33
33
Liberty
My pace picked up, the closer I got to the red door, as the noise on the other side grew louder.
The doctor’s appointment had gone smoothly. We listened to the baby’s heartbeat with a Doppler this time, and it remained strong. I had gained one pound, and everything else had appeared to be fine.
“You trying to get away from me?” Liam asked.
I glanced back over my shoulder at him and realized how much faster I’d been walking than him. “No, but I am anxious to see Nina and Goldie,” I told him as I reached the door.
His mouth twitched with amusement, and for a moment, I was distracted by him. I had been doing that more often lately. Being struck by how handsome he was.
The nurse today had once again basically drooled all over him. However, he was different. He seemed not to even notice her interest. His eyes had remained on me the entire time, making me feel important to him.
I pushed the red door once he caught up with me, and my gaze went directly to the kitchen. It was dinnertime, and I knew Nina and Goldie would be back there, cooking. I did miss that. It had been fun, working back there together to feed everyone. Although living with Liam was far superior than my time here. Because I had him with me.
Goldie noticed me first and threw the pot holder in her hand down, then raced over to hug me with a squeal. I heard several greetings called out to Liam from the men in the room, but my attention was on the woman in front of me. She let me go, standing back to place her hands on my stomach.
“Oh my God, you are the cutest damn thing I have ever seen with this tiny baby bump,” she gushed.
“Move. My turn,” Nina told her as she pushed Goldie over and wrapped her arms around my neck. “It’s so good to see you,” she said as she hugged me tightly.
“It’s good to see you too. Both of you,” I replied, smiling over Nina’s shoulder at Goldie.
Nina grabbed my hands as she stood back and studied me. “She’s right. You make pregnancy look good. Hell, maybe I’ll try it after all. If I can be promised I’ll look like this.”
Liam’s hand slid over my hip and squeezed me gently. Nina noticed the contact, and a pleased smile touched her lips as she let go of my hands and stepped back.
“I’m glad to see things are going well,” she said, giving Liam a knowing look before turning her attention back to me.
Although I knew what she was referring to, I wasn’t sure how Liam would react to someone pointing it out. I decided to detour the conversation.
“Baby is healthy. Heartbeat was great,” I told her.
Her smile softened. “How much longer until we know what it is?” She paused, then narrowed her eyes. “We are going to find out the sex, right?”
“We’d better!” Goldie said. “How will we be able to start buying things if we don’t know?”
Liam leaned down to my ear. “I’ll let these two have you. I’m going to go visit with the guys,” he whispered.
I nodded, feeling my cheeks warm at the way he was treating me. The last time we had been here together, he’d barely tolerated me. Him acting as if we were a couple made me feel as if we truly were.
He glanced at the women in front of me. “She’s yours—for now,” he told them. “And, yes, we are going to find out the sex.”
Both women squealed, Goldie clapping her hands as she grinned. Nina reached for my hand and tugged it toward the kitchen while leaning close to me.
“I don’t know what excites me more—learning the sex or the fact that Prez is acting like you’re his most prized possession.”
Hearing that sent my stomach fluttering, but I knew it wasn’t wise to let them believe that was the truth. We weren’t there, and we might never be. Until Liam told me his feelings had changed, our future was still unknown.
“It’s just the pregnancy,” I told her as she led me behind the bar and into the kitchen.
Goldie followed behind, but close enough to hear what was being said.
“I disagree,” Nina said in a singsong voice. “I’ve known the man for seven years, and not one time have I seen him treat a woman like that.”
I shrugged. “Well, none of the others were pregnant with his child,” I pointed out, trying to keep my head in reality and not let it zoom to the clouds.
Nina walked over to the oven to open it. “Mmhmm,” she said with a roll of her eyes. “I’m sure that’s all it is.”
Goldie leaned a hip against the edge of the counter and wagged her eyebrows at me. “Jars said Prez had you wrapped up in his cut last time you were here.”
Nina placed a pan of cornbread on a hot plate, then gave me a pointed look. “And that sure as hell has never happened. Judgment don’t put their cut on any woman unless they’re staking a claim. And when I say claim, I mean ole-lady status. That, and being put on the back of his bike.”
