Chapter Seventeen
Oonagh
Trays of sparking rings winked up at me like stars in the night sky. My heart raced in excitement while Liam stood beside me with a hand on the bottom of my back.
Several times I attempted to pick smaller rings, but Liam rolled his eyes at me and now had the selection down to half a dozen at the front of the counter. A simple princess cut ring with smaller diamonds in the band called to me, but the price was horrendously high and there was no way anyone was spending that amount of money on a fake engagement to save Liam’s deal.
I pointed to a ring a quarter of the price. “That one.”
Liam picked up the princess cut ring instead. “We’ll take this one.”
My eyes narrowed into the best glare I could muster, even though my heart fluttered that he picked the ring I wanted.
“What?” Liam asked. “You kept looking at that one. Honestly,” he said to the jeweller. “She’s always trying to save me money.”
He gave a knowing smile and discretely removed the tray and the other runners up .
I emerged wearing the ring, my hand feeling heavier than usual, weighed down by thousands of pounds.
“Liam, we can’t do this.”
“Do what?”
I grabbed his hand. “If we don’t curtail this, we’ll end up married with three kids before your deal is sorted.”
His body pressed me against the solid frame of the car. “I can think of worse fates,” Liam murmured with a faint smile.
“Be serious.” I tried to push his chest.
“When have I ever not been?” His words permeated my head, but no response would form. Liam sighed. “Look, let’s get through the next few weeks and your birthday and we can worry about it then. Okay?”
I nodded my head, my teeth catching my bottom lip. “Please don’t break me,” I said in barely a whisper.
Liam’s fingers under my chin delicately lifted my face to his. “I couldn’t even if I wanted,” he replied before his lips met mine.
Why did this have to be pretend?
My childhood dream had been to marry Liam. It was soul- destroying that his ring was on my finger, but he didn’t belong to me.
I’d thought we would return home after my interview and our shopping trip, but Liam seemed to want to spend some time up here in the city. We went to his apartment and he changed out of his suit, retrieving some of the bags from his car for me to pick something to wear instead of my suit.
Instead of returning for Mum’s cocktail party, I decided to enjoy this shiny new relationship I’d found with Liam. There was a time limit hanging over my head like the sword of Damocles and I wanted to enjoy every single second that I had with him.
“Let’s go and get something to eat. What do you fancy?” he asked.
We’d shared every intimacy with each other, but we’d never been on a date together. “Are you taking your fiancée on a date?” I teased.
His full lips twitched. “And if I was?”
I shrugged one shoulder. “I’d say that my fiancé should know that I love Thai food, just in case anyone asked him.”
“Hmmm.” Liam’s arms snaked around my waist to tug me toward him. “I guess I should find out a little more about my fiancée. Let’s grab dinner and then you can indulge me in a game of truth or dare.”
My head canted to the side as his lips skimmed my pulse. “What does the game entail now?” I asked in a breathless sigh, all my senses starting to swim at his proximity.
“You pick truth or dare, and you can answer a question or submit to a sexual dare.” His tone sent a trickle of fear mixed with arousal through me to settle in my stomach.
“Such as?”
A devious smile played on his lips and his eyes darkened. “You’ll have to wait until we get back…” He placed another kiss to the side of my neck before releasing me.
All my sexual experiences had been with this man, but he’d never teased me before. Every time we met that summer, we’d been consumed by the need to claim each other, pulling and ripping at each other’s clothes to get to our goal of sexual satisfaction. Liam possessed a confidence that made him sexy as hell and too dangerous to be close to. His flames burned so hot that he scorched my senses and left me reeling.
The food was delicious, his constant touches as he fed me morsels from his plate and the way his leg kept brushing against mine were driving me insane. But it was the way his gaze kept catching mine that made butterflies beat inside my stomach. Eye contact normally creeped me out, and I tended to avoid it. The way Liam watched me made me feel special, as if he couldn’t bear to look away. There was a strange, feral gleam to his gaze that rendered me speechless, as if he was a predator indulging his prey. He would consume me later, taking everything I possessed. It should terrify me, yet my stomach tightened, and my thighs trembled at the thought of becoming his prey.
I shook my head to dessert. There was no way I would be able to sit through another course. My nerves were so tightly strung that they were ready to break under the pressure of Liam’s presence.
His fingers intertwined with mine as if it was the most natural thing in the world that he’d done a thousand times. I used to cling to his arm, but this was something different, almost his way of telling the rest of the world that I belonged to him.
