Chapter 8 Bailey
BAILEY
I stumbled around my room in a daze, trying to figure out what just happened.
Obviously, what just happened was that Liam had given me the best orgasm of my life.
But how…why…there were so many questions.
He wasn’t even supposed to be here for several hours, and then he appeared out of nowhere, storming up to my apartment and giving me what could be described as an earth-shattering, out-of-body experience.
I slumped down on my bed, my teeth gnawing at my bottom lip as I bit back a grin. This was really happening. Liam was really here, and I was going with him to his house to spend the night.
No more years of waiting for him to make a move, wondering when my life with him would begin.
“Bailey?” Liam called out, appearing in my bedroom door. “You’re not ready.”
I glanced down at my towel, then back at him and shook my head. “Not even close.”
“Is there a reason you’re sitting?”
“You mean, other than the fact that my legs are still shaking?”
Slowly, he stalked over to me, his eyes never leaving my face. “Your legs are going to be shaking a lot more by the end of the night.”
“Give a girl a minute. You took me by surprise. I’m still recovering.”
Snatching me by the wrist, he hauled me up against his body, running his nose along the length of my neck. “You could be recovering in my bed.”
I hummed as shivers peppered my skin. “We’re never going to get out of here if you keep doing that.”
My towel was torn from my body for the second time in less than an hour, once again, leaving me completely naked. Strong, calloused hands roamed over my skin, making it impossible to think of anything other than taking him to my bed.
But at the last minute, he stepped back, his eyes scorching over my skin as he shook his head. “Fuck, we need to leave.”
He snatched the towel from the floor and tossed it at me, smacking me in the face as he turned to rummage through my closet.
“What are you doing?”
“Packing your bags.”
“Bags? As in more than one?”
“That would be the meaning,” he said as he grabbed two duffels from the top of the closet. “Get dressed.”
“Um…I’m still stuck on the fact that you want me to pack more than one bag. I hardly need that much clothing for one night.”
“Who said anything about one night?” he asked, pulling out several tops and tossing them in the first bag.
“Who said anything about more than one night?”
“Me.” This time, he stopped and pinned me with a sobering glare. “Were you going to tell me about Austin?”
My hackles instantly rose at the mention of the younger Callahan brother who had cornered me earlier.
“Who told you?”
“You know how this town is. The question is, why didn’t you call me the moment it happened?”
I felt like I was on some kind of whirlwind rollercoaster ride. Not that I minded being on it with him, but this relationship had just gone from zero to sixty in five seconds flat.
“Why would I call you?”
Liam strode over to me, his hand snaking around my waist as he pulled me into him. “Because I can’t protect you if I don’t know what’s going on. I shouldn’t have to hear it from my old man after someone in town tells him.”
Backing away, I tucked the towel around me once again. “Let’s get something straight right now. I have never and will never need a man to protect me. I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself, thank you very much.”
“Is that why it took Wyatt intervening to get him to back off?” Liam snapped.
I couldn’t believe this. The man sure had a way of screwing up what was shaping up to be a really great night. “So, you talked to Wyatt as well.”
“Bailey—”
“No,” I snapped, my anger hanging on by a thread. “I understand that you’re upset, but it really was nothing. Yes, he cornered me, but I was never in danger. Calling you would have accomplished nothing.”
“I still deserved to know,” he bit out.
“Why? So you could storm into the shop and threaten my boss? Or maybe you’d run off to find Austin and kick the crap out of him? What good would that do?”
“What good did it do to not say anything?” he argued.
“Well, it’s certainly not helping anything right now! And let me tell you something, if you think that you can basically dance around us for ten years and then suddenly storm into my life and take over, you’ve got another thing coming, buddy!”
“I am not your buddy,” he growled, moving in for the kill. “I am your man—”
“As of two seconds ago.”
“And I will protect you in any way I can.”
“You’re such an ass.”
“I’m your ass,” he growled, slamming his mouth down on mine.
I wanted to fight him. I wanted to kick him and punch him, to yell at him that he would never control me or have any say over me. But as he kissed me and I melted in his arms, I knew he would win me over in the end. Not because I was weak, but because I already loved this man.
And I was meant to be his, no matter what that meant.
