Chapter 44
LONDON
Iclimbed into my bed wondering if I’d made a giant mistake. Lori had gone back to their bedroom though and I’d heard the lock on their door snick into place just after she’d gone inside, so when I’d heard Liam come upstairs, I’d decided it was safe enough to take a chance.
We weren’t in any great danger of being discovered like we had been back in the kitchen. Besides, I didn’t even know if he’d take me up on my unspoken offer just yet.
All I’d done was to open my door. It was up to him whether he chose to walk through it. The next thing I knew, he was standing in my doorway instead of his own, his gaze running slowly across the length of my body where I lay on my bed.
I didn’t say a word, letting him look as I checked him out just the same. In light blue and white boxers, so much of that lightly tanned skin was on display, and more specifically, he’d unleashed the fuck-me lines.
I mean, this isn’t even my fault. Any woman would be powerless against those.
Throw in a sprinkling of dark hair on his chest and that oh-so-happy trail that led down from his belly button, and my core had basically been reduced to molten lava. The simmering chemistry that had been in the air downstairs hadn’t helped my situation much either.
He pushed away from the door frame and swaggered his way into my room. “If you’re looking for someone to tuck you in, you’re barking up the wrong tree tonight.”
My head shook slowly, eyes hooked on his. He shut the door quietly behind him without looking back at it. “I’m all good on the tucking-in front. Thanks, though.”
“Good. I’m not in the mood to play nice.”
“Evidently so, since you left me there.” I reached for the hem of my top and gripped it tightly before pulling it over my head.
“This has to be the last time though, Liam. I mean it. Lines are blurring. We’re venturing into dangerous territory where emotions are getting involved and things could get ugly. ”
He made a noncommittal sound at the back of his throat and didn’t stop moving until he’d reached the edge of my bed. A definite bulge was growing in his boxers, his eyes lowering slowly to my chest. I pulled my bra off after I’d dropped the top on the floor.
As he looked at my bare breasts, my nipples hard enough to poke his eyes out, he surprised me by dropping to his knees. There was something dark and possessive in his eyes when he looked back up at me.
“Lie down and grab a pillow to scream into,” he said in that low, commanding tone I’d never tried to resist. “I’m not stopping until you beg me to.”
“Fat chance,” I muttered, but they were fighting words and I knew it. As I lay back on the mattress, I grabbed the nearest pillow and curled my fingers into its downy softness, keeping it at the ready if I needed it.
Liam’s hands and movements were rough as he unbuttoned my shorts and only unzipped them halfway before he was yanking them off over my feet. My panties went with them and I suppressed a moan as the cool, air-conditioned air of my bedroom washed across my overheated skin.
I was so wet and needy already that I spread my legs, inhibitions be damned. Liam sucked in a harsh breath, but then his hot mouth was contrasting intensely to the cool air, his tongue and teeth joining the party as he tucked into me.
He licked through my core. Soft groans of satisfaction vibrated through me as he made them. I suppressed another moan, but then he was pushing a finger into me, sliding the pad of it across that swollen spot deep inside. I nearly shrieked as pleasure raced through me.
Finally losing the fight, I dropped the pillow over my mouth and curled both arms around it to keep it in place as I bucked and writhed.
He really was too damn good at this and what was more was that he genuinely enjoyed it.
I could tell with every suck, lick, and stroke how much he loved giving me this pleasure.
I leaned into it, rapidly feeling a mind-bending orgasm building.
When it crashed into me, I screwed my eyes shut and screamed his name into my pillow, my feet practically curling instead of it just being my toes.
Pleasure swept from the very root of my being to my extremities, my muscles shaking and shivering until I collapsed in a quivering heap of aftershocks that he dutifully saw me through.
As soon as those subsided, he was on the bed with me, kissing every inch of my exposed skin and gently sucking my nipples into his mouth before moving up to my shoulders. My neck, my collarbone, and finally, he moved the pillow away to reach my lips.
Without breaking the tender, caring kisses, he kept petting me, sliding the palm of one of his hands all over and catapulting me into a state of wanting more.
And more.
And more.
And he delivered.
Carefully sliding his fingers between my soaked folds, he took his time, but my next climax hit much faster and no less powerfully.
He swallowed all my moans this time. When we finally broke apart, I handed over a condom from a box I’d bought to keep in my nightstand for this very purpose.
Once it was on, I climbed on top of him.
Liam’s refined features were so much sharper tonight, his brow dotted with sweat and his throat working.
The muscles in his stomach dipped. He was breathing hard, but he caught my face in gentle hands and brought me to him, kissing me deeply and as patiently as if he wasn’t dying to come. I lowered myself down on him.
We kept at it for hours. When I felt like I would fall asleep with him still inside me if we tried to go again, I pulled him closer when he made to leave. “You can stay if you want. You know, because it’s the last time.”
