Chapter Twenty-Five
Evie
Standing there in Liam’s arms, felt like I could drift worlds away.
I couldn’t think straight. My heart was pounding, not from fear this time, but from something I didn’t entirely understand.
Liam’s words still echoed in my head— We’ll fight this. You’re not alone .
I tilted my head slightly, and his blue eyes locked onto mine.
How did he do that? How did he make everything feel like it might be okay, even when my world was crumbling?
My chest expanded as raw and unfamiliar emotion swept through me. I wasn’t used to this: leaning on someone or feeling like someone wanted to carry the weight with me.
Especially someone like Liam.
And undeniably gorgeous.
I couldn’t stop staring at him, the way his jaw tensed with determination, the way his lips softened when he looked at me like I was the only person in the world. The pull I felt toward him was magnetic, impossible to resist.
I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I wanted to let go for the first time in so long. To be swept away by him.
Standing in Liam’s arms, I felt like the ground beneath me had shifted in some irreversible way. The heaviness of the day, the fear scratching at the edges of my sanity, it all dimmed in his presence. He’d said I wasn’t alone, and I believed it for the first time in years.
I tipped my head back, searching his face for something I couldn’t name.
Strength?
Reassurance? It didn’t matter. All I saw was Liam—steady, solid, and achingly close.
“I want to kiss you.” The words spilled out before I could think of stopping them.
His eyes darkened with heat, and a spark of something undeniable flickered to life.
His grip on me tightened just slightly like he wasn’t sure if he was holding me in place or holding himself back.
“Evie...” His voice was low and rough, sending a shiver down my spine.
“I mean it,” I whispered, my heart racing. “I don’t know what’s happening, but... I want this. I want you.”
He exhaled sharply, and I kissed him softly.
His forehead brushed mine briefly before he pulled back just enough to search my face. His gaze was intense, searching for the truth in my eyes.
“Are you sure? Because if this is just the stress talking, or if you’re trying to distract yourself—”
“It’s not,” I said quickly, cutting him off.
My hands slid up to his chest, feeling his solid warmth beneath my palms.
“Liam, I’ve been trying to fight this... whatever this is, for far too long. But I can’t. Not anymore.”
He studied me for a long moment, his eyes softening even as they burned with something I couldn’t quite name.
“Evie, you’ve been through so much. I just don’t want you to wake up tomorrow and regret this. Remember what you just told me at my house.”
I shook my head, my hands fisting lightly in his shirt.
“The only thing I regret is not letting myself feel this sooner. You make me feel safe, Liam. Like everything isn’t completely falling apart.”
He let out a low chuckle, but it didn’t reach his eyes.
“I’ll take that as a compliment, but I need you to be sure, Evie. Not for me—for you. Because when I kiss you this time, it’s not going to be just some casual thing. It’s going to mean something.”
His words made my breath hitch, and I couldn’t do anything but stare at him.
The vulnerability in his voice and how he held himself back for me made my chest ache.
“I’ve never been surer,” I said breathlessly.
Liam’s gaze searched mine one last time.
His hand cradled my cheek as his thumb brushed against my skin.
“You’re impossible.”
“Then what are you waiting for?” I asked.
My heart hammered, my pulse raced, and the room felt like it was spinning.
Liam’s hands tightened on my waist as his eyes darkened to a stormy blue and locked on mine.
The rawness in his gaze was something unfiltered and entirely focused on me.
“Evie,” he murmured, his voice low and gravelly, sending a shiver straight through me. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me.”
I swallowed hard, my lips parting, but I couldn’t seem to find words.
How he looked at me, like I was the only thing in the world that mattered, left me dizzy.
“You look up at me with that fire in your eyes,” he continued, his voice deepening, “and all I can think about is how damn beautiful you are. How you make me want things I didn’t even know I was missing.”
Heat rose in my cheeks as my hands instinctively curled into his shirt as if to anchor myself.
“Liam...”
His thumb brushed against my lips. His touch was as tender as his words were intense.
“This isn’t just about how hot you make me, though you do. Hell, Evie, you could make a saint lose his composure.” He let out a soft, humorless chuckle, his jaw tightening. “But this—this is more than that. I know it, and I think you do too. If we cross this line…”
My heart skipped a beat as his words wrapped around me like a lifeline.
