Liam

by Simone Grey

  I hate it.

  Instead of looking him in the eyes I start rambling like I do when I get nervous. “I was in the foster care system from the time I was a baby up until I was eighteen. I moved around three times and…yeah it wasn’t the best. But honestly it could have been worse for me than it was. I ‘ve heard horror stories of other kids being abused and neglected. None of my foster parents ever abused me, they mostly just ignored me. It was alright I got used to it and when I turned eighteen, I went to college and met Jayden and Lisa and they became my family and I couldn’t ask for a better one.”

  Snapping my mouth shut silence fills the space between us. Holy shit. I just rambled out part of my life story.

  Suddenly his hand appears below my chin and he tilts my face up until I’m looking into his eyes. Instead of pity, I see what looks a lot like…pride and compassion?

  “Do you have any idea how amazing you are?”

  “What?” I ask shocked.

  “You’re amazing. How many people do you know that could get through the foster care system? Come out strong. Go to college, get a good job and then spend a good deal of their time helping other kid? You’re an incredible woman, Ava.”

  I’m both shocked and stumped. Nobody’s ever said anything so sweet to me before in my life.

  “I-I- thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he says simply.

  “So, you own Temptation, Tempest and several other nightclubs and restaurants, right?” I say changing the subject.

  He nods and then proceeds to tell me about the other nightclubs and restaurants he owns. He also talks about the restaurant that’s being built in London and the nightclub that’s being built in New Orleans. The passion that he speaks with is awe inspiring. It’s clear that he loves his work and how much it means to him.

  “Um excuse me. We’re closing in five minutes,” the man behind the counter tells us.

  Glancing at my watch I see that it’s almost ten o’clock. We’ve been talking for almost three hours.

  “Okay, we should get going then,” Liam says glancing at his watch.

  He helps me shrug on my jacket and then we make our way outside the shop.

  The streets are pretty much deserted with a few people walking up and down the sidewalk.

  “Did you park next to the library?” he asks.

  “Oh no, I don’t drive. I live close enough to walk.”

  He stops abruptly and turns to frown down at me.

  “You walk? Everywhere?”

  I frown back at him.

  “Well yeah, Everything I need is in walking distance.”

  “That’s not safe. Come on I’ll give you a ride home.”

  “Oh, that’s alright. I don’t mind walking.” I say not wanted to inconvenience him.

  “I don’t want you walking home. It’s not safe Especially this late at night.”

  “And I told you I don’t mind. It’s only like a ten-minute walk.”

  “Ten minutes? Do you have any idea what can happen to a woman walking alone at night in one minute let alone ten?”

  My hands land on my hips “I’m very aware of what can happen. And like I said I’m fine walking.”

  His eyes narrow on me. “Are you always this stubborn?”

  “Are you always this pushy?”

  We stand there on the sidewalk glaring at each other before I realize what we’re doing.

  “Are we really standing here arguing about a ride home?” I ask.

  Liam scratches the back of his head a small smirk pulling at his lips. “I think we are.”

  We share a look before we both burst out laughing.

  “I think we just had our first argument. You know what happens after a first arguments right?”

  “What?” I say smiling up at him.

  He steps closer, his hands going to my waist and his eyes darkening. “We’re supposed to kiss and make up.”

  My breath catches in my throat as my hands move to the front of his jacket. His eyes focus on my lips and I feel like my heart is about to beat out of my chest. Slowly, he leans down. I lean up and his lips touch mine.

  The first contact sends a shock wave through my system. The touch of his lips against mine is light. He pulls back slightly before going back in with more pressure.

  Desire shoots straight to my core and a gasp parts my lips. He wastes no time diving in. A groan leaves him as his arms band around my waist pulling me up against him. I feel him hard against my stomach. My arms wind around his waist as I practically climb him to get closer.

  He lips, sucks and bites at my lips before driving his tongue into my mouth. We kiss until we’re both panting. We kiss so long my brain starts to grow foggy from lack of oxygen.

  “Hey get a room!” somebody shouts.

  I pull away startled staring up at him with wide eyes panting to regain my breath. He stares back at me, his eyes darker than I’ve ever seen them. My clit is throbbing, I’m so turned on I can barely see straight. What has he done to me?

  “I want to kiss every fucking freckle on your face and then explore your body to see if you have any somewhere else, I can’t see right now” he says huskily.

  My stomach clenches and pulsates and I want nothing more than for that to happen. I’m usually self-conscious about people staring at my freckles but when he does it, I don’t mind. I like it, it makes me feel sexy, desired, wanted.

  “I think we can arrange that.” My voice sounds breathy to my own ears.

  His nostrils flare and his arm around my waist tightens. I can see the restraint hanging on by a thread. It makes me wonder what I have to do to get him to snap and lose control.

  “Let’s get out of here” he says and it’s then that I realize we’re standing on the street. We speed walk back to the library parking lot. His car is the only one left in the lot. He quickly helps me inside before slamming the door and rounding the front of it and sliding behind the wheel.

  I quickly rattle off directions to my house and we’re both silent on the drive over. My mind Is going a million miles a minute and based on the way his hand is clenched around the steering wheel, I would say his is too.

