Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Audrey
“I hate that I’m lying to them,” I say as we enter the suite. I kick off my shoes, the relief of being free from their confines short-lived as the weight of my words settle heavily on my shoulders.
As I head to the bedroom to change into a pair of lounging shorts and a comfortable shirt I hear him say, “I’m sorry,” he apologizes, his voice soft and sincere.
Once I’m outside the room, he takes a step closer, his hand reaching out as if to touch me, but he hesitates, letting it fall back to his side. “Do you want us to stop?”
I shake my head vehemently. “Oh no. Can you imagine how bad everyone will judge me if they learned I lied about our engagement or about Ben?” I look away briefly, unable to hold his stare.
I don’t know if it’s the way he seems to look at me, like he wants to discover all my secrets or the pity because I’m in a pretty bad spot. The shame burns hot on my cheeks, and I can feel the tightness in my throat as I try to swallow back the bitterness.
He leans over, cupping my chin, turning my head to face him. His touch is gentle, his fingers calloused but warm against my skin. “I know. Are you blaming yourself for that? For Ben?” His eyes search mine, the intensity of his gaze making my breath catch in my throat.
I shake my head, my lips pressing into a tight line. “No, but it still makes me feel like shit and angry. How stupid was I that I fell for his lies?” The words taste acrid on my tongue, the anger and humiliation coursing through my veins like a slow-burning fire.
“Some people are pretty good liars,” he says, his thumb grazing my cheek in a comforting gesture. The tenderness of his touch makes my heart ache, and I have to resist the urge to lean into his palm.
“Like you and our love story?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper. The words hang heavy in the air between us, the weight of their implication making my chest tighten.
Liam opens his mouth and then closes it, his brows knitting together as he struggles to find the right words. “There’s that,” he finally says, his voice rough with emotion. “But I have to confess that while I was telling them how we reconnected, not all of it was a fabricated lie.”
I swallow hard, my heart racing in my chest. “Well, if you recall, I didn’t spill coffee on you,” I clarify because I don’t want to know what was true and what wasn’t. The whole fantasy might shatter, and right now, I need it for a little longer.
I need the fantasy of a guy wanting me the way he described. The longing for that kind of love, that kind of devotion, is like a physical ache in my chest, and I can feel the regret and anger warring within me, threatening to consume me whole.
Liam’s expression softens, his eyes filled with a tenderness that makes my knees weak. “Audrey,” he murmurs, his voice low and soothing. “You deserve so much better than what Ben did to you. You deserve someone who will love you and cherish you the way you should be.”
His words soothe the ragged edges of my wounded pride, the gentle cadence of his voice wrapping around me like a warm embrace. And for a moment, I allow myself to believe him. To believe that maybe, just maybe, there’s a chance for me to find that kind of love. It’s like a fragile flicker of light.
He tucks my hair behind my ear, his fingers lingering on my skin, tracing the curve of my jaw and down my neck. I shiver, my breath hitching in my throat as a delicious tingle spreads through my body. His touch is electric, igniting a fire deep within me that I thought had been extinguished long ago.
“Why were you with Ben, Audrey?” he suddenly asks. “And I get that some app matched you and you thought he was great, but there has to be more that made you stay with him for that long.”
“Why are we talking about me?”
Liam is insistent, his hand cupping my cheek and gently turning my face back toward him. He leans in, his breath ghosting over my skin as he presses a featherlight kiss against my cheek. “I want to learn everything about you,” he murmurs, his lips brushing the shell of my ear .
I shiver, my eyes fluttering closed as a wave of desire washes over me. “How so?” I manage to ask, my voice breathy and filled with wonder.
He pulls back, a devious smile playing on his lips. “I told you, not everything I said today was a constructed lie.”
“What’s the truth?” I dare to ask.
My breath catches in my throat as Liam’s piercing blue eyes hold my gaze. A shiver runs down my spine, his intense stare igniting sparks of desire low in my belly.It’s as if he can see straight into my soul, unraveling the tangled emotions that are suddenly surging from a place I didn’t even know existed. The air between us crackles with a palpable tension.
