24. Whitney
24
WHITNEY
L iam’s command sends a rush of heat through me as I turn and meet his gaze in the mirror. He settles a palm on my hip, rubbing soft circles with his thumb while the other presses against my back, bending me slightly towards the dresser in front of us. I’m waiting for him to press inside me when I feel his hands over my ass, spreading me open. I flush with embarrassment as I watch in the mirror.
I’ve never done anything like this before. I’m nervous, but more than that, I’m incredibly turned on. Every sensation, every brush of his hand is setting me on fire. He drops to the ground behind me, burying his face against my center. I take in a shocked breath as he licks me from behind, bringing his fingers around to my front to tease me.
“Liam,” I choke out.
He presses his tongue inside me, circling his fingers along my clit. “You taste so fucking sweet,” he groans against me.
My eyes widen as waves of pleasure roll through me. Watching myself in the mirror is making me even crazier, and a blush grows on my cheek at how turned on I am by watching myself.
Just like he did in the kitchen, Liam doesn’t just taste me, he devours me. He’s a man on a mission, and that mission is to be the death of me. So far, he’s succeeding.
Another tremor rocks through me as his fingers circle my clit again.
“I’m going to—” I press against him, needing relief, and he thrusts his fingers deeper inside me.
He presses off the ground, his lips finding the back of my neck, his fingers still filling me. He tugs my hair slightly, bringing my gaze to meet his.
“I want to watch you while you come,” he breathes against my neck.
“I’m—” I choke out, closing my eyes.
“That’s it, baby. Come for me,” he growls.
I feel myself clenching against his fingers, a wave of pleasure rushing through me all at once. I think I’m saying Liam’s name, but I can’t be sure. My eyes fly open and lock with Liam’s, the focused expression on his face sending even more tremors through me.
He slips his fingers out and grips my hips in his hands. “I need to fuck you.” He drags his hand along my thigh, feeling the wetness dripping down my leg. “Can I fuck you? Please?”
I let out a shaky breath. I’d probably make some smug remark if I weren’t completely overwhelmed. All I can do is nod fervently, my legs trembling in anticipation. He presses his palm to the base of my spine, bending me closer against the dresser. Slowly, more slowly than I would have expected, he sinks deep inside me. The feeling of him filling me up without anything between us is indescribable.
“Fuck,” Liam breathes, pressing deeper. “You feel perfect.” He pulls out before thrusting into me again, establishing a slow rhythm of his body against mine. One hand rests on my hip while his other draws up to my breast, squeezing and playing with my nipple.
“Liam.” I meet his eyes in the mirror. “Don’t hold back.”
His gaze darkens as he pushes me down and lets go. He thrusts against me, harder now, sinking inside me with abandon. He ravages me as I arch my back against him, staring at us in the mirror.
“Talk to me,” I whisper. “Give me more.”
He thrusts deeper, growling against me as he does. “Does my dirty girl need it harder?”
I nod again as his hand wraps around my hair, gripping it in his hand.
“You like it like this? Me using your body however I want? Fucking you from behind until you scream?” He thrusts against me, giving me everything he has, and my eyes start to flutter close, overwhelmed by the waves of pleasure rolling through me, but he tugs at my hair. “You look at me while I’m inside you, baby,” he says. “Look at how good you take it. How perfect you look.”
A choked sound escapes me, somewhere between a moan and a gasp. The sound only fuels Liam on as he thrusts against me harder and harder. I don’t know how long I’m going to last. His thumb finds my clit again, one hand tugging my head back while the other circles me in a torturous movement that makes me clench against him.
“You want to come?” he asks.
I nod again, unable to form words. Unable to think.
“Beg,” he instructs me. “If you want to come, ask nicely.”
“Please,” I manage through my gasps. “Please.”
He releases my hair and thrusts into me again, gentling his movements into a slower rhythm. “That’s my girl,” he says. “Come for me, beautiful.”
