Chapter Forty
Every orgasm Liam gave her had always been intense, but Chelsea needed more than a climatic rush. She craved the closeness and intimacy that came when they had sex—even if she was in the backseat of his Explorer.
His erection bulged under her bottom, and she shifted to stroke his shaft. Liam’s heavy breaths pulled, and his jaw ticked when she gripped his length.
“Unbuckle your pants, handsome.” She kicked free of hers.
He made quick work of the clothes and pulled his thickness free, slowly pumping with his fist. “I thought you weren’t too sure about my backseat,” he teased.
She replaced his hand with hers, caressing his crown with her thumb then mimicked his stroke. “I thought you were smart enough not to ruin a good thing.”
“Oh, right.” He inhaled sharply, jaw dropping as she increased the pressure. “Consider me smart. Not ruining a damn thing.”
Chelsea laughed, and he did too.
“Good. Because I need…” She straddled his lap, trembling as she positioned the head of his erection against her folds.
“To be inside you,” he growled.
She eased down, letting his shaft impale her, and nodded, barely able to whisper, “Yes.”
His hands gripped her hips, guiding her movement, slickening their connection until she had her arms wrapped around his neck, Liam fully seated inside her.
“Damn, Chelsea,” he growled.
She couldn’t do much more than nod—until he palmed her backside and lifted her.
His muscles rippled as he thrust and ground her down.
The sensation overload made her limp and desperate for more.
He possessed her, controlled her, owned every flex and thrust, and she could only exist in building pleasure.
Intensity built. She cried and clenched, panting and pushed beyond any brink she’d experienced before. “Oh, God.” She clung to him. “Liam, please, God!”
Her orgasm hit like a tidal wave. The blinding pleasure brought pain as she came again and again. Euphoria rolled, and he didn’t stop, drawing out a flood of gratification.
Liam’s thick arms wrapped tight. He held her, thrusting and grunting until his orgasm came in like a storm. Their spasms made her shiver. Her heart wanted to explode.
She didn’t know how long they stayed like that. But it wasn’t until a shiver from the temperature, rather than reacting to Liam, did either of them move.
He pressed a sweet kiss to her forehead, then her lips. “This is one hell of a way to start our day.”
The Nymans’ neighborhood was reminiscent of every other block for miles around. Their town was safe and predictable. But the closer they came to Linda and Frank’s, the more he found himself watching the bushes and scanning the shadows.
“Are you okay?” Chelsea asked.
He pulled over on the suburban street and shifted into park. “Just wondering what I might miss if I glance the wrong way or focus on something else.”
She waited for him to further explain, and when he didn’t, she said, “If you’re talking about work, you have to realize that you can’t see everything.” After a beat, she added, “Actually, that just goes for life in general.”
True enough. He never saw them happening. Liam gave her hand a squeeze.
Chance appeared, ambling down the sidewalk as though he hadn’t been surreptitiously keeping an eye out for them to arrive.
“Time to work.” He opened the driver’s door as Chelsea stepped out also.
“About time you two showed up.” Chance thumped a fist on the Explorer’s hood and gave a suspicious glance from Liam to Chelsea and back.
“We’re here.” Then Liam shot a warning glare.
The nonverbal cue didn’t stop Chance from a chuckle. “I was worried I’d have to send out search and rescue.”
Chelsea joined them on the sidewalk. Her eyes were crystal clear of the firing arousal Liam had seen less than ten minutes earlier. In a no-nonsense way that defied logic, she said, “We got distracted for a minute.”
“I bet,” Chance muttered under his breath with a shit-eating grin.
She pressed her lips together, cautioning Chance in a way that had more effect than Liam’s. Chance swallowed a laugh, and they waited in silence as Chelsea power-walked down the sidewalk.
“And here I thought you’d carved out some one-on-one time, but maybe not.”
Liam jabbed Chance with an elbow.
“Testy.” Chance laughed again and muttered something about Chelsea’s all-business demeanor.
Liam didn’t hang around to hear for certain and rounded to the Explorer’s trunk. They had gear to unload.
Chance followed, still amused with himself. “Which is she? All business or—”
“Careful,” Liam warned.
“It’s like that, huh?”
It was like a million things he didn’t know how to explain but could summarize as ‘hell yeah, it was like that’. Still, he wasn’t in the mood to banter like an old bitty. “That woman could slice and dice your balls off.”
“Pfssh. I could take her.”