He broke the kiss, his thumb caressing my jaw before running over my lips. “I didn’t stay away from you for ten years because I’m a coward or I didn’t want you,” he said softly. “You were going through a lot, so I kept my distance. And then Jeff had the accident and…you know how that turned out.”
“I know,” I whispered. “But after—”
“The ranch was failing, Bailey. No matter how much I wanted you…it took years to save our asses. We’re finally in a good place and—I never wanted to wait that fucking long. If it were up to me, I would have had you in my bed from the time you were legal.”
I blushed furiously under his intense gaze, but finally relented.
“Get your bags packed. We’re leaving in ten minutes.”
I opened my mouth to give what would have been the weakest argument in the world, but he narrowed his eyes at me, instantly making me rethink the validity of any argument I would put up.
“Get dressed. I have bigger plans than arguing with you for the night.”
He kissed me one last time, then stormed out of my room. Maybe I should have argued. Maybe I should have put up a bigger fight and demanded he treat me like the independent woman I’d always been.
But his words got to me, stabbed me in the heart and bled all over my body.
I was his. I always would be, and nothing would ever get between us.
Rain pelted the road as we bumped along the drive to his house. There were definitely some improvements that needed to be made on the ranch, but the whole town knew about the troubles Murky Falls Ranch had seen over the last few years.
Between the sale of the cows and having to overhaul the rest of the ranch into a profitable business, it was no wonder his driveway was of little concern.
I gazed out at the mountains in the distance, reveling in their beauty. I had been out to the ranch many times before, but never to Liam’s house. From here, I could see the river flowing behind his house, bringing an added element of beauty that couldn’t be seen from where the property started.
“We’re gonna have to make a run for it,” he said, peering up at the sky through the windshield. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to let up any time soon.”
“I won’t melt,” I grinned, snagging one of the bags in my hand just before flinging the door open and making a mad dash to the porch.
I squealed as I mistook a puddle for what it really was—a giant pot hole. My boots sank in the water for only a moment, but it was enough to splash cold water up onto my thighs.
The moment my feet hit the ground on the other side of the puddle, I was scooped up into Liam’s strong arms and rushed to the safety of his covered wrap-around porch.
Laughing, I clung to him as the rain drenched me and water dripped off his roof, landing right on my face.
“What the hell are you laughing about?”
“The rain,” I said as he set me down. Peeling my hair from my face, I glanced down at my once dry clothes and laughed again. “I really hope you have a working dryer.”
“I thought you weren’t afraid of getting caught in the rain,” he rumbled, stalking closer to me.
“Not afraid of it,” I confirmed. “But wearing wet clothes the rest of the night would be awfully uncomfortable.”
“Who said anything about clothes?” he asked, tugging me into his arms.
“Then I guess you’d better do a good job of warming me up. I’m chilled to the bone.”
“I can do that.” Pressing his body against mine, I could already feel the heat emanating from his body, despite the wet clothes he wore.
I was ready for him to take me right now, but the front porch did seem like a rather open place to tear off my clothes.
“Should we go inside?”
Tugging on my hand, he led me through the front door, kicking off his boots immediately. I followed suit, shocked when I looked up at the beauty of the house.
With a cathedral ceiling and open floor plan, the house looked like it was built for a vacation destination rather than everyday living.
“Holy cow,” I whispered, walking in further and taking in my surroundings. “When did you build this?”
“About three years ago. I was in the middle of it when…”
I stopped gaping at the ceiling and brought my attention to him. “When you had to change the ranch.”
He nodded. “It sort of took all the fun out of it.”
“At least you can enjoy it more now.”
I had hoped to lift his spirits, but I wasn’t sure having more time on his hands would make Liam Parker feel any better about having to give up the main source of income at his family ranch.
Instead of responding, he jerked his head for me to follow. “Dryer’s back this way.”
I dutifully followed, checking out all the little aspects of the house that made it so wonderful. There were hidden cabinets tucked into the walls, bookcases lining the living room, large windows to magnify the view of the river and mountains…
I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to come home to a view like this every night.
“Here you go,” he said, showing me to the mud room. “I’ll let you get changed.”
Quirking my brow at him, I smirked. “I thought you were going to rid me of my clothes and have your way with me?”