I frowned. “The back of his bike?” I asked, wondering what that meant exactly.
Sometimes, biker talk didn’t mean what it sounded like. I’d learned that by living here for two weeks.
Nina placed a hand on her hip. “Exactly what I said. If Prez puts his cut on you or puts you on the back of his bike, that is a major deal. It’s saying, She’s mine . And, honey, he ain’t ever done that.”
I licked my bottom lip and glanced over at where he sat on a sofa. He was talking to Brick at the moment, but there were others around him. I didn’t much care for the blonde woman sitting on the armrest, entirely too close to him. I’d seen her here once before. I knew she worked at one of their clubs. Nina had called her Demi.
“I rode on the back of his bike the night I met him,” I said, staring at the woman who couldn’t take her hungry eyes off Liam.
Nina’s hand grabbed my arm. “What?” she gasped.
I tore my focus off the stripper to look at her. She looked surprised and almost giddy.
“I, uh—he gave me a ride. That’s how we ended up in my motel room before, um, well, having sex,” I said, then pointed at my stomach.
Goldie stepped closer so that we were in a tight circle now. “Prez gave you a ride on his bike the first night you met him?” she asked, then swung her eyes to Nina, grinning from ear to ear.
Nina chuckled. “Oh, honey. If that man put you on the back of his bike, then he’d already decided he was gonna rock your world, and whether he admits it or not, he was considering more. He doesn’t do that.”
It seemed silly. He’d just given me a ride. I found it hard to believe he had never given another woman a ride on his bike. I glanced over again to see Demi taking the empty beer from Liam and handing him another. She made sure to bend over far enough that her barely covered chest was on display.
Liam didn’t seem to notice and took the bottle while looking at Brick, who was talking. Demi sat back down on the armrest beside Liam, but this time, she was closer. Her legs turned toward him, as well as her body.
“Oh God,” Nina groaned. “Ignore her.”
I tore my gaze off the woman and forced a smile. “Who?” I asked as if I didn’t know what she was talking about.
Nina pursed her lips. “You know who. Demi and her pathetic attempt to get Liam’s attention. He’s not touched her in a year at least. Her title as Liam’s favorite has been gone, and she’s struggling to get it back. She’s been the oldest out of the strippers that they employee for four years now. Before, when everyone knew Liam took her to his bed more than anyone else, she had that to make her feel superior.”
Hearing that Liam had liked her once, enough to have sex with her a lot, sank heavy in my stomach. What if he decided he missed whatever it was she had done that made her his favorite? Would he sleep with her again? He never claimed we were exclusive, but I also knew he wanted our baby to be safe. He wouldn’t go out and have sex with her or anyone else, then come back to me, right?
“You shouldn’t have told her that.” Goldie’s tone sounded scolding.
I blinked and tried to push all those thoughts aside. I was here with my friends, and I wanted to enjoy it. Not sit around, being jealous of other women who’d been with Liam.
“I’d rather her hear the truth instead of someone like Amethyst telling her bits of it to stir things up. We all have a past. She’s in Liam’s. Nothing more,” Nina said, then squeezed my arm. “Let’s get this food set out so the lot of them can eat. I want to talk about you and Liam. His future,” she said with a wink.
I so wanted to be his future.
I helped put the food out on the long countertop and tried my best not to glance over at Liam. He was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, saying something to Jars. His brows were drawn together, as if he was angry about something. Demi reached over and placed her hand on his shoulder.
I waited. Silently begging Liam to remove it. Shrug her off. Something. He didn’t do anything. He continued speaking to Jars while Demi began massaging his shoulder. She moved closer, then turned her head, and her eyes collided with mine. A slow smile slid across her face before she turned back to Liam.
I felt sick.
Nina held out a plate for me, but I shook my head.
“I’m not hungry, but I need a little air. I forgot how packed it gets in here at mealtime,” I told her with a tight smile.
