No Holds Barred (2 page)

She wriggled beneath him. “Take me harder.”

“Not yet.”

“Yes.”

“No. Not ’til I decide you’re ready.” He maintained that maddeningly gentle rhythm, patiently waiting for her excitement to build higher. Giving her no choice in the matter.

Frustrated, aroused, Cait locked her ankles around his waist and pulled him in tighter, angling her hips so the base of his cock stroked over her swelling clit at the end of each instroke.

He chuckled against her jaw at her impatience. Then he shifted against her and changed the angle so with each gliding thrust, the flared head rubbed over the most sensitive place inside her. Hidden nerve endings suddenly glittered to life.

Her eyes closed as her head tipped back against the pillow. “Ohhhh…”

“That the right spot, baby?” His smug tone said he knew it was and planned to torture her with it.

She could only nod as the pleasure spiraled inside her, pulling tighter each time they rocked together. But the brief strokes against her clit weren’t enough. She needed more stimulation there, or she’d lose her mind.

“Can you come like this?” Oh, that low, silken voice in her ear. Rough with need. Like another caress.

“I don’t…maybe.” Cait strained in his grip, struggling to find the contact she needed, but it was no use. “Touch me,” she whispered, raising her head to nip at his lower lip.

Nathan groaned and teased her with his tongue. Then he raised her hands high over her head and took them in one of his before levering up on an elbow. His free hand trailed over her neck and shoulder to her breast, pausing briefly to tweak the hard tip. His touch was gentle, the pads of his fingers slightly rough against her skin. She gasped and arched her back as a hot bolt of sensation rushed from her nipple to between her thighs.

He teased her for a few moments, then let his hand glide down over her abdomen and rest on the trimmed curls shielding her sex. Her clit throbbed, dying for his touch. But he didn’t give it to her.

“Nate—”

“Shhh.” At last his thumb stroked over her fragile nub while his thick cock pressed deep into her. So gently she wanted to scream, but he captured her mouth to play with her tongue, swallowing her urgent cries. He tasted faintly of her favorite wine, so delicious she wanted to eat him up. The tension coiled tighter, pleasure coalescing in a hot ball of sensation. Her body tightened, her inner muscles squeezing around Nathan’s cock.

Unbidden, an unbearably erotic image formed in her head. Of them, and Liam. Liam’s tall frame pressed up tight against her back, sandwiching her between him and Nathan. His hands sliding over her curves while he whispered naughty things in her ear and pressed his rigid cock against her naked bottom. And the whole time Nathan thrust inside her, stroking her clit just as he was now, his eyes locked with hers as he spoke in that low, seductive voice.

Let us take you.

Cait cried out and bucked hard as the orgasm slammed into her. Her pussy clenched around Nathan’s cock in rhythmic pulses, milking him. He groaned and sank deep one last time, then let go of his control and came with her. His hard thrusts kept her orgasm going, on and on, until she shuddered and went limp beneath him.

When he finally released her wrists and sank down on top of her, she encircled him with her arms and cradled him tight. God, she loved him. But that fantasy had taken her completely by surprise, and she wanted to wipe it from her mind. It made her feel like she’d just cheated on him or something.

Forcing the thought away, she sighed and enjoyed the closeness between them.

After a minute Nathan rose up on an elbow and smoothed a lock of hair away from her face. His expression was thoughtful. “What were you thinking about just before you came?”

She stilled, a flush creeping up her cheeks. “Nothing. Just you.”
You and your best friend, who’s arriving tomorrow.
God, how was she going to look Liam in the eye after this? The fantasy had been so vivid.
Too
vivid. And too delicious.

He smiled and cocked a brow. “Not going to tell me?”

“I have to have some secrets from you to keep you interested.”

“Hmmm,” he murmured and kissed the tip of her nose. “Maybe I’ll just torture them out of you next time.”

She grinned and allowed him to roll them over so she lay with her cheek pillowed on his chest. “You’re welcome to try.”

The next morning Cait stood back from the entryway when Nathan pulled open the front door and grinned at Liam.

“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.