  When we pull up outside of my building, he exits the car and helps me out without a word. His fingers lace through mine as I lead the way up the stairs to my floor. With shaky hands I unlock the door and step inside expecting him to follow me when he pauses in the doorway I look back in confusion.

  “I don’t think I should come in tonight,” he says.

  My eyebrows inch up my forehead. Did I read this situation wrong?

  “But I thought…” I trail off unsure of what to say.

  Liam scrubs a hand over his face. “Look, I like you a lot. I’ve never felt this connection, this energy with anyone else and I don’t want to screw it up by sleeping together too soon and if I come inside right now there’s nothing to stop me from doing all the things I want to do to you.”

  “Oh. Okay” I swallow hard.

  He stares into my eyes for a minute before cupping my face in one of his hands he lays a sweet kiss against my lips.

  “Lock up behind me.”

  “Okay.” I shut the door and turn the lock into place,

  I wait until I hear his footsteps walking away before I slid down the floor onto my butt.

  What have I gotten myself into?

  Chapter 7

  AVA

  My beeping phone wakes me up the next the morning. Looking bleary eyed at the clock I see it’s almost 7:30, a half hour before I’m supposed to be up.

  Grabbing the offending phone of the nightstand. I see a text from Liam. Instantly I’m wide awake.

  LIAM: Hey beautiful.

  My stomach clenches.

  ME: Hey

  LIAM: Did you get a good night’s sleep?

  ME: Yes, what about you?

  LIAM: Yeah, I slept really well.

  ME: Are you a morning person?

  LIAM: Yes ma’am

  ME: I don’t know
if we can be friends anymore.

  LIAM: Number one: I take it you’re not a morning person. Number two: who said anything about us being friends?

  Ouch, his word sting way more than I want them to. While I’m floundering for a response that doesn’t make me look like an idiot, the little bubbles appear at the bottom of the screen that tells me he’s typing.

  LIAM: I don’t want to be your friend baby, I wanna be your lover.

  A laugh burst out of me and this time I have no problem responding.

  ME: Oh my god, has that line actually worked for you before?

  LIAM: I’ve never tried it. What? Was it too cheesy?

  ME: Uh yeah, that was pretty bad. Luckily, I seem to like cheesy jokes and lines.

  LIAM: Oh yeah? Well there’s more where that came from. I’m going to be at Temptation tonight. Can you stop by and we can have dinner?

  I put my phone down on the bed. Indecision wears heavy on me. I’ve been going back in forth trying to figure out if I should continue to pursue this.

  On one hand he makes me feel things that I’ve never felt before. Not even with him. Just this simple text exchange had me grinning so hard, anticipating his responses before they came through.

  On the other hand, I know that if I pursue something with this man and it doesn’t end well it would crush me. I’ve been through a lot already in such a short time, yet I have a feeling that getting my heart broken by Liam Trace would annihilate any other pain I’ve ever dealt with before in my life.

  The thought is sobering.

  Just then my bedroom door bangs open. A scream rises in my throat before I see that its Jayden and Lisa dressed for work.

  My hand goes to my pounding heart. “God, you two scared the crap out of me! What are you doing here?”

  Lisa raises an eyebrow ate me before holding up her key. “We have keys remember. Besides I wasn’t sure if you were up so we let ourselves in,” she says sitting down on the edge of my bed while Jayden plops down at the foot of it.

  I reach over and pinch his arm. It’s mostly muscle but I’m still able to get a good pinch out of it.

  “Ow! What the hell was that for?” he asks rubbing the spot I pinched him.

  I glare at him. “That was for the way you acted toward Liam last night. What were you thinking?”

  Sitting up and facing me Jayden says. “I was looking out for you! I had to feel him out and see what his intention were with you?”

  “And that’s how you decided to do it?”

  “Hell yeah. It worked didn’t it. I learned all I needed to know in that little exchange.”

  Folding my arms across my chest. “And what was that?”

  Jayden shrugs, “The guys into you. Like really into you.”

  I unfold my arms, hope rising again. “You think so?”

  This time Jayden and Lisa nod. “Yeah.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I’m a guy. I know these things.” He says it like it should be obvious.

  Lisa rolls her eyes.

  “It was all in his words and the way he looked at you when you weren’t paying attention. He had the look of a guy that had just seen something precious and special that he couldn’t stand to see get away. I could just tell,” Jayden says shrugging

  I look down at my hands for a moment before looking back up at them both. “So, you guys really think I should pursue this? I mean I really like him, but he could quite literally crush my heart into tiny pieces.”

  Lisa takes both of my hands in hers, “Sweetie, you’ve got to take a chance. I know that last asshole was a piece of work, but I don’t believe Liam is anything like him. You’ve got to live.”

  Looking back and forth between the two people I consider family, I make the decision. Picking my phone back up I text Liam back.

  ME: I’ll be there.

  Chapter 8

  LIAM

  I’m going over the inventory for next month, but my mind keeps drifting back to Ava. The text message exchange from earlier front and center in my mind. I’ve never been the kind of guy whose sends a woman cheesy messages to get their attention. Even before, I took over my father’s businesses women flocked to me and my brothers.