I didn’t miss the concerned glance she gave Goldie, but I had no time to assure them I was fine. My hormones could trigger my emotions at any time, and then the floodgates would open wide. That would be humiliating. It was already embarrassing to stand in there, with everyone knowing I was pregnant with his child, while he let a stripper he used to fuck regularly massage his shoulder.
I managed to nod and say hello to the guys I passed on my way to the door. Hopefully, none of them caught on to the reason I was leaving. It’d just make me look pathetic.
Once the red door swung closed behind me, I took a deep breath and walked down a little bit before leaning against the wall.
This was fine. I would be fine.
“Liberty?” Country’s voice called out, and my head snapped up from the floor I’d been staring at.
Had he followed me out?
“Hey,” I said, managing a small smile. I wanted to be alone, but considering Liam had made things ugly the last time I had seen him, I felt like I needed to be nice. He was my friend here.
A scowl came over his face as he studied me. “You okay?” he asked, then nodded his head back toward the door. “That in there got you upset?”
I swallowed against the lump in my throat.
I don’t want to talk about it, Country. I’ll cry. Go back inside.
I nodded. “Fine. Just a lot of people. I’m taking a breather,” I explained.
He shook his head and glared at the door. “That’s not right. You deserve more respect than that.”
Stop it!
I sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. My eyes stung, and if he didn’t stop, I’d lose it.
“That is fine,” I lied. “It’s been a long day, and I’m tired. I’m not worried about”—I waved a hand in that direction—“whatever that is.”
He wasn’t convinced. Acting had never been my strong suit.
Country walked over to me, compassion on his handsome face. “I’ve been worried about you. I’d have called or texted, but”—he stopped as a pained look came over him—“I didn’t think that would be okay.”
It wouldn’t have. I was glad he’d not done either.
“Things have been good. Really good,” I told him, not having to lie this time. They had been good. But there was no Demi in Ocala.
Slowly, the thought came to me that, although there was no Demi, Liam went to work every day in an office above a strip club. There were many potential Demis there. Did he have a favorite at Devil’s?
Fisting my hand, I placed it on my chest and sucked in a breath. I hadn’t thought of that. He didn’t seem to find it inappropriate for Demi to touch him here, so what happened at Devil’s? I wasn’t there to see it.
“Liberty, look at me.” Country sounded worried.
I just shook my head. I couldn’t look at him. He’d see the devastation on my face. I didn’t want his pity. I was so stupid. Liam was a biker. He was around gorgeous, younger, naked women all the time, at his disposal.
“Liberty!” Liam’s voice carried loudly down the hallway.
I lifted my head to see him stalking toward me. I tensed when my eyes met his. The rage glaring back at me shifted to Country.
Oh no.
“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?!” he roared.
Country flinched, but he didn’t back away. He squared his shoulders and stood there like an idiot. He needed to run. I’d never seen Liam like this, and I wasn’t sure I didn’t need to run. He was frightening.
“She was upset,” Country said defensively, but the waver in his voice told me he was scared.
The door swung open again, and I glanced back briefly, afraid to take my eyes off Liam, to see others pouring into the hallway.
Liam moved then, and I stepped back, only to realize he had grabbed the collar on Country’s shirt. Opening my mouth to stop him, I watched in horror as Liam’s fist connected with Country’s face, causing his head to snap back.
Oh no, oh no.
“Liam, stop!” I shouted, reaching for his arm.
His eyes swung to me, and the earlier rage had morphed into something feral as his eyes gleamed in a way that caused me to freeze.
“Go to my suite, Liberty,” he ground out.
I shook my head. If I ran, he’d kill Country. Whatever was going on in his head right now was dangerous.
“No. Let him go,” I begged.
Liam let out a dark rumble in his chest, and his fist slammed into Country’s face again.
I screamed as blood shot from his nose and Country’s head drooped forward.
“GO TO MY GODDAMN ROOM!” Liam roared as his eyes bored into me, looking unhinged.
“He will kill him if you don’t,” Jars said.
A sob broke free as I looked back at the other man. Jars’s expression was severe. The others were silent. No one moved to help Country though. I wanted to help him and stop Liam, but the more I said, the worse it seemed to get.
