If she only knew what her body did to him. She was only five-three to his six-four, but the lush figure encased in that little package did it for him in the best and most inconvenient way.
Since they’d come here, he’d watched her regain some of her self-esteem. She’d been going out more with her girlfriends, showing more skin and moving in a way that made him sweat and glare at any other man who happened to notice. He’d done a lot of glaring lately, but only when she wasn’t looking.
Her orgasm had been so fucking glorious he’d nearly joined her. Nearly unzipped his jeans and taken her right there in the bathroom without a second thought. Maybe it was a good thing she’d come to her senses. The last thing he wanted her to have was regrets.
He’d still tortured himself by staying so close to her all day, especially after she’d told him her news.
He knew they couldn’t go on like this forever. That he couldn’t pretend to be fine with being her sexless, harmless roommate for the rest of their lives. He didn’t want that. He never had. If she hadn’t been so fragile after what that son of a bitch put her through, he would have staked his claim when she’d come to him.
And he would have lost her.
Not going after what he wanted went against his nature. But he more than wanted Dani. He needed her in a way he couldn’t put into words without sounding like a damn caveman. But all she’d needed at the time was a friend, so in a moment of insanity, he’d put them in this unsustainable situation. For him, there had been no alternative. No reality where he didn’t keep her safe and they didn’t end up together. And like an overconfident idiot, he’d believed all he needed was more time. For her to be as sure as he was. To see him as something more.
After this morning, he was rethinking his original plan. All his patience was gone, and all he wanted was to throw her over his shoulder and keep her in bed until she finally gave in to what he knew was between them. She felt it too. But was it enough to overcome her fears and give them a chance?
“Earth to Whipped. Come in, Pussy Whipped.” Jace covered his mouth as though talking through a muffled microphone. “Oh, this is sad. Gentlemen, I think he’s a goner.”
Liam saw Nick nod while the man beside him smile behind his hand. Stax. He was a weird bird, that one. And he kept looking at Liam as if he knew something. It was making him uncomfortable. Apparently, he’d been helping Nick decipher some cave drawings near a dig site, though he looked more like a homeless artist than a card-carrying member of academia.
There was something about his eyes. Too green. Too amused. Too strange.
Probably drugs.
“Yep.” Jace shook his head. “Worst case I’ve ever seen. Dani has him well and truly gelded.”
“Fuck you very much.” Liam wrapped his fingers around the neck of his beer bottle and lifted it to his lips with a sarcastic salute.
The three men toasted him in return, but Jace wasn’t ready to let it go. “You know I love you like a brother.” He smirked. “Like my white, southern, obviously adopted brother. And I will admit you make the best ribs I’ve ever eaten. But in this one area you have so completely fucked things up that, as a fellow member of the male species, I feel the need to point it out it out to you in detail at our next man meeting. Which is happening now.”
“This should be good.”
Jace twirled his half-empty bottle on the poker table and tapped it for emphasis. “Let the man meeting commence. Based on previous conversations held behind your back, I think we’re all in agreement that you’ve made just about every mistake a guy can make with a woman he’s interested in.”
Liam frowned at that. “You all agree?”
Nick nodded again and Liam scowled. “You don’t count. You always agree with Jace.”
“You’d be surprised,” Nick muttered.
“I just met you and Dani, so I missed the gossip. But if you’ve lived with that delicious morsel for more than twenty-four hours without claiming her, then I agree, as well.”
“You’re a guest in his house, Stax.” Nick’s remark was delivered offhandedly, but Liam could hear the steel beneath it.
“I’m contributing to the conversation. I didn’t start it.”
“We’ll allow the contribution. Let’s go over your mistakes for the audience playing at home.” Jace held up his hand and began to count on his callused fingers. “You became her friend. You agreed to be roommates. You held her hair that time she got sick in the bar parking lot. You cook every meal and do things for her without her having to ask...”