Chapter 27 #2
“Nope,” he says, leaning his back against the couch.
When I realize he’s right, I gently yank it out and move my hand to another spot, but before I place it, he perks up again.
“Not there either.”
“Would you like to try?” I bite back in a teasing tone.
He opens his hand. It’s twice the size of mine. Well, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but it’s definitely not soft and dainty.
His fingers graze the inside of my hand as he picks up the piece and connects it with one of the top corner pieces. To be fair, I was barely trying earlier. And he does these regularly, he has a trained eye for it.
“We don’t always get a match the first time we try, and that’s okay. Eventually you find the piece that fits.” His voice is velvet as he breathes the words into the space between us.
Music plays in the background, a song I know and love. It seems like Liam catches the lyrics too as he loses the sarcasm in his expression and his eyes soften. His hand reaches up, almost with hesitancy as he lightly brushes a piece of hair behind my ear and goose bumps erupt on my skin.
His hand lingers near my cheek, and I instinctively bring mine over his as his hand touches my skin.
“Liam,” I whisper as I blink my eyes. “I shouldn’t want this.” He stares at me. “I’ve worked so hard to get where I am.”
“I know you have,” he says, nodding and slightly pulling back, letting silence settle in.
Staring at him like this would bring me to my knees if I wasn’t already seated.
He’s beautiful. With a heart unlike anyone I’ve ever met before.
His silence remains as he stares back at me.
Eyes intensifying as he does, gold specks flickering against the green and blue hues in his eyes.
I can tell he’s leaving every decision up to me.
“But I…” My breath catches and I feel myself lean into him. He smells like I’m in the woods after it’s been raining and my mind finds peace and comfort in that. I inhale a deep breath and slowly exhale. “I can’t stop thinking about you,” I admit, feeling freedom in those words.
“Dem, I haven’t seen past you since the day we met.
” He leans back in, leaving only inches between us as his hand remains steady, cupping the side of my neck.
“Back then, you were with someone else so I tried to stay away. Occupying myself with other women, comparing every last one of them to you. Since the second I learned you were divorced, I’ve just been desperately praying you’d finally notice me.
I know what your career means to you. I know you’ve worked so hard, and I’ve been your biggest fan for the last five years.
But this isn’t spur of the moment for me. It’s always been you.”
The last time we kissed, he said if any of my reasons for not doing it made sense, then I would’ve already left. I just want to feel happy again. I want decisions to be mine. Liam always considers my feelings; he lets me choose.
He was right then. And it’s true now too.
I can kiss him. I want to kiss him. And fuck it, I’m going to.
“Liam.” His name leaves my lips breathlessly just before he lowers his lips to mine.
This kiss is different from last time. It’s more commanding, more intentional, more everything.
And my brain can’t compute what’s happening as I allow myself to sink into him.
My god, he feels good. His lips are soft and his tongue sweeps against mine.
It’s not overpowering or sloppy, it’s sexy and unhurried.
His movements are gentle and comforting.
Liam’s hands slide down to my waist, pulling me gently—but with intention—onto his lap, and I let myself melt into him.
Our kiss deepens as my legs straddle him as we sit on the floor in his living room. The sound that leaves his chest sounds more like a whimper than anything else and it sets something on fire within me. This man wants me. I mean, he really wants me. And I want him.
My mind can’t help but wonder how it would feel to be with him.
To feel his body against mine without the barrier of clothing between us.
The knowledge of knowing how his tongue feels in my mouth sends a jolt to my lower stomach, imagining how it would feel between my thighs too.
The thought makes my body rock against his, and he moans into my mouth as his hands glide up my back.
Both of his hands find their way into my hair, and I pull back, allowing myself a good look at him. His lips are swollen and smirking as our eyes lock, and I see up close the tiny, faint freckles on the bridge of his nose. Our foreheads meet, and I let out a breath as I smile against him.
He’s so soft in this moment, but still carries so much power it flips my insides upside down. His fingers pulse into my scalp and it causes my head to tilt back a little at how good it makes me feel.
“Jesus,” I mutter under my breath.
He takes some of my hair into his hand and I feel the yank—gentle, yet commanding. I lean my head back even more, exposing my neck, and his lips find the spot just below my ear and I shudder as I let out a breathless gasp.
“Is this the spot?” he breathes out, his lips gently kissing my skin.
I nod feverishly as his hands find my thighs, holding me in place on his lap. And everything around me disappears. Time, logic, where I am—all of it.
It’s only us. All I see is him.