No Holds Barred(7)

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” She added some bath salts to the flowing water.

“You’re not acting like yourself.” Hadn’t been since last night. Liam’s arrival had made it even more obvious, when she’d suddenly chosen to go into work for the day. And after his teasing comment at dinner, she’d all but run into the bedroom once they’d finished eating.

“I’m just tired.”

Right. “We were going to throw in the movie. Gonna come out and watch it with us?”

“Maybe in a bit.”

He studied her for a moment, noting the way she avoided eye contact. Something she did only when she was seriously pissed off at him. Maybe he shouldn’t have teased her like that in front of Liam. “You don’t have to sit near him if you don’t want to.”

The searing look she aimed at him could have melted lead. Her bright blue eyes narrowed. “I have no problem with sitting next to Liam.”

“Then why are you avoiding him?” When she huffed and looked away, he pressed. “If this is because of what I said, you do realize I wouldn’t push you into anything—”

“That’s not why, and I wish you’d just drop it.”

The snappish tone was unlike her. He was fairly sure he knew why she was acting this way. He’d hit a nerve last night. One neither of them had realized existed. Now she was embarrassed and defensive. The idea of a threesome with Liam turned her on, but she didn’t know how to handle it. Not that she’d ever admit to that. But her earlier words said it all.

What if I liked it? I mean really liked it?

That’s what she was afraid of. He’d seen the way she’d flushed when Liam hugged her or flirted with her today. Nothing he hadn’t done a hundred other times, but now she was thinking about him in a very different light and feeling guilty about it. There was no need for her to feel ashamed though. Didn’t she see that? He didn’t want her to hide from her needs when he was more than willing to indulge them. “All right. I’ll leave you be, then.”

He exited the room, shutting the door softly behind him, and settled on the opposite end of the couch from Liam.

His friend raised a brow at him. “She coming?”

“In a bit. She said to start without her.” Would be interesting to see if she made an appearance at all, or if she planned to hide out in their room all night. Chickening out wasn’t her style, but clearly she didn’t know how to handle her newfound attraction to Liam. Was it because she didn’t believe he wouldn’t be jealous? Nathan trusted her, knew her well enough to know she’d never cheat, so that wasn’t an issue for him. His willingness to share her with Liam wasn’t something he could explain to her any better than he had last night. The only way he could prove it to her was by showing her firsthand how it would be between them and her. Showing her the pleasure they could give her, proving she had nothing to hide from him.

Twenty minutes into the movie, the bedroom door opened and the light turned off. Cait came out dressed in flannel pajamas and a robe that covered her from neck to ankles.

Nathan barely swallowed a laugh. If she thought the conservative attire made her look any less sexy, she was dead wrong. Her long auburn hair curled slightly from the heat of her bath, and her cheeks flushed pink. Delectable and fresh, combined with that air of sexy innocence that always made him crazy.

Without a word she came around the end of the couch and sank down next to him, burrowing into his side. A gesture of affection, sure, but he suspected it was more to keep as far away from Liam as possible than it was to snuggle with him. He draped an arm over her shoulders and kissed the top of her head, offering his unspoken reassurance.

“No fair,” Liam complained. “I’ve barely seen you all day, and now you want to deprive me of a movie cuddle? I don’t think so.” He moved closer until he was right beside her and she was all but pinned between them.

Cait stiffened. It was subtle, but Nathan felt the way her muscles tensed.

He fought back a sigh. Liam had always been affectionate with her, and she’d never been uncomfortable with it before. And he would never cross the line without her express permission. Hell, Liam had never even brought up the idea of being with him and Cait. Not even in the beginning, because he’d known from the start how much she meant to Nathan.

Still, to her credit she didn’t pull away. Only leaned more into Nathan, almost as though she was enduring Liam’s presence against her other side. But when he glanced down at her he saw the way her jaw had tightened, the bright pink spots burning in her cheeks.