Risk Is a Four-Letter Word (6 page)

"He's got a great ass, doesn't he?"
Eric said, his voice slightly slurred. Carrie looked over, surprised. She
couldn't see his face because of the way he was leaning on her. She glanced
down at his injured arm, making sure he kept pressure on the wound.

"How can you even notice that now?"
She wondered if he and Zeke were lovers. After their make-out session in the
museum, she'd been curious. Both seemed surprised by what was happening, but
Carrie had been so caught up in the kiss, she didn't think about it until afterward.
Eric wouldn't have made a comment like that if they weren't lovers though, would
he? Carrie frowned. If they were together, what were they doing hitting on her?

"You're joking, right? The only time I
wouldn't notice is if I were dead," Eric laughed then grunted as the
movement jarred his arm. "Motherfucker, that hurts," he muttered,
looking apologetically at the girls hanging all over Carrie. He took a deep
breath and let it out.

Carrie let her confusion drop as she sought to
make him a little more comfortable. "Here, if you shift over this way, you
can relax a bit more." She shoved at him a bit. He slumped down in the
chair a little more and Carrie smiled as she watched some of the tension leave
his body.

"Thanks." Eric's eyes closed, though
he still breathed heavily, probably from the pain.

"Aunt Carrie, who is
that man?
He's all bloody," Gina said. The
girl had her head on Carrie's lap on the side opposite from her sister so Caro
wouldn't kick her.

Carrie shifted the toddler to a more comfortable
position, glad the smaller girl had finally settled down. She'd just about
given up trying to wipe away the blood when Zeke and Eric walked in. Thankfully
most of it landed on her and Olivia.

"He's a friend of mine." Carrie hoped
the girl wouldn't ask any more questions.

"He's big," Gina said. "And he's
got a pretty bracelet on! I didn't know boys wore jewelry!"

Eric laughed under his breath. "Some boys
like to wear jewelry, sweetie." He thumbed over the silver links on his
uninjured arm. "This was a gift from a very special person. I always wear
it."

Carrie noted he had wonderful hands: lean and strong
and graceful, despite the bloodstains decorating them at the moment.

Gina peered over Carrie's leg. "It's
pretty."

"It is indeed, just like you," Eric
said, smiling.

His voice
seems a little less strained
, Carrie thought with
relief.
Probably
because he's sitting down
.

"What brings you here?" Eric asked
the girl.

"My stupid brother broke his stupid
arm," Gina answered, clearly still put out by having to leave the
playground so abruptly. "And he bled all over everything. See?" She
held up her arm where her winter coat was stained. "This is my favorite
coat and he got it all yucky."

"Gina!" Carrie admonished, amused
despite herself.

Eric laughed. "Well, brothers can be a
pain sometimes."

Gina nodded glumly.
"Yeah."

"I have a younger brother and he and I
fought when we were kids, but we get along fine now. It'll be different when
you're grown up."

"That's what everyone says, but I don't
think Scott will ever be fun. He's stupid." With that, Gina put her head
back on Carrie's leg, dismissing the stupid grown male from her head along with
her brother. Carrie grinned. She loved her sister's kids.

"Wow." Eric shifted against her
shoulder. Carrie could tell his arm hurt. "She's pretty certain about men
and
she's,
what, five?
Six-years
old?"
He looked questioningly at Carrie.

"Six. Her brother Scott is eight and this
little one," Carrie readjusted Caro on her lap, "she's four."

"They're not yours, are they?" Eric
asked, looking a bit fearful.

Carrie laughed.
"Oh, no.
They're my sister's kids."

Eric sighed theatrically. "Thank God. I
thought Zeke and I were going to have to reexamine our desperation to take you
out on a date."

Carrie looked over in surprise, trying to see
his expression, but her chin bumped his head.
"Um.
You want to ask me out? Aren't you and Zeke kind of a thing?" Her face
burned with embarrassment.

