Colters Leagacy 01.5 - Colters Wife

freer, and she’d slept wonderfully the past two nights after she’d waylaid Ryan and Ethan.
    Adam…well, he was another story. He’d avoided her for the last two days. If she wasn’t so certain as to why, it would have hurt her feelings, but she knew why he was running. But he couldn’t hide from her forever.
    She found him in the barn mucking one of the stalls. She stood watching him, his shirt off, muscles bulging as he worked.
    After a few moments, he turned around as if sensing her presence. Concern creased his brow and he walked over to where she stood.
    “Baby, is everything okay?”
    She smiled and nodded.
    He frowned. “You shouldn’t be out here. You should be inside resting.”
    There was more emphasis on the resting part. He was almost accusatory in his tone since he knew damn well she’d made love to Ryan and Ethan.
    “I wanted some fresh air, and honestly, Adam, you worry way too much. I’m fine. I feel great.”
    He tugged her into his arms and held her there for a long moment. His heart beat against her cheek and she nuzzled further into his embrace.
    She slid one hand down to cup the denim-covered bulge between his legs. He backed away in a hurry, separating himself from her.
    His green eyes flashed. “Just because you’ve got those two knuckleheads wrapped around your little finger doesn’t mean you’re going to get anywhere with me.”
    She arched an eyebrow. “Are you saying I don’t have you wrapped around my finger?”
    He scowled at her. “You know damn well I’d give you the moon if you asked.”
    “Then make love to me,” she said softly. “I don’t want the moon. I want you.”
    He sighed and shook his head. “Baby, I can’t. Don’t ask me this. Please. I—I can’t hold back. I’ll hurt you and that would kill me. You know me. I’m rough. I’m demanding. It’s better if we wait until after the baby’s born.”
    “Bullshit.”
    His head reared in surprise. “Excuse me?”
    “Bullshit,” she repeated. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her foot in irritation. “That’s such a load of BS and you know it. You’d never hurt me. You’ve never once done anything I wasn’t begging for.”
    He looked at her in open-mouthed shock.
    She turned abruptly with an aggravated huff and stomped out of the barn. Infuriating man. One would think she’d asked him to donate a kidney, though he probably would have agreed to that. But ask him for sex? And the world came crashing to an end. Weren’t men supposed to live, breathe and dream about sex twenty-four hours a day? Clearly no one had shared that little tidbit of information with Adam.
    ***
    She was still in a fit of temper—and exasperation—thirty minutes later as she stomped around the kitchen, abusing the dishes. She still couldn’t cook worth a darn, but at least she’d mastered the cleaning aspect.
    She was attacking the sink with a Brillo pad when warm arms wrapped around her and a mouth nuzzled her neck.
    “Adam not cooperating with your mad seduction scheme?” Ryan murmured against her ear.
    She sighed and leaned back into his arms. “He’s a rigid pain in my ass,” she grumbled. “And as far as I’m concerned, he can sleep on the couch tonight.”
    Ryan chuckled and turned her around in his arms. “Cut him some slack. You know how he is when he gets an idea in his head.”
    “It’s a stupid idea.”
    Ryan pulled her against him and rested his chin on her head. “He’s not easy. He’s never been easy. But this is as hard on him as it is on you. He’s like a bear with a thorn in his paw.”
    Holly pulled away and stared up at Ryan. “But he doesn’t have to be! That’s what irritates me to no end. He’s being all self-sacrificing and for what? He’s not happy, I’m not happy.”
    “Would a foot rub make you happy?”
    She stopped her rant. “Foot rub?”
    He grinned. “If you come in the living room, I’ll give you the best foot massage you’ve ever had.”
    She grabbed his hand and tugged him across the kitchen. He followed along, laughing.

Colters' Wife
    Chapter Three
    He was being the worst sort of ass. Adam stood in the doorway of the living room staring at the rest of his family. A family that, for the most part, he’d avoided for the last three days.
    Holly lay on the couch, her head in Ethan’s lap and her legs stretched across Ryan. Ethan idly stroked his fingers through her hair as he watched the movie playing on the television. Ryan was rubbing Holly’s