“We’ll see about that,” he murmured before he rolled over to switch off the lamp on my nightstand. Once the room had been thrown into darkness, he drew me into his strong arms. I fell asleep listening to the sound of his heartbeat as it evened out.
My head was still on his chest when I woke up the next morning. I glanced up, surprised that he was still asleep. So far, he’d always been awake before me the morning after, but it was nice to see him like this for a change.
In his sleep, his black eyelashes seemed to kiss the skin under his eyes. His face looked so much younger when it wasn’t smirking or saying mean things. I cuddled into him for another minute, holding him close. I listened to the sounds of Lori and Jerry heading out early to work.
Once they were gone, I finally got up and took a shower, planning to wake Liam when I was done, but by the time I walked out of my bathroom, he was gone.
My body was deliciously sore in all the right ways and I’d been contemplating asking him to kiss it all better for me, but it was for the best that I couldn’t do it.
I’d meant what I’d said last night. We needed to stop doing this. It was getting way too confusing.
I spent the time getting ready for work mentally fortifying my resolve. Liam and I had drawn enough benefits out of our friendship. It was time for things to go back to normal—before it was too late and those benefits turned on us.
By the time we walked into our office, I was feeling good about my decision, but I was also already missing that other element to our relationship.
I knew it was absurd, considering that I’d woken up naked in his arms just a couple hours ago, but making the mental shift was going to be harder than I’d hoped.
That was for sure.
Mercifully, we had more than enough work to do this week and I dove in headfirst, beyond grateful for the distraction. We had lots of new clients to get started on and a few different training sessions lined up with the staff.
Neither of us had the energy when we got home at night to talk through the blurred lines and emotions I’d mentioned to him the other night. I, for one, fell into an exhausted, dreamless sleep every night and I woke up completely focused on getting through the day ahead.
As much as I loved my job though, I was looking forward to the weekend I had coming up in Texas. Liam and I had come up with a game plan. I would be going to spend time with my sisters while he went to see his buddies and his own sister.
It would be the first time in weeks that we’d be staying apart, but I kept telling myself that it was a good thing. We needed some space, but deep down, I knew I didn’t really want to be away from him.
And that’s exactly why I need to be. This has to happen. For both our sakes.
With that mantra in the back of my mind, I walked into yet another afternoon training session and smiled at the staff gathered in the conference room.
“Alright, guys, today, we’re going to be taking a look at client relations.
I know we’ve thrown a lot of information at you so far this week, but if anyone has any questions, you know where to find us. ”
Liam picked up from me as effortlessly and seamlessly as ever. “It’s really been a big week and we’d like to thank you all for showing up every morning, ready to work and learn, and bearing with us as we get this branch on its feet.”
Standing at the front of the sun-soaked conference room, he had the sleeves of his light blue button-down rolled up to his elbows, his fingers in the pockets of his dark jeans.
“Walker and Co has always been known for the way that we treat our clients, so it’s vitally important that we infuse that company culture into our branch as early as humanly possible. ”
“Which is today.” I grinned as I folded my hands on the table. “I’ve got a short presentation planned for you. When that’s done, we’ll be splitting into smaller groups for a case study brainstorm and Liam and I will be floating between the tables.”
“We’ll be available for coaching,” he said. “Answering questions. Helping you learn how to handle any problem or client request that might come your way with our legendary Walker grace and finesse.”
My heart tripped over itself at the way he’d said our. He’d included himself in that and I loved it.
As I pretended that I wasn’t hyper-aware of him across the room, charming the new hires with his jokes and dry humor after our presentation, I couldn’t help sneaking peeks. Every time I did, he glanced at me at least once. Funny things happened in my chest whenever I saw him doing it.
Still, despite the distractions, I couldn’t deny the energy in the room. It was fresh, motivated, and buzzing with potential.
And yeah, maybe some of that is because of the way Liam and I work together. Smooth. In sync. Almost too in sync. Especially these days.
I breathed out a quiet sigh and got back to it, almost managing to convince myself that being too in sync with him wasn’t a problem. Until our resident social media guru arched her eyebrow at me when I joined her table.
“So, were you two, like, a thing before this?” she asked with a jerk of her head toward Liam. “It sure seems like it.”
I laughed so quickly that it came out way too loud. “Us? Liam and me? No. We’re just coworkers who occasionally threaten each other’s lives and fight like people who can’t get rid of each other, but we do make a good team. We’ve been working together for a long time.”
Liam had been walking by with a dry erase marker, headed to another group, but he added without missing a beat, “And I’ve only been emotionally injured twice. Isn’t that a miracle?”
I shook my head, but I also had to try really hard not to smile. Whatever else happened, I could not lose this guy as a friend. I love-hated him way, way too much for that.