Chapter 30
With his fingers wrapped tightly around mine, Liam marched out of the studio and headed straight for the elevator. The last time he’d dragged me behind him like this, I’d protested vehemently.
That wasn’t going to happen again.
Oh no, I was just as eager to be alone with him after that hotter-than-Hades photo shoot. Heck, my blood hadn’t stopped humming from the moment he’d walked in and demanded Marlon drop my hand.
It was over-the-top possessive…and a massive freaking turn-on.
Which was why I didn’t mind him dragging me off.
The air was thick with anticipation as we stepped into the elevator. Neither of us said a word. But the moment the shiny doors slid shut and the button to his floor pressed, he was on me, crowding me into the corner and slamming his palms down on the wall on either side of my head.
I was so swept up in him, I couldn’t see anything but him, and it seemed he was going through the same thing.
His eyes were the perfect combination of stormy and intense.
I held my breath, not so patiently waiting for his sweet assault on my mouth. Only, it never came.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I know what it took for you to stand in front of that camera today. I’m sorry I embarrassed you.”
This man. This sweet, sweet man who always thought about me and what I was comfortable with. My whole heart belonged to him. Even if I was afraid to say it out loud.
“Liam.” I swept my hands up his chest, smiling when he shivered beneath my touch. “I’m not embarrassed.” Licking my lips, I pushed onto my toes and touched my lips against the scruff on his jaw. “I’m turned the fuck on.”
“Fuck.”
It was the last thing I heard before he took possession of my mouth. His tongue thrust past my lips, wet and hot, brushing against mine in rough, sweeping strokes.
I buried my fingers in his shirt, desperate to get closer to him. He noticed. Sliding his big hand up my thigh, he hooked my leg around his waist and pressed his hips into mine.
Since I was wearing a dress and had—in a moment of craziness—decided to shove my underwear in my purse instead of putting them on, I felt that slow slide of the front of his pants everywhere.
“Liam,” I breathed into his mouth. “I want—”
Someone cleared their throat.
Just as fast as he’d descended on me, Liam spun around and hid me behind his broad back.
“Now I understand why you didn’t show up for our meeting,” an unfamiliar voice said. There was no animosity in his tone, just a whole lot of amusement.
My cheeks burned hot.
This entire building would be talking about our public displays of affection for the next few weeks at least.
“My apologies, David,” Liam said smoothly. “I had a pressing matter to attend to.”
A pressing matter?With a groan, I dropped my forehead against his back.
“Don’t worry about it. I still remember how it was when Pricilla and I had just tied the knot.” David chuckled. “Couldn’t keep our hands off each other.”
I begged every deity who would listen to allow the floor to open up and swallow me or for a magic portal to appear so I could be anywhere but there. I wasn’t picky; either would do.
“But,” David went on. “Maybe I can steal you away for a few minutes. There are some things I’d like to go over before the weekend.”
“I’ll meet you in your office in about ten minutes.”
Since David didn’t respond, I figured he’d left. With a small peek around Liam’s shoulder, I didn’t see David, and the elevator doors were closed again.
I smoothed my hands over my dress and huffed out a breath. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe that happened.”
Liam immediately turned to face me. His cheeks were as red as mine felt, and I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading on my lips.
“We need to start using the executive elevator.” He chuckled.
I laughed, too. “Probably a good idea.”
Taking my hand in his, he pressed the button for the doors to open and walked across the top floor to his office. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t notice the strange looks or people whispering behind their hands.
Oddly enough, none of it bothered me.
I was too focused on the man walking beside me. The way he’d slowed his pace for me. The feel of his fingers through mine. The crazy way my heart beat for him. Liam Maxwell had undoubtedly turned my world upside down.
And I freaking loved it.
I was so lost in thought; I hadn’t even realized we were in Liam’s office until the soft click of the door closing snapped me back to the present.
“I hate to do this,” he said. “Would you mind waiting here until my meeting is over? It shouldn’t take too long.”
With a smile, I retrieved my Kindle from my purse and waved it at him. “I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.” I turned toward the couches by the window, intending to settle in, but they were gone.
“What’s that?” I asked, pointing toward the desk and file cabinet that hadn’t been there before.
Color stained Liam’s cheeks for the second time in less than ten minutes. I was intrigued.
“Liam?” I pushed gently.
“Well,” he said, tucking his hands into his pockets and going to the desk.
My curiosity stood no chance; I was right behind him.
“I’d hoped to do this when we had more time, but this is everything I could find on the Nouvelle Femme Year-end Functions.”
He dragged one stack of folders to the edge of the desk. “This is the original plan you had for this year’s event, and the other pile came from our operations department. In them you’ll find everything about the event since we started doing it how ever many years ago.”
“Okay,” I said slowly. Brows pulled together, my gaze bounced between him and the folders. “Why exactly do I need these?”
My heart thrashed violently. Excitement bubbled through my veins, those pesky little butterflies taking flight again. But I didn’t want to get ahead of myself. So I waited for Liam to confirm what I hoped to be true.
“I want to see the vision you had come to life.” He jerked his head toward the desk. “And selfishly, I want to work side by side with you every day.” His mouth curved into the most beautiful smile before he bent down and pressed a quick kiss against my lips. “We’ll talk more after my meeting.”
And then he was gone, leaving me with a stunning view and an overfull heart.
Liam’s meeting went on a bit longer than he’d wanted. About thirty minutes earlier, he’d texted me that they’d be there for another hour at least. I didn’t mind much; I was too excited to dive into the year-end function.
When I’d started my initial planning over eight months ago, I’d pitched the idea of a fairy-tale theme. My boss at the time hadn’t been on board, but after walking through the Nouvelle Femme building and knowing Liam wanted to launch his line at the event, a fairy-tale theme felt like the perfect fit.
