Chapter 11
Liam
Addison is still asleep when I wake up.
She’s curled on her side, facing me. Dark hair spilling across the pillow.
I should get up. Shower. Check my emails. Start the day the way I always do.
Instead, I watch her breathe.
Her face is peaceful. No furrowed brow, no tight jaw. Just soft and still.
I reach out and brush my finger along her jawline.
Her green eyes open. She blinks, focuses on me, then goes very still.
“Good morning.” My voice is rough from sleep.
She sits up. The sheet falls to her lap. “Hi.”
We’re both fully clothed. Nothing happened.
The disappointment surprises me.
“How are you feeling?” I ask.
She considers it. “Better. The fever broke.”
“Good.”
“Did you sleep?” she asks.
I lean back against the headboard. “Yes.”
“You stayed the whole time?”
“I said I would.”
She reaches for her phone on the nightstand and checks the time. “It’s early.”
“Six-fifteen.”
She sets the phone down. “Do you always wake up this early?”
“Yes.”
We’re talking about nothing and pretending it’s normal, like we didn’t just spend the night in the same bed. But I don’t want to pretend. I want something real.
“Addison.”
She meets my gaze. “Yeah?”
“Last night I told you I wanted honesty.” I pause. “So, I need you to know something.”
Her shoulders tense.
“I’ve wanted you since the first strategy meeting. When you tore apart our public relations approach and refused to apologize for being right.” I don’t look away. “Every interaction we’ve had since then has made it worse.”
She doesn’t speak.
“When you brought me dinner that night, I wanted to kiss you. When you signed the contract, when you went around me on the investor statement, when you stood up to Daniel—every time, I had to fight the urge.” I hold her stare. “I’ve been fighting this for weeks.”
She swallows. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because you said that everyone demands something from you. That every relationship has been transactional.” I shift closer. “I need you to understand that what I want has nothing to do with your value to Palmer Capital.”
“Then what does it have to do with?”
“You. I don’t want you because of what you can do for me. I want you because of who you are. A woman who refuses to back down even when it would be easier. A woman who built something from nothing because she refused to compromise.”
Her breath catches.
“I’m telling you this because you deserve honesty from me. And because I meant what I said last night. I’m not asking for anything.”
She bites down on her lower lip. “What if I’m ready to give you something anyway?”
Heat rushes through me. “What are you offering?”
She moves closer, her palm resting against my chest. “Myself. This moment. No promises about tomorrow and no commitment.”
My heart speeds up beneath her hand. “Are you sure?”
She grabs my shirt. “Stop asking me if I’m sure. Stop trying to manage me.”
“I’m trying to—”
She cuts me off. “Liam. Shut up and kiss me.”
I close the distance.
The kiss starts controlled. Careful. Testing boundaries.
Her teeth scrape my bottom lip. Not biting. Teasing.
Threading my fingers through her hair, I angle her head and kiss her deeper. She makes a desperate, wanting sound, and my other hand finds her waist beneath the sweater.
Her skin is warm and soft.
She pulls at my shirt and yanks it over my head. Her palms slide up my chest, and her nails scrape lightly against my skin.
Something hungry uncoils in my gut.
Pulling her sweater off reveals she’s not wearing a bra underneath. Her breasts are perfect. Cupping one, my thumb brushes over her nipple. She arches into the touch.
“Liam.”
My name on her lips undoes me.
Pushing her down onto the mattress, I cover her body with mine. The kiss turns fierce and demanding. My tongue sweeps into her mouth, and she meets me without hesitation.
She hooks a leg around my hip and grinds against me, and I groan into her mouth.
“Off.” She tugs at my pants. “Get these off.”
Shoving them down, I kick them away. She’s already shimmying out of her jeans.
When we’re both naked, I freeze.
She’s stunning. All smooth skin and curves.
“You’re staring.” Her words waver.
“You’re beautiful.”
Color floods her cheeks.
Kissing her again before she can deflect, my hand slides down her stomach. Between her thighs. She’s already wet.
“Fuck.”
