Chapter 45 Liam
LIAM
Cool air slid over my skin as I snuggled closer to Bailey. She was hogging the covers, snuggled up in them like she was the only one on this makeshift bed.
“Baby, how about sharing the warmth?” I grumbled, running my cold hands down her back.
Squealing, she rolled away from me, taking the remaining covers with her. Propping my head up on my elbow, I stared at her in all my naked glory, my cock hard and on full display for her.
“What the hell was that?”
“You stole all the covers.”
“That doesn’t mean you need to put your cold hands on me!” she shouted.
“Baby, I’m about to put more than my cold hands on your body. You’re about to be filled with every inch of me. Now, you can come closer and warm me up, or I’ll chase you around the damn house and take you against whatever window I managed to snag you in front of.”
“You would not!” she gaped.
Shoving to my feet, I slowly stalked toward her, wondering which direction she would run first. “Bailey,” I teased.
“You stay right there!” she ordered. “You’re freezing, and you’re not getting your cold hands on me!”
“One—”
“That’s not going to intimidate me.”
“Two—”
“Liam, I swear to God, if you think you’re going to touch me—”
“Three—”
“Now, just think about this rationally,” she said, finally getting the hint and squirming away from me.
“Four. I won’t wait much longer, Bailey.”
“I will nut punch you if you come any closer!” she threatened.
A grin slid across my lips as I thought of chasing her around the house completely naked. “This is gonna be fun.”
I darted toward her, but she rolled out of the way, jumping to her feet in a flash. With the blanket wrapped around her, she screamed, running through the empty house I was building for her. I was just about on her when the front door swung open and Michael stepped through.
Crying out, he spun away from me, covering his eyes. “Jesus Christ!”
Bailey had slowed just a little as he walked in, giving me just enough time to catch up. I snagged her around the waist, my hand slipping under the blanket and reaching her warm skin.
Screaming, she spun and slammed her fist into my face, knocking me back a step. “Stop touching me with your cold hands!”
“Put on some clothes!” Michael shouted.
Rubbing my sore jaw, I glared at my woman. “You don’t have to hit me every time you get pissed.”
Michael snorted. “Tell that to Blake.”
“Geez, what the hell did I ever do to you?”
Bailey crossed her arms over her chest. “Do you really want to go there?”
I internally groaned as I prepared for her to list all my fuckups over the past few months.
“You pulled my pigtails in fourth grade. You took my basketball and hid it when I was in fifth grade, all so I would play with you,” she ticked off on her fingers.
“Because I loved you!” I argued.
“You burned my Ken doll!” she stomped her foot.
“Because you only need one man in your life!”
Michael snorted. “Dude, you were jealous of a plastic doll?”
“Stay out of this,” I hissed.
“I would, if only you would put on some pants.”
“I’m in the middle of something!”
“You’re about to be in the middle of something much deeper if you don’t put on some damn pants! Did you forget what today is?”
My eyes snapped to the window and widened comically. “Shit!”
“That’s right,” Michael grinned. “That pesky little thing called an inspector. You might want to put some pants on.” His eyes flicked to Bailey’s. “I would recommend you also get dressed, unless you were planning on persuading him to give us his approval based on other things.”
“Asshole,” I muttered, snagging Bailey’s hand in mine.
But we didn’t make it even two steps before the door swung open and Krista came stomping in. “Why did you call me at six o’clock in the morning? Some people are still asleep at that time.”
“I didn’t call you,” Michael retorted.
Krista spun, gasping when she saw way too much of me. “Oh my God! Don’t you have clothes?”
“I was about to get some—”
“Hello!” Bailey’s mom called out. “I’m here, and I have a surprise!”
This time, I grabbed Bailey and pushed her a step in front of me.
“Thanks a lot,” she hissed over her shoulder.
“I don’t need your mom seeing this much of me.”
After saying hello to Michael, she turned and shot her daughter an admonishing look. “Darling, I know I taught you better than to give away the milk.”
