CJ shifts above me. “Turn around and stay that way until I fucking tell you otherwise, you hear me?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jake mutters. “God. Some welcome party.”

“You didn’t tell me you were coming today, asshole.”

“I said I was coming in a few weeks. It’s been a few weeks.”

“You couldn’t give me a heads up? Let me know you were dropping in on the fourth?”

“I didn’t know I was approved for leave until last minute. This is your heads up. Goddamn.”

CJ lets out an exhausted breath above me. “Come on, darlin’,” he says, dropping his knee to the couch space between my legs. “Let’s get you to the bedroom.”

“I don’t want to move,” I grumble from behind my hands. “Just stuff me underneath the cushions and leave me here to die. My butt was totally hanging out of my underwear.”

I feel his body quake with a laugh. He kisses the back of my hand. “He’s not looking anymore. And if he does, I’ll kick his ass.”

“You can try, gimp,” Jake counters. “Pretty sure I’ll have an advantage.”

“Bro, for real? It's good to see you. Always is, but don’t make me embarrass you in front of my woman.” CJ pushes off me as Jake mumbles something I can’t make out over the sound of my nervous breathing. The couch dips and I hear Velcro being pulled, and I know CJ is putting on his boot. Then before I have time to protest moving from my burial spot, yet again, I’m being scooped up off the couch, cradled against CJ’s chest in a way my naked upper half is squished against his, and carried around the sofa and down the hallway.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbles into my hair. His arm underneath my knees lifts me closer. “I really don’t think he saw much, babe. I had my arm around you and my hand on your ass, but even if he did see something? Jake wouldn’t get on you about it. He’s a good guy. He’s not a dick.”

I open my eyes, thinking on that.

Mm. CJ did have his hand on my ass. And he has big hands. Awesome hands. They cover a lot of surface. And it wasn’t like I was laying on my back. My boobs were pretty hidden.

Okay. Maybe this isn’t so terrible.

We enter the bedroom, and CJ kicks the door closed behind us and lowers me to my feet. He takes my face between his hands and looks at my eyes, my mouth. He runs his thumb over my cheek, assessing me.

I know CJ is close with his brother. And I’d hate for their reunion to start off on a sour note. Besides, maybe Jake just saw a lot of leg? I can be okay with that.

Smiling up into his serious face, wanting to ease him, I grip CJ’s hips above the waistband of his shorts and step closer. “It’s nice that he’s here for a visit,” I say. “How long has it been?”

A deep-set V forms between CJ’s brows. He blinks, looking all kinds of confused. And all kinds of hot, too. “A little over a year,” he answers. “He just got finished with his third tour over in Afghanistan.”

Wow. His third? I can not imagine that.

“Then you better go out there and give him his welcome party. He deserves it.” I pop up onto my toes and give CJ a quick kiss, spinning around and slipping out of his hold to get to the dresser. “You go ahead. I’ll get dressed and be out in a minute. Oo!” I whip back around and clap my hands together. “Tell him about the fireworks celebration. Maybe he can go!”

CJ stares at me for a breath, face expressionless, as if he is trying to play catch-up with his thoughts, then he closes his eyes through a shake of his head. His chest rattles with a low chuckle. “Jesus. You got over that pretty damn quick. I thought you wanted me to leave you out there to die?”

“I’m just focusing on the positive,” I tell him, arms crossing under my chest, which apparently does something stareworthy to my boobs, because CJ drops his eyes immediately and blinks slowly at them. “And you seeing your baby brother after a year of not seeing him trumps my butt hanging out. This is important.”

He lifts his eyes to my face. “So is that talk we were having that got interrupted,” he points out, cocking his head.

Talk about starting off on a sour note. Yikes.

“It is,” I agree, backing away slowly and maneuvering around the bed, while also maneuvering around this conversation. “And we’ll get back to that after you go out there and welcome him.”

I’d hate for CJ to not take our talk well and have it affect him and Jake’s time together. I can wait another hour. Or two.

“All right,” he says, jerking his chin at the dresser against the wall. “Toss me a shirt, will you?”

I grab a t-shirt out of the bottom drawer and toss it to him. He pulls it on as I’m grabbing some clothes for myself—jean shorts, a bra, and my Beach Don’t Kill My Vibe tank top. I lay everything out on the bed.

“Don’t take too long,” CJ says, giving me a look before turning toward the door, like he’d come get me and drag me out of this bedroom if I do just that.

Tempting . . .

CJ steps out and pulls the door shut behind him. Seconds later, I hear the loud, boisterous welcome he gives his brother as I’m stepping into my shorts. Jake’s voice is carrying down the hallway too. I can’t make out what they’re saying to each other as I finish getting dressed, but there is a lot of laughter. It’s sweet to hear.

After taking a minute to brush out my hair, doing this so they have a little extra alone time, I step out of the bedroom and make my way back down the hallway.