“If I’m not in the way.”
Shaking my head, I offered her the seat across from me. There was no way I wanted her sitting beside me, but as she sat down, I got a look at her deliciously long legs. She had her pale pink robe on, which came down to her toes. Her dark hair was haphazardly piled on top of her head with bits flying around her face and neck. I gripped the cup of coffee tighter as she looked at me.
She took her time looking at me, but for the blush slowly creeping up her cheeks, I would have said she was in a trance.
“It’s beautiful here. I could sit here all day and never move.”
I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Oh, you’d move alright. I’d give you maybe ten minutes from when good old mom joined you before you’d think up excuses to leave.”
“That’s not a nice thing to say.” She scowled.
“Yeah, well it’s been a while since anything nice was said about me.” Shit, why the hell did I go and blurt that out? It was the truth, but not one I’d ever admitted to before.
She’d started to look at me with pity and I felt anger narrowing my eyes. I didn’t want pity. I wanted... “Do not pity me,” I growled at her.
Thalia looked away from me, and then took a deep breath before she met my eyes again. “Don’t get pissed with me, Jack. You’re the one who told me that.”
“What’s going on?” Liam asked, walking onto the porch with his own coffee making us both jump.
“We were just talking or debating something. Depends on which way you look at it,” Thalia said, looking straight at me. Having her eyes on me hurt, knowing she was with my brother. It was crazy and I needed to leave.
Standing, I risked a glance at Thalia, and she looked disappointed that I was leaving, whereas Liam looked relieved.
“I’ll catch you guys later.” I was half way down the porch steps when I remembered I still held the cup. Fuck. I turned and started back up the steps, nearly knocking Thalia, who’d stood up, off her feet. I made a grab for her, pulling her against me. I dropped the cup; my arm went around her waist while I steadied us both by grabbing hold of the railing with the other.
Thalia had one of her hands wrapped tight in my t-shirt, against my back, causing a shiver to run through me. She felt damn good in my arms. I briefly tightened my hold before letting go. “Fuck.” I shoved her at Liam as I picked the cup up from the floor, which surprisingly hadn’t broken. With a quick glance at them both, I slammed the cup down onto the table, practically running to the stables to let off steam on my bike.
Around Thalia, I needed to think about Mia, to stop myself from practically falling over my tongue when I looked at her. There was no way she would have missed the instant erection I’d gotten when she was in my arms. I’d felt her curves and those large breasts. God, I needed a cold shower or to call Mia, although I had the feeling it was only the latter that would get me to calm down!
Chapter 14
Thalia
––––––––
“What’s going on between you and Jack?”
So I hadn’t imagined the tension between us? Sitting back down, I looked at Liam. “Nothing. Why?”
“When he crashed into you, he looked ready to sling you over his shoulder and take you with him,” Liam grouched.
I wish he had.
Liam’s forehead creased in worry and I sighed. “There is nothing going on between me and your brother. He was sitting out here drinking his coffee when I walked out, not five minutes before you, plus we only met last night.”
He ran his hands through his hair, and then looked at me. “Thalia, you need to remember he’s engaged and getting married in a few weeks. No matter what happens, he will be getting married, that I can guarantee you. Just be careful with him.”
“I have no intention of needing to be careful with him, okay? I would like to be his friend, because something tells me he doesn’t have that many.”
Liam scowled not looking too keen on that idea. “He’s your brother so why can’t we be friends? Wouldn’t you expect to be friends with his fiancée, Mia? After all she’s going to be your sister-in-law.”
At first glance he looked upset, but then he offered me a wry grin. “Okay, you have me there. Let’s just forget it. Do you want to go to the lake today? You’ll probably like it there. We could take a boat out as well.”
Liam held his hand out, so I placed mine in his and let him pull me up from the chair. “That sounds great, but I think you should know, I’m not a very good swimmer. I tend to stay in my depth, otherwise I struggle.”
“If we go out on the lake, we have to wear life preserves anyway, so you’ll be okay. Just remember not to get too close to the bank without wearing the preserve, because it drops pretty deep within four feet.”