Cold Shadow (Cold Country #2)(31)

Chapter Nine




They drove in tense silence through the Chattanooga streets. Drew was surprised when they pulled into an alley behind a row of upscale townhouses, and ultimately into a garage underneath one.

"No one knows about this place," Quinn said from the backseat. "Not even Nathan's family. We'd like to keep it that way."

"I understand," Drew replied, though he honestly didn't. He supposed it had more to do with the proximity to the club than with Quinn's fame. Maybe not, but he wasn't going to ask.

He followed them upstairs and into the kitchen. His heart thumped in his chest at an alarming rate. He could barely catch his breath. Anticipation. Hell, more like terror. "This is a mistake."

"Probably," Nathan answered him, his voice soft. "Would you like a drink? Something to eat? It's still early."

"A beer would be nice. Vodka would be better." How about a club to the head? Oblivion would be swifter that way.

"Beer, we have." Nathan went to the refrigerator and leaned in. Drew couldn't help admiring his ass in the snug jeans. "Food?"

He pulled out a plate of assorted finger foods and set it on the table along with a bottle of water for Quinn and a couple of beers.

"Looks like Lorelei was busy today. Our housekeeper," Quinn added for Drew's benefit. "She likes to leave little tidbits for us when we're in town."

"Meat and cheese and vegetables, nice." Drew accepted the beer and swigged half the bottle down. His pulse didn't seem to want to go back to normal even with the alcohol. "I'm not hungry, thanks."

"He looks like he's going to puke." Nathan looked across the room to Quinn who just shrugged. "I still say this is a bad idea."

"Probably." It was Quinn who said it this time. "We'll see when the time comes." 

"We could bend him over the counter and put him out of his misery." There was a gleam in Nathan's eyes that made Drew gulp. "Or we could take him to his hotel and forget about this."

"Or we could just stop talking about it, I'll finish my beer, and we can pretend we are friends and yesterday didn't happen," Drew suggested. That was the better idea. Drew could catch his breath for the first time since he got in the SUV. It was just Nathan and Quinn. Two guys he knew. They were having a drink and... he couldn't come up with anything else. Nathan's lips twitched at the corners, and the memory of how they felt against his assaulted him. Jesus. He had to sit down on one of the bar stools when his knees went wobbly. "I've always assumed we were friends, at any rate."

"I don't know-" Nathan didn't look away, his eyes burned a hole through him as he spoke. "You're linked to us, but I don't think of you as a friend."

"Neither do I," Quinn said, almost as if the idea just hit him. "Strange."

"Okay, so we aren't friends. Good to know." Embarrassed, Drew drained the last of his beer and set the bottle on the island.

"That's not what we mean." Nathan set his mostly-full bottle down and moved to lean against the end of the island, his arms across his body, his hip jutting out. "Do you really consider us to be friends?"

Drew thought about the last few days. The welcome into their evenings and the time spent in the pool with their family, the friendly conversation, the banter, the cake. They really were just strangers linked by a time in history. "No, I guess not. Then what are we?"

Nathan simply shrugged. "Complicated."

"I guess. Sounds about right. Listen, thanks for the beer, but I'm going to get going. I have to be in DC tomorrow." Drew shoved away from the island and took two steps before he remembered he didn't drive himself. His SUV was at his hotel and he had no idea where that was exactly. "Guess I should call a cab."

"Or just stay here." He didn't hear Quinn come up behind him. His arms were like steel bands as he wrapped around him. His chin touched Drew's shoulder. He could feel his breath on his neck. "He smells good. Like soap and aftershave."

Drew bit his lip to keep from groaning when Quinn fit his body to his. He was warm and hard all over. Quinn licked his neck, tugging his shirt collar open to trace his tongue down Drew's shoulder. The groan Drew tried to suppress caught in his throat coming out as a gasp.

"He tastes good too." Quinn's husky voice rumbled against Drew's neck, sending shivers throughout his body.

Nathan continued to stand at the island, his body still, his arms and hips in that same pose. His "indifference" pose. The gleam in his eyes grew hard, intense. "Does he?"

"Yeah, baby, like sugar." Quinn's voice grew sultry, heat radiated off his body in waves. "Come lick him, help me eat him up."