“LIBERTY, NOW!” Liam shouted.
Crying, I turned and ran for the stairs. How I managed to get up them without falling while my vision was so blurry from the tears I didn’t know. When I hit the top step, I paused, looking back. Country was hurt because he had been worried about me.
I didn’t know that man I’d just watched. Liam had been someone else. Someone violent and cruel.
“Did you touch her?!” Liam’s voice carried up the stairs.
I couldn’t hear Country’s response. Was he even conscious?
I heard feet shuffling, then the deep rumble of another man talking, but it wasn’t loud enough for me to make out.
Had one of the others finally stepped in to help Country? Why had they just let Liam do that to him?
Pressing my palms to my eyes, I let out a ragged breath, then turned and walked to Liam’s suite. Numbly, I turned the knob to open the door and went inside. His scent met my nose, and more tears prickled my eyes.
I was in love with a monster.
I stared at the bed, but didn’t move. The horror of what I’d witnessed replaying in my head. I tried to understand what could have triggered that in Liam. I’d never seen anything like that.
Wrapping my arms around my stomach, I began to think about what he was going to do to me. Would he let me explain? He hadn’t given Country that option. We’d done nothing wrong. I hadn’t even wanted company. I had been out there because he had been letting some half-naked woman touch him. How was this fair?
The door opened, and I jumped, startled, then spun around to see Liam enter. I winced as it banged closed behind him, and I took a step back away from him as the lock clicked into place. His eyes still held that wild look that I didn’t trust.
“He didn’t deserve that,” I choked out. “He didn’t do anything.” I stopped talking as he began stalking toward me.
I backed up until I hit the wall. Liam narrowed his eyes as his palms slammed against the wall on each side of my head. I sucked in a breath as my heart began to race.
“Do you want him?” he demanded, his eyes boring into me.
I shook my head. “No! He didn’t do anything but ask if I was okay!”
Liam’s nostrils flared. “You’re not his to check on. He wants what is mine. Now, I am going to ask you again. DO YOU WANT HIM?!”
I trembled, pressing myself further against the wall. “No,” I cried. “I was in the hallway because of YOU. If I wanted him, then I wouldn’t have cared that you were letting some woman grope you!”
He let out a hiss through his clenched teeth. “What? Demi touching my shoulder upset you?”
Was he serious? I stared up at him, trying to decide if he was sane or not.
“Yes, Liam, I was. And you just broke Country’s nose for speaking to me. Do you see some hypocrisy here?”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t. Demi touching me didn’t register. I don’t want her.”
I pointed toward the door. “And I don’t want Country, but that didn’t stop you from hurting him for no reason.”
Liam leaned down, his face moving closer to mine. “Country wants to fuck you. There was a reason. He’d been warned to stay away. You aren’t his to be concerned about. He broke that order. He paid for it.”
Anger was slowly starting to take over as the most dominant emotion charging through me as I looked at Liam. He still justified what he’d done.
“Demi wants to fuck you,” I said, jabbing my fingernail into his hard pec. “But I didn’t go grab a handful of her hair and toss her to the ground. Did I want to? Yes. I wanted to claw out her eyeballs. But like a sane human, I walked out. Got away from it. What you did has no justification, Liam.”
The corner of his lips twitched. Nothing I had just said was remotely funny. If he laughed, I was sure I’d slap him. Even after I’d witnessed a temper that terrified me so bad that I no longer knew if I could stay in his house. There was something off in his head for him to be able to do that to someone.
“I didn’t notice it. The girls do that. I’m immune to it. It’s just normal. I wasn’t aware you’d get jealous.”
The way the last word rolled off his tongue annoyed me. I wanted to shout that I wasn’t jealous, but that would be a pointless lie. I’d just admitted to wanting to claw her eyes out.
I crossed my arms over my chest, lifting my chin. “So, the girls all do that. When you’re at Devil’s and I’m tucked away at your house, strippers are massaging your shoulders? What else do they do, Liam? That you’re immune to?”
