.
Colton’s jaw tightens. “Wake her up?”
I nod. “Spoon her, but don’t hold her tight. Just give her a little compression and a human touch. Don’t try to hold her when she tries to fight you off.”
Without questioning it, he slides closer, resting his arm lightly over her waist. He’s not trapping her but simply providing an anchor for her. Good man.
I slip out of bed and crouch beside her, careful to stay within her line of sight if she wakes swinging. I have no clue what the nightmare is about, but I don’t think we should crowd her.
“Savannah?” I keep my voice low and soothing. “Starling, wake up.”
She stiffens but doesn’t open her eyes—another whimper escapes her like she’s in pain.
Damn it.
I stroke her face with a gentleness I didn’t know I had in me. “It’s just a dream, sweetheart. You’re safe.”
It takes minutes—long, dragging minutes—before her eyes flutter open.
She blinks a few times. Her pupils are blown wide, and her breath hitches like she’s surfacing from deep water.
“T-Todd?” Her voice is shaky but at least she recognizes me.
Relief washes through me. “Yeah, baby. I’m here. So is Colton.”
She swallows. “Colton?”
“Yeah.” His voice is rougher than usual. “You’re here with us.”
She releases a long breath accompanied by a full-body shudder. “Thank God.”
Then, to my utter disbelief, she exhales, lets her eyelids drop—and falls right back to sleep.
I glance at Colton who looks as dumbfounded as I feel.
“I’ll be damned,” I murmur.
Colton breathes out and drags a hand over his face. “What do we do now?”
“Get some sleep.” I climb back into bed and flick off the light. “But tomorrow, our little stray is going to talk. I want to know what happened on the trail. And I want to know what her nightmares are about.”
Colton stays quiet for long moments, before he whispers, “Yeah. Me, too.”
The room settles again, and the only sound is our breathing.
I let my body sink into the mattress and sync my inhalations with hers.
Tomorrow.
Tomorrow, she talks.
* * *
Colton
Darkness wraps around us, as the room is quiet once again.
When I bought the family XL bed, I didn’t expect to share it with two other people, but now I’m glad I went for opulent.
Against me, Savannah is warm, her body soft where mine is hard, and small where I am large.
To have her and Todd with me in my room feels unfamiliar but… right at the same time. My little brother is onto something with his ménage à trois idea.
I keep still, my breathing slow and measured to match the others’ rhythm.
Todd and I work well together. Of course, we always have—on the boat and in life in general. We anticipate each other’s moves, never need many words, and our skills and personalities are complementary to each other’s. But I didn’t expect that unspoken rhythm to carry over into handling a woman.
Yet here we are.
Diana and her men make it work. Elliot, Jack, and Mason—they aren’t brothers, and hell, I remember a time when Jack and Mason couldn’t stand each other. If they can figure it out, maybe we can, too.
But I don’t want to think about them. I need to focus on us.
Or maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. Is there an us? Maybe Savannah isn’t interested in us—especially in me.
Todd’s easygoing and charming. I’m not. I’m a self-aware person. I am grumpy, slow to trust, and rough around the edges. But I also know my worth. I’m loyal, strong, and protective. And I want her .
I shift closer, just enough to breathe her in. Her hair, silky against my skin, tickles my nose. I let my eyes drift shut, inhaling the scent of her while listening to the steady rhythm of her breath.
Todd is right. We need to talk.
Not just about the nightmares or the way I found her today—vacant, lost—but about the red-hot chemistry between us. The crackling energy that neither Todd nor I are imagining.
She must feel it, too.
She must be willing to explore it.
I will my body to relax. I need sleep. Tomorrow will be challenging, and I will need all my faculties.
Tomorrow.