Taryn
I should be asleep. That would be the sane thing to do after the night we’ve had, after the mud and the shower and all the shouting at each other—and the way I basically cracked open my ribcage and let him look inside.
But instead, I’m lying here in the dark, curled against Liam like my body already made a decision my brain is still catching up to. His arm is wrapped around me, strong and tight, like he’s afraid to let go, even in sleep. And maybe I am too.
I told him I was falling. That somewhere between the fear and the fury, I started wanting this. Wanting him. And he didn’t flinch. He didn’t joke. He pulled me close and said he’d always find me if I ran.
And now I can’t stop thinking about how good it feels to be found.
How tired I am of planning my escape. I tilt my face up enough to look at him in the soft, blue-gray light bleeding through the curtains.
His eyes are already on me, patient and unreadable in the way that makes me want to read him more.
He doesn’t move, doesn’t push—not even a heartbeat of pressure. Just waits.
I don’t even realize I’m leaning in until our foreheads touch, and I breathe him in like I’ve needed to for days.
To my surprise, Liam doesn’t hurry the kiss. His lips ghost over mine, slowly. His thumb strokes my cheek as he cups my head in his big hand. I get lost in the sensation. Peace. Understanding. Connection.
I wrap my arms around his waist so I can press further into his strength. I breathe his scent, leather and mint. It feels good to be so close. His devotion and desire are a physical thing. They surround me. I move my mouth to nibble his earlobe before I whisper, “I need you, Liam.”
He pulls back and gives me a soft smile that’s at odds with the hunger in his eyes. “Lie back on the bed, beauty.”
I don’t hesitate to listen, anxious to see what he has in store for me. I’m not disappointed. Liam leans in and moves my sleep shirt up my midriff. “A little help,” he husks, so I raise my arms for him to remove the suddenly suffocating garment.
Before long, I’m lying in just my underwear while he remains fully clothed.
Liam lies in a plank over me, his forearms propped beside my head.
“I think I need to show you that I know how to worship you properly,” he breathes before pressing a lingering kiss to my neck.
“That way, when I finally decide to chain you to my bed, you don’t try to escape right away. ”
“Wh-what?”
He chuckles before he takes his time nibbling and sucking, breathing me in, while I attempt, in vain, to remove his T-shirt.
He moves back on his haunches to look me over. “Hands over your head.”
“Wait. Why?” I whine the words. I want to touch him. Badly.
“You’re distracting me. Besides, we both know you want to be in control. This is a partnership now. Trust me?” His voice is deeper than usual, his eyes intensely tracking my body. I shudder as I raise my arms, following his direction, showing him my trust.
To my delight, he leans forward again so his lips can continue their assault.
He moves down to my collarbone, licking, groaning.
His hands move to my sides, stroking. My body is on fire.
I begin to squirm, and Liam takes the hint, dropping his head again so he can suck one of my nipples into his warm mouth.
I can’t stop the whimper that escapes my lips.
I lower my hands so I can thread my fingers through his hair and he pulls back. He cocks an eyebrow when he looks up at me.
“Seriously?” I huff.
He chuckles, but waits. I sigh and return my hands to their place above my head.
Almost as if that deserves a reward, Liam moves farther down my body, dipping his tongue into my belly button. He kisses my abdomen and then stops with his mouth above my pussy.
“Fuck, beauty,” he grits out. “I can see how wet you are through your panties. Smell how delicious you are.” He inhales deeply.
“Liam, please.” I’m not used to begging him, but sweet baby Jesus. How much torture am I supposed to take? His hot breath whispering against my clit is too much.
“Christ. Look at you. As much as I like it when you wear my clothes to bed, this is so much better.” His voice is rough. “I love that I get to see those pretty tits when I look up at your beautiful body. Help me see the rest of you.”
Dear God. I lift my hips awkwardly to obey his command while he slides my panties down my legs. I’m finally completely nude, which I feel compelled to comment on.
“You’re overdressed.” Hell. He shouldn’t still be dressed at all. The sweatpants need to go. It’s a travesty.
However, if he hears me, he doesn’t acknowledge my words.
Instead, his mouth presses to my most sensitive place, sucking gently.
He hums in the back of his throat as he pushes my thighs farther apart, exposing me fully to him.
He pulls back a little, mutters to himself, before he continues his campaign of pleasure.