"Didn't stop us before," Eric
muttered. In a louder voice he added, "We still want to date you."

Carrie blinked in confusion.
Yeah, okay, it was hot when we kissed at
MoMA
, but how did that work in real life
? Her mind
immediately supplied her with several graphic theories and she felt her face
grow even hotter.
Now
is not the time to be thinking about it!
Ixnay
on the
exsay
!

"Hey, I've got a wheelchair for you. Let's
get you in the back." Zeke suddenly appeared in front of her just as she
was imagining him and Eric locked in a kiss.
Naked.
Um, so awkward
.
She hoped Zeke couldn't tell what she'd been thinking. Carrie contemplated
sliding under the chair before discarding the idea as impractical. Where would
she stash the girls?

Zeke leaned down and gently helped Eric into
the wheelchair. When Eric was settled, Zeke looked at Carrie and smiled.
"Just because Eric and I are together doesn't mean we don't have room for
one more." He winked at her and before Carrie could say anything, he
wheeled Eric away, past the front desk and through the doors to the emergency
room. She stared at his ass.
Still phenomenal.
Also,
damn
, she was so busted. He knew what
she'd been thinking about. He totally knew.

It wasn't until the doors shut behind the two
men that the full impact of what Zeke said penetrated. They had room for one
more? Her mind immediately flashed right back into her fantasy.
God
.
She thought
about the museum and her body went hot at the memory of them kissing each
other.
Kissing her.
Carrie took a shaky breath. Did
that sort of thing actually happen in real life? She wouldn't mind trying it
out. She shifted her weight on the chair, her sudden arousal uncomfortable. She
wished she were anywhere but here. She thought about Zeke's perfect ass and
Eric's lovely face. She wouldn't mind getting her hands on them. She wouldn't
mind them putting their hands all over her.

Chapter Four

The fourth time Eric set eyes on Carrie, he and
Zeke were stuck beneath a stupidly heavy table, arguing about how to get it
into the truck.

"Put the fucking thing down on your end. I
can slide it in from here!" Zeke said.

Eric rolled his eyes and didn't budge. "If
I put it down here, your fingers will be crushed, you moron."

"Eric, I swear to God, you're the moron.
My fingers aren't even under it. I've got it propped on the truck, but you
can't fucking see that, can you? Because you're the dumbass with his head stuck
under the backside of the thing. PUT IT DOWN."

Eric sighed and did as he was told, ignoring
the yelp that came from the opposite side of the table. Zeke could really get
testy when they were loading furniture. He walked around to find his lover
perched in the pickup's bed, blowing on his thumb.

"Got it caught underneath, huh?" Eric
said as snidely as possible. He grinned as Zeke gave him the finger. When he
cocked his hand that way it made the hummingbird on Zeke's wrist look like it
was about to fly away. Eric loved that ridiculous tattoo. He smirked, thinking
about licking it. "Want me to kiss it better?"

Zeke flipped him off again. A woman laughed and
Eric spun around to see Carrie standing in the gravel driveway with an older
woman just behind her.
Whoa
. He'd
hoped she'd contact them after meeting up with her in the hospital, but she
hadn't. And now here she was, in the flesh. She looked delicious, all bundled
up in her red coat. Somehow her blue eyes looked even brighter in contrast.

"Carrie?" Zeke hopped down from the
truck bed and joined Eric in the driveway. "I didn't hear a car."

Carrie smiled as she walked closer. "I
know you didn't. I could tell by the way you were arguing. It was too much fun
listening to the two of you to interrupt."

"You never called us." Eric jogged
over, pretending to be angry. She saw right through him, grinning and holding
out her hand. He bent over it and kissed her glove instead of shaking it. The
faintest hint of honeysuckle drifted to his nose. He couldn't believe she was
really here. After seeing her in December at the hospital and never getting a
call, he'd given up hope.

"I'm here with a client," Carrie
said. "This is Daniela Clifton. She's looking for something interesting to
put in her foyer."

