Chapter 18
Kendall
Istare at Liam, quiet as I process his silent admission.
He just implied that he’s generous in bed.
I should make a disgusted noise. I should roll my eyes and tell him off. What a cocky bastard.
But the god’s honest truth? I’m intrigued.
Very, very intrigued.
The longer I stare at him, the hotter my skin feels.
That teasing glint in his eyes. That smug half-smile.
That’s the look of a man who knows he’s a god in bed. I can tell.
I’ve been with guys who bragged about how good they are in the sack. They never were.
In college, Liam had a reputation. I remember overhearing women all over campus say how incredible he was.
Admittedly, that was part of the reason why I had such a huge crush on him. He was hot, funny, and incredible in bed. What woman wouldn’t want a guy like that?
I clear my throat and poke my fork into a clump of frosting. “Are you seriously bragging about how good you are in bed?”
I try my hardest to make my tone joking and playful, to play it off like this doesn’t faze me at all. But there’s a rasp in my voice that I can’t hide.
When I hazard a look at Liam, he’s gazing at me, his blue eyes fiery. “Yeah.”
I roll my eyes like I don’t care. But I do. And I’m certain Liam can tell because my face is on fire, and I’d bet anything that the flush on my cheeks is clear as day.
I swallow. “I doubt you’re as good as you think you are.”
He doesn’t even blink at my pathetic attempt to take him down a peg. Instead, he holds my gaze, that half-smile in place. “If you ever want to find out, just say the word.”
My mouth falls open in shock at his brazen words.
“Darlins’, can I ask you for a favor?”
We both whip our heads to Barbara.
“Sure,” Liam says, his tone and expression cool as a cucumber.
“Could I take a photo of y’all for our social media accounts?”
“Yeah, of course.”
She thanks us and grabs her phone out of her pocket. She holds it up, then lowers her hand. “Actually, you know what would be so dang cute? If y’all kissed for the photo.”
I let out a nervous laugh. “Um…”
“It’s just that you two are such a beautiful couple,” Barbara says. “We want more couples ordering cakes for their wedding and rehearsal dinner, just like y’all are.”
Liam looks down at the floor, chuckling.
“I’ll throw in a free piece of your favorite cake flavor to sweeten the offer.”
Liam looks at me and shrugs. “Your call, firecracker.”
Maybe it’s because we just had an off-the-rails conversation about how good Liam is in bed, and I’m already in a wild mood. Maybe I’m giddy from all the sugar.
Whatever the reason, I’m actually up for this.
“Okay. Let’s do it,” I say.
Before I can even move closer to Liam, he bends down and grips the leg of my chair, then pulls me closer to him.
I stare at him, wowed by that surprisingly smooth move.
“You two ready?” Barbara asks.
I’m so close to Liam that I can see gold flecks in his eyes that I’ve never seen before. His gaze is a wild blue bonfire. It’s doing weird things to my heart and stomach.
He holds my gaze. “I’m ready. How about you, firecracker?”
My heart is pounding in my chest, and my skin feels like it’s on fire. Our noses are almost touching, and I can feel his breath sheet across my mouth, we’re so close. I nod.
A second later, he presses his lips to mine. I let out a gentle moan at how good he feels. How the hell can his lips feel so soft and firm at the same time?
He hums against my mouth. And then I feel the wet slash of his tongue along the seam of my mouth. He’s so sweet and so gentle as he parts my mouth open. Like he’s savoring me.
Woah.
My clit pulses as I wonder if that’s how he’d kiss me between my legs…
“Perfect!”
Barbara’s cheery southern drawl jolts us apart. We lean back in our chairs. I touch my fingers to my mouth, feeling dizzy. I glance over at Liam, who looks as calm and cool as ever, except for the red flush painting his cheeks and neck.
“Thank y’all so much for that. Here, let me pack up that cake I promised y’all.”
Liam and I don’t say a word as Barbara wraps up the cake along with our leftovers. I tell her that we’d like the almond vanilla cake for the rehearsal dinner. When she completes our order, we leave with the cake leftovers.