The flat of his tongue slowly peruses my throbbing bundle of nerves while his index finger toys with my opening.
I have no idea how this sensation is too much and not enough at the same time.
I growl my frustration. Is he punishing me?
“No beauty, not punishing.” He lifts his head to look me in the eye, and I realize I must have said the words aloud. His chin glistens with my desire and he licks his bottom lip. “Savoring.”
He kisses his way down my thigh, and I’ve had enough. I sit up, grip his hair, and pull.
“Holy fuck, Taryn,” Liam yelps.
“Enough already. You. Naked. Now.” I can’t believe he’s reduced me to this, but here we are. Liam’s eyes dance with mirth as he strips off his T-shirt. Yep. That’ll do it. I’ve forgotten my irritation. When his sweatpants follow, I’m momentarily stunned silent.
I lean forward to press my lips between his pecs and he growls. “Lie back, goddammit.”
I laugh as I run my fingertips over his hard abs. “Or what?”
Liam pounces. He pins me to his mattress, his hard body pressing into me. “I’ll show you what.”
He raises my arms over my head again, entwining our fingers. I gasp when he enters me in one hard thrust.
“I’ll be gentle next time, okay?” His voice is sandpaper in my ear. When I don’t respond, he stills inside of me. “I said: okay?”
“Yes. Better than okay.” I need him to move. Now. I wiggle my hips to get the idea across.
“Good.” He kisses my nose and then almost pulls entirely out of me before hammering back in. My core clenches around him as though I don’t want to let go. “Jesus, you feel good,” he grits out.
My response is a groan as he continues his brutal pace, telling me through panted breaths how beautiful I am, how much he needs me. I dig my fingernails into his back to hold on, realizing that, at this moment, I do feel beautiful.
“Do you have any idea what you do to me?” he asks as he fills me, again and again.
Electricity spreads from my limbs, rushes across my body and up my spine. I put my hand against his chest and feel his warm skin. His corded muscle. The rapid beat of his heart.
My body hums. I can’t think, only feel. Sensation after sensation. His moan vibrates through me as if I expelled the sound. Ecstasy. Liam’s lips crash against mine. Messy. Desperate. Primal. I feel him everywhere.
As I shatter around him, a sense of wholeness fills me. Bliss. I know I can fall apart with Liam. I can trust that he will help put me back together.
We’re tangled in silence, our limbs a loose knot under the sheets, skin still warm and slick where we touch. My head rests on his chest, rising and falling with each breath he takes. He hasn’t said anything. Neither have I. There’s no rush. No expectation.
Liam’s fingers trail up and down my spine, barely there, like he’s memorizing me with touch alone.
“I told Ryan to do it,” he says after a long while, voice low, threaded with something heavy—guilt or maybe dread. “We’re going to blow up their accounts.”
“Explain.”
So, he does. He tells me about Ryan’s skills. The wild goose chase they planted. The way I messed it all up. Liam’s decision to get revenge. The Greeks are going to feel it—and soon.
He sighs. “It’ll make them mad. Sloppy, maybe. But we won’t get another shot like this.”
I lift my head to look at him, studying the sharp edges of his jaw in the dim morning light. “And then what?”
His throat bobs. “Then we hope the damage is significant enough that it cuts their influence and cash flow down before they can retaliate.”
I roll onto my side, propping myself up on my elbow. “They’ll come looking for who hit them.”
“Yeah, I worry about that too. I need to talk to my father before I give the order to start moving their money. My fear is that they’ll come looking for you,” he says quietly, gazing deeply into my eyes.
“The account you tried to move—the passwords, the failed logins, the timing. It could look like you triggered the breach.”
Something settles in my chest. Not fear. Something more useful.
“Then let them,” I say.
That gets his attention. His eyes, which had begun to wander down my body, snap back to mine.
“If they already suspect me, let’s make it convincing,” I continue. “Let me run. Let them think I’m scared. I’ll reach out to whomever I need to, use whatever channels Sam gave me. Make contact. You can trace it.”
His face is blank, unreadable—but his body has gone still beside me.
“I want to help,” I whisper. “I can help. You’ve got them looking for a leak—so give them one.”
His brows draw together, skeptical. “Taryn, this isn’t a game.”