Daniela smiled and held out her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Wright.
Carrie told me you had
some intriguing stuff in your showroom."

Eric wished he could kick himself. He and Zeke
had been swearing at each other while a client stood in their driveway.
Idiots
.
He pulled
off his leather work gloves and held out his hand.
"Hi,
Ms. Clifton.
We'd be pleased to show you what we've got inside." He
gestured to the large red barn behind them. He and Zeke had a small showroom
carved into the front of the workshop. The rest of the barn held their
equipment and was where they did all their work. They also had a storage room
in back, on the second level. They'd built a wall separating the showroom with
large windows so he and Zeke could see when someone stopped by.

"I'm really sorry you heard us bickering,
Ms. Clifton," Zeke said, coming up behind Eric.

Eric nodded in agreement. He hoped they hadn't
scared her off. He ran a practiced eye over her clothing. She wore expensive
jeans and boots with a cashmere sweater. He bit the inside of his cheek,
thinking. Experience had taught him which clients had money to spend and which
didn't. This woman was dressed casually, but she probably spent more on her
purse than he did on his work boots.

She shrugged, smiling at Zeke. "I've heard
worse in my time, believe me. My husband and I own a few restaurants and the
cooks can get a bit spicy, if you know what I mean
Mr
....?"

"
Griffin
.
I'm Zeke Griffin. Eric and I own G&W Design." He shook her hand,
flashing a smile as he stepped forward.

"It's Daniela. And if your work looks as
good in person as it does on your website, I'm sure we'll be seeing more of
each other."

Eric nodded and glanced at Carrie. She was
smiling, obviously pleased. Why show up now? Not that he was upset about it, oh
no, but it had been over a month ago since they'd run into each other in the
hospital. The holidays had come and here she was, all of a sudden, with a
client. He wished he'd gotten her number at the hospital.

"How's the arm?" Carrie asked,
startling him out of his reverie.

"Oh, it's fine. See?" Eric pushed up
the sleeve of his work shirt. The scar was still pink, but the wound had healed
completely and didn't bother him. Carrie lightly touched it with two fingers,
sliding them down his arm before she let go. Eric shivered and he glanced at
her pretty, luscious lips, dick leaping to attention. A quick look at Zeke and
he knew his lover had the same problem. Why else would he be trying to tug his
coat down?

"You must be cold, out here with only a
shirt." Carrie glanced at Zeke who'd moved closer. Eric nodded. She was
right, except for the part about him being cold. He wasn't. He was hot. Hot and
bothered. Still, the February air
was
bitter today. Spring hadn't yet reared its head. He should get them inside.

"Why don't you and Daniela come inside?
You can look over the small pieces we have in the showroom. We have a few
tables and some artwork, inlay and steel. We can put on a pot of coffee,
too." Eric stepped back, angling his body so he still looked welcoming
while he tugged his loose shirt over his jeans. Thank God he hadn't tucked it
in. His dick was hard enough to cut steel. Zeke smirked at him and Eric knew he
hadn't managed to hide it as well as he'd hoped.
Bastard.
Eric narrowed his eyes and looked pointedly at his lover's groin. Zeke flushed
then deliberately licked his lips.
Jesus
.

"We'd love to." Daniela started for
the door, clearly oblivious to the undercurrents of arousal and frustration.
She carefully avoided the half-frozen muck in the gravel driveway and walked to
the barn. Eric hurried to open the dark-stained doors for her, flipping Zeke
off once he was sure Daniela wouldn't see. Carrie did though. She shot him a
huge smile as she followed her client inside.

Eric wished desperately she'd come alone.

--------------------------------

Two hours later, Eric fingered the business
card in his hand. Carrie
Haake
, interior design. The
crisp white cardstock was embossed with a dark purple design on one side that
vaguely resembled a bird.
Or maybe a star.
Interesting
.
More
importantly, however, was the number printed on the bottom.