Playing Games(28)

"I didn’t see anything else on the wall," I told him, then glanced at Liam. "I guess we'll know for sure if we head to the airport and the other teams are there."

"Good point," Liam told me. He leaned and whispered so only I could hear him. "And good eyes."

"Thanks," I said as he handed me my backpack, and wondered why that small bit of praise made me so freaking flustered. It wasn't like he'd told me that I looked hot, or he'd been as aroused as I'd been when he'd grabbed my inner thighs.

He'd simply told me I had good eyes. Good lord, I needed to get over this crush I was forming.











When we arrived at the airport, we purchased tickets to Naples, the closest airport to Pompeii, and I purchased a travel guidebook. There was a three-hour wait on the flight, which meant the other teams might have time to catch up to us.

Sure enough, we arrived at our gate, and there was Joel and Derron, the war heroes, and Brodie and Tesla. Brodie and Tesla were cuddled by the gate, wrapped around each other like they'd been a couple for years. As I watched, my brother leaned over and gave Tesla a long, tongue-filled kiss.

Ew.

I shot a look at my partner, and he was eying Tesla and Brodie with the same mixture of disbelief and disgust. Abby and Dean went to go find something to eat, and Liam and I found a quiet corner of the terminal and sat down with our travel guide. There were plenty of chairs, but I wanted to stretch out my legs, and I was getting used to sprawling on the airport floor to get comfortable, so I sat down against a nearby wall and stretched my legs out in front of me. Liam sat next to me on the ground, his shoulder pressing against mine.

"They're kind of ridiculous, aren't they?" I told him, and nodded at Tesla and Brodie, who were still making out and hadn't acknowledged our presence.

"That's Tesla for you," Liam said, his voice wry. He glanced at me. "I can't believe you thought I was with her."

I shrugged, and thought of his hands on my inner thighs again, then shivered.

"Cold?" He looped an arm over my shoulder and pulled me close.

I'd been about to protest that I wasn't all that cold, but his arm against me felt really, really good. Comforting. Warm. Heavy and delicious. So I snuggled a bit closer and pulled out the travel guide so we could review it while we waited for the flight.

And put it away again when a cameraman was suddenly in our faces. "Katy, why don't you tell us what place you think you're at right now?"

I mentally groaned. We were sometimes dive-bombed by the cameramen who wanted us to do insta-interviews. The more footage they had, the more they could create a compelling story, I supposed. And an insta-interview usually meant that you had to get away from your partner and go quietly speak one-on-one with the camera. I'd never had one shove into my face and start interviewing me like this. Maybe it was because I was cuddled against Liam.

Good TV and all.

Damn, Liam was really good at this pretending stuff. Might as well make good TV myself. I put my hand on Liam's thigh and glanced at him, appearing to consider things. My nails scratched at his leg through his jeans, idly rubbing. "Well, there are three other teams here besides us, so we're definitely in the middle of the pack. I think that's a good thing." I squinted up at the camera. "Though I wouldn't mind if the other teams missed the flight. It sounds mean to say that, but I have to keep reminding myself that this is a race."

Liam's arm over my shoulder tightened, and I felt the muscles in his leg tense as I continued to scratch him. Then, I felt his fingers play along the edge of my shirt sleeve, brushing against my exposed skin. It sent tingles through my body.

"How do you feel about Brodie and Tesla's partnership? They seem to be dominating."

I glanced over at my brother, who was still sucking face with his partner, oblivious to the cameraman that filmed them a few short feet away. "Um, Brodie and Tesla are interesting, I guess. I was really hurt when he abandoned me, at first. But I think Liam and I are making a pretty good team." I looked up at my tall partner, whose shaggy hair was halfway in his face, covering one of his eyebrow piercings.

Liam smiled at me, that finger still teasing along my arm. "I think so."

"You two seem to be getting friendly," the cameraman prompted.

To my horror, my face turned bright red. I could feel the flush moving up my cheeks, heating them. Liam chuckled and tugged me against him, tucking my head onto his shoulder. "She's not going to answer that right now. She's too tired."

I gave the camera a yawn and snuggled closer to Liam, who made a surprisingly delicious person to rest against, and closed my eyes. I felt his fingers begin to play with one of my blonde pigtails, and I smiled to myself. Eventually, the cameraman moved on and we were left alone again.