I couldn’t do this. It hurt too much. He was going to shatter me in a way I would never recover. The deeper I got into this, the worse it would be when he ended it.
His thumb brushed my cheek, and I jerked away from his touch. He didn’t get to do that. Not after all this. I wasn’t going to be weak.
“What if I tell you none of them will touch me again?” he said in a raspy whisper. “I’ll make sure it is clear that it isn’t welcome. Would that make you happy?”
I refused to meet his eyes and glared at the wall instead while the pad of his thumb moved to my bottom lip.
“Don’t do it for me,” I said. “If you hadn’t thought to do it already, clearly, you like it. I don’t want to stand in your way.”
A low chuckle caused his warm breath to tickle the side of my face. “This is sexy as fuck—you know that?”
I tensed as the area between my legs decided to wake up. My damn body was a traitor.
“Don’t,” I warned him. “You can’t act like a psycho, hurting an innocent man after a stripper you used to fuck was all over you, and talk to me like that.”
Liam stilled, and I wondered if I had pushed too far. Had I not been easy this time and he was tired of it? Why deal with my anger when he could just go crook his finger at dozens of women and one would come running?
“You heard about that, huh?” he asked.
I realized I’d said something that Nina had told me and I shouldn’t have. I had to fix it.
“Just a good guess,” I blurted.
His fingertips trailed down my neck. “Sure it was,” he replied.
When he reached my cleavage, I started to tell him to stop, but he trailed over to my shoulder. I was not going to react to this. Even if his touch aroused me, even when I wanted to hit him.
“Once, Demi was my go-to around here. She wasn’t clingy, and there was no drama. We had a no-strings setup, and it worked. But then she began to act like there was more to us. Started hinting for it. I was bored, and it ended,” he said.
Closing my eyes, I tried to fight the ache beginning to stir between my legs.
“Is that my future too? What happens when I want more? And you’re bored and you end it.” It wasn’t really a question. I was saying it more for me than for him.
Gritting my teeth, I turned to finally look at him. His hooded eyes were watching me.
“I won’t be her. I won’t hang around, waiting for some scrap of your attention.”
Liam tucked some of my loose hair behind my ear. “You could never be her,” he said softly. “You’re the mother of my child.”
I wanted to scream, That’s not what I meant . I needed something more than that.
“Why did you hit Country?” I asked him.
His eyes went from my ear, which he’d been momentarily fascinated with, to look into my eyes. “I thought I’d made that clear,” he replied. “He wants what is mine.”
I was about to push him, but it was the only way I could force something out of him that would give me hope. That would reassure me when I was no longer pregnant, I’d be more than the mother of his child.
“And when you and I end this and we go to just being our child’s parents who get along, what if he wants me then?”
I held my breath as a flicker of the man I’d seen downstairs returned to his eyes. That was good. I had pointed out what could happen. Although it wouldn’t. I didn’t want Country. I loved him. Even his insanity downstairs hadn’t been enough to dull the way I felt.
“I’ll kill him,” Liam said in a cold tone that made me shiver.
I’d come this far, so backing down now wasn’t an option.
“So, after you, any man I date, you’ll kill? That seems unfair. You’ll be bored with me, and I’ll have needs—”
My feet left the ground, cutting off what I was going to say, and Liam carried me over to the bed and dropped me on it.
“Don’t fucking talk about your needs, Liberty. Not in the same sentence where you mention another man.”
He grabbed my blouse and ripped it open, buttons flying free. Gasping, I stared down at my exposed breasts just as his hands cupped them. That sight never got old.
“You got needs?” he growled. “I take care of those needs. You think some other man can make that pussy squirt like I do? Hmm?” He tossed my shirt down, then grabbed my skirt.
“Don’t rip it! I don’t have many that fit,” I reminded him.
A twisted laugh fell from his lips as he snatched it down, and I heard the sound of fabric tearing.
“I’ll go buy you all the fucking clothes you want.”
That was not the point. I didn’t want him buying me anything. The longer he saw me as a charity case who needed someone to take care of me, the less likely it was that I would ever win his love, and I wanted that. More than anything.