  I’ve never really had to work for it. When I was in my teens and early twenties it was exciting. However, the older I got, the more it started to grate on my nerves. And then I met Victoria, and everything changed for a while. After we broke up, I got right back to my old ways. It was all fun and games, until Ava walked into my life.

  Besides my sister and mother, she is easily the strongest woman I’ve ever met before in my life. The crazy thing is I don’t think she realizes how strong she really is. She survived living in the foster care system and come out on top, that in itself in amazing.

  I’ve never been happier and more elated than when she sent me that text earlier saying she’d be here. I actually got butter-fucking-flies in my stomach when I got the message. This woman has me so twisted up inside I don’t know what the hell to do anymore.

  Just then my phone rings. It’s Victoria. Again. I hit the reject button without even thinking about it. My phone rings again. I almost hit the reject button again before I realize it’s my mom calling. I pick up immediately.

  “Hey ma.”

  “Hey baby,” she says the warmth clear in her voice.

  “You’re on speaker phone. Your father’s here too.”

  “Hey Pops.”

  “Hey son. How are things going with the clubs and restaurants?”

  From the time I was a teenager, I knew I wanted to take over my father’s businesses. When I was a kid, I was always amazed at how he was able to grow his businesses while spending as much time with us as he did. While I was in college getting my business degree, I started to see the cracks in the surface, and it became clear that he needed to take a step back.

  That’s where I came in. I know it was difficult for him to hand over his businesses, something he built from the ground up, over to me, but in the end, I think he recognized that it was the right choice.

  “Everything’s good, I’m still in Chicago while Simon’s on his honeymoon. Is everything alright with you guys?” I ask.

  “Oh yes, everything’s good. Your father and I are still in Greece. We’re relaxing for a little while before we go out to dinner tonight.”

  “Sounds good.” I can’t help but smile. If anybody deserves this time together. It’s my parents. They’ve been through so much together.

  “So, anything you want to fill us in on?”

  My hackles raise.

  “Real subtle Gwen” my dad says amusement clear in his voice.

  “Oh hush.” Ma says.

  Realization slams into me.

  “Who told you Natalie or Sarah?” I ask.

  “Both. I talked to them last night. So, what’s her name and when do we get to meet her?” Ma says.

  Sighing I pinch the bridge of my nose.

  “Her name is Ava and I don’t know yet. We just started seeing each other.”

  “But your serious about her right?” she says the hope clear in her voice.

  “I’ve never been more serious about a relationship in my life.”

  “Oh, I’m so happy for you,” she gushes

  “Me too. We’ve been worried about you and all the hours you’ve been putting in.”

  “I had to keep the business running smoothly besides I love the work that I do.”

  “I get that, son, but we want you to settle down. Start a family. You can’t let the business consume your life. You know what nearly happened to me when I got so wrapped up in the business, I couldn’t see straight. I don’t want that to happen to you.”

  My mind goes back to that time. It was a dark time for my family. Especially my mom and dad.

  “I understand. You’ll be able to meet her soon. I promise.”

  My phone buzzes in my hand and I see a text from Ava saying she’s downstairs. My heart picks up.

  “Look, I
have to run. I’ll talk you both later.”

  We say our goodbyes before hanging up. I quickly make my way downstairs to the front entrance and there she is standing there talking to Ray one of my bouncers. She’s got on a black skirt that hug her curves in all the right places and a short sleeve pink blouse. Her hair is pulled up into a bun on top of her head exposing the curve of her neck that I just want to bury my face in to suck and bite until she wants me as much as I want her.

  When she sees me, a smile lights up her face putting that dimple on full display. That familiar gut punch hits me and I don’t think. I just react. Her eyes widen once she sees the intent in mine.

  “Hey I-“ I cut her words off with my lips.

  Her hands fly to my shoulders as my arms wrap around her waist. Her lips part on a sigh and she sways into me as I deepen the kiss stroking my tongue inside her mouth. My dick springs to attention as our tongues swirl and tangle together.

  “Fuck,” I breathe pulling away after a few minutes. Her eyes open slowly and the glazed look in them makes me want to throw her over my shoulder, run to my office and fuck her until neither one of us can move.

  “What was that for?” she asks.

  I shrug. “I couldn’t help myself. That seems to happen a lot around you.”

  A blush hits her cheeks as a laugh slips out of her mouth. I pull one arm back and keep one wrapped around her.

  “There goes another cheesy pick up line” she says and the way she’s looking up at me has my chest tightening with some unnamed emotions. I try to tamp down on them as a smirk crosses my face.

  “I know. I can’t seem to help myself around you.”

  She goes to reply when I see the first flash. From the way Ava stiffens against me I can tell she saw it too.

  Fuck. For a moment I forgot who I was and where we were outside. Scanning the crowd, I see that several people have their phones out, anybody could have taken that picture. Giving Ray a look, he nods back knowing what to do.

  I steer Ava into the club. Linking her fingers with mine, I lead us up the stairs into my office.

  “Wow,” she says looking around and going over to the window. “This place is beautiful. You can see the whole dance floor and bar from your window” she says.