Chapter 27
Liam needed security guards or maybe a door that locked.
By my count, this was the second time we’d been very rudely interrupted in his office. Thankfully, it wasn’t his awful grandfather this time.
Although the man filling the doorway with the murderous glare in his eyes seemed to possess the Maxwell gene. Good-looking, blond hair, and a chiseled jaw covered in a short-cropped beard.
From where I stood, I couldn’t see the color of his eyes. Not that I wanted to. His stare was way too cold and deathly. I almost shivered.
Just as he’d done when his grandfather had burst in a few weeks ago, Liam gently pushed me behind his broad back. The other guy didn’t miss it, aiming a mighty glare toward me.
“Did she tell you to do it?” The guy stepped farther into the office.
My gaze shot to the doorway where Tamara mouthed “I’m sorry” to Liam before lifting her thumb to her ear and her pinky to her lips.
I understood the silent sign. Should I call someone?
Liam shook his head. Tamara left but didn’t close the door behind her.
“Did some research, and apparently, she used to work there.” The other guy continued with a sneer. “Got fired, too. Did you know that?”
“Shocking that you know how to do something,” Liam drawled. His voice was scarily calm and measured.
“Fuck you!” the asshole guy shouted. “And fuck her for making you fire Fiona and her team.”
It happened so fast. One moment, Liam stood in front of me, and the next, he had his fists curled into the idiot’s shirt.
“One word. One more fucking word about my wife, Shane, and I promise you’ll regret it.”
Shane’s eyes went big with fear, but he still notched his chin up a few inches. “Oh yeah? You’ll be the one with regrets when you lose this company, and I’m the one sitting in your precious little seat.”
He tried to pull away from Liam, but the man’s grip was relentless. Liam’s knuckles were white, and even from where I stood, I saw the muscle in his jaw pulse furiously fast. He seemed one second away from ramming his fist into Shane’s face but shoved him backward instead.
“Get the hell out of my office.”
Falling over his feet, Shane hurried to the door. He muttered something I couldn’t quite make out, then slammed the door shut with the same intensity he’d thrown it open a few moments ago.
Liam immediately turned to me. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”
“What’s he talking about?” I swallowed. “You fired Eventique?”
“Yes.”
My frown deepened. “Why? They’ve always done the Nouvelle Femme Year-end Function.”
Liam’s jaw hardened. For a few breathtakingly long moments, he just stared at me.
“What they did to you wasn’t right. I couldn’t make it right for you, but I could do this.” He shrugged his broad shoulders. “Besides, I don’t want people who don’t value honesty and honorability working on anything for Nouvelle Femme.”
I had no freaking clue what to do with that. I wholly understood the second part of his statement. If I had my own company, I absolutely would want to be associated with companies with integrity.
It was that first part, my brain couldn’t quite wrap itself around.
He’d revoked a contract they’d held for almost a decade because what they’d done to me wasn’t right.
“Liam, you can’t—”
“Don’t.” His long legs ate up the distance between us in a few easy strides. Wrapping his fingers around mine, he held my hand against his chest. “Don’t tell me it wasn’t necessary. Or that I shouldn’t have done it. It was, and I should have. I’d do it again, too. You didn’t deserve to lose a job you loved because my asshole cousin promised the girl he was screwing something she wasn’t entitled to.”
“That’s not why they fired me,” I admitted softly.
Liam’s lips twitched like he was holding back a smile. “I know about the stapler incident.”
“It…just happened.”
This time, he didn’t hide his grin. It was wide and beautiful. My knees did that wobbly thing again, and the butterflies in my belly went crazy.
“I would’ve paid a lot of money to see that.” Liam brushed a thumb over my cheekbone. “I bet your cheeks were the same pretty color they get when you’re turned on.” His gaze shifted from where he’d watched his stroking thumb to meet mine. “Those eyes were probably big and shiny like two scorching green flames.”
He licked his lips. My breath caught in my throat.