He wasn’t just saying these things to say them. I could feel the truth of them in every syllable… even in the way his fingers trembled ever so slightly where they touched me.
Liam’s hand slid to the back of my neck and his thumb grazed the sensitive skin just below my ear, sending a shiver through me.
“I need you to understand, Evie.” His eyes stayed locked on mine. “When I kiss you, it’s because I know there’s something here. Something real. And I’m not the kind of guy who walks away from that.”
The weight of his words settled over me, heavy with meaning. He wasn’t giving me an easy out or a casual moment to brush off later. He was all in, and he wanted me to know it.
“I don’t want you to walk away,” I whispered, the words tumbling out before I could second-guess them. “I don’t think I could handle it if you did.”
His eyes softened for a fraction of a second before the intensity returned, sharper and more certain than ever.
“Good,” he murmured, his lips curving into a small, dangerous smile. “Because I’m not going anywhere.”
And then he kissed me.
It wasn’t tentative or cautious.
His mouth claimed me. Liam’s lips seared his intention, full of the promise he’d just made.
Liam’s tongue moved against mine, firm yet coaxing.
I melted into him deeper with every kiss as every nerve in my body buzzed with electricity.
This wasn’t just a kiss.
It was the start of something that felt unstoppable.
Liam’s hands rested firmly on my waist as he stepped back and broke our kiss.
His eyes were darker than I’d ever seen them, like the sky before a storm, and the weight of his focus on me left me breathless. Liam’s gaze dropped to my chest, and a smile touched his lips as his eyes met mine again.
“Evie, you have no idea what you do to me.”
His words lingered in the air between us.
I felt a flush creep up my neck, but I couldn’t look away.
There was something intense in the way he looked at me, something unguarded and entirely focused on us.
“Every time I see you, it gets harder to keep my distance,” he admitted softly, but with intensity. “You make me want things I haven’t thought about in a long time. Hell, maybe ever. And the thought of tasting…feeling every square inch of you.” He shook his head, sliding his fingers through his hair.
My breath hitched as he narrowed the gap between us again and slid his hand up to cup my cheek, his thumb brushing softly over my skin.
Liam’s touch was gentle, but there was a fire behind it that made it impossible to ignore our connection.
“You show up with that fire in your eyes, that strength, and all I can think about is how damn lucky I am just to have you in my orbit,” he said, his jaw tightening.
My lips parted, but I couldn’t find the words to respond. Every nerve in my body was humming, and I was afraid that if I spoke, I’d lose this fragile, electric moment.
“I need you to know something,” he said, his voice dropping lower, softer. “When I kiss you, it’s not just because I want to. It’s because I need to. I love you, Evie.”
His words washed over me, settling deep in my chest. There was no room for doubt in his voice, no hesitation in the way he held me. He wasn’t offering me something casual or fleeting. He was offering me himself.
“I think you know it too,” he continued, his thumb brushing against my cheek again. “Even if you’re not ready to say it, I can see it.”
His words left me reeling, my heart thundering in my chest as I clung to the front of his shirt.
“I don’t know what to say,” I whispered, my voice barely audible.
“You don’t have to say anything,” he replied gently. “I just need you to feel it. Feel every single thing I’m about to do to you.”
And then, slowly, giving me every opportunity to pull away, he leaned in. His lips met mine in a firm and tender kiss, filled with a kind of certainty that left me weak.
It wasn’t rushed or frantic. Our kiss was deliberate, and I melted into him.
My hands trailed to his shoulders as the world around us faded.
His touch and presence were overwhelming in the best way, filling the cracks I hadn’t even realized were there.
When he finally pulled back, his forehead rested against mine, and we breathed hard. His hands stayed on my waist as I struggled to process what had just happened.
“I mean it, Evie,” he said softly, his voice full of conviction. “I’m not going anywhere. Not unless you tell me to.”
I closed my eyes, leaning into him as my thoughts raced. There were so many reasons to be cautious, so many reasons to keep my walls up. But standing there in his arms, I felt something I hadn’t felt in years—hope.
And love.
“I don’t want you to go anywhere.” I tugged on his shirt and smiled. “Now, kiss me again.”