Chapter 41
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
Athena
I can’t move.
Literally.
Liam has me pinned to my bed. Both of my wrists are in one of his hands above my head. He’s on top of me, balancing his full weight on his palm. It’s pressed into the mattress next to my shoulder.
My legs are pushed apart by the width of his hips.
Every inch of my skin is sensitive from his touch. He kissed, licked, and fucked me until I lost my breath.
Judging by the brush of his sheathed cock against my core, he’s hard as nails again.
“Jesus, you’re beautiful.” The words fall from his mouth in a whispered rush. “I think I could spend the rest of my life staring at you non-stop, and I’d still want more.”
Tears threaten to fill my eyes, but I bite them back with a heavy swallow.
I study his face.
I can’t tell if I’m looking at a man who is falling just as hard for me as I am for him, or if he’s speaking out of intense desire.
Maybe it’s both?
He presses his lips to my collarbone. “Tell me who is inside this locket around your neck.”
“I don’t know.” I mouth the words because I can’t give them a voice.
I’m embarrassed that the piece of jewelry means more to me than almost anything on this earth.
He moves slightly, dropping kisses on the skin of my neck. “Say it’s not your last boyfriend.”
I let out a burst of laughter. “It’s not.”
His lips brush the corner of my mouth before he rests his cheek against mine. “He was a fool to let you go, lilac.”
I dumped him.
It wasn’t working. In addition to the sex being average, he couldn’t wrap his head around the fact that I wanted to start my own business.
He didn’t think I had the experience I needed to succeed.
I proved him wrong.
Talking about an ex while I’m in bed with my current lover is a big no-no to me.
I shift under him, trying to brush my pussy against his cock.
The expression on his face morphs the second he feels my movements. “You want me.”
I love that there’s no doubt in his voice or his body.
He nudges himself closer to me, parting my folds with his erection.
“I want you,” I whisper. “So much, Liam.”
His hand slides under my thigh. “Being inside of you is almost too much.”
I know the feeling. When he’s fucking me, everything slips away but the two of us.
In one swift movement, my ass is in his hand, and he’s pressing inside of me. My body adjusts to his cock with each slide forward.
“You’ll tell me if I hurt you.”
I nod, my eyes shut from the depth of the pleasure. It’s already so good. “It doesn’t hurt.”
“I’ll never hurt you.” He grunts when he pushes deeper. “I will never hurt you.”
I roll my hips with each drive of his cock.
“Please never hurt me,” I whisper into the skin of his shoulder as he buries his face in my neck, pumping into me faster and deeper with each thrust.
I wake to the sound of Liam’s voice.
It takes me a second to realize that we’re in my apartment. My body is still tingling from our lovemaking.
I tug the blanket up to my neck to fend off the cold.
Early fall in Manhattan boasts warm days, but there’s a bite in the air once the sun drops.
“You’re sure he’s up to it?”
I crane my neck to look in the direction of Liam’s voice. He’s in my bathroom. The door doesn’t shut completely. When I first moved in, Jeremy promised that he’d have someone come by to remedy that, but he must have forgotten.
I haven’t reminded him because I live alone, and a non-closing door doesn’t bother me.
“We’ll do it this week, Rhys,” he says in a low tone. “Your mom would be proud of you for making this happen.”
I close my eyes when silence follows.
“You didn’t wake me.” His voice softens. “But, I’m about to get into bed.”
The sound of the door creaking cracks open one of my eyelids.
I glance over to see him standing in the doorway, completely nude.
“I told you that I’m here for you twenty-four, seven.” His bare feet pad against the hardwood as he approaches the bed. “You need me, you call. Alright?”
When I know he’s close enough to see me, I smile.
I’m rewarded with a grin. “I’ll talk to you soon, Rhys.”
As soon as the words leave his lips, the phone is on the foot of the bed, and Liam is crawling over me.
“I wasn’t trying to hear that.” I turn on my side to face him.
“He’s lost since his mom died.” He circles my waist with his arm, tugging me closer. “We’ve formed a bond. I want him to know I’m always around if he needs me.”
Cradling his face in my hands, I press a kiss to his mouth. “You’re a good man.”
“I’m a lucky man,” he counters. “I’m in bed with the most beautiful woman I’ve ever known.”
“Will you fall asleep now?” I ask, hoping that he’ll say no.
He gently pushes me onto my back before he slides down my body to settle between my legs. “This first, lilac. Another taste, and then I’ll dream about you.”