And suddenly she was afraid. Afraid of the growing attraction, and terrified of the sexual pull she felt toward Liam. She hated the way her body reacted around him, now that Nathan had planted the erotic seed in her brain and made her wonder what it would be like to be with them both at the same time. Her fingers felt stiff as she filled her plate and took it to the table. Nathan didn’t seem to notice her discomfort and chatted easily with them both when the meal began.

She could do this, she told herself. Her wayward thoughts would be her little secret, and she’d stop them right now.

“Where are you stationed over there this time?” Nathan finally asked Liam.

“Kabul mostly. I’ll be running between there and Kandahar for the next couple months, maybe east to the mountains, we’ll see.”

Unpredictable places, and a dangerous route that seemed to be on the news every night. She didn’t like thinking of him over there in harm’s way. “What will you do there?” she asked, helping herself to some Greek salad.

“Private security work.” He shrugged. “I’ll be babysitting western businessmen, some VIPs. That kind of thing.”

She shook her head. “I’m so glad Nathan doesn’t do that sort of thing anymore. No offense.”

“None taken.”

“He’ll be okay.” Nathan reached for his wineglass. “He’s good. And he’s careful.”

Yeah, well, a lot of
good
and
careful
people still got killed over there, no matter how much training they had.

“I try to be,” Liam said with another shrug. “Right now the money’s too good for me to pass up. I’ve got the skills and the training, so I figure I might as well put them to use while I can. And let’s face it, we’re not all as lucky as Nate.” The laugh lines around his dark eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. “If I had someone like you, I wouldn’t be going overseas either.”

She blushed and smiled at the compliment, sensing a serious undercurrent to his words. A sincerity she’d never noticed when he’d teased or flirted with her in the past. And maybe a hint of loneliness too. It pulled at her. He deserved someone to treasure him, someone special and loving to come home to after being overseas.

His cheek creased with the hint of a grin. “Guess I’ll just have to get my fill of cuddling with you while I’m here.”

“Assuming it’s okay with me, you mean,” Nathan said in an amused tone. She knew he was completely used to Liam’s flirtatiousness.

“What, just because you’re engaged, you won’t share her with me anymore?”

Nathan sent her a sidelong look across the table. The heat in his eyes was unmistakable, as was the laughter dancing in them. “Maybe. That’s up to Cait, though.”

Her mouth went dry as his meaning hung in the air between them. Air that suddenly crackled with electric tension. “Sure,” she blurted, to cover the awkward pause. What else could she say?

Liam’s definition of “cuddling” translated to a casual arm around her from time to time, or maybe sharing a throw blanket together on the couch while they watched TV. Nothing remotely sexual. More than once in the past when Nathan worked nights, she’d fallen asleep on the couch watching a movie with Liam and woken to find her head on his shoulder. She hadn’t given it a second thought, and she knew it had never made him uncomfortable. He might be flirtatious, but when he touched her the contact was always perfectly innocent. Liam was just naturally affectionate, and he’d never made her feel weird by expressing it with her before.

But now it seemed awkward. Before she’d always seen him as just a buddy, Nathan’s best pal. Now it was different because she kept seeing him as a man. A sexy, virile man who might be interested in something much more than her friendship if given the chance. The thought both tantalized and alarmed her.

Her heart started a slow thud as warmth pooled between her thighs. She shifted on the chair, a wave of embarrassment washing over her. The helpless arousal she felt frightened her.

As though he sensed her wayward thoughts, Liam raised his wineglass to toast her and winked. “Looking forward to it.”

She forced herself to relax and pull in a breath. No big deal, she told herself. There was nothing wrong with her being attracted to Liam, so long as she didn’t act on it. No one had to know but her.

So why did it make her feel so damn guilty?

Nathan closed the bedroom door behind him and found Cait in the ensuite drawing a bath. She glanced at him briefly but didn’t say anything, so he leaned against the doorjamb and shoved his hands into his pockets. “You okay?”

“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.

He was already semi-hard from the feel of her pressed against him but that flush of arousal, reluctant as it was, made his cock swell until it felt strangled. If he pulled that frumpy robe and pajama top away he knew he’d find her nipples rosy pink and erect. She was definitely turned on from being between them like this. Testing her response, Nathan shifted and curled his hand around the back of her neck, squeezing gently, then more firmly until her eyes closed in enjoyment. Her soft sigh made his abdomen pull tight.