His apartment rested in darkness when we returned. He merely flicked on a few side lights that allowed us to see but left the element of seduction.
Liam suddenly pinned me to the wall, his lips hovering over mine, his eyelashes tangling with mine. “Stay with me tonight. ”
I should run, the fight or flight hormones firing deep in my chest as my pulse spiked. My answer was my lips closing the distance to his to kiss him. Instead of fighting or fleeing, my body took the endorphins and sent all the energy plummeting southward until there was an ache between my legs that only Liam could satisfy.
“Truth or dare,” he muttered into my mouth.
“Truth.”
His eyes opened until he stared directly into my soul. “How many?”
My brow wrinkled in confusion. “What?”
“How many men after me?”
I swallowed hard. It never occurred to me that he would ask this. “None.”
His body froze and I thought he was about to walk away from me. A possessive light entered his eyes and his body crushed me to the wall.
“I couldn’t…” I swallowed again and eventually met his blue gaze. “My body seems to refuse the touch of anyone but you.”
His hand found my throat, his fingers contracting as his mouth hovered over mine. “You are driving me fucking crazy. Seriously?”
The pressure of his hand on my throat sent waves of arousal to between my legs until moisture gathered. “I told you, Liam. There’s never been anyone but you.”
His lips crashed into mine, crushing me as he demanded surrender. Liam’s tongue swept into my mouth, collecting every word I wanted to say. The hand he released slid into his hair to anchor me in the centre of this storm he created .
“Truth or dare?” I whispered.
“Truth.”
I knew he’d had other women after me, and I didn’t want to think about any of them. “Did you ever think about me?”
“Every fucking day,” he growled. “You infected me long ago and I’ve never been able to cure myself of the fever that rages in my blood for you.”
His words carried raw power into me to strengthen me.
“Truth or dare, Oonagh?” He demanded. “Pick dare.”
“Dare.”
“Strip and hand yourself over to me tonight.” His eyes bored into mine as he pleaded with me.
Slowly, I moved away from him, my head lowering as I unbuttoned my shirt one button at a time, peeling it off and dropping it to the floor. Liam stood watching me like a feral god from olden days, his jaw tight and hand fisted at his side. I toed my shoes off and kicked them to the side, my trembling fingers fumbling with the button on my jeans.
His hands covered mine to take over the task, pushing the denim over my hips while he dropped to his knees in front of me. He left me in nothing but my panties and bra.
I looked down, and the raw emotion in his eyes as he stared back left me breathless with an aching hunger deep in my core. There were nights that expression haunted me in my dreams, and I’d wake up desperate and unfulfilled. My fingers on my heated flesh never satisfied the hunger the way Liam’s did.
He stood slowly to tower over me. All the moisture evaporated from my mouth as I watched him pull his T-shirt over his head and toss it into the shadows. His jeans and boxer briefs descended in one fluid motion. Suddenly, I was salivating as my gaze travelled over the golden skin pulled tight over toned muscles.
Liam hoisted me over his powerful shoulder. His hand landed on my lace-covered ass with a smack that echoed down the hallway of his apartment. I squirmed, not because of the delicious sting, but because my clit possessed a desperate need for friction.
He dropped me on the bed, my body bouncing. I watched as he retrieved belts from his drawer and fastened them together in a makeshift noose that he attached to the loop supporting the curtain rail.
Intrigued, I sat up on the bed waiting for him. Liam prowled toward me, his cock stiffening with every pace. His hand cupped my cheek, lifting my gaze to his.
“Truth or dare?” he asked.
“Truth.” I didn’t think I could face any more dares since I was certain those belts were for me.
“Do you trust me?”
I peered up at him and the nervous tingles in my stomach morphed into arousal. “Yes.” It was as complicated and simple as that.
Liam held his hand out to me, and I gave myself over to him. My eyes fluttered closed as he released my bra, his hands massaging my heavy breasts that were tight and throbbing with need. I gasped when he pinched my nipples, twisting them until the pain changed to something different.
“Breathe, baby,” Liam said, his tongue lavishing over my right nipple followed by his teeth grazing it. My back arched. What the hell was he doing to me? His teeth bit down gently on my hard nipple as his tongue flicked over the tip.
“Liam,” I panted.
