Maya Banks - Colters’ Gift

“Shut the door but don’t lock it,” Liam ordered. “Not yet. You stay here by the door and don’t make a move, while I check the other rooms. If I yell at you to get out or if you hear anything that sounds off, you hightail it back to Noah. Understand?”

She nodded.

He disappeared into her bedroom and returned mere seconds later, his gun down by his side.

“Okay, go in and get your bag packed. I’ll have mine and Noah’s stuff ready in just a few seconds.”

It was hard deciding what to pack and what to leave. What if she never came back to this apartment again? It was a hysterical thought, but it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility.

Her decision had the power to alter the course of her entire life. Not only hers but Noah’s and Liam’s too. Her family’s as well.

She closed her eyes. Oh God, please let her have made the right decision. The right choice. Just once.

“Lauren?”

Liam’s call from the living room galvanized her to action. She hurriedly went through her closet and pulled several outfits from the hangers. She only had one suitcase, but she had a duffel bag that could carry quite a bit, so she used that for shoes, underwear and socks, and all her toiletries.

In the suitcase, she piled jeans, slacks, two skirts and all the tops she’d chosen. Her stomach churned when she realized that she would most certainly be expected to make a court appearance.

She went back to her closet and took three dresses from the end, and then made sure she had the matching shoes. How ironic would it be for her to wear one of the dresses Joel had bought for her to testify in the trial to convict him?

In the end, she couldn’t get her suitcase to zip. Frustrated, she leaned and pushed but couldn’t budge it. Knowing she needed help, she called for Liam.

“I can’t get it closed,” she said, flipping her hand impatiently at the open suitcase on her bed.

Liam’s eyebrow went up. “I can see why.”

“I wasn’t sure what to pack,” she said defensively. “I mean packing for an indeterminate amount of time is kind of daunting, you know?”

“Shhh, baby,” he soothed. “It’s fine. We’ll take what you’ve packed and if you need something later or if you figure out you’ve forgotten something, Noah and I will get it for you. Don’t let this stress you out.”

She took a deep breath. “I know, I know. I’m sorry. I am kind of freaked out right now.”

He tugged her into his arms and kissed her brow. After a quick, fierce hug, he gently pulled himself away and went to close her suitcase.

His muscles bulging, he pushed down on it enough to get it zipped, and then he hefted it upward so he could get it off the bed and onto the floor so it could be rolled.

“All ready?” he asked.

She glanced around the room one last time and then nodded.

“Get your bag. I’ll take the suitcase. Once I get you into the car with Noah, I’ll come back up for mine and Noah’s bags.”

She grabbed the oversized duffel and hoisted the strap over her shoulder, and then followed Liam back through the living room and down the stairs to the street.

Noah got out to help put her bags in the back, and then he guided Lauren to the passenger seat while Liam sprinted back up the stairs for the other bags.

“Where are we going?” Lauren asked as they waited for Noah.

“We’re going to stay tonight in a hotel so we can talk about everything that’s going to go on and so you’re comfortable with the plan. Tomorrow we’ll drive back out to the Colters’, where we’ll stay until we fly out to Raleigh.”

Liam opened the door to the backseat and slid inside. “All set. Let’s roll.”

“You two don’t mind staying at the Colters’,” she asked as Noah pulled out of the parking spot.

Noah shook his head. “It’s isolated. It’s private. It comes with a hell of a lot of built-in protection. And they’re your family. That’s good enough for me.”

She smiled.

“But for tonight, we wanted you to ourselves,” Liam said from the backseat. “We have a lot to talk about, yes, but we also want a night with you where we aren’t concerned with what your family can or can’t hear or who’s right down the hall.”

Her cheeks grew warm, but she couldn’t control the shiver of delight at the veiled promise in his voice.

Noah reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers.

“We wanted one night—this night—to show you just what you mean to us before we have to deal with what’s coming down the road.”

NOAH went inside the hotel to check them in while Liam waited in the car with Lauren.

“I hope you and Noah aren’t expecting much with this hotel,” Lauren hedged. “Clyde doesn’t have much in the way of fine hotels or lodging. Those are all over in the ski resort towns to the north.”

“We aren’t concerned with how nice the room is,” Liam said. “As long as you’re in it, we’re fine.”

“I love you,” she said quietly, testing the newness of the words on her lips.

He looked surprised, but then his eyes burned with heat, leaving her no doubt as to the satisfaction she’d brought him.

“I love you too, baby.”

“I’ve never told anyone that before,” she blurted. “I mean except Max and family.”

He reached up to touch her hair, stroking his fingers through the strands. “Then I’m glad that Noah and I get to be the first.”

“You’re the first in a lot of ways,” she admitted. “You’re the first men I’ve ever actually made love with. I haven’t been with that many, but love certainly wasn’t a factor in the sex.”

“You understand that we intend to be the last,” Liam said with a low growl. “This isn’t something we take lightly. As far as I’m concerned, this is forever.”

She smiled ruefully at the irony. “Joel used to say that he and I were forever, and God, I hated that word. He would tell me that I’d never get away from him. But when you say it, it sounds . . . wonderful.”