With a fire in my veins I hadn’t felt for a really long time, I got to work. I spread everything out on Liam’s office floor—color swatches, the mini mood boards from my file—all of it scattered across the carpet.
While adding yet another sticky note to a chandelier image I loved, the office door opened and closed.
My smile was wide when I looked up, ready to greet Liam. Only it wasn’t my handsome husband staring at me from the other side of the office.
It was Shane.
He was a lot more disheveled than the last time I’d seen him. And judging by the downward pull of his mouth and the murderous glint in his eyes, he was a lot more pissed off, too.
“Liam’s not—”
“How much did he pay you to be his wife?”
His words felt like a knife between the ribs, cutting me straight to the bone. How did he know? We’d made sure only a handful of people knew about the contract, about the money.
I didn’t think for one second they’d betray us.
Deciding it was better to play dumb, I slowly pushed to my feet and smoothed my hands down the front of my dress. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Like hell you don’t.”
He closed the distance between us, and before my brain could process what was happening, he stood right in front of me. The stench of cigarettes and alcohol floated up my nose.
Bile immediately pushed up my throat. I quickly swallowed it down and took a step back, then another and another until the edge of the desk dug into my backside.
Realizing I had nowhere to go, Shane grinned. Again, he moved fast, invading my personal space in a blink.
“You need to leave.” Grateful for my steady voice, I lifted my chin a little higher. “Now.”
A laugh bubbled over Shane’s lips. The maniacal sound of it sent ice through my veins. My heart beat faster, and my stomach felt an awful lot like it’d flipped over on itself. I refused to show weakness or fear, so as desperately as I wanted to shove past him and run away, I held his stare instead.
The wicked glint in his eyes intensified as he lifted his hand and brushed his fingers over my shoulders. Acting on instinct, I slapped his arm away.
“Don’t touch me.”
Shane’s face hardened into that of a monster. In a flash, he grabbed my face. His fingers dug into my cheeks, so deep, so hard, so freaking painful, I thought for sure he’d pierced my skin.
“Tell me, whore, does he pay you extra to fuck you?” His free hand came up to my chest.
I slapped it away again.
“I bet you give it to him good, too. That’s the thing with you fat girls; you’re always so damn eager to please.”
He tried to grab my breast again. And again, I slapped him. I needed to get away from this idiot, but his hold on my face was so brutally relentless I had nowhere to go.
“Do you let him fuck your tits? You probably do, don’t you?” Instead of reaching for my breast, he gripped the hem of my dress between his fingers and started pulling it up.
I smacked and kicked with everything in me, but the guy wouldn’t let go.
“Stop it.” Because he had my face in such a vise grip, the word came out muffled. “Stop it!” I tried again.
All it did was anger him even further. Flattening his body against mine, he pinned me to the desk.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? You should be happy a man like me is even touching you.” He let go of my dress and grabbed his belt. “In fact, I think you should get on your knees and thank me right now.”
I shook my head as much as I could. My arms and legs flailing around, trying desperately to cause him enough hurt so he’d let me go. My silent cries were answered when my knee rammed straight into his balls.
“Fuck.”
He went down fast. I didn’t waste a single second. Jumping over his body, I called out for Tamara and sprinted for the door. Halfway across the room, fingers curled around my ankle, and I pitched forward.
I hit the floor so hard, my breath got knocked out of my lungs. And then Shane was on top of me. Flipping me around, he clasped both my wrists in his hands and fumbled with his pants again. I was dizzy from the fall, but that didn’t stop me from bucking like a wild beast.
Or screaming for help at the top of my lungs.
I wouldn’t lie there and become a victim. I’d fight until I couldn’t fight anymore. Then I’d fight even harder.
“Shut up, you stupid wh—”
He didn’t get to finish his sentence. Someone grabbed him by the hair and yanked him off me. I scrambled to my feet, startled when a pair of arms went around my shoulders.
“I’m so sorry,” Tamara cried. “I wasn’t at my desk when he came in. If I’d known, I never would have—”
The distinct sound of a fist connecting with skin drowned out Tamara’s words. My gaze flicked up, and I almost wished I hadn’t looked. Liam rained down punches on his cousin over and over again.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a man rush into the room. He headed straight for Liam. Hooking his arms around Liam’s elbows, he pulled him off Shane. Face bruised and covered in blood; Shane slumped to the floor in a miserable heap.
I couldn’t bring myself to care.
Another man hurried inside. I vaguely heard him say, “The cops are on the way,” before he stopped in front of Shane. Not that Liam’s cousin was going anywhere. He was still lying on the floor.
The guy holding on to Liam said something then jerked his head in my direction.
Liam’s gaze snapped to mine, and in an instant, his rage was replaced with shame. He shrugged out of the other guy’s hold and hurried toward me. He made it halfway across the room before skidding to an abrupt stop.
Worry marred his features, and he seemed so unsure of what to do. I knew exactly why.
Pulling out of Tamara’s embrace, I went to him. The moment I could, I slipped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his chest.
“You’re not your father,” I whispered just loud enough for him to hear.
His shoulders slumped, and he released a staggering breath.
“Snow, I—”
“You’re not your father,” I said again. I drew back, and my heart squeezed tight when I looked at him.
His gaze zeroed in on my cheeks, and from the throbbing pain I felt, I knew there were bruises.
Liam shook his head and immediately shut his eyes.
I knew enough about the man I’d married to realize he blamed himself for this. It wasn’t his fault. It wasn’t his wasn”t his burden to carry.
Not that he”d ever believe that.