She rocks her hips against my hand. “Touch me. Please.”
Sliding two fingers inside her draws a cry from her throat, and her inner walls clench around me.
I work her with slow, deliberate strokes while I watch her face. I’m learning what makes her gasp, what makes her moan, and what makes her thighs shake.
She grips my shoulders. “I want more.”
Adding a third finger, I curl them. Find the spot that makes her arch off the bed.
“There.” Her nails dig into my skin, and she closes her eyes. “Right there.”
Stroking that spot relentlessly, her breathing turns ragged, and her body tightens.
“Look at me.” The command comes out rough.
Her gaze snaps open.
“I need to watch you come.”
She shatters. Her mouth falls open. Her body clenches around my fingers as the orgasm rolls through her.
Watching her come around my fingers is fucking perfect. Before she’s finished, I withdraw my hand and position myself between her thighs.
Lining myself up with her entrance, I press forward. The first inch steals my breath.
She’s tight. Hot. Wet.
She wraps her legs around my waist. “I need all of you.”
Sinking in to the hilt draws groans from both of us.
For a moment, I stay still and let her adjust. I want to memorize this feeling.
Then she rocks her hips, encouraging me to move. My control shatters completely. Finally, I stop fighting and let go.
Pulling out, I thrust again. Hard. She gasps, and her nails rake down my spine.
“Yes.” She tilts her hips to take me deeper. “Like that.”
All the restraint I’ve maintained for weeks dissipates, and I set a brutal pace.
This is what I’ve needed, what I’ve craved. To lose myself in her. To stop thinking, planning, and managing.
Instead, I just feel.
She meets me thrust for thrust. She takes everything I give and demands more.
“Harder,” she commands. “I won’t break.”
Pinning her wrists above her head, I drive into her with a force that makes the headboard slam against the wall. She cries out, and her body arches.
“You feel so good.” The words tear from my throat. “So fucking perfect.”
Her inner walls flutter around me. She’s close again.
Releasing one of her wrists, my hand slides between us and finds her clit.
I stroke her in rhythm with my thrusts. “That’s it. Come for me.”
She screams. Her body locks, and her pussy tightens around my dick.
The orgasm slams into me. All I feel is her tight around me, the heat, and the way her body pulls me deeper.
When I come back to myself, I’m collapsed on top of her, breathing hard.
She’s stroking my hair. Gentle. Soothing.
Lifting my head, she’s watching me with an expression I can’t read.
“Was I too rough?” I ask.
“No.” She cups my face. “That was exactly what I needed.”
I kiss her again. Softer this time. Slower. When we break apart, I roll onto my side and pull her against my chest.
Neither of us speaks.
But it’s not awkward. The moment that passes between us is intimate.
Her fingers trace patterns on my chest, light and absent-minded. She shifts closer, settling against me.
We don’t need to define this. She offered me this moment with no promises attached. I took it. That’s all this is.
After a moment, she tilts her head up. “We should probably get ready for work.”
Reality crashes in. Work. The office. My brothers.
Axel.
Guilt twists in my gut. Axel wants her, and something happened between them, although I don’t know the details.
I’ve seen the way he looks at her. The way he pushes her just to see her push back.
And I just fucked her.
But I told her I wasn’t asking for commitment. I meant it. She’s free to do whatever she needs. With whoever she chooses.
The thought of her with Axel should make me furious.
Instead, there’s jealousy. But not as much as I expected. More like... acceptance.
She’s not mine to claim, even if part of me wants to.
“Shower?” I ask.
She shifts in my arms. “Separately or together?”
My expression turns wolfish. “Together would be more efficient.”
She kisses my jaw. “You and your efficiency. Fine. But if we’re late, I’m blaming you.”
“Do you need to stop by your apartment for clothes?”
“I keep spare outfits at the office.” She stretches against me. “Force of habit from working late.”
“Smart.”
“I’m very smart.” A hint of her smile appears. “You might have noticed.”
We’re not late.
Barely.
