He laughed, the sound light in the air. “Hurt me. Please. Have your evil way with me. I won’t complain. I swear. I’m yours.”

“Oh yes, you’re mine,” she breathed. “All mine.”

She twisted above him, taking him whole as she bucked over his hips. She threw back her head, her breathing coming in harsh, ragged spurts.

With one hand on his shoulder, she slid her other hand between them, her fingers finding her clit.

“Last one there is a rotten egg.” She looked at him, her eyes glittering with intense arousal.

He gripped her hips and ground her downward. It was fast, and she was slick. His worry of hurting her disappeared as she met him thrust for thrust.

Her fingers slid rapidly over her clit and she tightened around him.

“Oh no you don’t,” he muttered.

Her throaty laugh flowed over his skin, frying every one of his nerve endings. He felt her in the deepest part of himself. With a shout, he surged upward, just as she let out an intense cry of her own.

His released exploded from his groin, so fast and so furious that he lost focus. He acted instinctively, taking her, owning her in the most primitive way a man could own a woman.

But it was her doing the possessing. She had his heart in her hands. She owned his soul.

He arched one last time. Her hands flew to his shoulders and her fingers dug painfully into his skin as her body shook and trembled violently over him. Then he gathered her tight in his arms and collapsed back against the couch. They were sprawled, a tangle of bodies and arms and legs, and he struggled to catch his breath.

“I think we have to call that one a tie,” he said raggedly.

She smiled against his neck and then kissed his pulse point. “I’m good with that.”

“Thank God. I’d hate to think we had to call a do-over. You damn near killed me,” he groaned.

Her body shook with laughter but neither made an effort to move.

Finally she lifted her head so that she could look into his eyes. “I missed you.”

He was suddenly so overwhelmed by the depth of his feelings for this woman. The days he’d been away all came to this. Her back in his arms. There was such a sense of rightness and belonging that he found the words tumbling out.

“I love you, Lily.”

Her eyes widened but joy burst into her expression with the radiance of a Colorado sunrise over the mountains. If he lived to be a hundred, he’d never forget the shine in her eyes as she stared wordlessly back at him.

It hadn’t come out the way he wanted. He would have preferred a moment where he could better put to words his feelings and his utter contentment. But there it was, in the aftermath of the best sex he’d had in his life. His woman in his arms, warm and sweaty from loving. Maybe there was no better time than right here and right now.

“Oh Seth,” she whispered.

She hugged him to her, holding on for all she was worth. Her heart beat wildly against his chest, and she squeezed. He could feel the emotion boiling within her as she struggled to maintain her composure. For some reason that satisfied him all the more.

She didn’t return the words, and he wasn’t threatened by that. He knew they had a lot to work through. It was enough that he’d offered her the gift of himself. In time she’d come to trust in that offering and she’d return it in full measure.

Chapter Twenty-Five

“Lily! I’m so glad to see you,” Holly exclaimed as she opened the door.

Lily smiled, now quite used to the other woman’s exuberant hugs.

“Come in, come in. Hello, son,” Holly said as she gave Seth a kiss on the cheek. “Your fathers are waiting for you out in the barn. They need help rounding up the stuff they’re taking to Michael’s to start work on his house.”

“I know when I’ve been dismissed,” Seth said with a grin. He bent to kiss Lily. “We’ll probably be gone all day. Dillon’s going to meet us out there after the lunch crowd dies down at the pub.”

“Oh, I’ll take good care of her,” Holly said.

“Where’s Callie?” Lily asked after Seth had left.

“She’s still sleeping. She didn’t get off work until after two this morning. I try to let her sleep as long as she will. It’s not good for her to keep running on only a few hours of sleep a night,” Holly said with a frown.

Lily took a deep breath and worked up the nerve to ask Holly, “Would you happen to have a notebook or blank paper and maybe some colored pencils? Or even just a pencil would do.”

Holly looked curiously at her. “Oh, I’m sure we do. I still have a ton of stuff left over from when the boys and Callie were children. The guys tease me about never throwing away anything, but I figure one day I’ll have grandchildren and all that stuff will come in handy.”

Lily flinched and hoped that Holly didn’t hear her quick intake of air.

“I’d love whatever you have,” she said softly.

“Have a seat and give me a minute. I have it all boxed up in one of the storage closets.”

Holly hurried away and Lily sank onto one of the couches in the spacious living room. All around her were signs of the big, boisterous family. Pictures—tons of them—all laughing. Surrounded by big smiles and loving gazes. Everyone looked so happy. She wanted that. Now more than ever.

And then she smiled because she was happy. Seth loved her. Michael and Dillon wanted her. She wanted them. It was okay to be happy. Her grin grew broader until her cheeks hurt from the sudden attack.

Not only did she have three wonderful, delicious men, but she had a large, close-knit family who seemed to think nothing of pitching in when they were needed

That was what families were all about. They didn’t bail at the first sign of adversity and they didn’t place blame.

After a few minutes in which Lily sank back on the couch and hugged her newfound knowledge to her like an overstuffed teddy bear, Holly came back in carrying an armful of papers, notebooks, art books and a box full of colored pencils, crayons and markers.

She dumped them onto the coffee table in front of Lily and said, “It’s all yours.”

Lily latched onto a large tablet of blank paper. A child’s art book. But it was perfect for what she wanted. Then she grabbed a handful of the colored pencils, examining the points of each.

“Would you mind too much if I walked down to Callie’s Meadow?” Lily asked. “There’s a surprise I want to do for Callie.”

