Chapter 12
We stay wrapped around each other, bodies sticky with sweat, breaths uneven, hearts still racing.
But it doesn’t take long before I feel it.
Him.
Still hard inside me.
Still wanting.
Still needing.
I lift my head from where it’s tucked against his neck, finding his gaze already locked on mine dark and wild and so damn beautiful it steals the breath from my lungs.
Liam brushes my hair back, his thumb stroking tenderly across my cheekbone.
And then he murmurs, “Shower, honey.”
It’s not really a question. I nod, heart hammering all over again. Without another word, he lifts me easily from his lap, our bodies still clinging together in all the places that matter.
I hold on to him as he carries me down the hall, both of us laughing breathlessly when we nearly slam into a wall in our rush to get there.
The shower’s already fogging up from the heat of the water by the time we stumble inside, peeling off what little clothing we still have left.
The second we step under the spray, it’s like the world falls away.
The warm water sluices over our skin, steam curling around us like a living thing, and then he’s pulling me into him again.
All bare skin, hard muscle, and filthy intentions.
I press against him, moaning when the slickness of the water makes every glide of our bodies impossibly intimate, impossibly perfect. Liam pins me gently against the cool tile, his hands braced on either side of my head, caging me in without ever making me feel trapped.
His mouth finds mine and I melt into him with a whimper.
“Still not rough enough?” he rasps against my lips, a dark, wicked smile curving his mouth.
I shiver, threading my fingers through his dripping hair, pulling him closer.
“Give it to me, Liam. Make me see stars,” I whisper.
That’s all it takes.
With a low growl, Liam lifts my leg around his waist, lining himself up at my entrance.
He sinks into me in one long, hard thrust, and the water turns white hot behind my eyes.
I cry out, clutching at his shoulders, my body already trembling from the overstimulation, the desperate, glorious stretch of him filling me again.
He sets a brutal rhythm, grinding into me with slow, punishing thrusts that have my toes curling against the slick tile.
The water pounds against my back, the sound of our bodies colliding barely audible over the roar of the shower, but none of it matters.
All that matters is him.
The way he moves inside me like he’s carving himself into my soul.
The way he kisses me between every broken breath.
The way he murmurs rough, broken things against my throat.
“You’re mine.”
“My girl.”
“Gonna keep you, Olive. Gonna make you mine forever.”
I shudder, breaking apart around him again, this time even harder, even messier, and he follows a heartbeat later, burying himself deep and staying there, forehead pressed to mine, both of us gasping like we’re drowning and clinging to the only thing that’s real.
Each other.
We stay tangled together under the pounding water, neither of us moving, neither of us speaking, just breathing each other in.
Because whatever this is. Whatever we’ve just started… there’s no going back now.
We finally manage to actually shower, hands roaming a little too much, mouths brushing too often, but somehow, miraculously, we make it through without taking each other again under the spray.
By the time we step out, the air is thick with steam, and my skin’s flushed all over again. Not just from the heat, but from the way Liam looks at me.
Like he’s not nearly finished.
Like he’s starving.
I barely have time to grab a towel and start drying my hair when he’s on me, strong hands grabbing my waist, spinning me toward the bed.
I let out a gasp of pure shock, pure heat, as he bends me over the edge, my palms slapping down against the rumpled bedding for balance. I don’t even have time to think before I’m arching back into him, a desperate sound escaping my throat.
Liam stands behind me, both hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise, positioning me exactly how he wants me.
And then he thrusts into me in one deep, hard stroke, burying himself to the hilt.
My mouth falls open in a silent cry, my fingers clawing at the sheets as he sets a brutal, punishing rhythm.
Every thrust drives me forward, my body jolting against the mattress, the wet sounds of our bodies slamming together mixing with the rough, filthy words he grits out against my spine.
“Look at you,” he growls, hips snapping forward hard enough to make me whimper. “Taking every inch of my cock. So fucking perfect for me.”
I push back into him, greedy for every rough, brutal snap of his hips, every filthy thing he says.
“Yours,” I gasp, needing him to hear it, needing him to know.
He fists my hair at the nape of my neck, pulling me upright so my back is flush to his chest, his breath hot and ragged against my ear.
“Say it again.”
“Yours,” I sob, reaching back to clutch at his hip, at anything I can hold on to as he pounds into me, deeper, harder, rougher.