“Fuck.” Dropping his forehead to mine, he wound his arms around me. “The thought of you pissed the hell off probably shouldn’t turn me on.” Liam’s hand slid down my back to cup my butt. Digging his fingers into my skin, he brought our hips together. “But here we are.”
Oh, yeah. He was turned on, all right. And so was I.
To be fair, though, we only had to be in the same room for my lady bits to go nuts.
I licked my lips like he’d done earlier, but since we were so incredibly close, my tongue slid over his mouth, too. An oh-so-deep groan vibrated through his chest and skittered over my skin like a live wire in a puddle of water.
I flattened my palms on his chest and tasted him again. He’d anticipated the move and parted his lips, so I licked into his mouth. He caught my tongue easily, sucking on it like he couldn’t get enough.
A tiny moan escaped me that quickly turned high-pitched and needy the moment Liam’s hand slipped between us to cover my breast. His thumb did that brushing thing again, just over my nipple this time.
It felt so freaking good I could hardly think straight. Which was absolutely why I never heard the door open…again.
It was only when Liam furiously yelled, “Oh, for fuck’s sake,” that I realized we weren’t alone anymore.
And not for the first time that day, I really wished we had the good sense to lock the damn door.
Somehow, in my daze, Liam had made us both look respectable. I wasn’t behind his back this time; he was halfway behind me. No doubt to hide the bulge in his pants. And since I was pretty sure my nipples still stood at attention, I quickly covered my breasts with my arms.
Another man had stomped into the office, muttering angry words in a language I didn’t understand. His long hair flopped over his forehead as he furiously waved his arms in the air.
“Francisco, to what do I owe this intrusion?” Liam said dryly.
The other guy, Francisco, wasn’t even fazed by Liam’s tone. He just kept going. Thankfully, he’d switched to English.
“I cannot work like this. My work is my pride. There is no pride here. It’s all—”
“Shit,” Liam finished for him.
Surprise written all over his face, Francisco stopped in front of the desk. He eyed Liam for a few seconds before ever so slowly shifting his gaze to me. I wasn’t sure why, but the moment he took me in, he lit up like the Fourth of freaking July.
“Yes. Yes, yes, yes,” he murmured. He shuffled a little to the left then shook his head and rounded the desk to stand in front of me. My heart almost gave out. He was close. Way to close for comfort.
Unaware that he was invading my personal space, Francisco lifted both hands. Holding his thumbs and index fingers straight, he made a square in front of my face. More soft yesses fell from his lips as he angled his hands in different directions.
“I need her!” he suddenly exclaimed. “No one else will do.”
This man was freaking me the hell out.
Liam must’ve noticed it, too. Sliding his fingers between mine, he expertly tugged me behind his big body. He held his free hand toward Francisco. “Francisco, you’re ten steps ahead of me. I haven’t asked her yet.”
A deep frown pulled Francisco’s dark brows together. His lips parted, but he never got a chance to speak.
“Why don’t you give my wife and me some privacy to discuss the matter? I promise I’ll have an answer for you soon.”
Something sparked in the other guy’s eyes. “Your wife? I did not know you were married. That makes her even more perfect.”
“I agree,” Liam said. Releasing my hand, he took a few steps forward and motioned for Francisco to go ahead of him.
The guy didn’t follow immediately. Instead, he turned to me and made a slight bow.
“I truly hope to have you in front of my lens soon, benzinho.”
With that, he spun around and allowed Liam to walk him to the door. Once he was gone, the distinct sound of a lock clicked in place.
I was too confused to feel relieved.
“I’m going to wake up any minute and realize this is all just a weird dream,” I said, furiously rubbing my temples.
Liam reached me, took my hand, and led me to the long leather couch in the corner. It faced the window wall, giving me the perfect view of the city below.
“How much do you know about Nouvelle Femme?” he asked when we sat.
He didn’t invade my space, and for a change, I was grateful for that.
“Only that the products are super expensive and mostly geared toward women of a certain class.”
He grimaced but nodded. “That’s the problem. Somewhere over the years, Nouvelle Femme’s initial vision was lost. It became about making the company bigger, better, and more exclusive.