It was obvious that Holly was dying to ask at least a dozen questions, but instead she smiled and said, “Of course. You know the way. Just don’t be gone too long. I’ll have lunch ready for when Callie gets up.”

Lily raised her eyebrow.

Holly frowned ferociously. “Okay, okay, so Ryan made lunch and left it for me to warm up.”

Lily laughed and then Holly joined in.

“One would think after thirty-plus years I’d learn to cook, but I think my husbands are determined for it to never happen. They’re too afraid I’ll either burn the house down or poison someone.”

“I like cooking. I was pretty good at it.”

“Oh, then you and Dillon should have fun. That boy loves to create new masterpieces as he calls them. He’s always experimenting and putting new things on the menu at the pub. The locals love to go in to try out his new recipes.”

Lily gathered her stuff and rose from the couch. “I won’t be long.”

Holly smiled. “Be careful.”

Lily stepped outside into the sunshine. Though just days earlier the ground had been covered by a layer of snow, now it was as if spring had always been here. Flowers bloomed along the stone path that spiraled down the Colter property and the trees were leafing out. Some of the flowering species already had buds that were opening.

When she topped a slight rise that overlooked the meadow, she stopped and sat on a large boulder just off the pathway. The view was simply perfect, and the meadow spread out before her, covered in wildflowers. The mountain peaks jutted upward on all sides, still snowcapped against the bright blue sky.

For a long time she simply stared, absorbing the peace and beauty that seemed to cover the entire landscape. Then she began to draw.

She was totally ensconced in her creation. From time to time she would pause and mutter under her breath and then frown when a line didn’t look just so. She paid careful attention to color, blending when she didn’t have the one she needed.

Her back ached, but she continued on. Once started, she couldn’t stop. It was a compulsion. Her fingers felt alive. She was energized has her hand flew across the page.

Her wrist was stiff and her fingers had curled rigidly around the pencils, and still she continued on, in pursuit of perfection.

The sun had started to fade over the horizon when she heard her name carried on the wind. She straightened and nearly fell over when every muscle in her body screamed in protest.

“Lily!”

That was much closer. She frowned. That sounded like Dillon. She reached behind her to rub a kink out of her throbbing back and when she tried to stand, her knees buckled and she plopped back down onto the rock.

“Well hell,” she muttered.

“Lily!”

That one sounded like Michael.

“I’m over here,” she shouted back.

And then remembering the scattered pencils that now lay on the ground, she got off the rock and went to her knees, grabbing at them to stuff in her pockets.

“Lily?”

“Here,” she called again. “Just a minute. I’m coming.”

She was just slapping the art book closed when both Dillon and Michael rounded the corner.

“Where the hell have you been?” Michael demanded. “Everyone’s been worried sick about you.”

Dillon raised a radio to his mouth and said, “We’ve found her. She’s all right.”

She blinked in confusion. “Your mom knew where I was going.”

Dillon frowned in exasperation. “Lily, that was hours ago. You missed lunch.”

“I did?”

Michael raised his hand toward the sky that was now ablaze with pink, purple and golden hues. “You’ve been gone for over six hours.”

“I’m sorry. Really, I am. I had no idea.”

Dillon glanced at the notebook clutched in her arms. “What were you doing?”

“Just passing time,” she murmured. “I wanted to make Callie a surprise.”

Michael cocked his head to the side. “What on earth could you have been doing for Callie that made you lose track of time so that you were gone for six hours?”

She ducked her head and shifted her feet, but when she did, the pencils spilled out of her pocket and tumbled to the ground.

Both Michael and Dillon bent to gather them up and Lily backed up a step, her bottom lip caught firmly between her teeth.

“Lily?” Michael asked softly. “What’s going on? Is everything all right?”

“I was drawing,” she said in a low voice. So low that both men leaned forward to hear. “I wanted to draw Callie’s Meadow for Callie. It’s not much. It’s not very good, but I know she loves it here, and I thought it might cheer her up.”

“Can I see?” Dillon asked cautiously, holding out a hand for the notebook.

She hesitated for a long moment but then handed over the notebook, nausea rising in her stomach. They would hate it. Think it was a waste of time. And she’d worried their mother on top of that. All while doing something frivolous.

Dillon flipped it open with Michael looking over his shoulder and both froze. Their eyes widened in shock and then Dillon glanced over the edge to Lily, his mouth wide open.

“I shouldn’t give it to her, should I?” Lily rushed to say. “I’ll just tear it up. It was a stupid idea anyway.”

“Holy fuck,” Michael breathed.

“Lily, this is amazing,” Dillon said in awe. “Absolutely fucking amazing. You did this? All today?”

She felt like a deer caught in the headlights. She didn’t know what to say so she nodded instead.

Michael took the notebook from Dillon and examined it again, his expression incredulous.

“This is the most beautiful drawing I’ve ever seen,” Michael said. “It looks exactly like the meadow. The colors, the landscape, the trees and the mountains. It’s like looking at a photograph. It’s damn well perfect.”

She flushed until her cheeks burned, and she ducked her head as shyness gripped her.

Dillon tucked his fingers underneath her chin and nudged upward. His eyes were questioning, and anger lurked in the depths. “Why didn’t you want us to know?”

“It’s not very good,” she said lamely. “And you were angry because I worried your mom. Time just got away from me. I tend to do that when I’m drawing. I know it’s silly.”

Dillon placed his hands on her arms and guided her down to sit on the same boulder where she’d sat to draw for so many hours.

“We need to get a few things out in the open here. First of all, you don’t need our permission or approval to do a goddamn thing. If you want to sit around and paint yourself purple, that’s your prerogative.