Her pulse quickened. Adrenaline shot up her spine and rebounded off the base of her skull.
Then he moved. He awkwardly shuffled forward, his feet making dragging sounds on the floor. As he’d done before, he settled on the edge of her bed at her hip. She held her breath, wondering what he’d say. What he’d do.
“I need to know how much of your invitation was the drugs and how much of it was you knowing what the hell you were saying.”
Her blood stirred and rushed just a little faster, heating her skin and bringing a flush to her cheeks. They stared at each other, not like two potential lovers, but two people who might just devour each other before the night was over.
“It’s been a long time for me,” she said evenly.
One part of her recognized that she was stalling, while the other part wondered why she was babbling like an idiot.
“Paulo was my last lover.”
“Was he any good?” Ian asked bluntly.
She turned her head and studied him. Such a strange conversation to be having.
“Yes, he was,” she said. “Very good. It was for that reason that I had such an easy time turning Ricardo down when he showed interest. I was young and starry-eyed. The older brother would have been the better choice since I wanted security and family. I wasn’t the choosiest of women back then. I was more interested in the trappings than the actual man.”
“If that were true, you would have dropped Paulo with no compunction,” Ian pointed out.
She shrugged. “Paulo was actually very good to me in the beginning. I’m not defending him. He turned into quite the asshat, but for a while we were happy. For a while I actually hoped that I’d fit in. That I’d have the things I wanted.”
“And what do you want right now?” he asked, bringing them back to the two of them. In this room. Right now.
“I want you,” she said softly.
“Is that the drugs talking?”
She smiled. “I won’t lie and say I’m not a bit loopy. I won’t even lie and say that I might not regret it tomorrow. All I can tell you is that tonight, it’s what I want more than anything. Can you accept that?”
His breathing sped up, and his eyes glittered with lust. “Yeah, I can accept that. As long as you realize that tomorrow, when you may or may not regret it? Too damn bad. Because once won’t be enough.”
Her hand went automatically to her stomach and the thick bandage. Excitement rocketed through her body at his words. This was supposed to be on her terms. She called the shots. But she had the distinct feeling that once they made love, she was going to be giving a much larger piece of herself than she planned.
“I won’t hurt you, Katie,” he said softly.
His fingers curled around her wrist, and he moved her hand gently away from her wound. She watched with shocked arousal as he leaned down and pressed his lips to her belly. So soft, she nearly didn’t feel the slight brush of his mouth.
Carefully he pushed at her shirt until it rode high on her belly, baring the skin and the bandage to his gaze. And his lips.
She shivered when he kissed her navel then trailed his tongue around the indention. The stubble of his jaw scraped delicately against her skin. Then he slipped her shirt higher until it gathered at her neck.
Free of constraint, her nipples puckered and stood erect. He palmed one breast, molding it in his hand. His thumb rubbed across the tip and then back again. Her breath caught when he pinched it slightly between his fingers.
Her gaze moved beyond Ian to the doorway where she was stunned to see Braden leaning against the wall. She stiffened as she locked stares with him.
Ian’s head turned to follow her line of vision, and then he looked back at her, his expression odd and unreadable.
“Why is he there?” she said in a low voice.
Braden heard, though. He straightened his stance and stared at her with hungry eyes. She looked back at him, remembering his kiss. Hungry was an apt term. He’d devoured her. There was nothing gentle in his approach. Not patient as Ian was being.
Desire burned low in her belly, spreading like a fire she had no control over. She wanted them both. Wanted what they could both give her, or what she thought they could.
“He’s here to protect you…from me,” Ian said. “Can you forget his presence, or is it going to be a problem?”
Her gaze slid to Braden once more. He stared back challengingly, a slight smirk on his face as though he dared her to go the route of the prude and put on some hysterical fit because he was watching.
“Maybe I don’t want to forget his presence.”
Braden smiled. A slow, arrogant smile that was a tad triumphant. She wondered then what had gone on between the two men outside of her room. The last thing she wanted was another pissing match between brothers. Been there done that, had the dead bodies to prove it.
“Do me a favor then and try not to forget about me,” Ian said dryly.
She glanced back and gave him a small smile. “If you’re good enough, you won’t have to worry about that.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed, and Braden snickered from across the room. Then Ian braced both hands on either side of her and leaned in until he hovered over her, his face inches from hers.
“That, little wench, was a challenge, and I never back down from a challenge.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Katie reached up to wrap her arms around Ian’s neck. “Kiss me,” she whispered.
He lowered his mouth until their noses touched, and then he angled to the side, his lips so close that hers trembled in reaction.
“Tell me something, Katie. Tell me you want me and that it’s not the drugs talking. I think I know, but I want to hear it again. If I really thought you were impaired, I’d be out of this bed so fast it would make your head spin.”
Her eyes widened fractionally as she stared up at him.
“I think you’d like to use the drugs as an excuse to give yourself permission to want me, to have sex with me, but then I also don’t have you pegged as a coward.”
She stroked the muscles in his back, enjoying the feel of her palms against his flesh. Firm. Toned.
“I take full responsibility for my decision, and if I beat anyone over the head about it, it’ll be me, not you.”
“Christ, you two are going to talk each other to death,” Braden muttered.
Ian turned fiercely and scowled at his brother. Katie had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. The entire situation was beyond absurd. She’d agreed—no—she’d instigated sex with a man who could well turn into a jaguar on her. A man who for the most part irritated the living piss out of her. And his brother, a man who’d kissed her senseless just hours before, was standing by, prepared to watch them have sex, all so he could protect her if Ian freaked out and shifted.
Sex had become more complicated than it was worth.
Curious, now that Ian seemed distracted by Braden’s presence, she slid her hand down his firm abdomen and between his legs to cup him intimately.
“The question is, do you want me?” she murmured.
He surged against her hand, immediately filling it as his jeans tightened. His erection pushed impatiently at her fingers, straining to be free of constriction.
“Hell yes,” he growled. “If I don’t have you, I’m going to go nuts.”
“Hmm, and how do you feel about that?”
“It wasn’t my first choice,” he said honestly.
She laughed, and he seemed relieved that she wasn’t pissed by his bluntness. “How about we dispense with the recriminations and get on with it?”
“Hallelujah,” Braden muttered. “I at least want to see her naked.”
Katie grinned. She couldn’t bring herself to be self-conscious over the fact that Braden was watching. Instead it made her feel naughty and desirable. She licked her lips, remembering his kiss. Hard. Bruising. Like he couldn’t wait to get at her. It had been a long time since she’d felt those things in a man’s arms. She was ready to get back to that.