Playing Games
Page 29

As we headed up the stairs to our room, my mind focused on the conversation we'd had at the bottom of the Great Pyramid. Of Liam's sultry promise to me. Of spending the day in bed and kissing for hours. Of making love.
Of course, all of that came to a crashing halt as soon as we opened the door to the hotel room.
It was a small room, which wasn't a problem. It was also clean, and neat, and had an old TV perched atop a dresser. It also had twin beds. Two rather tiny twin beds.
I giggled. I couldn't help myself. I looked at the sight of those two small beds, and it just bubbled up inside of me. Romantic evening cuddling together? Not in those bunks.
Liam chuckled, too, and dropped his bags on the threshold. "I…guess we could ask for a different room? I didn't think to ask about the beds."
I shook my head. "It's okay. Maybe things just weren't meant to be." I grinned over at him. "You're probably pretty tired after that last leg of the race."
"Not that tired," he said in a disgusted voice, and I broke out into giggles again.
He shut the door to the bedroom behind us, and then he moved to my side. His hand stroked my cheek and then he leaned in and kissed me, his mouth moving over mine in a tender, gentle kiss. When it broke, he looked down at me. "I still want you, Katy. You still want me?"
I nodded up at him. "More than anything."
"Then I think we should push these beds together," he told me, his voice husky. "And enjoy our downtime."
I kissed him again, my hand sliding along his shirt. He'd given back the wetsuit after we'd checked in for the race, and changed back into his own clothing. I brushed my fingers under his shirt to feel his warm chest underneath. "Do you have condoms?"
He stiffened, and then gave a small curse. "No. I don't. But there's a gift shop downstairs."
"I'll wait up here, then."
He pressed another kiss to my mouth. "Be right back." He grabbed his wallet and headed out the door, leaving me alone in the room.
I studied the bed situation. They were separated by a small nightstand which boasted of an alarm clock and a lamp. I headed to it and unplugged both, then dragged the nightstand off to the opposite end of the room. Once that was done, I shoved the two beds together and considered them. Not nearly as bad, though still probably a smaller bed than would be comfortable. I didn't suppose it mattered, I thought with a smile. It wasn't like we were planning on doing a ton of sleeping today.
And just that thought made my face grow hot. I ran a hand along my pigtails, wondering if I should take them down. I decided against it, since Liam seemed to enjoy them. I slid my shoes off and opened my bag, considering my clothing. I didn't have anything sexy or fun to wear. It was all race gear. Every few days, someone in production would meet us at the beginning of the race and swap out our clothing for new, fresh ones so we never had to look wrinkled or smelly on TV. Naturally, no lingerie was included. I thought about stripping out of my shorts and just remaining in my race shirt. Or a bra and panties, but the bra I had was a sports bra and looked like something designed more for a vigorous hike than making love.
After a moment more of indecision, I stripped out of everything and slid under the covers of the now-doubled bed.
Just as I did, I heard Liam return to the door. He was talking to someone, and I ducked under the covers, terrified. Oh lord, what if one of the other racers was out there and wanted to hang out? I'd die of mortification, considering Liam was likely standing out there with a box of condoms and I was in here, waiting in bed and naked. I strained my ears, trying to hear the conversation.
"Not right now," Liam said. Then, "No. I can do an interview later. I promise. Right now I'm just really tired." Another pause. "No. No, you can't see what's in the bag."
A moment later, the door shut and Liam came into view, an exasperated look on his face. "Those cameramen are really determined. I—" His voice stopped as his gaze moved to the sight of me, waiting in the bed. A smile curved his face. "Guess you didn't change your mind."
I trailed a finger on the blanket. "Guess not. You disappointed?"
"Hell, no." Liam set the small bag down on the dresser. "But our cameraman out there thinks something's up."
I didn't know what to do about that. "Should we order a pizza or something? Maybe he'll go away if we do?"
He shrugged, then pulled off his shirt. "We can order a pizza later, if you like."
The breath caught in my throat at the sight of Liam undressing. I'd seen him in his boxers before. I'd definitely seen him without a shirt. But somehow, seeing him strip down in front of the bed while I waited in it, naked? Really brought things home.
He pulled off his pants, and looked over at me. And paused. "You look…uncomfortable."
"This is just…" I gestured at the beds, pushed together. "Faster than I normally move."
Liam stripped down to his boxers. "If you want to take it slow, I’m fine with that." He moved away from the dresser and sat on the edge of the bed, still in his boxers. "Okay if I get under the covers with you?"
I shook my head. I didn't mind. "You must think I'm being silly. You probably have girls throwing themselves at you all the time."
"I don't think you're being silly," he said, pulling back one side of the blankets and sliding under them. He slid a bit closer, but there was still a foot of space between us. "And most of those girls just want to nail anyone in the band because they're in a band. Has nothing to do with me or what I'm like."
"And what are you really like?" I asked in a quiet voice.
He thought about this for a moment, then shrugged. "Kind of like I am on this race. I like to compete. I don't like the limelight. I have an appreciation for smart, brave girls." He reached out and tweaked one of my pigtails. "And blonde pigtails."
"Brave girls?" I gave him a look of disbelief, clutching the blanket to my breasts. "You're kidding, right? Which one of us was wailing like a ninny inside of the pyramids earlier?"
"You were claustrophobic," he said easily. "Everyone has fears. You got past yours, though. Normally you're fearless, and I like that about you. I'm willing to overlook a moment of weakness in the scheme of things." He gave me a crooked smile. "As long as we never mention that mukluk incident ever again."
I laughed, unable to help myself. "You're the one that keeps bringing it up, not me."
"That's because it makes you smile," he said, and his hand left my hair to brush his the backs of his fingers along my bare shoulder. "And I like seeing you smile."
Goosebumps danced along my skin and I shivered at that small touch. I moved a little closer to him in the bed, until we were facing each other, each of us propped up on an elbow. Inches separated us, but the blankets still lay between us, a barrier.
And I reached out and hesitantly brushed my hand over his pectoral, tracing the lines of the spider-web tattoo. "Can I ask you about these?"
"You can ask me about anything," he said in a low, husky voice. His eyes remained on me, as if fascinated by my touch.
"What's the spider-web for?" My fingers moved over the lines.