Into the Lair (Falcon Mercenary Group #2)(54)

She glanced toward the kitchen to see Braden clanging around, putting a skillet on the stove and poking in the small refrigerator.

Ideally, she’d feel at ease with either man, after all she’d f**ked them both. But something about Ian still made her nervous. Or maybe she just wasn’t as sure of herself around him. Or…maybe he meant more to her than she’d like to admit.

Braden, on the other hand…she felt confident with, but only because she knew he was in it for the sex. Ian…well she had no idea what he was in it for.

When she would have gone into the kitchen, Ian looked up and locked gazes with her. She shivered under the intensity of those eyes, and it wasn’t because she was cold.

“Come here,” he said softly and held out a hand to her.

She hesitated for a moment before crossing the room. She didn’t reach for his hand but got close enough that he could touch her. He laced his arm around her waist and pulled her down onto his lap.

Before she could react, he reclined her until her head rested on the couch and her back was laid across his legs. He pushed her sweater up and put tentative fingers to her wound.

He looked over at her and frowned. “This needs to be bandaged.”

“I took it off to shower,” she said with a shrug.

“Stay put. I’ll get Braden to bring me the stuff to cover it again.”

She stopped short of rolling her eyes. Barely. He called over his shoulder to Braden who came ambling out a few seconds later, medical supplies in hand.

He winked at Katie who had brought her arms behind her head in an effort to get comfortable.

Ian didn’t miss the exchange, and he gazed curiously at Katie. Okay, he wasn’t stupid. Surely he hadn’t slept through her and Braden’s rather loud bout of sex this morning. Or had he?

She shot Braden a quick questioning look, and he shrugged and headed back toward the kitchen. And then she shook her head, pissed that she’d spare any guilt over Ian’s feelings. It was sex. Good sex but just sex all the same.

“What are you frowning about?” Ian asked as he carefully applied a strip of gauze to her stitched wound.

“I don’t care if you’re pissed that I had sex with Braden.”

He raised one eyebrow and cast her a sideways glance. “Who says I’m pissed?”

“You’re not?”

“Should I be?”

She frowned again as he finished taping the gauze. “So you’re not?”

“Do you want me to be?”

She growled in frustration. She wasn’t sure whether she wanted to beat him or f**k him senseless. Both held a certain appeal at the moment.

A small smile quirked one corner of his mouth. “No, Katie, I’m not pissed. I was the one who asked my brother to watch while I had sex with you, for Christ’s sake.”

“Anyone ever tell you how weird you are?”

He shrugged. “Plenty of times.”

“I see how bothered you are by that,” she said with a grin.

He pulled her to an upright position and then moved her to his side. She leaned back against the couch, content to absorb his warmth.

A few minutes later, Braden brought two plates and thrust them at her and Ian. He returned shortly with his own plate and plopped down in a threadbare armchair close to the fireplace.

Breakfast food. Not her favorite, but she was so hungry, she’d eat shoe leather.

For several minutes, she contented herself with stuffing food into her mouth. Then she became aware that both men were staring at her, their own food forgotten.

“What?” she asked around a full mouth.

Braden shook his head. “God almighty, I thought the first time we fed you was merely an aberration. I’ve never seen a woman put away food like that. It’s sorta scary and sexy all at the same time.”

She choked on a laugh and then coughed when part of her food went down the wrong way. “Sorry,” she mumbled as she finally managed to get her breath. “It’s been a long time since I got a chance to eat good food.”

Ian gave her a look of horror. “Hell, you must really have fallen on desperate times if you consider Braden’s cooking good food.”

“Hey, f**k off,” Braden said good-naturedly.

She grinned. It was amazing to her that she was so relaxed. Sex and a full belly certainly helped. More than that, though, she felt safe with Ian and Braden despite their less-than-stellar beginning.

She trusted them.

It was easy to forget what was at stake. That they were in the wilds of Austria because supposedly some goon was after her.

And then it hit her. Truly hit her with the force of an avalanche. Ricardo would never be a threat to her again.

Sure, she knew he was dead. She’d even taken a moment, albeit a brief one, to contemplate what his death meant. But things had moved so quickly. It was all such a blur that she hadn’t really had time to think about what her life might be like without Ricardo breathing down her neck.

She put the fork down when it became obvious that her hand was shaking like the last leaf on a tree facing winter.

“What’s wrong?” Ian asked sharply. He touched her cheek, and she slowly looked up to meet his gaze.

“Nothing. I was just thinking. Realizing, I guess.”

“Realizing what?” Braden asked.

She glanced over to see him studying her as intently as Ian was.