She rarely drank. She’d seen what alcohol could do to people. How it could change them, make them violent. She never wanted to be that out of control. But the spider. The magic. Liam’s kiss and her apparently shared threesome dreams were too much to take while sober.
She focused on Liam’s blurry expression. Was it disapproving? Angry? Disgusted? “Stop moving so I can see you.”
“I can do that,” Liam said easily, gathering her in his arms and taking her weight from Bailey as he spoke over her shoulder. “Everyone else is gone. You can stay tonight or, if you wait for me to get her upstairs, I can drive you home.”
“Me?” Bailey laughed. “Oh, you are really two peas in a pod, aren’t you? She said the same thing, the little sweetheart. If I thought you’d take advantage, I might pretend I was drunk and ask you to tuck me in. But I’m not even buzzed and we both know better.”
Dani’s arms tightened around Liam possessively and Bailey laughed, patting her on the back fondly. “Aspirin and water, babycakes. That’s the cure for what ails you. Hopefully we can both forget about tonight’s session with Kaya. I wish I could. Get it? Wishes? Never mind. You will in the morning.”
Dani knew Bailey expected a response. “Mmmhmm.”
She heard the door close but she didn’t try to move out of his hold. She was fine exactly where she was. Cozy. With Liam’s arms around her, the room wasn’t spinning quite so much.
“You smell good.”
His surprised laugh jolted her. “After hours in front of a grill and a few spilled beers? I’m sure there’s an aroma, but I wouldn’t call it good.”
“Under that. That’s why I borrow your shirts. I should stop that, right? Friends shouldn’t want to smell each other, should they?”
Did he groan into her hair? “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the sound of irony.”
She pushed a stray curl out of her eyes and squinted up at him. “Huh?”
“Nothing, Shortbread.” He hefted her more securely in his arms and started walking. “Just remembering a conversation I had with the guys.”
“What did you think of Nick’s friend, Stax? We thought he was interesting, in a kind of sexy but also sort of creepy way.”
“And the hits keep on coming,” Liam blew out a loud breath. “Yes, he was super creepy and hopefully we’ll never see him again. You need to get some rest.”
He started up the stairs and she tugged on his shirt, not ready to go to sleep yet. “Kitchen, please, driver. I’m hungry and I haven’t eaten for hours. Is there pie left?”
Liam swung around mid-step, causing Dani to grab her head to ensure it went with her. “Oh God, it’s already starting. Why do people do this to themselves?”
Liam snorted. “My question is, why did you? The first night we met you took one sip of a watered-down rum punch and started to get tipsy. How many glasses of sangria did you have to get this toasted?”
He set her bottom down on the island and turned to open the refrigerator, keeping her weaving form in view.
She bit her lip, trying to do the math in her head. “Six? Or maybe four and a half. I dropped one in the pool when Bailey dared me to howl at the coyote.”
“Son of a bitch, Dani, no wonder you’re soused.”
She lifted her chin, placing her hands on the counter to keep steady. “I. Am not. Soused. That word sounds funny. Soused.”
She saw what he had in his hand and forgot about balancing. “Ooh, pie!”
“I gotcha, darlin’.” She was in Liam’s arms again before she knew she was falling.
Dani blinked slowly, realizing how close they were. “Bailey is right. You have beautiful eyes.” She expected to see clouds floating through them any minute. “Your glasses can’t hide them anymore, Superman.”
His gaze narrowed. “Dani.”
He set her down on the floor, lowering her slowly so she could feel his muscular chest, his stomach, his— She shivered.
If she wasn’t supposed to enjoy the smell of her roommate, liking how his erection felt pressing against her probably wasn’t allowed either. But she really did. She’d been thinking about it all day. And in the condition she was in, it didn’t surprise her at all that she told him so out loud.
His jaw clenched. “You’re too drunk for this conversation. Are you sure you don’t want to go to bed?”
God, that sounded good. But she didn’t think he meant what she wanted it to mean. What did she want? “I want pie. I need it to recover from this night.”
“What the hell happened with you three? I left you laughing by the pool.”
Dani nuzzled him. “Let’s see. The spider was a grandmother, Kaya zapped me and then Bailey wished for two Ewans. We all did.” She leaned back, wrinkling up her forehead. “I don’t think that came out right.”