Free Hotter Than Ever (Out of Uniform) by Elle Kennedy Page A

mouth actually watered, and he hastily had to remind himself of all the reasons why he shouldn’t be thinking about screwing her.
    One—she was his brother’s ex-fiancée.
    Two—he didn’t like her.
    Three…okay, well, he couldn’t think of a third off the top of his head, but the first two reasons were more than enough.
    “I’m tired too,” Claire said between mouthfuls. “But at least I have the next three weeks off. I can’t remember the last time I had one week off, let alone three.”
    The sofa cushions dipped as Aidan leaned forward to grab his Coke can from the glass coffee table. He took a sip, watching Claire in curiosity. “What is it you do for a living?”
    She chewed and swallowed before answering, and Dylan suddenly noticed the kind of sandwich she’d prepared. “No jam?” he asked warily.
    “Nope. I don’t like jam.”
    “Neither do I.”
    They looked at each other for a few seconds, neither one speaking. Then Claire turned to address Aidan. “Anyway, I work at a consulting firm.”
    “Cool. What does that mean exactly? What do you do there?”
    A huge grin filled her face. “Consult.”
    She looked so proud with her answer Dylan couldn’t help but laugh. So did Aidan, who took another sip of his soda and said, “Care to elaborate?”
    She shoved the last piece of bread into her mouth, then set her plate on the table and got comfortable again. “My firm helps organizations operate more efficiently, in terms of overhead or management or certain protocols. Basically I visit a company and conduct an analysis of their internal workings, and then I tell them how they can do better.”
    “Sounds interesting.” Aidan looked impressed.
    “Sometimes it is. But sometimes it’s boring.”
    Aidan laughed and glanced over at Dylan. “Hey, look at that, you two have another thing in common.”
    “Yeah, what’s that?” he asked suspiciously.
    “You’re both capable of holding serious, articulate conversations even when you’re drunk as skunks.”
    “Hey,” Claire protested, “I’m not drunk as skunks. I mean, as a skunk.” Her dainty eyebrows knitted together. “Wait, do skunks get drunk? Why is that even a phrase?”
    “Because it rhymes?” Aidan suggested.
    She pursed her lips in thought, then nodded. “Yes, that makes sense.”
    Another burst of involuntary laughter flew out of Dylan’s mouth.
    Shit. He really shouldn’t be getting any enjoyment out of this conversation. He wasn’t supposed to like this woman, damn it.
    Deciding he needed a reminder about who he was dealing with, he looked at Claire and said, “So why did you get into consulting? I bet it was for the money, right?”
    “Nope. I got into it because I like ordering people around. Can you believe it? I found the one job that pays me to be a know-it-all.” With another beaming smile, she hopped off the chair like an energetic little kid. “I’m thirsty.”
    Aidan chuckled as she darted toward the kitchen. When Dylan saw the familiar glint in the other man’s eyes, he stifled a groan and issued another low warning. “Come on, man, not her. This morning she nearly became my sister-in-law.” He checked to make sure Claire was out of earshot, then added, “And I don’t like her.”
    “Too bad,” Aidan murmured. “’Cause I like her a lot, bro.”
    Their hushed conversation died when Claire strode back into the room with a tall glass of water. She sat, took a tiny ladylike sip, then watched them both with a thoughtful expression, for so long that Dylan shifted in discomfort.
    “Stop staring,” he grumbled. “It’s rude.”
    “But I just can’t figure it out.”
    “Figure what out?”
    “Are you two gay or what?”
    The question came out of left field, but it didn’t raise his guard or provoke any indignation. If anything, he was surprised she hadn’t voiced it sooner, especially after the scene she’d witnessed a couple of months ago.
    On the other end of the couch, Aidan was laughing again.