Almost as soon as I feel my orgasm crash to the surface, a groan escapes him and he collapses against me, filling me completely. We ride the wave together, both of us gasping into the quiet room.
“Oh my God.” I fall onto the dresser, pressing up on my palms.
Liam breathes heavily against me, his hands resting on my hips from where he was thrusting. We stay there for a moment, our gasps filling the silent room. Finally, his weight lifts off me and he brings me up with him, tugging me into his arms in a tight hug.
“You okay?” he asks, his hand brushing softly through my hair.
I nod, still gasping for breath. “Yeah.”
He presses slow kisses to my neck before pulling back to meet my eyes, tucking a stray hair behind my ear. “It was intense, wasn’t it?”
I nod again, feeling a heaviness pressing in on me.
What does this mean?
He pulls me from my thoughts by bringing my palm up to his lips and pressing a kiss to the center of it. “I’ll be right back,” he says.
He releases my hand, grabbing his briefs off the floor and tugging them on. He slips from the room as I stumble over to my bed, grabbing his shirt off the floor and pulling it over my shoulders. I button it up and fall against the pillows, closing my eyes.
It’s too much. It’s not supposed to be like this.
I hear Liam come back into the room, but I can’t make myself move. His weight presses into the mattress next to me and I feel a warmth against my legs. Glancing down, I see him running a damp cloth along my legs, gently cleaning me up. When he’s finished, he hands me a glass of water. We drink it down in silence and he puts the empty glass on the table, settling onto the bed next to me.
“You need anything else?” he asks.
I shake my head and rest against the pillow again, my head spinning. He tugs on my hand, intertwining his fingers in mine. “You’re being quiet,” he says.
“I thought you’d be celebrating me finally shutting up for once,” I mumble.
He chuckles and pulls me closer. “It’s making me nervous,” he admits. “Was it too much?”
I turn on my side to face him completely. “I’m fine, Liam.”
He trails his hand along my thigh, playing with the ends of the button-down. “You look sexy in my shirt.”
I blush and smirk at him, letting my hand rest on his bare chest, feeling the contours of his muscles against my fingers.
“Look even sexier out of it,” he mumbles.
I chuckle against him and pull the covers up, turning over and flipping my bedside light off, engulfing us in darkness.
“Will you be gone when I wake up in the morning?” he asks, a hint of vulnerability in his voice. The sound of it tugs at my heart.
“This is my bed,” I remind him with a soft smile.
He pulls me closer, his arms wrapped entirely around me. “Goodnight, Whit.”
I can hardly reply before my head hits the pillow and sleep takes me completely.
The sun cracks through my curtains, bathing the room in a warm light that matches the warmth covering my body. The source of that heat? The man currently wrapped around me, his snores filling the room. Liam didn’t snore in Vegas, but last night he nearly woke me up with his noise. Worst of all, I’m not even annoyed by it. I find him unbearably cute.
Liam shifts, tucking my body tighter into his and sliding his leg between mine. The movement sends a rush of heat through me, and my mind is filled with memories from last night, images of the way we looked together in the mirror.
Why does he have to be so good in bed? My ex, Christopher, was always a bit selfish when it came to sex. He didn’t really like going down on me, and he wasn’t that into foreplay. Meanwhile, Liam has ruined other men for me. Once the rest of my inheritance comes through and we part ways, how am I ever going to find someone who seems to understand exactly what I need? Who is as desperate to taste me, to touch me?
A pang hits me at the thought of our impending expiration date, even if it is years away.
Divorce.
Such an ugly word. When Liam and I decided to get married, I didn’t think beyond All Rhodes and how badly I wanted to achieve my dream. I failed to grasp the reality that I’m going to have one divorce under my belt before thirty. I sigh against my pillow, my mood successfully soured. Trying to shake off thoughts of the future, I snuggle further into Liam’s arms, focusing on the feeling of his body wrapped around mine. I really should get up and figure out what to say to Liam.
Does he regret it?
