Lia lay propped up on the pillows of their bed while she waited for her men.
Their bed.
Her men.
Holy hell. Only a month ago she would’ve never believed this was possible.
But it was. And the last two weeks had been amazing. They’d developed their own routine, and she’d gotten to know their habits and quirks.
Like, for instance, that Travis loved it when she played with his balls while she sucked his dick, and Cam was a sucker for a little assplay of his own.
Speaking of assplay … that was exactly what she was waiting for. Because they’d been holding out on her. And that was going to stop tonight.
The door creaked open, and excitement bloomed inside her.
“Baby, you in here?” Travis yelled from the door.
“Mmmmhmmm … and I’m waiting for you,” Lia called back.
Footsteps sounded as he closed in on the bedroom. Travis’s head swiveled in a double take—probably because she was naked and laid out on the bed. “Hell, you have no idea how much I want to just climb in with you, but I can’t. Ro’s in labor. Baby’s on the way.”
“Oh, shit.” Lia pushed to her knees and scooted off the bed. She ran to grab a T-shirt and jeans. “What can I do? Is she okay?”
“I think she’s fine, but we’re all on high alert. Her dad’s pacing, her sister’s pacing, and Graham and Zach are pacing. It’s like this whole place is holding its breath.”
“Where’s Cam?”
“He just swapped out with Graham’s watch. Ro and Allison have known that the baby was coming for a few hours, but she didn’t want to get G and Zach fired up until it was a little closer in time. So now shit’s moving along real quick. I’m going to relieve Ryan because Zach was up next to cover him.”
“Okay. Well, I guess I’ll go … help? Pace? I don’t even know.”
“I think Ty is in the kitchen pulling together some food since Allison is with Rowan.”
“Yes. Food. I can do that.”
Travis held out his hand. “I’ll walk you over there.”
Lia smoothed her hair back into a ponytail and grabbed an elastic off the dresser to secure it. She crossed the room to where Travis stood and took his hand.
Looking up into his gorgeous face, she said, “You know you don’t need to walk me everywhere anymore, right? I’m … I’m good. I’m not going to freak.”
Travis reached up and stroked along her cheekbone with his thumb. “I know you’re good. I’ve been watching you come into your own for months, and the last couple weeks have just been the icing on the cake. You’ve always been stronger than you realize, Lia. I’m just glad you’re figuring that out.”
A rush of warmth fluttered through her. The conviction with which he said the words, the softness with which he touched her. They were just two of the many things she loved about him.
“Thank you.” They were the only words that came to mind. “Thank you for believing in me.”
He lifted her hand to his lips and pressed the sweetest kiss to her knuckles. “Thank you for letting me be part of this with you and Cam. I know if you’d had to choose, you would’ve—”
Lia raised her finger and pressed it to her lips. “Don’t even say it. It’s the three of us against the world. Always. No matter what.”
His smile unfurled and lifted her heart. “Come on. Let’s get going.”
Travis had mixed feelings about manning the watch post at the front gate. It was the most interesting of the posts because of the location, but the action he saw up there usually broke his heart. Discouraging people from thinking about coming inside the fence line was tough. Usually the business end of an M-16 did the job, but there’d been a couple occasions where they’d had to show how serious they were about protecting their own. Thank God they’d never been faced with turning women or children away, because Travis wasn’t sure he’d be able to do it.
With remains of the government and the military rising again in the last few months, and the rumors of the New Hope for America Work Corps camps trickling in through a few of their outside radio contacts, things were more dangerous than ever. Which was why the man approaching the fence line, hands in the air, rubbed Travis the wrong fucking way. He was wearing a uniform. Given the state of the military, that uniform might mean nothing—could be a left over from the Corps or a deserter from the new regime.
The man came closer, and Travis rested his finger alongside the trigger and sighted him in, positioning the guy’s head in the crosshairs of his riflescope. His trigger finger froze when he recognized the guy’s face.