“No, we can’t,” Braden said simply. “Because you aren’t going in there unless we’ve reached an understanding.”
Ian’s eyes widened in surprise. “So it’s like that.”
Braden nodded. “You damn right it is. I kissed her, remember? I’ve been attracted to her from the beginning. The only reason I’m cool with this is because she’s attracted to us both and because a woman has never been a problem between us in the past. Now you need to tell me if Katie is going to be that problem.”
Ian shook his head. “No. She’s not going to be a problem, Braden. But what if it’s a problem for her?”
“Then we let her decide on her own,” Braden said softly. “But fair warning, Ian. If she can’t accept both of us, then I don’t plan to sit back and let you take her from me.”
Ian stared at his brother in astonishment. When had they decided to stake a claim? Hell, all he wanted was sex. Wasn’t it? And if it was just sex then why would he care what Braden did afterward? And why did the idea of Katie not accepting both of them and choosing Braden instead leave a very bad taste in his mouth?
He glanced toward the bedroom where Katie was. Part of him wondered if the smartest thing would be to just leave her alone and not open the door to a whole host of potential problems. The other part of him knew if he didn’t make love to her soon, he was going to turn himself inside out.
Then he looked back at Braden who surveyed him with brooding intensity. Was it fair for him to ask his brother to watch over him and Katie when Braden so obviously wanted to make love to her too?
“Go, Ian,” Braden said quietly. “I’ll make sure Katie stays safe from you.”
***
Katie lay staring at the ceiling, wondering how much of her stupidity she could blame on the drugs. Or maybe she just needed to take more.
She’d invited him to come lie down with her. She nearly snorted. Who the f**k was she kidding? She’d invited him to screw her senseless. No wonder he’d looked at her so oddly. He was probably in the next room hoping to give her enough time to pass out.
Her gaze flickered lazily toward the door when she heard a sound. Warmth and longing flooded her when she saw Ian standing there, one arm propped on the doorframe as he watched her.
Her pulse quickened. Adrenaline shot up her spine and rebounded off the base of her skull.
Then he moved. He awkwardly shuffled forward, his feet making dragging sounds on the floor. As he’d done before, he settled on the edge of her bed at her hip. She held her breath, wondering what he’d say. What he’d do.
“I need to know how much of your invitation was the drugs and how much of it was you knowing what the hell you were saying.”
Her blood stirred and rushed just a little faster, heating her skin and bringing a flush to her cheeks. They stared at each other, not like two potential lovers, but two people who might just devour each other before the night was over.
“It’s been a long time for me,” she said evenly.
One part of her recognized that she was stalling, while the other part wondered why she was babbling like an idiot.
“Paulo was my last lover.”
“Was he any good?” Ian asked bluntly.
She turned her head and studied him. Such a strange conversation to be having.
“Yes, he was,” she said. “Very good. It was for that reason that I had such an easy time turning Ricardo down when he showed interest. I was young and starry-eyed. The older brother would have been the better choice since I wanted security and family. I wasn’t the choosiest of women back then. I was more interested in the trappings than the actual man.”
“If that were true, you would have dropped Paulo with no compunction,” Ian pointed out.
She shrugged. “Paulo was actually very good to me in the beginning. I’m not defending him. He turned into quite the asshat, but for a while we were happy. For a while I actually hoped that I’d fit in. That I’d have the things I wanted.”
“And what do you want right now?” he asked, bringing them back to the two of them. In this room. Right now.
“I want you,” she said softly.
“Is that the drugs talking?”
She smiled. “I won’t lie and say I’m not a bit loopy. I won’t even lie and say that I might not regret it tomorrow. All I can tell you is that tonight, it’s what I want more than anything. Can you accept that?”
His breathing sped up, and his eyes glittered with lust. “Yeah, I can accept that. As long as you realize that tomorrow, when you may or may not regret it? Too damn bad. Because once won’t be enough.”