The night at the club was one thing. We could write it off as a drunken mistake and move on. But twice? There’s an undeniable thread running between us, an attraction that I can’t deny.
Liam shifts again, slipping his arms out from around me and stretching them above his head with a groan. The sound of it sends another flush of memories through me, making the room feel a few degrees warmer.
“Good morning,” he murmurs, slipping his hand back to my hip.
“Morning,” I whisper, my nerves building.
In the soft glow of last night, our wild sex felt bold and intimate and perfect. In the morning glow, my crusty eyes and dry mouth make it feel like a dirty secret. One that I’m scared to say out loud.
Liam tugs me closer, turning my head to face him, but he doesn’t say anything. He presses his lips against mine, and I fall into the feel of him, opening my mouth with a heady moan.
We’re interrupted by the sound of buzzing. I pull back from our kiss, reaching for the bedside table for my phone, but it’s not mine. Liam follows my movement, sitting up and glancing around. He slips out from under the sheets and reaches for his pants, searching in the pockets for his phone. He slides back into the bed next to me, reading his screen. I avert my gaze, but when he flips his phone over with a groan, I meet his eyes again.
“Everything okay?” I ask, pulling the covers up.
He nods and exhales. “I totally forgot. My dad is coming to town next weekend, and I told him he could crash with us.”
“What?” My voice pitches up. “ Here? ”
He rubs his brow and sighs. “I was going to ask you about it, but it was ages ago.”
“Does he know about us?”
He shakes his head. “No, but I’ve got to tell him. He’ll be pissed I didn’t invite him to the wedding. Haven’t really gotten around to telling him about me dropping out of school, either.”
“Liam!” I step out of bed into my slippers and throw my hair into a bun. “Seriously?”
He shrugs and grabs his own clothes, taking the hint. “I’m gonna call him today.”
“Are you sure you should tell him? About us, I mean. You definitely need to tell him about school.”
He pulls on his pants and stares at me. I’m still wearing his button down from last night, the one that I slept in. He quirks an eyebrow at my guilty expression. I reach to take it off but he crosses towards me and stills my movements with his hand.
“Keep it.” He smirks, his hand dragging up my arm lightly. “I’m going to speak to him. It’s not like I can hide it from him forever.”
“It wouldn’t be forever. It’d only be three years.”
His brow furrows at my response. “Right.” He grabs his phone off the bed and slides it into his pocket as I turn away from him.
“I’m sorry I’m springing this on you.” He crosses the room and lingers near the door. “What are you up to today?”
“Not much. I’m meeting with a contractor this afternoon to see if they’re a fit for the salon.”
He nods. “I’ve got work.”
Silence settles between us.
“Listen—”
“Last night?—”
We stumble over each other, and he laughs awkwardly, swiping his hand on the back of his neck.
“You go,” I offer, not wanting to be the one to deal with the mess between us. My heart races in the moments before he speaks. It’s a losing battle, my attraction towards Liam. He looks incredible with messy morning hair, leaning against my doorway with his brows furrowed, staring at the ground.
“I was just gonna say… ”
My heart sinks.
This is it. The moment of rejection. The letting me down easy.
“It can’t happen again,” I hear myself say. I turn away from him and busy myself with something on my dresser, but it offers me no solace. This is the same spot from last night. It’s the place where he bent me over, the mirror we stared at each other through. “It would just complicate things. We can pretend for your dad and for other people, but we can’t get into all that,” I say, staring at the floor. I can feel his gaze on me through the mirror, and I wonder if he’s thinking about last night, too.
“You sure? Because?—”
I nod my head fervently and turn back to face him, forcing a smile. “I’m sure.”
He nods tightly, his expression unreadable. “If that’s what you want.”
“It is.”
“Alright.”
He turns from the doorway, leaving me standing in my room. Somehow, my heart sinks even lower, my gut twisted into pieces. I exhale a shaky breath and close my eyes, forcing back the emotions that threaten to break to the surface.
It’s for the best.
But if it’s for the best, why does it hurt so damn much?