She’d never thought that would be a turn on, but damn, it really was. Aroused Liam pushed all her buttons in the best, dirtiest way.
It was still hard to merge the two in her mind. Her best friend and this sexy beast she’d just met. She wasn’t sure what to make of him.
She sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs, suddenly insecure. What came next? This was the third time this had happened between them in less than a week. Once could be excused. Twice, if you’d had a long dry spell and a lot of liquor. But this time? They were both sober and aware and completely willing.
It was strange that after all this time it had come on them like a fever. Was it magic? Because of those stars and Kaya’s butterfly maiden dream? Was any of this real?
“Are you going to look at me?”
“Yes.” After a few long moments, she turned her head to face him. “Yes, Liam.”
He narrowed his eyes. “No running upstairs to avoid me again?”
She rubbed her chin on her shoulder, thinking. “Not yet.”
“Not at all. Not tonight, anyway,” he corrected.
She felt like saluting. “Yes, sir.”
His expression hardened. She could see Liam in there, but he was still that sexy beast as well, staring out at her with a steely determination that made her shiver. She liked it more than she should. It gave her hope that he’d approve of her new plan.
This might not be the right time to bring it up.
He stood, water dripping off his gleaming muscles. His slim hips. His... oh, she was in so much trouble. He was hard again. “Where are you going after telling me to stay put?”
“I’ll be right back, Shortbread. And I mean it. No disappearing and no regrets tonight.”
She nodded, watching the flex of his ass cheeks as he strode back toward the house. She had no regrets, which for her was unusual. Whatever was going on with her, she hoped it lasted, because she really wanted to see more of that ass. She’d had no idea.
As she sat there, she purposely let herself think about what would happen if he didn’t agree with her proposal—namely getting her own place so they could date like normal people and see if their friendship could become something more.
If tonight was all they got, if he ended up deciding to return to Texas or wanted to move to Australia instead, she still wouldn’t let herself regret giving in to what was between them.
What a week. She’d become a new woman, and that woman realized she was in love with her buddy, Liam. That woman was willing to take big risks.
She shivered again, deciding she needed to bend the not-moving rule long enough to get a towel from the chaise lounge.
She’d just begun to dry off when she saw them. A pair of glowing, unblinking eyes watching her through the open gate of the fence.
Hadn’t that been closed?
“Hey, pretty coyote. Are you the one that’s been following me around? Not a bad omen, just protecting me like Will said you were?” She stepped closer to the sliding doors and he growled.
She stopped moving. “I hear you. Just let me get inside without attacking me and I’ll make Liam give you a nice juicy side of beef that isn’t me.”
She really needed to stop talking to things that couldn’t talk back. On the other hand, why did nature hate her?
Fear turned to disbelief as the air shimmered around the animal like heat waves off a mirage. Was she dreaming again, or just going crazy? Maybe one of their closer neighbors was smoking peyote and the fumes had drifted over to her backyard?
It had to be a hallucination. Because a coyote did not just morph into a fully clothed Stax. Things like that didn’t actually happen in real life.
“I’m very real, Dani.”
He took a step forward and she stumbled back, holding on to her towel for dear life. “Don’t come any closer.”
He stopped immediately and she allowed herself to breathe. And babble.
“I believe in what Kaya and Will can do. And I know Sedona is special. You can’t throw a rock in this town without hitting someone who’s claimed to have had an experience at a vortex or been magically healed by some unseen force. Oh, and aliens. People talk about aliens all the time. And the power of the ancestors, who might also be aliens, I don’t know, it can get confusing.”
Stax lifted an eyebrow as she took another step back. “I’ve felt things too,” she assured him shakily. “Just this week there was a giant spider, shooting stars, Kaya’s dream and Liam and I…” She paused for a breath. “But I think coyotes turning into sexy men in my backyard is one crazy bridge too far, Stax.”