Page 72 of The Heart

My stomach drops from the memory.

I haven’t just not slept alone, I’ve been literally surrounded by human contact. I know that I’m my own person and I shouldn’t need that, I’ve never needed that, but for some reason, now I feel like I do. I need my men,wantmy men.

I don’t want to sleep without them.

Hell,even when they’re gone, Colton is always there to keep me company.

I suddenly remember how I woke up with Sebastian’s big arms holding me between him and Luke this morning. How the near suffocation told me that he craved the contact too. I’m not sure what was going on with him today, but I know him well enough to give him what he needed at that moment. I blush, remembering the smile on Sebastian’s face as we were leaving our room, knowing that Luke and I were responsible for it. I’m sad knowing that I won’t be falling asleep between them tonight because I think that maybe they rely on me too.

Mrs. Campbell opens the door to the room she pointed out as mine, and I follow her in.

I can’t imagine this is what the room looked like when Chelsea lived here, because it’s decorated in the same farmhouse style as the rest of the home, clearly having been converted to a guest room. It’s simple and small, containing a full-size bed and one dresser, but it’s very nice and has a window that will let in the morning light.

Luke sets my bags down on the bench at the foot of the bed, keeping his own duffle over his arm. I really wish he would leave his bag too, maybe argue to stay in here with me, but he doesn’t. He just gives me an apologetic smile. I smile back, letting him know it’s okay. There’s clearly some family dynamic here that I’m not privy to, so I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now.

“Well, I’ll let all of you get settled in. Come downstairs when you’re ready, we’ll have lunch and introduce you to the rest of the family,” Mrs. Campbell says, then grabs my hand, placing her other on top of it. “We’re so happy to have you here, Leena.”

“Thank you, I’m happy to be here. You have a beautiful home,” I tell her, and we smile at each other for a moment before she turns her attention back to Luke.

“You, out! It’s not proper!” she says, shooing Luke out of my room. He puts his hands up, then turns and leaves.

Not proper?

And this is the moment I realize why Luke is so nervous.

Shit.

—

After changing into something a little nicer than my comfy car ride clothes, checking my makeup and accepting the fact that there won’t be any midnight trysts this evening, I head across the hall to where my men are staying for the night. I don’t even bother to knock.

As soon as I open the door, I stop dead in my tracks at the sight before me.

I let out a loud laugh that’s nearly a snort before slapping my hand over my mouth to cover it as I continue to snicker. Because the room Sebastian and Luke are sharing has abunk bed.

I laugh again.

The mattresses are larger than a child’s size, I have to assume Luke was nearly this tall even as a teenager, but still.

Bunk. Bed.

And maybe a normal sized human would fit in the small space just fine, but these two men and all their brawn look fucking ridiculous.

Sebastian is lying on the lower one, his arms crossed behind his head, and he’s looking up at Luke who’s diagonal across the top one, leaning over the side to chat like it’s a fucking sleepover.

They both look over at me standing in the doorway, unable to hide their own smiles. They know how they look.

“What’s the matter, sweetheart? Does it really surprise you that we would fit in such a tight space?” Sebastian winks at me.

“Does it really surprise me that you’re on the bottom?” I give him a pointed look. Luke bursts out laughing, rolling to his back on the upper bunk, a hand on his stomach as he laughs.

Sebastian runs a hand over his face to keep from laughing and I start to chuckle at his effort.

Luke is still laughing.

“Very funny, the both of you,” Sebastian grumbles, then puts his large hand on the beam above him so he can get out from under there without hitting his head. I snicker at that too. “Come on, let’s get this over with,” he says, slapping a hand onto Luke’s chest, pulling him right off the top bunk by his shirt.

Luke makes a sort of yelp as he scrambles to land on his feet with a thump. And that finally has Sebastian laughing.

---