Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(48)

“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.