Chapter 11 #2
As Liam introduced me to several people he knew, I realized he wasn’t trying to sell me on his abilities as an investor—he genuinely believed in our business.
We needed him on our team. I swear, I swooned a little every time he spoke about us, and therein lay my problem: Could we collaborate and act on this crazy attraction?
“You’re tense,” Liam whispered.
How could he read my body so well?
I nodded.
“Let’s see if my plan will help with that.”
A flirty smile played on his lips. His eyes were trained on me, hot and demanding, and my thoughts spun out of control with all the things that plan could involve.
He brought a hand to the small of my back before skimming it all the way up to my neck.
My whole body was on edge, as if he just trailed his mouth at the back of my neck, first giving me his lips and then his tongue.
“I’ll buy you a drink and convince you to give up all your secrets,” he teased.
There was that confidence again. I loved it.
I licked my lower lip, trying to steel myself against the charm that was just oozing out of him.
Spending more time with Liam heightened the odds of slipping into risky territory.
As it stood, I was already having risky thoughts (How long would it take me to yank the shirt off him and lick all those delicious muscles?) and risky body reactions (My pulse was definitely quickening every time he touched me).
“Sure, why not? I’d like a glass of white wine.”
“Sit here. I’ll take care of it.” He pointed to two empty bar chairs.
“I like the sound of that.”
I climbed on one of the chairs, taking out my phone. I reviewed my notes quickly, correcting the words I mistyped while I still remembered what I wrote.
“White wine for the lady,” Liam said.
“Thanks. That was fast.”
Our hands brushed when I took the glass from him, and I swear I felt that touch all over my body. Damn, I was in trouble.
“So, why are you tense?” he asked, sitting in the chair next to mine. Was I imagining it, or did the chair and Liam seem closer than before? I licked my lips, then sipped from my glass.
“First, let’s talk a bit about you,” I said. “We always talk about me.”
“Let’s make a deal. I answer any question you want. And then you answer any of mine.”
He was looking at me so intently that there was no way I could say no. I didn’t want to, either. I shrugged a shoulder playfully. “Okay. Tell me about you, David, and Becca. Are you just partners or also friends?”
“They’re my best friends. We all started working on Wall Street together after college, and we became very close. We created the InvestMe app more for fun, even though I think we would have left Wall Street anyway. It wasn’t our scene. Too many rules and too many standardized processes.”
“But you like that. Didn’t you have the same list of questions for all applicants?” I teased.
“You sound like David. He always gives me shit about being too…stiff.”
“And liking rules? Or breaking them? I’m very confused on that topic.” I meant to sound serious, but I was grinning.
He leaned in, bringing his mouth to my ear. “I only like rules when I’m the one making them, Tess. And the only rules I’m breaking are the ones involving you.”
I felt every breath of his on my skin, and it seemed almost as intimate as kissing. For a brief second, it seemed we were the only ones in this crazy busy room. Then the chatter ramped up, as if someone had poked the bubble surrounding us.
I cleared my throat, and Liam pulled back.
I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Everything from the cut of his shirt and suit jacket to the determination in his gaze was dripping with sex appeal.
I clasped one hand tighter around my glass and the other around the edge of my chair to keep from touching him.
It was so tempting to find an excuse to just open that top button of his shirt. I mean, wasn’t he the least bit warm?
“Why work on Wall Street at all, then?” I asked, pulling myself together. I wanted to know everything about him.
“Growing up, I always wanted to be like my grandfather. He worked on Wall Street almost his whole life.”
“Almost?” Something in the way he said that word made me think there was a story behind that.
“Right until he unexpectedly got laid off. He saved enough money, so that wasn’t an issue, but he just wasn’t the same.
He became depressed and just didn’t seem like his old self.
Then I asked a therapist how Gran and I could help, and he suggested we have strict routines and schedules, like he was used to at the bank.
It actually worked. He got better and eventually did start liking his early retirement, but I got used to that sort of strict routine in the process. ”
I was stunned, to be honest. He’d done all that for his grandfather? I think I fell for him a little right there and then.
“My turn.” His eyes flashed. He leaned forward, placing a hand on my knee. Holy shit! My body instantly lit up. My nipples perked up. Heat shot between my thighs.
What is happening to me?
“That’s not fair. I have more questions.” I pouted, blinking slowly.
“Fuck, Tess, stop with that cute pout or I’ll kiss you right here in this bar.”
My breath caught. I had no doubt he’d do it.