She changes into spare clothes she keeps in her office. I pretend the sight of her in my bathroom wearing my robe this morning didn’t do things to me.
The morning passes in meetings and calls. Routine. Normal.
Except nothing feels normal.
We have a strategy session, and Addison presents a new communication strategy to attract new investors. She’s brilliant, as always.
Midway through, Kyle interrupts. “I’m not sure this timeline is realistic.”
Addison pulls up supporting data. “It’s realistic if we prioritize it.”
“We have other priorities.”
“This is the priority.” I cut Kyle off. “Addison’s timeline stands.”
Kyle blinks. “I’m just saying—”
“And I’m saying your opinion doesn’t matter. We’re implementing her plan as presented.” My tone leaves no room for argument.
Nolan’s pen stops moving. His gaze flicks to me, then to Addison.
Axel’s watching me with that knowing look. Like he’s putting pieces together.
Addison goes very still.
Shit. That came out more territorial than intended.
The meeting continues. I sit closer to her than necessary. When Mason questions one of her conclusions, I defend it before she can respond.
Each time, the tension in her shoulders increases.
When the meeting ends, she gathers her materials quickly.
“Addison.” I catch her at the door. “Can we talk?”
“Meet me in my office in ten minutes.” She walks out and avoids eye contact with me.
Axel lingers after everyone else leaves. He studies me with that look he gets when he’s deciding whether to say something or let it simmer.
“You slept with her.”
So, I guess he decided not to let it simmer.
“Yes.”
He processes this. I wait for his anger.
Instead, Axel smiles. “Good for you.” He moves toward the door. “It won’t stop me from doing the same.”
The words should provoke something. They don’t.
“If that’s what she wants.”
He stops. Turns. “So, you don’t care about her.”
“On the contrary.” I close my laptop. “I’m starting to care about her. But I’m not going to hold her back from being happy. She can fuck you if she wants to.”
Axel studies me for a long moment. “You really mean that.”
“I do.”
“Huh.” He taps the doorframe once. “You’re different with her. More relaxed. It’s good.”
He leaves before I can respond.
Ten minutes later, I walk into Addison’s office.
She’s standing by the window. Her posture is stiff and rigid, and her arms are crossed tightly.
I close the door.
She turns to face me. “You can’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Defend me in meetings without letting me defend myself. Override Kyle. Sit so close.” Her voice stays level. “Act like I’m yours.”
“I was supporting your plan.”
“No. You were marking your territory.” She crosses the space between us. “People already question my credibility. If they think I’m sleeping with the CEO, everything I’ve built gets erased.”
She’s right.
“I’m trying to make your job easier.”
“Well, you’re making it harder.” Her voice softens. “I need you to trust that I can handle myself professionally.”
“I do trust you.”
“Then prove it.” She holds my gaze. “Stop treating me differently from other people who work for you. Let me fight my own battles.”
“I can’t treat you the same as everyone else. Not after this morning.”
“You have to. At least at work.” She steps closer. “What happens between us outside these walls is separate. But here, I’m your crisis consultant. Professional boundaries, Liam. I need them.”
Every instinct inside of me screams to argue. To explain why protecting her is different from controlling her.
Except it’s not.
“You’re right.” The words are difficult. “I was trying to protect you before you needed protecting. I’m sorry.”
“You’re... apologizing?”
“I’m acknowledging I made a mistake.” I move closer. “I can’t separate caring about you from trying to control outcomes. That’s my problem, not yours.”
She searches my face. Looking for the lie.
She won’t find it.
“Okay.” She exhales. “Okay.”
“Pretending nothing’s changed between us is going to be hard.”
“You’re going to have to.” But her voice has gone soft.
“I understand.” I cup her face. “But after work hours, all bets are off.”
She rises on her toes and kisses me.
“After work hours,” she agrees.
Then she steps away. “Now get out. I have three reports to finish.”
I move to the door and stop with my hand on the frame.
“Addison?”
“Yeah?”
“This morning meant something to me.”
She’s quiet for a moment. “It meant something to me, too.”
I walk out before I can make the mistake of staying.