Chapter Twenty-Seven
Call me if you need anything.” My mom stands at the kitchen counter and pours coffee into her travel mug.
“When will you be back?” I ask sleepily.
“Tomorrow evening. The sessions go until late afternoon.” She grabs her keys and kisses the top of my head.
I stretch my arms over my head. “Well, I hope you learn a lot at this nursing home convention.”
She laughs. “Lucky for me, I have a lot to learn. I still can’t believe I’m the owner of a nursing home. Me.”
“Me neither.” I stand and walk my mom to the door. “Safe travels.”
“Love you, Birdie girl.”
I wave from the front porch and watch as she drives away. She found this convention a couple of weeks ago, and due to a cancellation, she was able to get enrolled. It’s all she’s been talking about.
The shower is hot, and I let it run over my head as my mind wanders to Liam. He never called me yesterday, and I’m not sure when he’s due home, but I’m almost positive it’s sometime today. I’m excited to hear how his last interviews went, but I know Liam well enough to be sure he aced them. They’d be fools not to hire him.
As I’m walking down the stairs, there’s a light tap on the door, and I speed up. I swing the door open, and there Liam stands. His dress shirt is unbuttoned at the neck, and his tie hangs loosely. A carry-on suitcase is at his feet. My breath hitches, and my mouth hangs open.
God. He looks good. A few days apart didn’t cure me of my attraction to him.
“Hi, Birdie.” He leans against the doorway.
I lunge toward him and wrap my arms around his neck. I breathe in the scent of him—subtle hints of cologne and aftershave. His hands grip my waist tightly. I pull back to kiss his cheek, but at the same time, he turns his face and our lips connect. I jerk my head back, surprised.
Liam cradles my face in his hand, his breath warm and heavy. My gaze drifts to his slightly parted, full lips, and when our gazes lock, my mind goes blank as desire surges through me.
I lead Liam inside, and he immediately pins me against the wall. His hand fists in my hair, and I clutch the loops of his pants, pulling him closer until his firm body is pressed tightly against mine.
“Birdie.” He leans his forehead into mine, his chest rising and falling slowly.
I lift my leg and wrap it around his, forcing him closer into me.
“I missed you,” I say, admitting it to him.
“What are you doing to me?” Liam reaches down and runs his hand along my thigh. “What about your mom?”
“Gone until tomorrow.”
He lifts me, and I pull at his tie, get it over his head, and throw it across the room. He walks me to the couch, falls back with me on his lap. I work to free him of his shirt. He grabs my butt and grinds me into him, then lifts my dress over my head. His shirt finally comes off, and he lies me back on the couch, but we miss entirely. We roll off, the soft rug beneath me, and Liam’s hard body pressing down on top of me.
Liam is large, our size difference never more obvious than now. He reaches beneath me to unclasp my bra, and when he flicks my nipple with his tongue, I’m already on the verge of coming undone. Everywhere he touches feels like an electrical jolt, bringing my body alive. I reach for his belt, then the button of his pants. I push his pants down, and Liam helps with the rest.
There’s an understanding between us. We know where this is leading. We always knew. Liam pulls my panties down, then parts me and drags his knuckles over my sex. I gasp.
“Is this okay?” Liam kisses me, and I nod.
He puts a finger inside me and moans.
“Fuck, Birdie.” He kisses my neck. His favorite freckle. My breasts.
I push down his underwear and take him in my hand. Liam’s eyes roll back into his head. He reaches into the pocket of his pants and rips the foil wrapper.
“Are we going to do this?” Liam opens my mouth with his, and he tastes so sweet.
“Yes,” I say into his mouth. “It seems like we are.”
He hovers over me, gently pressing into my entrance but not moving. His strong arms on each side of me, his breaths heavy.
I grip his hips.
“Please, Liam,” I say breathily.
“Birdie.” His abdomen muscles flex. “Say that again, and I’m going to lose it.”
He presses into me, and I tense up, my back arching. He starts slow, allowing my body to adjust to him. But then it’s frantic. His sweaty body glides over mine, one hand holding my arms over my head, the other grabbing my butt and pulling me toward him.
He releases my hands, and I slide them down his hard chest as Liam kisses me. I move them to his ass and push him into me.
“Don’t hold back,” I breathe into his neck. “I want all of you.”
“Those words,” he says. “Coming out of your sweet little mouth.”
Liam pushes into me all the way this time, and my body jolts forward. Our skin slaps together, and the rolling motion over me causes a low ache in my belly. It continues to build with each stroke until my toes curl.
“Look at me, Birdie.” Liam grips my face. “I want to see you.”
The sensation increases. I bite into my bottom lip, and Liam’s dark blue eyes look into mine. And then the pleasure topples over into something else entirely. I grab his arms, and something inaudible comes out of my mouth. Liam rolls over me again, elongating my orgasm, pulling every last ounce out of me.
I pull his face to mine and kiss him, a thank you. For making me feel wanted and beautiful. His mouth tastes so sweet, and I don’t think I could ever tire of his lips.
“Birdie.” Liam bites my lip.
My hands slide down his glistening back, and I squeeze his muscular butt. Liam groans into my neck. His entire body hardens, pushing into me, and then he collapses, first on me, and then he rolls over and lies next to me on his back.