He sucked hard and my knees buckled, the only force holding me upright were his hands on my waist. Liam moved to my other breast to give it the same attention as the first. Sensation overload was going to kill me, my hands gripping his hair in an attempt to steady myself. My nipples were too sensitive, his mouth a weapon designed to slay them. It felt like there was an erotic cord connecting my nipples to my clit. Each suck pulled at my clit and my pelvis jerked uncontrollably.
Liam left me nothing more than a trembling mass of nerves so close to orgasm that I wanted to wantonly lie on the bed with my legs spread and beg him to finish my torment.
His thumbs hooked the lace of my panties and trailed them down my legs, leaving me completely naked to him for the first time in ten years. I couldn’t look away as he unfolded himself to stand staring down at me. Liam’s body was flush with mine, skin touching skin.
A fire burned deep in my stomach, and Liam was kindling it into an inferno of desire.
“If you need me to stop at any time, say red,” Liam instructed. His lips touched mine in a solemn promise. My engorged nipples rubbed against the muscles of his chest as I swayed into his heat. His erection rubbed the delicate flesh between my thighs and my legs widened slightly to grant his access .
Liam kept drugging me with long, passionate kisses as he manoeuvred us across the room, one step at a time. I could live forever in one of his kisses, his lips moving with delicious precision, his tongue tempting me and then taking control. His hands slid down my arms and latched onto my wrists, lifting them above my head. It was only when I felt the leather binding them in place that my eyes fluttered open in confusion.
He pulled the belt hoist he made until my tiptoes were on the floor and my arms were high in the air. Liam stepped back, his bottom lip sucked into his mouth as he bit down on it.
“You’re exquisite.” His voice emerged low and husky, his fingertips tracing between my breasts down to my pubic bone. He dragged my band out of my hair so it cascaded down my back.
I’d never felt so exposed and vulnerable in my life. However, there was freedom in handing control over to Liam, my pleasure his alone to give. He stepped over to my right and I heard a drawer opening. My eyes were covered by silk, and for a moment, panic reared in my chest.
“When you take away a sense, the other become more acute,” Liam said into my ear as he fastened the silk in place. His fingertips on my flesh set goosebumps rising in anticipation to try and meet his touch.
Liam kissed a trail down my spine, pressing his lips to every vertebra on his route. My breath stilled in my chest, every muscle in my body quivering.
“Relax, baby,” Liam whispered into my ear as he stood behind me, his chest pressing into my back, his erection rubbing between my ass cheeks. He moved in front of me, my hands grasping the leather binding at my wrists as his lips and hands traced trails of seduction down my skin.
My body was stretched, his touch more acute on my flesh. Liam’s tongue flicked into my belly button and I jerked in my restraints. His hands curved around my ass, kneading it with his strong fingers. My mouth dropped open as his tongue found the pulsating, needy mass of nerves between my legs.
“Liam,” I groaned, struggling because in this position everything felt too much.
He devoured my flesh, his tongue, lips, and teeth working in tandem to make me writhe in ecstasy. Pressure built in my stomach like a furnace ready to explode. His finger slipped into my core, rubbing with steady pressure. My leg kicked as I tried to gain traction, and Liam dragged it over his shoulder. He sucked that bundle of nerves, his tongue flicking, teeth grazing the sensitive flesh. At the same time, he rubbed the spot deep inside that made my toes curl.
Too much… My body couldn’t take any more. The pressure in my stomach exploded in a gigantic starburst that radiated through me, burning to ashes everything in its path. My body jerked and I screamed Liam’s name, my fingers stretched and my heel digging into his back.
He didn’t stop.
“Please,” I begged. “I can’t.”
His deep chuckle vibrated across my skin, followed by his breath as he blew gently, making me shiver. Liam pressed a kiss to the inside of my thigh .
“You can and you will, baby.” His two hands grabbed my ass as he consumed me with his mouth while I hung here at his mercy.
Vulnerable.
Helpless.
He dragged my other leg over his shoulder and my knees clamped to allow me to arch my pelvis.
“Oh, god, right there,” I moaned.
His lips twitched against my core, his tongue dipping into me.
“Give it to me, baby,” Liam demanded in a tone that made me arch into him again.
He alternated between long, slow licks and short, fast attacks to my clit until every neuron in my body was focused on him alone. He assaulted my poor, engorged clit as two fingers slid into me.
I screamed, my entire body arching as my hands desperately grasped the belt above me. My body was enflamed, my senses reeling, and every muscle taut as another orgasm tore through me.
He finally took pity on me and kissed a trail up my body until he arrived at my lips. I could barely move, exhausted from the emotions wrung from me.