Her hand went automatically to her stomach and the thick bandage. Excitement rocketed through her body at his words. This was supposed to be on her terms. She called the shots. But she had the distinct feeling that once they made love, she was going to be giving a much larger piece of herself than she planned.
“I won’t hurt you, Katie,” he said softly.
His fingers curled around her wrist, and he moved her hand gently away from her wound. She watched with shocked arousal as he leaned down and pressed his lips to her belly. So soft, she nearly didn’t feel the slight brush of his mouth.
Carefully he pushed at her shirt until it rode high on her belly, baring the skin and the bandage to his gaze. And his lips.
She shivered when he kissed her navel then trailed his tongue around the indention. The stubble of his jaw scraped delicately against her skin. Then he slipped her shirt higher until it gathered at her neck.
Free of constraint, her ni**les puckered and stood erect. He palmed one breast, molding it in his hand. His thumb rubbed across the tip and then back again. Her breath caught when he pinched it slightly between his fingers.
Her gaze moved beyond Ian to the doorway where she was stunned to see Braden leaning against the wall. She stiffened as she locked stares with him.
Ian’s head turned to follow her line of vision, and then he looked back at her, his expression odd and unreadable.
“Why is he there?” she said in a low voice.
Braden heard, though. He straightened his stance and stared at her with hungry eyes. She looked back at him, remembering his kiss. Hungry was an apt term. He’d devoured her. There was nothing gentle in his approach. Not patient as Ian was being.
Desire burned low in her belly, spreading like a fire she had no control over. She wanted them both. Wanted what they could both give her, or what she thought they could.
“He’s here to protect you…from me,” Ian said. “Can you forget his presence, or is it going to be a problem?”
Her gaze slid to Braden once more. He stared back challengingly, a slight smirk on his face as though he dared her to go the route of the prude and put on some hysterical fit because he was watching.
“Maybe I don’t want to forget his presence.”
Braden smiled. A slow, arrogant smile that was a tad triumphant. She wondered then what had gone on between the two men outside of her room. The last thing she wanted was another pissing match between brothers. Been there done that, had the dead bodies to prove it.
“Do me a favor then and try not to forget about me,” Ian said dryly.
She glanced back and gave him a small smile. “If you’re good enough, you won’t have to worry about that.”
Ian’s eyes narrowed, and Braden snickered from across the room. Then Ian braced both hands on either side of her and leaned in until he hovered over her, his face inches from hers.
“That, little wench, was a challenge, and I never back down from a challenge.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Katie reached up to wrap her arms around Ian’s neck. “Kiss me,” she whispered.
He lowered his mouth until their noses touched, and then he angled to the side, his lips so close that hers trembled in reaction.
“Tell me something, Katie. Tell me you want me and that it’s not the drugs talking. I think I know, but I want to hear it again. If I really thought you were impaired, I’d be out of this bed so fast it would make your head spin.”
Her eyes widened fractionally as she stared up at him.
“I think you’d like to use the drugs as an excuse to give yourself permission to want me, to have sex with me, but then I also don’t have you pegged as a coward.”
She stroked the muscles in his back, enjoying the feel of her palms against his flesh. Firm. Toned.
“I take full responsibility for my decision, and if I beat anyone over the head about it, it’ll be me, not you.”
“Christ, you two are going to talk each other to death,” Braden muttered.
Ian turned fiercely and scowled at his brother. Katie had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. The entire situation was beyond absurd. She’d agreed—no—she’d instigated sex with a man who could well turn into a jaguar on her. A man who for the most part irritated the living piss out of her. And his brother, a man who’d kissed her senseless just hours before, was standing by, prepared to watch them have sex, all so he could protect her if Ian freaked out and shifted.
Sex had become more complicated than it was worth.
Curious, now that Ian seemed distracted by Braden’s presence, she slid her hand down his firm abdomen and between his legs to cup him intimately.
“The question is, do you want me?” she murmured.
