Page 77 of By the Letter

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.

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