No Holds Barred(5)

“Welcome, buddy,” Nathan said.

She only caught a glimpse of Liam’s dark head as he stepped in, dropped his huge duffel and grabbed Nate in that quasi-hug thing men did. A quick embrace with two back slaps, then a handshake with two hard pumps combined with a shoulder slap.

“Good to be here,” Liam said. Then Nate moved aside and he turned to her. His dark eyes found hers, and that devilish, sexy grin curved his mouth. “Hey, Cait.”

“Hi, Liam.” She stepped forward to hug him and felt the unwelcome warmth steal up her cheeks when his arms closed around her. He was as broad across the chest and shoulders as Nathan, but taller, with an olive complexion darkened by his most recent stint in Afghanistan. He pulled her in tight and gave her a good squeeze, and she was alarmed to feel her nipples tighten in response to the sudden flare of heat in her belly.

She stepped back with a quick smile and turned away before he could see her blushing. Not that she’d done anything wrong. He was a good-looking man. She’d have to be dead from the neck down not to respond to him on some level. It didn’t mean anything.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that.

“Look at you.” Liam appraised her feminine top and snug pencil skirt. “Are you all dressed up because you knew I was coming?”

She chuckled as she pulled her coat and shoes from the closet. “No. I’ve got to head into the office for a few hours.” She’d made up her mind before climbing out of bed this morning.

“On a Saturday?”

“Overtime.” She ignored the funny look Nathan shot her and dug out her keys.

“But I just got here,” Liam said in surprise.

Cait forced herself to meet his gaze and smile. “Whatever. You guys love hanging out together, and I’d just be a third wheel. I’ll be back by dinner with some goodies.” With that, she kissed Nate, grinned at Liam and walked out the door. Technically she didn’t have to go into the office, but the extra hours would definitely make a dent in the pile of paperwork she’d accumulated over the past week.

And it also gave her the perfect excuse to stay away from Nathan and Liam while she cleared her head. She needed some time to regroup after last night’s conversation.

But hard as she tried not to think about it while she worked, her mind kept coming back to Nathan’s words. Trust me, he’d be interested. Would he? God, the thought of them both touching her, kissing her, focused on nothing but her…

Stop it.

She shook her head at herself. Less than two days. That’s all she had to get through. On Monday morning Liam was leaving for another military contracting job in Afghanistan, and God knew when they’d see him again. Rather than relieve her, the knowledge made a lump settle in her stomach. She hated to think of him back over there in harm’s way. Sighing, she pushed the thought away and got to work.

It took the better part of five hours to finish what she wanted to accomplish. After she’d cleaned off the pile of work on her desk, she stopped on her way home to pick up some dinner. Liam and Nathan were watching a baseball game when she came in.

Nathan got up from the couch and smiled at her. “Hey.” He came and took the bags from her, kissed her cheek. “How was your day?” She didn’t miss the quiet censure in his voice, but chose to ignore it.

“Busy.” She flicked a glance at Liam and caught him raking his gaze over the length of her body. His eyes paused at her breasts, outlined by the snug black blouse she wore with her pencil skirt. The frank male appreciation in his expression took her aback. Was she just imagining the interest there? She tore her gaze away and moved to the kitchen island as her body tingled and a disturbing tendril of heat curled in her belly. “Hope you’re hungry.”

“We’re always hungry,” Liam answered with a smile and just a hint of naughtiness.

Her face grew warm, but she ruthlessly ignored her heightened awareness of him when he came into the kitchen to help get everything ready. While Nathan set out the Greek food she’d bought, Liam reached past her to get some dishes out of the cupboard. He leaned in close enough that his chest brushed her back, putting a muscular arm around her waist to hold her still so she wouldn’t get in the way. She stiffened and almost dropped the tray of spanakopita she held. The heat of his hand burned through her shirt, making her nipples rock hard against the cups of her bra. The faint spice of his cologne swirled around her, tantalizing her, before he grabbed the plates and released her to place them on the island.

Jesus. What the hell was wrong with her? Swallowing hard, she flicked a guilty glance at Nathan through her lashes as she set the tray down. He was still laying out the rest of their dinner, hadn’t seemed to notice her reaction.