Did that all happen in minutes? Or was it mere seconds?
We both lie on our backs. The only sound is the exhales of our breath. He reaches for my hand and intertwines his fingers with mine.
“That was very unexpected,” Liam says, after what feels like the passage of several minutes.
I glance at him, but his eyes are closed.
“Do unexpecting men always carry condoms in their pockets?”
Liam laughs and turns to me, propping himself up on his elbow. I grab a throw blanket from the couch, cover myself up, and turn to him.
“Hope and expectations are very far apart.” Liam brushes my wild hair back. “Since the first time I met you, I’ve been a hopeful man.”
Liam gently kisses me, and I push his hair out of his face.
“Well then, I hope it’s what you envisioned.”
Liam gently kisses me and starts grabbing his clothes.
“I should probably bring in my luggage from outside,” he says. “Unless you want me to leave.”
“I don’t,” I say. “Unless you want to.”
There’s a new shyness between us and an understanding that everything has changed because of this.
“I’d love to stay.”
Liam goes outside to grab his stuff, and I go upstairs to my room. I pull my silk robe tightly around my body and look at myself in the full-length mirror. I run my hand along my chest, and my skin is Liam-kissed—red and blotchy. I run my fingers through my hair, then press them to my dark pink lips.
Through the mirror, I see Liam standing in the doorway, watching me. I turn to him. He rolls his bag against the wall, then takes his clothes and throws them on a chair. He seems so comfortable in his skin as he walks toward me in only underwear. He grips my shoulders and presses a kiss against my forehead.
He lies over the sheets in my unmade bed and pats the space next to him.
“I want to show you all of my pictures from New York.”
I lie down next to Liam, leaving room between us, but he pulls me toward him and wraps his arm around me.
“What’s next?” I glance up at him. “I mean, regarding the job.”
Liam unlocks his phone. “If I make it to the next round of interviews, and that’s a big if, they’ll fly me back out to interview with the CEO.”
“Was New York everything you remembered it to be?”
Liam smiles and hands me his phone. I scroll through photos of him with people I don’t know, of him on streets I’ve never seen.
“It was. The food. The culture. The different types of people. My time there went by so fast.”
Days passed slowly for me with Liam gone. At times, it felt like they stood still entirely. I continue to scroll through photos. There’s one of Liam lying in bed, shirtless with a sheet hanging low on his torso. I glance up at him, and he laughs.
“I took that thinking of you. I almost sent it too. But I chickened out at the last minute.”
I text the photo to myself. “There. Now I have it.”
It’s a photo I may revisit hundreds of times.
I continue scrolling until I reach a photo of Liam and a woman, seemingly at a restaurant. I can tell by their bodies that Liam is taking the selfie. She’s beautiful, with long, blond hair. She rests her head on Liam’s shoulder, her hand on his chest. He takes his phone from me.
“That’s Olivia,” he says, his voice low.
“That’s Olivia.” I move myself from under his arm and lie on my side. He does the same.
Liam runs a hand down his face, never taking his eyes off me. They looked good together, Liam and Olivia. They fit. Like they belong in the same world.
“Did you guys. . .” I pause. “Rekindle things?”
“Birdie.” Liam puts his hand on my hip. “If we had, do you think I’d be here with you?”
“You guys look good together,” I say. “She still likes you. I can tell.”
“Olivia and I had unfinished business to discuss,” he says. “But I spent my entire time in New York only thinking about you.”
“You shouldn’t have,” I say quietly.
Liam studies me. “I don’t have the ability to just turn off feelings. Do you?”
Liam grabs the silk belt of my robe and runs the fabric through his fingers. He undoes the knot, and it falls open. He spreads his hand across my lower back and brings me flush against his body.
“Your comment earlier.” Liam brushes a finger across my lips, and I raise my brows. “Being with you was more than I’d ever hoped for.”
Liam grabs my hip and wraps my leg around him.
“You’re beautiful.” Liam looks at me with an intensity that makes my body heat. “Everyone knows that. But what just happened? I’ve never experienced anything like that in my life.”
I don’t want his sweet words in my head, reliving what this meant. It can’t mean anything. It was an experience I’m happy to have. I cup his face and slowly kiss him as I press my body against his. His mouth opens for me, and our tongues connect.
Liam shifts to his back, and the weight of it pulls me on top of him. I get off the bed and go to the chair where his pants are draped over the back of it. I reach into the pocket and find what I’m looking for. I blink away my overthinking nature. Liam Bergland is naked in my bed. This once. When it’s all over, I’ll put distance between us. I let my robe slip off my shoulders, and Liam reaches a hand out for me as he bites his lip.
He lifts my hips directly over him, and then lowers me, and we both hold our breath.
“Kiss me, Birdie.”
Liam pulls closer as I move atop him. We go slowly this time, savoring every touch and taste of each other. His full lips devour mine as his hand explores my breasts and moves down to my hip.
“I don’t want this to end,” he says into my neck.
Those words have multiple meanings for me. I put my finger on his lip, not wanting to hear him speak.
When it’s over, he grabs me and holds me close, moving me to my side. Our chests move heavily against each other, both out of breath. He rolls me onto my back and kisses me. When our gazes meet, I need to block out everything besides this moment. I can’t allow myself to think about how much harder our goodbye will be.