Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(45)

“Did nobody ever tell you that steroid use will shrink your penis?” she asked calmly.

He threw back his head and laughed. “You know what, I like you, Katie. I like you a lot.” He held out his hand as he drew closer to the bed. “Name’s Tits.”

“For the love of God,” she muttered. “Tits? No way your mama named you that.”

He grimaced. “No, she named me Theodore, but if you ever tell anyone, I’ll have to cut your throat.”

“What the hell are you doing, Tits?” Ian demanded from the door.

Tits rolled his eyes and jerked his thumb in Ian’s direction. “See what I mean about growly?”

“She needs to be resting,” Ian said gruffly as he walked closer to the bed.

“Doc done with you?” Tits asked.

“Obviously.”

Tits shrugged. “I just need to know because I’ve got to fly the man out of here.”

“Yeah, we’re done. He’s waiting for you.”

Tits turned to Katie and flashed her a grin. “I guess I’ll see you later, Miss Katie.” He blew her a kiss then sauntered toward the door and past a scowling Ian.

After Ian watched Tits go, he turned back around to stare at Katie. There was something in his gaze that discomfited her. Or maybe it was the fact that she’d kissed his brother—correction, he’d kissed her. Was it absurd that while she’d enjoyed Braden’s kiss very much that she’d wondered what it would be like to kiss his brother? To have him touch her?

It made things more awkward than they already were, and that was the last thing she needed.

He sat on the edge of the bed at her side. “How are you feeling?”

“Kinda freaky,” she admitted. “Did you give me some weird drugs?”

“Marcus gave you a sedative so he could stitch you up, and then he gave you pain medication so you wouldn’t hurt when you woke up.”

“That would explain the inability to recognize my limbs,” she said ruefully.

“It’s good that you aren’t in pain.” He touched her cheek tentatively, as though he expected her to protest. “You’ve had far too much pain in the last little while.”

She wasn’t sure what was weirder. The fact that Braden had kissed her and Ian was treating her as though he harbored attraction for her, or that she welcomed his attentions even as the memory of Braden’s kiss simmered in the back of her mind.

Could just be the drugs.

She liked that explanation, and it absolved her of the need to analyze the weird chemistry between the three of them.

“Where are we? Besides somewhere in Austria.”

“Innsbruck is the closest city, but we’re holed up in the mountains. We’re a short hop from Italy, Switzerland and Germany, so we have options.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Options? Are we going to need them?”

He pushed her hair from her forehead and continued to run his fingers through the short strands. She wondered if he even realized what he was doing. For that matter, she wondered why she was lying here so docilely, allowing him to touch her and worse, enjoying it.

It was definitely the drugs. Or maybe she just really wanted him to touch her.

“It’s always good to have options. Escape routes.”

She nodded, yawning so big her jaw nearly caved in. He smiled and ran a finger down the jaw she’d almost cracked.

“You need to get some more rest.”

“It’s the drugs,” she said. “You could lay down with me. You look as tired as I feel.”

They stared at each other, and she wasn’t sure who was more stunned by the invitation, her or him.

“Drugs,” she muttered. Definitely the drugs. Liar.

“Give me a minute and I’ll take you up on that,” he said.

Oh hell, he wasn’t supposed to accept. But then she didn’t exactly withdraw the offer either. He gave her a long look before slowly rising from his perch on the edge of the bed. Was he aware of what she was offering? Was she?

“Get comfortable. I’ll be back as soon as I see Tits and Eli off.”

Yeah, he was aware. His eyes positively simmered with sexual awareness as he turned to leave the room. Which left the question of whether she was. Despite the dullness of her limbs due to the drugs, there was still a tingling excitement. She wanted Ian to touch her. As for what to do about Braden, she wasn’t sure. She wanted to explore her attraction to Ian, but she knew damn well there was explosive chemistry between her and Braden.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“We’re going, but we won’t be far,” Eli said. “According to Tits’ intel, Esteban could be heading this way. We don’t know because he hasn’t shown his face yet. He’s laid low ever since we busted out of his compound in Switzerland. For now, his attention has shifted from me and anything to do with Falcon or CHR. His henchmen are on the move, and they’re looking for Katie. We’re going to make sure he knows where she is, so be on your toes. The Falcon secondary is moving into place as we speak, so you won’t be alone. Keep us posted, and we’ll do the same.”

Braden nodded and bumped fists with Tits and then Eli.

“You sure you two going to be okay?” Tits asked.

“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Ian said. “If Esteban rears his head, we’ll roll out the welcome mat for him.”