Chapter 18
LIAM
It felt weird to be back.
I used to travel all the time when I was on the circuit. I’d go all over the country and even abroad from time to time. But I had never done anything as extensive as a nine week rotation out of the country.
I made a decent amount of money, but half of it was already going to my lawyer because Lacey wanted to go back to court. Again.
Wasn’t this just the same revolving door that had been my entire fucking life for the past four years? This time, I couldn’t even really be bothered by it. I had the money to pay the lawyer. I was just hoping I could have saved it and used it to pay off some of the debt on my gym.
I wasn’t focusing on that right now. I hadn’t really been focusing on it or the trip back.
Not even arriving in Portland, having my best friend secretly grab me, and drive me back up to Macon without telling anyone.
I was still thinking about the text I had received from Haley a few weeks back.
The argument and absolute hopelessness we both seemed to feel from it.
I cut my trip short by an entire week, but it was worth it. I missed my daughters so much I could barely breathe. The FaceTime sessions helped, but it wasn’t the same as wrapping my arms around them and holding them.
The FaceTime sessions with Haley were harder. As hard as it was to be away from her while being physically close, it was a thousand times harder with an ocean between us.
So here I was, surprising everyone and crashing what had apparently been a planned girls’ sleepover. All I knew was that all four of my girls were up at Davis Brenton’s place, and I needed to see them. The second Cole picked me up, he decided crashing the night wouldn’t be such a bad idea.
It was already dark when we pulled into his driveway, and my heart nearly crashed through my sternum when I saw Haley’s car parked right there in front. My breathing came out as jagged as a timber saw as I scaled the porch. Davis and Cole went in first, and then I trailed not far behind.
Nora and Rae were standing in the middle of the living room, staring off toward the stairs, and as soon as I rounded the corner, I realized why.
Haley.
She had on a yellow dress that made her look like some sort of woodland fairy princess.
Nearly ten weeks with just my hand to satisfy my needs, and I was two seconds from tossing her over my shoulder and taking her upstairs.
The swells of her breasts pushed against the low neckline, showing how hard she was breathing, and her dark hair was down, nearly kissing her waist with tiny curls at the bottom.
I froze, waiting for her to make a move.
We were in front of everyone, so I wasn’t sure what she would do.
I hoped she’d run into my arms and kiss me.
I hoped she’d tell me this divide we needed was over, and we could go back to what we were doing before.
When I realized she wasn’t going to move, I took a step toward her. Then another.
Cole, Davis and the others were talking to each other, seemingly unaware of this suspended moment between us.
Which was weirdly nice, it offered a small slice of privacy.
Her green eyes were so full of emotions, tears welling, and she blinked furiously to hold them at bay.
She took a step back toward the stairs, then another, until finally she broke the silence.
“You should come surprise the girls.”
She waved me over, heading upstairs and I followed, already knowing this would be the only opportunity we would get to be alone.
She was ahead of me as I slowly scaled the steps, taking my time as I watched the sway of her ass in that dress.
Once I was on the top stair, Haley hung near the bathroom door, flicking her eyes toward the end of the hall.
I could hear my daughters laughing, and my heart squeezed tight.
I’d go to them in a minute. I just needed this one moment with Haley alone first.
I pushed her into the bathroom and quietly shut the door, flipping the lock.
“You came back early,” Haley whispered, stepping away from the door and toward a black duffel bag lying on the tiled floor.
“You asked me to.” It wasn’t the only reason I came back early, but I wanted to remind her of what she’d said.
Letting out a small scoff, she shook her head. “That was weeks ago.”
Was that an edge of annoyance I felt from her?
“I signed a contract to stay the whole ten weeks.”
She gave me her back while reaching for the top button on her dress. She was fumbling, enough that I stepped up and helped her. This close, I could smell that deliciously sweet floral scent. I still had no clue what flower it belonged to, but I loved it.