“And while it’s not bad, it wasn’t my mother’s vision. Her dream was for every woman to have access to beauty products at an affordable price. Unfortunately, making these kinds of changes isn’t entirely up to me. About two years ago, I convinced the shareholders to give this one line a chance, and I’ve been working on it ever since. It’s finally done and ready for launch.”
He pinned me with a stare that completely melted my insides. “That’s where you come in.”
“Me?” The word came out way too loud and way too pitchy. I cleared my throat multiple times then added, “I don’t understand.”
Liam’s hands found mine. Curling his fingers around my palm, he gently stroked his thumb over my wrist. “I don’t want just anyone modeling the brand. It needs to be someone special, someone relatable.” Brush, brush, his thumb went over my sensitive skin. “Someone who’s fierce and not at all afraid to take control.”
He moved closer, slipped a hand around my neck, and pulled my face to his. Instead of kissing my mouth, he ran his nose along my jaw and nudged my chin to the side. The moment he had access to my throat, he trailed his mouth over my skin.
“Someone who can easily melt at a lover’s touch.” Peppering my throat with more kisses, he worked his way to my collarbone. “Someone effortlessly sexy who can command a room just by walking into it.”
I was many things but not a single one of the ones he’d listed.
“I…I…” My words trailed off when his lips slid over the neckline of my dress.
He spent precious few seconds there but never went lower. Slowly lifting his head, he leaned in and brushed his nose along mine.
“You’re perfect, Snow.”
There was something about that small action and those three little words that had big fireworks exploding behind my ribs.
“You’re fucking perfect,” he said again, whispering the words against my cheek, so vulnerable. So freaking raw.
My eyes fell shut, and I breathed him in. One, two, four lungfuls.
“Liam, I—”
Before I could tell him he was better off finding someone else, he drew back. I quickly opened my eyes, only to find him already studying me. The intensity of his icy gaze did strange things to my insides.
“Your smile is like the first rays of sun breaking through the dark.” He dragged his thumb along my bottom lip. “It’s big and bright and so damn beautiful.” His touch traveled, fingertips lightly brushing my cheekbone. “Your eyes, my favorite shade of green, are so expressive, so fucking mesmerizing. Some days I think they can see right down to the bottom of my soul.”
Gosh, my heart was having a damn field day with this man’s words. Bouncing around inside my chest like an Energizer Bunny hopped up on caffeine. Was this seriously what he saw when he looked at me?
I didn’t get to ask because he spoke again.
“Your body. Bloody hell, your body.” He groaned. “It’s driven me wild since that first day and hasn’t stopped. You might not think it because some fucknut made you believe otherwise, but shit, Snow, you’re sexy as sin.”
Unbidden, heat crept into my cheeks, but it was nothing compared to the warmth spreading behind my ribs. No one had ever said anything like that to me before.
“You know what the best part is?” he went on, unaware of the enormity of his words. “You’re just as beautiful on the inside. You’re the whole damn package.”
If I thought my heart beat fast before, it was nothing compared to the Cirque du Soleil act it was now doing. When he said things like that, my brain went fuzzy and my lungs refused to work.
Because, holy crap!
“That’s how you see me?”
The words came out soft and slow, almost as if I was afraid to hear the answer.
“Yes.” Cradling my face between his palms yet again, he dipped his head to stare into my eyes. “I’ll say it again, in case you didn’t hear me the first two times: You’re perfect.”
Emotion clogged my throat and stung my eyes. It was all I could do to keep the tears from slipping down my cheeks. All of this because this man thought I was something incredible.
I could hardly stand it.
“If I say no?” I asked cautiously.
Liam didn’t miss a beat. “Your body, your rules. It doesn’t matter if it’s touching or seeing. I’ll respect whatever you decide.”
There were many men who’d do just about anything to get their way. This man, sitting in front of me, holding me like I was precious, wasn’t one of them. Consent in every single situation was king in his life.
I fell for him a little more because of it.
“I’ll do it,” I said softly. “For you, I’ll do it.”
I realized something else then. If he asked me to love him, I’d do that, too.