He surged against her hand, immediately filling it as his jeans tightened. His erection pushed impatiently at her fingers, straining to be free of constriction.
“Hell yes,” he growled. “If I don’t have you, I’m going to go nuts.”
“Hmm, and how do you feel about that?”
“It wasn’t my first choice,” he said honestly.
She laughed, and he seemed relieved that she wasn’t pissed by his bluntness. “How about we dispense with the recriminations and get on with it?”
“Hallelujah,” Braden muttered. “I at least want to see her naked.”
Katie grinned. She couldn’t bring herself to be self-conscious over the fact that Braden was watching. Instead it made her feel naughty and desirable. She licked her lips, remembering his kiss. Hard. Bruising. Like he couldn’t wait to get at her. It had been a long time since she’d felt those things in a man’s arms. She was ready to get back to that.
She let her hands fall away from Ian’s neck and pulled her shirt away from her throat.
He pressed his lips to the valley between her br**sts. “Let me.”
He worked the shirt over her head, and she extended her arms upward so he could take it off.
“You have beautiful br**sts,” he said as he stared down at her. “Perfect.”
“Not big enough according to Tits.”
“Tits is a damn fool. Yours are gorgeous. Full and plump.” He licked one taut point, eliciting a deep spasm from her chest. She moaned softly and arched up, wanting more. Wanting his mouth, his tongue, his teeth.
“Careful,” he warned. “Lie still so you don’t open your stitches.”
She made a frustrated sound through her teeth. How could she remain still when her skin was alive and itchy with want and need?
“I’ll do all the work,” he purred against her ear. “You just enjoy the ride.”
She sighed. Oh hell, she loved that in a man. Before Paulo lost his mind, he was an extremely attentive lover. He spoiled her, and she wanted that again. Without the obsession and insanity, preferably.
Ian—and Braden—had afforded her the first real possibility of any sort of intimacy with a man since she’d run from the reality of what she’d done to Paulo. She craved a stolen moment. Just one. She wanted a strong man’s arms around her, and if that made her weak, she’d just have to deal.
Warm, sensual lips stirred along her skin, lighting a heated path from below her ear to her collarbone and down to the swell of her breast. His dark head bent to capture one nipple, holding it against his tongue with his lips.
She twisted her hands in his hair, urging him closer, hoping she could convey her need with the sharpness of her fingers. His teeth grazed the rigid, puckered flesh. Ahh. God, yes, that was what she needed. Only more. She wanted that edge of pain. She didn’t want soft and sweet.
He nipped again, and she rewarded him with a moan and a gentle caress at his nape. Then he moved to her other breast, plumping the swollen mound with one hand while he sucked at her nipple. Hungry, like he couldn’t get enough.
She stirred restlessly beneath him as need powered through her body.
“Slow down, baby,” Ian whispered against her skin. “I’ll give you what you want.”
His sensual promise sent shivers of absolute delight racing down her spine.
For a long while he played and toyed with her br**sts, tweaking the ni**les between his long fingers and nibbling with alternating gentleness and sharpness. He was careful around her wound, kissing a circular pattern around the bandage.
He licked at her bruises, his warm tongue abrading the sensitive skin. When he got to her navel, he dug his fingers into the band of her pants and tugged until it curled down her hips.
She sucked in her breath when he pressed his mouth to the tender expanse of flesh just above her mound. Her pu**y tightened, wanting, little twinges of excitement stirring and exploding. Her clit swelled, aching. She closed her eyes, imagining his mouth on her, his tongue delving deep to her innermost sanctum.
And then her underwear inched downward under his coaxing fingers. He rose and leaned back on his heels, carefully bent her legs and freed them from the confines of the panties. Then he settled her thighs on either side of his hips and spread them wide.
He stared down at her, his hands wrapped around her ankles, a look of deep satisfaction on his face. Her gaze never left his as she reached down with her hand to part the folds of her pu**y. Her fingers caressed the softness and then delved deeper into the wetness.