No Holds Barred(10)

She smiled at him over her shoulder, tossing her long auburn hair down her back. “You’re welcome. You can make it up to me later.”

He planned on doing exactly that. With luck, the three glasses of wine she’d had with dinner would help take the edge off her nerves. “Is it later now?”

“I dunno, is it?”

“I think so.”

Her answering laugh was husky, and sexy enough to send a fresh wave of blood to his groin.

Liam was in the shower. He could hear the water running in the guest bathroom they’d worked on most of the day. After redoing the plumbing and replacing the fixtures, they’d sat down to dinner together with Cait, but he hadn’t seen much of her throughout the day. By design on her part, no doubt.

He knew damn well she hadn’t been sleeping when he went to bed last night, but he hadn’t pushed her to admit what was bothering her. This morning she’d seemed fine, if a bit distant. With Liam she was friendly, but the heat he’d sensed in her last night was gone. Buried beneath all those cool, controlled layers she loved to encase herself in.

Unfortunately for her, he loved to peel them away, one at a time, until he had her writhing and begging him to take her. On that count, tonight was no different.

Smiling to himself, he came up behind her and slid his arms around her waist to draw her back into his body. Cait sighed and leaned her head back against his shoulder, a little smile on her lips as she relaxed into his hold. He was hard as stone already, just from the feel of her and the way she melted against him, but the heady rush of anticipation ran hot through his veins. Only question now was whether she had the guts to face what was coming. He hoped like hell she did.

Nathan wanted this. Badly. God, he’d love nothing more than to make this fantasy come true for her. He’d seen how aroused she got whenever she read an erotic book with a ménage scene, and after last night he knew for sure she was physically attracted to Liam. He didn’t want her to hide this part of herself from him any longer.

But while she was uninhibited with him in the bedroom, she could be surprisingly conservative outside of it. Getting her past the initial shock might be hard, but he knew he could do it if she gave him the chance. It could go either way, but he hoped she trusted him enough to let this happen. Otherwise the whole thing would blow up in his face. He was taking a risk, but a calculated one.

The clean scent of her shampoo rose up to tease him. He nuzzled her silky hair, enjoying the feel of her in his arms. She was sensual as hell, and she loved it when he took control. Almost as much as he loved that helpless, sexed-up look she got in her eyes when she was about to come.

“You feel good,” he whispered against her hairline.

A dreamy smile curved her lips. “You make me feel good.”

He’d make her feel even better.

With one forearm locked around her ribs, he reached beneath the hem of her snug tank top and feathered his fingertips over the smooth skin of her belly. She’d changed clothes after dinner and wasn’t wearing a bra because she thought she was on her way to bed. As he caressed her, Cait purred and arched in response, reaching one arm up to curl around his neck. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, and he wanted to taste every inch of her. But that wouldn’t be his privilege tonight.

His fingers drifted up her midline to the underside of her plump breasts and brushed over the curves. Her nipples were already hard, poking out through the thin ribbed-cotton top. When he pressed his erect cock against her buttocks, she sighed and wriggled into him. She was soft and warm in his arms, and he loved every second of it. He wanted her hot and wet, pulsing with need before this went any further.

Nathan dipped his head to nibble gently at the curve of her neck and reveled in her quick inhalation, the way her body turned soft and yielding. A physical expression of her trust.

He closed his eyes.

Trust me, baby. Trust me to give you what you’re too afraid to ask for.

Suddenly Cait stiffened. Holding his breath, Nathan tightened his hold and pressed closer, offering his comfort and protection as he raised his head and met Liam’s stare in the kitchen doorway. In the sudden silence, her quiet gasp ripped through the room like a gunshot.



Cait froze in Nathan’s arms and stared at Liam. Oh, shit.

Her mouth went dry at the hungry glitter in his dark eyes, at the sudden tightening of Nathan’s hold. The delicious buzz floating through her from the wine and his seduction vanished under a cold wave of dread. This couldn’t be happening. They wouldn’t do this to her. She wanted to turn away, shake her head in denial, yell at Nathan for springing this on her. But she couldn’t move. Her muscles wouldn’t obey. She was paralyzed, helpless in the face of this sensual threat.