“Fuck, honey,” he grits out, biting gently at the side of my neck. “Gonna fill you up. Gonna make sure you never forget you’re mine.”
I shatter with a cry, pleasure detonating inside me so fiercely my knees buckle, my vision going white around the edges.
Liam follows a heartbeat later, driving into me one last time and holding there, spilling deep inside me with a raw, broken sound that wrecks me all over again.
We collapse together onto the bed, a tangle of slick skin, frantic heartbeats and breathless gasps.
And even then—even spent and ruined—he doesn’t let me go.
He pulls me into his arms, tucking my body against his, his hand splayed over my belly, his mouth pressing lazy, tender kisses to my shoulder. Like he’s still trying to merge us together completely. Like he’ll never be done.
And the thing is, neither will I.
We lie there for as long as we can, tangled together, the room thick with the scent of sweat, sex, and something so much deeper I can barely breathe around it.
I could stay like this forever.
But eventually, reality knocks.
I sigh, nuzzling into Liam’s chest before pulling back slightly.
“We need to get dressed,” I murmur, even though my body is screaming in protest. “And we should probably talk about how we didn’t use protection.”
“Fuck getting dressed,” Liam mutters into my hair, his voice low and rumbling with sleepy satisfaction. “I’m gonna call Teddy and tell him we’re sick. Then we’re gonna stay right here for the rest of the night.”
I laugh, the sound soft, rolling through me like sunlight.
“Wow,” I tease. “How romantic.”
“As for the protection, I’m clean.”
I nod. “I am, too.”
He’s silent for a moment. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever gone bare in. The only one I’d ever consider it with.”
Something pulls deep inside of me at what he’s not saying. Liam’s told me he doesn’t want kids because of his own childhood. That he’s afraid he’ll be a bad father just like his own.”
I say, “I’m glad.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me, eyes sparkling with mischief and something softer, something that roots deep inside my chest.
“Wait,” he says, like he's just had the best idea in the world. “This is our third date, right?”
I blink at him, bemused. “Yeah?”
He smirks, gesturing between us lazily.
“And look where you’re at.”
I burst out laughing, burying my face against his shoulder.
“Hey, I said I didn’t fall into bed on the second date. I never said anything about the third.”
He chuckles, deep and warm and so goddamn full of joy I feel it vibrate through my whole body.
“Third date's the magic one, huh?” he teases, pressing a kiss to the tip of my nose, ridiculously sweet for a man who just wrecked me in three different rooms.
I smile up at him, my heart tripping over itself.
“Guess so,” I whisper, the words hanging heavy and sweet between us.
I sigh, pushing myself up, using Liam’s broad, sweaty chest for leverage. He moves too, grinning wickedly, and before I can escape, he leans forward and captures one of my nipples in his mouth, sucking gently.
A startled gasp punches from my lungs as heat licks down my spine.
He releases me with a loud, exaggerated pop, smirking up at me like he’s the devil himself.
“Let’s do this,” he says, voice dark and full of promise. “The faster we get him out of here, the faster I can get you back in bed.”
I laugh breathlessly, turning toward the door, still feeling the ghost of his mouth against my skin.
“Where are you going?” he asks, suspicious.
“My bag’s in the other room.”
Before I can even blink, he jumps to his feet completely and gloriously naked and strides past me without a care in the world. A moment later, he’s back, tossing my overnight bag onto the bed like a caveman presenting a prize.
“You’re staying in here,” he declares, hands on his hips, like he’s daring me to argue.
I lift an eyebrow, pretending to consider.
“Okay.”
He blinks, clearly not expecting me to cave so easily. “Wow. Didn’t think you’d agree that fast.”
I grin wickedly, sauntering toward him with a sway to my hips that I know he’s tracking with laser focus.
“Let’s just say,” I murmur, stopping inches from him, “I have my reasons.”
I gesture pointedly toward his very naked, very ready body.
“Easy access being one of them.”
Liam lets out a low, sinful laugh. The kind of sound that makes my thighs clench without warning.
“Fuck, honey,” he says, voice rough as gravel, dragging his gaze down my body. “You keep looking at me like that, and we’re never making it to dinner.”
I wink, grabbing my bag and sauntering into the bathroom to get dressed. Because now? Now I want him squirming all night. Thinking about exactly where we’ll pick up once Teddy’s gone.