Liam leans in, his woodsy cologne enveloping me, filling my senses with its intoxicating scent. “That I think you’re gorgeous and that from the moment I saw you, I wanted to get to know this version of you,” he murmurs, his deep, gravelly voice caressing my skin like a physical touch. “Grown-up Audrey seems like the kind of woman I would like to spend more time with, you know.”
My cheeks flush hot as his words sink in, a wave of arousal coursing through my body. Get to know me? But there’s also a wave of panic running through my chest, even as a thrill of excitement slides down my spine. I press my thighs together, trying to calm the ache growing between them, a desperate attempt to regain some semblance of control.
What would he think if I suddenly begged him to kiss me again, like he did last night. I didn’t know why I asked him if he knew how to kiss, but his response. Never in my life have I been kissed like that. My lips are still tingling and if possible I would want a lot more of those.
For him to touch me the way no one has ever done it.
Make me feel the way his words had done from the moment he began this delicious lie.
I swallow hard, my mouth suddenly dry as I struggle to find the right words that don’t include, please fuck me right here and now.
“I . . . uh . . .” I stammer, my tongue feeling thick and clumsy in my mouth. I’m usually so articulate, so quick-witted, but under the intensity of what I believe might be his hungry gaze, I find myself at a loss.
“Do I make you nervous?” The corners of his mouth quirk up in that lopsided grin that’s already becoming my undoing, a boyish charm that’s impossible to resist.
He reaches out, his fingers caress the curve of my jaw, leaving a trail of liquid fire in their wake. “Because you make me feel things I’m not used to feeling. I’m usually more smooth than this, but with you . . .” A husky chuckle rumbles from deep in his chest, the sound giving me goose bumps. “There’s just something about you, Audrey.”
My name on his lips is pure sin. I suck in a shaky breath, my pulse hammering triple time. Part of me wants to run, to flee from this combustible attraction before it consumes me whole. But another part craves his touch, yearns for the simmering tension that crackles between us like a live wire.
What am I doing? I can’t let Liam derail me so easily. I’m here to help him, not start a fling. Aren’t I?
I take a steadying breath, trying to rein in my riotous emotions. “I’m flattered, Liam, really. But as you are aware, I just got out of a . . . complicated situation. I’m not looking to rush into anything new right now.”
His thumb grazes my lower lip. I bite back a gasp, my eyes fluttering closed for a brief moment as I savor the sensation. “Who said anything about rushing?” His voice is a low, tempting rasp that makes my toes curl. “Just getting to know each other. No pressure.”
Reason wars with reckless desire inside me, a battle that threatens to tear me apart. This man is danger embodied—his tousled chestnut hair, those penetrating blue eyes, the rugged angles of his jaw. He could upend my life with just a smirk, and part of me yearns for that chaos, craves the thrill of the unknown.
But God, I want to tumble into that abyss, to lose myself in the depths of his eyes and the warmth of his touch. It’s a temptation that’s becoming harder and harder to resist, a siren song that calls to me on a primal level.
Liam must sense my internal battle because he leans back, giving me space. “Hey, I don’t want to make you uncomfortable. Just . . . I want you to know that not everything was a lie. To think about it, so when you’re ready . . .” His voice trails, just as his gaze holds the promise of infinite possibilities if I’m brave enough to take that leap.
I give a jerky nod, struggling to find my voice again. “Okay. Thanks for being . . . understanding.” The words feel woefully inadequate, but they’re all I can manage since I’m too flustered, and yes, also very horny.
He flashes that knee-weakening grin again, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that makes my heart skip a beat. “My pleasure, gorgeous.” With a wink, Liam turns and saunters away, his broad shoulders and lean hips drawing my gaze like a magnet.
I’m left flustered and off-kilter, my mind reeling with the implications of what just transpired. What have I gotten myself into? Part of me chides my impulsiveness in even entertaining this . . . Whatever it is with Liam. It’s a risk, a gamble that could end in heartbreak and disaster.
But I know that if I accept anything from him, it would become a very complicated turn of events.
With that, I head back to my room. Today is not a good day to throw caution to the wind.