“Thank you,” she murmured then slid the dress down. She stepped out of the buttery material in just her lilac-colored thong and black strapless bra. Fuck I missed her. She must think more of me if she assumed she could strip in front of me and not be touched.
My hand went to the curve of her neck as I gently pulled her back against my chest.
Putting my mouth next to her ear, I whispered, “What I’m about to do next, you’ll have to forgive me for, but I won’t wait another fucking second to have you.”
I pressed a kiss to her spine, then unfastened my jeans.
“Liam…” she warned, but it held no weight. I tested my theory by spinning her and lifting her onto the bathroom sink.
She let out a tiny moan as I gripped her thighs and spread them apart.
Her eyes locked on mine, silently challenging me.
I raised an eyebrow, asking if she’d allow this. When her fingers drifted down her body and slung that lilac material to the side, I had my answer. Fisting my cock, I held her gaze as I thrust inside her with one go.
She released a harsh gasp, her nails digging into my shoulders.
“Liam.”
I pulled out of her slick center, only to push in harder, loving the tightness and warmth that cradled my cock like a vise.
I moaned softly into her neck, moving my hands to her ass and pulling her closer.
She was too busy gripping my hair, marking my neck and murmuring how badly she needed this to notice that I was controlling her hips as she fucked me.
I had so many words I needed to say, so many thoughts.
I just didn’t know where I would even start?
I felt like this was the only language we understood, forever and always, this physical connection would be our strongest form of communication.
She fucked me earnestly, lifting her hips to get the friction she needed from me.
One of her arms went behind her on the counter to stabilize her as my hips thrust forward at a rapid pace, the other latched to my shoulder as my pace picked up.
Her breathing was labored as the top of her cleavage bounced under the confines of the bra.
Finally, her pink lips parted as she looked down between us. “Liam,” she moaned. I moved my hand to cover her mouth, but the damage was done. Whoever might be up here would have heard us. The only saving grace we had was that the girls were watching cartoons.
Still, I was enraptured by her lithe body wrapped around mine. I was drunk on her addictive sounds, and how good she felt as I held her. How impossibly perfect it felt as I released inside her, breathing heavily into her neck. How much I had missed this. How much I’d missed her.
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, I leaned against her as I murmured, “I think Rae and Davis might hate us for fucking in their guest bathroom.”
She laughed, still trying to catch her breath. “They’ll never know, just be careful when you pull out.”
Shit, had we really just done that?
“I haven’t been with anyone, just so you know,” I muttered close to her ear, pressing a kiss there. She should know that, but just in case…
She smiled up at me, making my heart feel like lava. “I trusted that you hadn’t. I’m still on birth control, but yeah, I haven’t been with anyone either.”
The relief that hit me was so intense…and strange.
I guess, deep down, a part of me worried that I’d come back and she’d have moved on, or would have realized I was too old for her, or basically just do something that would end us for good.
I hadn’t actually expected her to open her legs and let me fuck her within the first few minutes of seeing her.
But she had, and that had to mean that she was done with this distance.
I was ready to have her with me. All the time. Every night.
“We better go out there. You go see the girls. I’ll change.”
I nodded, holding her hip. I was struggling to let her go. I felt like the second I did, she’d talk herself back into needing distance.
Once I fixed myself, washed my hands, and pressed a quick kiss to Haley’s lips, I exited the bathroom and went to find my kids.
I watched through the crack of the door as they laughed at something on the television, their little smiles radiating peace, and it all hit me at once: the distance. The time away.
Mila giggled loudly and I broke. Emotions clogged my throat as I pushed inside, and the girls looked up.
“Daddy!” they screamed, jumping up from under the covers and throwing their arms around me.
A few tears actually slid down my face as I pulled them close, hugging them to me. Their little faces were buried in my shirt as they talked about how much they missed me. Mila was crying, so was Seraph, and even my Maddy was tearing up.
“We missed you so much. I have so much to tell you,” Maddy said as I settled onto the bed next to them. This would be where I stayed until they fell asleep, because there wasn’t a single chance they’d be willing to let me go before then.