“I know.” I brush my fingers down his arm. “But I’m not some fragile girl you married to protect. I’ve been in this world my whole life. Help me finally take my place in it.”
He studies me, the weight of a dozen arguments behind his eyes. But he doesn’t say no. He just says, “I need to think about this. I don’t like exposing you this way. I’d want to watch your every move. You understand me?”
“Good,” I murmur, settling back down against his chest. “Because that’s exactly what I want.”
“What you want,” he says slowly, looking for any sign of argument, “is to go to law school. Not this.”
I shake my head. “And, I will.” His eyebrows rise.
“I’ll go to law school in the fall. I still want to be a lawyer.
But a good friend once told me that I didn’t have to choose.
So, I’m not going to. I can be your wife, a lawyer, and hey, I can be the Robin to your Batman.
Only I’d have way better aim.” Ugh. I blame my youngest brother and his comic book addiction for that last stupid analogy.
My husband is quiet. Contemplative.
“Liam?”
“Quiet,” he shushes me. “I’m picturing you in spandex.”
I swat his chest and he laughs. It’s Liam’s real laugh. Deep and full of joy. Finally his laughter dies down.
“I don’t know, beauty. I said I need to think about this.” I open my mouth and he slaps a hand over it to stop me. “Don’t. I know what you’re going to say, and I don’t disagree with you. I just need a minute. The thought of you in danger fucks me up.”
I lick his hand and he snickers. When he pulls back, he sobers.
“I don’t know that we need any extra help at the moment, but if we do,” he sighs.
“I will think about it. Look, I need to call my father. I’ve let this go long enough that I’m going to have to tell him what I’ve done. What I’m about to do.”
I shift slightly, propping my chin on his chest so I can see his face better. His expression has turned unreadable again, the one he wears when he’s planning five steps ahead. It’s the same look he had in the O’Tooles’ study the day he told me to trust him.
“You’re nervous,” I say softly.
His jaw ticks. “Of course I’m nervous. This is Da. He’s going to be pissed I didn’t tell him sooner. And he’s going to assume I did it to prove something.”
“Did you?”
He hesitates. “Maybe a little. But it wasn’t just that. I saw an opening and I took it. I knew we could use the Greeks’ own tactics against them. Ryan found the weak spot, and I drove the knife in. I just…” He sighs. “I should’ve told him. Or at least warned him.”
“Why didn’t you?”
He stares at the ceiling like it might answer for him. “Because he doesn’t see me that way. I’m the worthless son. The useless one with a smile and joke.”
“No. That’s not even close to who you are.” My voice is quiet but firm. “You’re smart, Liam. Strategic. Loyal to a fault. You see people. That’s your superpower, even if your father doesn’t always understand how it works in this world.”
His eyes finally meet mine. “It’s not enough, though. Not for him.”
“Maybe not,” I admit. “But you’re not doing this for him. You’re doing it because you know it’s the right move. And he’ll see that. Maybe not right away, but he will.”
He doesn’t answer, just watches me. So I keep going.
“You’re not the son he expects, Liam. But maybe you’re the one he needs. The one this whole family needs. You and Ryan both.”
His hand comes up to cradle the back of my head, pulling me close until our foreheads touch.
“You believe in me more than I do,” he says, his voice rough.
“Nope.” I smile. “I just see you more clearly than he does.” I trace the edge of his jaw with my fingertip. “I’ve seen it, you know.”
His brow lifts. “Seen what?”
“The other side of you. The one your father thinks doesn’t exist.” I tilt my head. “The one I’m told tried to run Sam over in the middle of campus.”
He snorts. “I didn’t try to run him over. Trust me. If I wanted to run him over, he wouldn’t still be walking. That was me being restrained. For now.”
“I know.” I grin. “That’s the terrifying part. You can be ruthless, Liam. Just because you prefer to lead with a smile doesn’t mean you don’t know how to break things.”
His eyes darken, but he doesn’t deny it.
I lean in and whisper, “You scare me a little when you’re dangerous.”
His smile is slow. “Only toward people who try to hurt you.”
I roll my eyes. “That’s not reassuring.”
“It should be.” He wraps his arms around me and flips us so I’m beneath him. His voice is soft but lethal. “I would kill for you, beauty. Doesn’t make me crazy.”
I arch a brow. “No?”
“No.” His mouth brushes mine. “Just crazy about you.”