Liam paused with the halfway-open hatchback in hand. He let go and turned to Chance. “You touch her, and I’ll be the one who castrates you.”
“Easy, man.” Chance smirked. “I’m kidding.”
No shit, but still, a possessive need nettled Liam, and he wanted to change the subject. “Thanks again for the supplies.”
He took the hint. “It was no big deal.”
“That’s some bullshit.” Liam rolled his shoulders. “One day I’ll repay the favor.”
“You have no idea.” Chance shook his head, amused with himself. “Anyway, I can stick around and help set up.”
The offer sounded like a great idea for a split second, but Liam wanted more alone time with Chelsea. “We’re good.”
Chance gave an understanding chin lift. “Did I mention that Hagan hacked the neighbor’s lockbox?”
Liam hoisted the duffel bag onto his shoulder and grabbed a box, tilting his head toward the trunk. “What’s that mean?”
His buddy shut the hatchback. “For the neighbor’s house.”
“The one listed for sale?”
Chance nodded. “He changed the showing availability. No drop-bys or scheduled showings until we lift the lock, and we have a connection that can smooth over any problems.”
They stepped to the sidewalk, and concern nagged at Liam that their reach was expanding too far. He’d already pushed the line when he asked Chance and Chelsea for help. But then Hagan? And a new connection?
“Are you two coming?” Chelsea called.
He had to trust Chance—and he couldn’t help but be grateful they’d now have an undisturbed location to monitor the Nymans. Even if the thought made Liam want to tear off Chelsea’s clothes.
“Judging by that look…” Chance slapped Liam on the back. “I’ll head out.”
They shared an unsaid “thank you” and “no problem,” then he hustled to meet his woman, self-imposing a don’t-touch-before-the-job-was-done rule.
Chelsea reached for the box in Liam’s arms and didn’t know how to translate the hard set of his jaw or the dark edge in his eyes. They normally shone like deep, rich emeralds. But now, the color eclipsed words. “Is everything all right?”
His curt headshake gave her a sudden silent answer. His look was desire. A snap of awareness rolled over her like the first vivid flash of the sun at first light.
“We have to work,” he said, reading her mind.
“I know.” But she hadn’t for a second. Chelsea took a sobering breath, and they crossed the street and walked the remaining half block to the Nymans’.
She set the box at their feet as Liam glanced over his shoulder, and Chelsea slipped her house key from her purse.
If she’d unlocked that door once, she’d unlocked it a hundred times.
The key slid in effortlessly and turned with a soft, sturdy click.
They’d confirmed the Nymans would be at work all day when Liam had called Linda that morning to apologize. As often as Chelsea had used her key to stop by their house over the years, this time made her jittery.
They walked into the living room, ready to install a monitoring system. She took cautious steps that reminded her of the teenage nights when she and Julia would sneak out to sit in the backyard and gossip under the pine trees.
Liam clambered their gear in and set the duffel bag on the couch with a thud.
Chelsea wanted to shush him as though they might get caught then laughed at herself. “Do you think many kids have the kind of relationship Julia did with Linda and Frank?” she asked. “Or even Linda and Frank with Julia’s close friends. Like us.”
Liam crossed his arms as though he had never realized their lack of blood ties made them different from other families and loved ones. “If they’re lucky.”
Her heart smiled. The urge to hug him tingled in her chest. “Gosh, you’re sweet.”
He scowled.
She smiled and shrugged. “Give me my marching orders.”
For the next two hours, they worked with nimble fingers and mind-testing patience. They had no room for mistakes. The consequences would be catastrophic.
Finally, she came down the stairs as Liam walked into the living room, balling up plastic wrap from the monitors he’d installed on the perimeter.
“Is that everything?” Chelsea stood on the bottom stair.
Liam shot the ball of plastic wrap into a box on the couch as if it were a basketball. “Think so.” He remained planted on the far side of the living room and laid an arm across the top of a high-back chair. “Time to check it all?”
She nodded. “Then a quick recheck.”
His lips curled. “Then let’s go.”
Installing the equipment had been easy. They each had tasks to complete and connect to a main monitoring system. No one could tamper with appliances or the electrical grid in the house without triggering a silent alarm. No one could set foot on the property without their team knowing about it.
Liam led her toward the back of the first floor.
Room after room, window after window, they checked their own and each other’s work.
They inspected and tested the main monitoring system and did the same for the backup.
Their dynamic eased into a fluid partnership as soon as they came to the first section to check, and they worked as though they’d been side by side for years.