9. Fury
Chapter 9
Fury
“You’re lying! Devil did not fall in love with a nun!” Ellie laughs.
God, I miss that laugh.
“He did. Well kind of, it’s a long story. The point is that he’s married and has a little boy now.”
“I can hardly believe that. I would have thought Devil was an eternal bachelor,” she says, shaking her head.
“He wouldn’t be alive without Torrent,” I tell her. I lose my train of thought as I stare at her.
I don’t know how it’s possible you can forget how truly beautiful a woman is, but my memory somehow pales in comparison to the real thing. Her white-gold hair is thick and long. It falls in soft waves around her face. One side of it is flipped over to the other, making my hands itch to run my fingers through it. Her plush lips give new meaning to the term bee stung, and her body still makes me hard with just a glance. That’s not what draws my attention, however. It’s her eyes, they’re a blue, but a blue unlike any I’ve ever seen before. They’re like the blue waters in Belize. I’ve never seen anything like them to describe it any other way. I had traveled to Belize once and the ocean there always stayed with me. From the moment I first saw Ellie, she brought those memories back. I even took her there on our honeymoon and made love to her on the beach as the waves crashed around us.
Fuck. I shift uncomfortably, resisting the urge to reach down into my jeans and adjust my cock. I don’t want to piss her off. Ellie has a temper, she’d kick me out and that’s the last thing I want. I need more time with her. God, I’ve missed her.
“Where did you go?” she asks softly. I yank my gaze back to hers, trying to focus.
“I’m sorry. Just thinking.”
“About?”
“We went really wrong somehow, didn’t we, Ice?”
“Yeah, we did.”
“Do you ever regret the choices we made?”
“Sometimes,” she admits. “I lied to myself, I guess.”
“What do you mean?”
“I loved you so much, Liam. I thought I could overlook the life you led as long as it meant I could have you. But the deeper I got…the more it all felt out of control.”
“You always did see things in black and white, Ice.”
“Yeah, and you lived in those shades of gray.”
“It sounds like a bad joke should be inserted here, but for the life of me I can’t think of one,” I joke. She laughs, though it doesn’t quite reach her face.
“Just don’t expect me to start calling you Christian.”
“Thank God. He was a pussy.”
“You watched that movie?”
“Against my will. Rory had the old ladies over to watch it while Diesel had to be out of town. He didn’t like the idea of not having someone watch over his woman. I got the short end of the stick, since Devil was still in bad shape.”
“Wait, hold up. Who is Rory and why was Devil in bad shape?”
“You’ve been gone a long time, baby.”
“Yeah, I guess so. Life goes on, as they say,” she lets out a big sigh that morphs into a yawn. I watch as she covers her mouth and smile.
“You’re sleepy.”
“I got up early. I hate to do this, but you should probably leave. I’m about to fall asleep on you.”
“I could stay.”
“Liam, I don’t think that would be smart.”
“I’ll sleep on the couch,” I suggest, but I can already see on her face that she’s going to shoot me down.
“What if your headache comes back?”
“It’s fine now,” she replies, shaking her head.
“You had one the first day I saw you at the bar, Ellie. Are you seeing a doctor for them?”
“It’s just tension. I have the day off tomorrow, I’ll rest up and be right as rain.”
I smile. “I’ve missed that,” I tell her with an honesty I doubt she could understand.
“What?”
“The silly things you say. What does right as rain mean anyway?”
“Stop trying to confuse me,” she says all while yawning, making it hard to understand her.
“Okay fine, I can take a hint, but I do have a favor to ask.”
“What’s that?” she asks, as I get up off the couch. She stands with me and I start walking—regretfully—to the front door.
“Go riding with me tomorrow.”
“Liam…”
“C’mon, Ice. Live dangerously.”
“I don’t understand what your point is to all of this,” she says so quietly that I have to strain to hear her.
“Why does it have to have a point? It feels good. You can’t deny that, Ellie.”
“So does drinking, but too much of it and you end up with a whore’s mouth wrapped around your dick, a disease that you can’t find a cure for, your nuts shriveled up, and a hell of a hangover.”
“You’re not going to let Hayley go are you?”
“If you want to escape my house with all of your body parts still in working order, you won’t even mention her name in my house,” she warns me, her eyes shooting fire at me.
“Jealous?”
“Don’t come at me with that bullshit, Liam. I haven’t liked Hayley for a long time. Did I like seeing her head buried between your legs? No way. Is that fair? Maybe not, but it doesn’t change the truth. You don’t love someone for years and have that just disappear, not if the feelings are real.”
“Trust me, Ice. I know that,” I tell her, my fingers drifting to the side of her face. I drag my finger along her soft skin. “Come out with me tomorrow. Please?”
“The mighty Liam Maverick actually says please?”
“Where you’re concerned? Damn straight.”
“If I go riding with you, it doesn’t mean anything.”
“Okay,” I tell her, not adding that it does mean something. I’m about to get my way. Now’s not the time to spook her.
“Okay? Just like that?”
“Just like that. Does this mean you’re saying yes?”
“I’ll probably regret it,” she mutters. “But, yes.”
I lean down and kiss her forehead. I breathe in her scent. It’s sweet, even if I’d rather kiss her lips instead.
“See you tomorrow, Ice.”
“Don’t make me regret it,” she warns. I don’t turn around. If I did, she’d see me grin and that would just piss her off.