“Liam,” I said as his fingers slid into the sides of my panties and he jerked them down, “we don’t need to do this.”
He discarded his shirt as I sat there, naked, staring up at him. Unable to look away.
What had I been saying? Oh, yes, the, uh …
His jeans and boxer briefs went next as he shoved them down far enough for me to see his erection. The head was already red and swollen. He kicked off his boots, then finished with his jeans. I had been about to say something.
“What don’t we need to do?” he asked, taking my waist and tossing me back further on the bed. “Is it this?” His words had barely left his mouth before his tongue licked from my entrance to my clit.
My hands went to his head as I cried out.
“That sure is a creamy pussy for something we don’t need to do,” he said while flicking his tongue out and lapping at me like a treat he couldn’t eat fast enough.
“Liam,” I moaned, lifting my hips and threading my fingers in his hair.
“You definitely needed this,” he said with a dark chuckle.
I was too lost in the pleasure to care that he was showing me just how little self-control I had.
“So pretty,” he murmured as his finger ran through my folds, then held me open. “Tight little cunt already clenching. Wanting my big cock to stuff it full.”
Another cry passed my lips. His finger slid inside me, and he began to pump it as his tongue played with my clit. I was going to come. I opened my mouth to tell him when the warm gush happened, and this time, I saw it—the actual liquid that came shooting out of me.
“See that?” Liam said, licking up everywhere it had gone. “You need to feel that, don’t you?”
His hazel eyes were almost black as he looked up at me through his lashes, cleaning me.
I’d never done that before. Only with him. Did he do some trick to make me do that?
“The next time some younger fuck tries to take what’s mine, just remember,” he snarled as he sat up, then grabbed my hips and flipped me onto my stomach, “whose cock this cunt craves.”
His hand landed on my butt, and I jerked from the sting.
“Get that ass in the air,” he ordered.
I moved to my elbows and bent my knees as I raised myself off the mattress. Liam ran his hands over my bottom, and then his lips touched the spot he’d just hit.
“I love seeing my red handprint here.”
Wetness trickled down my thighs, and I wiggled my bottom. “Liam, please,” I begged.
“You need me, baby?” he murmured. “No young fuck can do it like I can.” His words were followed by his hard length plunging into me.
“YES!” I cried out at the relief of being filled.
“Whose dick is this?” he demanded.
I turned my head to look back at him. “Yours,” I panted.
“Say my name.”
“Liam.”
He started thrusting into me hard. “Is this Country’s cock?”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Do you want it to be?”
His eyes had that wild look in them again as the bed shook beneath us.
“NO! I just want yours. I always want yours,” I told him, hearing the desperation in my voice. “I wake up wanting it. I think about it all the time.”
He tightened his grip on my hips. “Take it then. I want you to feel this tomorrow and remember who owns this cunt.”
“YES! GOD! That feels good!” I moaned, meeting each of his thrusts. “I’m gonna come!”
“That’s what I want. Coat my dick with it,” he encouraged, his voice sounding hoarse.
His name tore from my chest as I convulsed from a blissful surge.
“FUUUCK!” he roared at the same time his cock jerked inside me, releasing his thick ropes of cum.
When his hands released their hold on me, I fell onto the mattress. Liam moved beside me and pulled me against his chest.
The sound of our ragged breathing filled the room. We remained silent for several minutes. The heaviness of exhaustion started to pull on me.
Liam played with the hair that was draped over my shoulder. Wrapping a strand around his finger, then letting it fall before doing it again.
I wanted to say something. He’d distracted me with sex when I was trying to make a point. But the things he’d said about younger men stopped me. Was that bothering him? Did he think I’d want someone closer to my age eventually?
“I’m not sorry I hit him,” Liam said. “I’m not even sorry I broke his fucking nose. But I am sorry I yelled at you. I shouldn’t have done that.”
I closed my eyes and wished I were a stronger person. Perhaps one with better morals. I’d like to think I was most of the time. But if we all had our kryptonite, then Liam Walsh was mine.