“So sexy.” He met her eyes. “And look, I ain’t gonna lie—I’m attracted to you. But I also know you’re in a vulnerable place right now and I promise I won’t take advantage of that. I really just want to spend more time with you. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun with a woman.”
Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. “What about Dylan?”
“What about him? He’s the one who asked you to come here in the first place, and I just spoke to him and he said he doesn’t mind if you stay.”
Fine, so maybe Dylan’s exact words had been leave me out of it but Aidan was going to take that as the green light for Claire to stick around.
When Claire shifted in visible reluctance, he gave her the impish grin he’d perfected over the years. “Come on, you know you want to.”
She scowled again, but her lips were twitching with amusement. “Jeez, I bet those dimples got you everything you wanted when you were growing up.”
“Yep, and they still do.” The grin widened. “So what do you say? Will you stay?”
Her indecision hung in the air between them. He could see her brain working, feel her resolve crumbling.
“Okay, you win,” she grumbled. “I’ll stay. But just for another day or two.”
Triumph coursed through him, though he knew it would take more than a day or two to get Claire where he wanted her—naked, moaning and sandwiched between him and Dylan while they drove her to new heights of arousal.
Of course, he would need to work on Dylan too, but that wouldn’t be difficult, considering the hunger on the guy’s face whenever Claire was in the room.
Still, it was going to take more than his dimples to make this happen. He’d definitely have to up his game, but fortunately, he’d always been very, very good at games. And this was one he had every intention of winning.
Chapter Seven
It took three days for Aidan to reach a conclusion: he was sharing space with the two most stubborn people on the planet. Although Claire had indeed stuck around, getting her and Dylan in the same room proved to be impossible. They went out of their way not to spend more than five minutes together, and Aidan was growing frustrated with their childish antics.
To make matters worse, Dylan was going to bed early and waking up before dawn because his SEAL team was running training missions all week. He’d been crashing on the pullout couch in the office so he wouldn’t disturb Aidan with his comings and goings, and the grueling demos left him beaten and exhausted when he got home, so even if they had been sharing a bed, Aidan knew sex wouldn’t be on the table.
As a result, he was so sexually frustrated he felt like a teenager with blue balls after his girlfriend refused to do more than neck. Being around Claire was pure torture. Not being with Dylan was even worse.
Needless to say, it was time to shake things up.
“Hey, guys? Can you come in here for a sec?” he called from the master bedroom.
Since Claire was right across the hall, she popped her head in the doorway within seconds, looking cute as hell in denim shorts and a red tank top, with her hair tied in a low, side ponytail. The two of them had spent the morning at the pier having lunch at a bistro that overlooked the water, then gotten ice cream at Aidan’s favorite place in San Diego. Cash McCoy’s girlfriend had turned him on to the place, and Claire had absolutely loved it, demanding a taste of every unique flavor in the store.
The more time he spent with her, the more Aidan liked her.
And the more he wanted to get her naked.
Soon, he reassured himself.
Claire stepped into the room. “What’s up?”
“Hold on. Dylan, I’m serious, get in here,” Aidan called. “I’ve got something to show you guys.”
Dylan had been napping on the living room couch, having gotten home an hour ago in an exhaustion coma, so it took a few more seconds before his footsteps finally sounded in the hall.
“This better be good.” Dylan strode into the bedroom, covering his mouth as a yawn overtook him. “What is it?”
Aidan stalked toward the walk-in closet as if he was going to get something, then stopped. “Oh shit, I forgot, I left it in the office. Give me a sec.”
Nonchalant, he slid out the door, making sure to close it behind him. The second he was in the hall, he sprang into action. He might ride a desk at the base, but he’d gone through basic training the same way Dylan had, and he was quicker than most people gave him credit for.
In no time, he grabbed the dining-room chair he’d stashed in the office and had the sturdy wooden back pressed up beneath the doorknob of his bedroom. The second the chair locked into place, he heard a muffled curse.
“What the hell, bro?” Dylan shouted. “Did you just barricade us in here?”
“Sure did,” Aidan replied.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, open the goddamn door.”
“Seriously, Aidan.” Claire’s voice now, laced with annoyance. “Let us out.”
“No can do, sweetheart. See, I’m tired as fuck of watching you two tiptoe around each other, or listening to you argue like a pair of preteens. It’s time you straightened your shit out.”