“Tell me why you were tense earlier.” His voice was so demanding that I had no choice but to give in.
“Because I like you so much, and…”
“Talk to me, Tess. Tell me what you’re afraid of.”
“I’m not even sure.”
“You mentioned the collaboration a few times. I promise I’m a professional. No matter what happens, it will not affect my work ethic. If it makes you feel better, David or Becca could even become your primary mentor. You’d only see me in a professional capacity during strategy meetings.”
Wow, he really thought about this? Just to put me at ease?
“What else is worrying you?” he asked.
Getting my heart broken . I couldn’t say that out loud, though. We hadn’t even gone out on a date. I didn’t want to scare him away with all my romantic ideas. I’d always been a dreamer and an optimist, but fifteen years of dating taught me it wasn’t easy.
“Lots of things, but I really like your suggestions.” I couldn’t believe he was so considerate.
I started playing with my glass of wine to give my hands something to do. His gaze dropped to my lips, and I could swear he tilted forward a fraction of an inch.
Before he could say anything else, someone knocked into me from behind.
I spilled the glass of wine on my dress, soaking it. I jumped from the chair, smoothing my palms over the fabric out of instinct. It didn’t help. Glancing at the woman who knocked into me, I saw her apologetic face along with her grimace.
“I’m so sorry. I’ll pay for dry cleaning.”
“No need. It could happen to anyone.”
“Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
We chatted a bit more before she went on her way, and after she left, I turned to Liam. “I’m feeling cold already. It’s soaked all the way through. I need to go home.”
“I’ll walk out with you.”
Putting his hand on the small of my back, he led me out to the entrance where the coat room was. There was a short line, but I received my coat in a few minutes. Thank God, because I was shivering from the cold wind coming in every time someone opened the entrance door.
Liam held my coat, and I tried not to react as his fingers brushed my shoulders while I put it on.
“Not how I pictured our evening ending,” he whispered in my ear from behind while I fastened the belt around my middle. “Seems I’ll have to put the rest of my plan into motion another time.”
My stomach flipped as I turned around, facing him. “It seems so.”
Damn wineglass. It was keeping me from a very promising night. But maybe it was for the best.
“Come on. There are cabs outside.”
He walked one step behind me, and I swear I could feel his presence even though he wasn’t touching me. Once outside, we saw the last two cabs leaving right before our eyes. The concierge of the event assured us a new one would arrive in a few minutes.
“Are you cold?” he asked.
I nodded. I was rubbing my hands because they felt icy.
He took them in his, which were warm and felt amazing.
I liked this far too much. My breath hitched when I caught him looking at my lips.
Holy shit, I suddenly felt warm all over, not just where our hands were touching.
I couldn’t look away, couldn’t do anything to break this spell between us.
And the man was warming my hands, for God’s sake.
Was he trying to make me swoon on purpose?
I had no idea who leaned forward first, but the second his mouth was on mine, I couldn’t think about anything else except him .
His lips were firm and soft at the same time.
He was exploring me slowly, as if there wasn’t anything else he’d rather do right then than kiss me.
As if that was all he wanted to do for the rest of the evening.
Letting go of my hands, he grabbed my waist, holding me tight. When he deepened the kiss, I just couldn’t hold back and ran my hands through his hair. Urgency coiled through me. I whimpered involuntarily, and he deepened the kiss. I was aching for him.
The way he kissed me made me feel like I was the only thing that mattered tonight.
He pulled me flat against him and feathered his lips down the side of my neck.
Every kiss sent little shockwaves of pleasure reverberating through my body.
His cologne, juniper and pine, overwhelmed my senses.
I slipped my hand under his suit jacket, moving toward the button that had been teasing me all night.
I wanted to rip it away, along with all the other buttons. I wanted to?—
Loud honking made us jump apart. I blinked for a few seconds, disoriented. Then I noticed the cab and the smirking concierge.
“The cabbie honked three times before you noticed,” the concierge informed us.
I wasn’t even sorry, because that kiss was worth being honked at.
My legs were a little shaky as I walked toward the car with Liam at my side. He opened the door for me. As I lowered myself into the cab, he tilted forward, kissing my cheek before bringing his mouth to my ear.
“Next time I see you, I’ll make sure there won’t be any glass of spilled wine or honking cabs getting in our way,” he said.
When he pulled back, the promising glint in his eyes was just pure heat, and I was certain that next time, nothing would keep him from going after what he wanted: me.