Liam placed my toes back on the floor, moving to stand behind me. His hands widened my legs even as he took my weight.
“I need to see you, Liam,” I pleaded.
One hand fumbled with the silk and I met his dark gaze in the window that now acted as a mirror. Without warning, he thrust deep and hard into me. My mouth fell open as he filled me completely with his turgid length.
Liam placed his chin on my shoulder, our eyes connected. “You okay?” he whispered, his teeth biting gently into my shoulder.
“Yeah, I just…” He continued to watch me intently. “I have nothing to compare this to.”
He was buried so deep in me that I could feel him pulsing. “You’re mine, Oonagh. Now and forever. Say it.”
His ring felt heavy on my finger, my chest tight. I’d revealed too much earlier, but there was no going back. “I’m yours, Liam.”
“Damn fucking right,” he muttered, drawing his hips back before brutally forging forward again. My gaze never left his in the window as he pounded into me, claiming me. He pulled out, leaving me empty and bereft. Liam was in front of me in an instant, wrapping my legs around his waist as he surged forward, stretching me apart.
My body bounced as he thrust up at an angle, pulling my hips to him, his lips stealing every noise I made. His cock suctioning in and out of me sounded around us, the scent of our sex permeating the air, perspiration coated our skin.
Liam’s thrusts became erratic, his cock pulsing in warning. He angled his hips to find that divine spot that sent a shudder trickling down my spine deep into my core. His head dropped to my shoulder and I desperately wanted to run my fingers through his silky strands.
“Oonagh,” he gasped.
My hips bucked into his, trying to take as much of him as possible as I came apart in his strong arms. Liam stretched me beyond breaking point, my core on fire with the friction from his cock. My speech was nothing more than incoherent words strung together.
I was defenceless as he slammed hard and deep into me. He roared as he released his cum, grinding his hips against mine as I screamed my pleasure that radiated out through my trembling body.
No words could describe the way I felt at this very moment. Everything was raw, all my muscles screamed from hanging here, my nerves jangling at the multiple orgasms. Liam held the weight of my body wrapped around his. We were both breathing heavily, our chests heaving to try and gasp in much needed air.
He finally leaned back to stare down at me. His hands gently cupped my cheeks to allow him to place a tender kiss on my lips that made my soul weep.
Liam released my hands and I slumped onto him. Whatever just happened had changed the dynamics between us. I’d given myself to him in a way that I never had before, entrusting him with everything.
He laid me on the bed, worshipping my body as I lay stunned and languid. Liam caressed the feeling back into my arms and hands, soothing where the belt had bitten into my wrists. Every action was laced with love and affection. Words could deceive, but the way he touched me revealed his emotions.
When he was satisfied that I was comfortable, Liam crawled over to stare down at me. “There’s so much I want to show you, Oonagh, so many places I want to take you…”
A smile touched the corner of my lips. “You’ve shown me enough for tonight, why don’t we save my next lesson for another night.”
His thumb traced across my bottom lip. “It’s only ever been you,” he murmured. “No one else ever came close.”
I tugged him down to brush my lips on his. “Hold me,” I commanded, needing to hear his heart beat under my ear. It used to soothe me to sleep and I needed to hear its familiar rhythm to reassure myself that we were still the same people.
His arms encased me in their strength as he settled me on his chest.
“I missed this,” I muttered.
Liam’s fingers painted a pattern on my back. “Truth or dare?”
I glanced up at him. “Truth.”
“Why?” he asked softly. “You walked away thinking I didn’t care. Why did you not find someone else?”
The truth was a sarcastic bastard that taunted me. I should have picked dare. My fingertip wandered over his chest.
“Oonagh?” The command in his voice jolted me into looking at him.
“It never felt right. When someone tried to touch me, it felt wrong as if I was being unfaithful.” I stared at his chest. “I can’t explain it, but it’s as if my body only responds to you. Now I feel stupid.”
His fingers grasped my chin, demanding I meet his eyes. “It makes perfect sense. We knew what we wanted from we were kids, but the world got in the way. ”
“What are we doing, Liam?” I asked in barely more than a whisper. “We did this one summer before and it destroyed me.”
Liam rolled me onto my back, his lips massaging mine. “Stop overthinking this, Oonagh. Let’s just enjoy right now.”
I closed my eyes and focused on the sensation of his kisses. Tonight, not only did Liam claim my body, but he’d taken my soul along with it.
***