“Mom—”
“But that’s all being solved now. Come in, Pastor O’Donnell.”
“Pastor?” I asked, my eyes widening.
“Well, you didn’t think I was going to give the two of you the opportunity to mess this up again, did you?”
Pastor O’Donnell walked through the door with a smile on his face, but the moment he spotted us, his face turned a deep shade of red.
“Well, this is highly unusual.”
“Tell me about it.”
“We’ll just get dressed,” I said, tugging Bailey with me.
“Ah, ah, ah! I don’t think so,” Georgia Bennett smirked. “If I let you go in the other room, you’ll slip out the window, and that’s something I just will not abide by.” She checked her watch. “And look at that. Everyone’s arriving just on time.”
“On time for what?” Bailey asked.
“For the wedding, darling. Michael, block their exit.”
With a smirk, Michael strode around us, blocking the way so we couldn’t go into the other room.
Panic came off Bailey in waves, but not because she didn’t want to marry me. It had much more to do with the lack of clothing and the fact that we were being ambushed.
“Now would be a really good time for you to share your blanket with me,” I hissed.
“They may say for better or for worse, but this is definitely one of those times I will be breaking that vow,” she murmured out of the side of her mouth.
I had literally nothing to cover myself with, and since my clothes were scattered in the other room, I couldn’t even get in there without everyone seeing way too much of me.
I glanced out the window just in time to see more vehicles pull up. People from all over town had come to witness this disaster, and they were about to get an eyeful.
I was about to rip the blanket, just to give myself the smallest shred of dignity, when I saw various boards leaning against the wall under the window.
It would not be the most comfortable thing, and risking splinters so close to the family jewels was not a happy thought.
However, walking out there in absolutely nothing just wouldn’t do.
Grabbing Bailey by the shoulders, I shifted her to the right until I could snag two decent-sized pieces and properly cover both my front and back side.
“This is not really happening, right?” Bailey said over her shoulder.
“She’s your mother.”
“Come, come!” Georgia rushed over, grabbing both of us by the arm.
Her eyes drifted to my backside and a pleasant humming sound left her throat, but I pretended to ignore it even though it felt like ants were climbing over every inch of my body.
“Really, if you’d just let me put on pants—”
“I think we’ve all waited long enough for the two of you to finally make this official,” Georgia grinned.
“But it’s not even real! We don’t have the paperwork,” Bailey contested.
“Oh, but you’ll be making a promise before God, and I know neither of you would dare back out on such a sacred vow,” she said pointedly.
“I wouldn’t back out anyway.”
“Really?” she quirked an eyebrow at me. “Because I seem to recall you sleeping with my daughter and then destroying her heart.”
I didn’t have anything to counter that, so I turned to Pastor O’Donnell. “Where do we stand?”
“Uh…right here—there! Not too close.” Flustered, he wiped his brow as he opened his bible. “Now, where to begin…”
“There’s a hundred in this for you if you make this quick,” I whispered.
“This is so embarrassing,” Bailey whispered.
“At least you have a blanket wrapped around you. I’m holding up two pieces of wood!”
“Dearly beloved,” he started, wiping the sweat from his brow despite the frigid temperatures, which were rapidly getting worse with the door open.
“Speed it up, Pastor.”
“Uh…Do you, Bailey, and you, Liam, promise to honor, love, respect…yada, yada, yada?”
“Did he just yada, yada, yada our vows?” Bailey hissed.
“We do,” I said, nudging her in the ribs.
“Right, we do,” she agreed. “Til death do us part.” She leaned in. “Or when I kill you.”
“I have no doubt it will be sooner rather than later.”
“Good, then before God…and the rest of the town, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride.”
Grinning at Bailey, I turned to her, but at her challenging look, I knew there was only one way forward. Dropping both boards, I pulled her into my arms and kissed the hell out of her.
Gasps and town gossip be damned.