As we walk out of the bakery and into the parking lot, my legs feel wobbly. I concentrate on not collapsing as I walk to my car. It’s a struggle, but I manage.
In my head, I’m silently freaking out. That kiss with Liam lasted maybe three seconds. But I know I’ll be thinking about it forever.
I unlock my car and open the door. I go to hand him the cake, but he shakes his head.
“I can’t eat all this,” I say to him.
He smiles. “Fine. I’ll take the leftovers from the tasting. You take the slice of almond.”
“It’s okay, you can have it all. I ate most of the almond slice during the tasting anyway.”
“Take it, firecracker.” There’s a hint of bossiness in his tone that makes my stomach flip.
I bite back a smile. “So generous.”
He winks at me. “Always.”
I climb into my car and shut the door. Liam walks backwards in the direction of his car, his gaze still on me. When he finally turns around and heads off to his car, I turn on the engine and drive off, my head still spinning from that kiss.
When I pull into the garage and walk into the house, I let out a breath. My entire body still feels like it’s on fire. That ache inside of me isn’t going anywhere.
I walk into my auntie’s room, even though I know she’s not here. It’s the weekend, which means she’s staying with my parents in Crieve Hall, a suburb of Nashville. She insists on staying with other family members every other weekend so I can have some time to myself.
I always tell her she doesn’t need to do that, but today, I’m grateful for the privacy.
I glance at her empty room, then head upstairs to my bedroom. I shut the door and hop on the bed. I open the drawer of my nightstand and grab my favorite vibrator.
I pull up the skirt of my sundress and press the vibrator to my pussy. I haven’t even turned it on and already I’m throbbing.
I flip it to the low setting, close my eyes, and let my imagination run wild.
I imagine that kiss with Liam, but instead of it happening in the bakery, we’re in my bedroom and he’s lying on top of me.
His arms cage me. His body is a wall of muscle hovering over me. He’s kissing me in that sweet, teasing rhythm, his lips gently parting mine.
It’s the hottest contrast, the raw masculinity of his body and the soft, gentle way he kisses.
When I tug my hand through his hair, he lets out a low, gravelly moan.
“Damn, firecracker. I like it when you get a little rough.”
My clit pulses at the thought of him saying those words, of using that nickname I hate so much in a way that drives me wild.
It’s not long before our kiss turns filthy and desperate.
He kisses down the side of my neck. He asks me how I like to be kissed, how I like to be touched. He does exactly what I want. After a minute, he turns his attention to my breasts.
I moan and flip my vibration to a higher speed. The pressure in my body winds tighter and tighter. My clit is throbbing, aching for more.
I picture Liam kissing down my stomach. When he gets to my pussy, he pauses and gazes up at me. And then he gives me that cocky half-smile. The one that makes me absolutely crazy.
He dips a finger in my wetness. “All this for me?”
And then he puts his mouth on my pussy and my breathing turns ragged. I moan. I whine. I yell. He works me with his mouth and tongue and fingers. He teases and sucks. He brings me to the edge, then backs off, then again and again until I’m on the cusp of losing my mind.
In my fantasy, Liam is as generous as he promised he’d be.
My filthy thoughts push me right to the edge of orgasm. I can feel it, hovering over the horizon. My entire body coils tight, trembling for release. I flip my vibrator to the highest speed. A second later, I break.
My body thrashes against the bed as the waves of my orgasm crash through me. I shout so loud, my throat aches.
When my body hits that too-sensitive feeling, I flip off my vibrator and toss it aside. For a few minutes, I just lie there, my vision blurry as I stare up at the ceiling.
I feel like I’m floating in the clouds.
“Wow,” I murmur to myself.
I’ve never orgasmed that hard from masturbating before, ever. And it happened while I fantasized about the guy I hate.
Even as the thought formulates in my brain, I know it’s a lie.
Because I don’t hate Liam, not anymore. I like him. A lot.