Bleeding Love

by Harper Sloan

  Never, in all the times that we’ve been here, has Liam taken the stage. And I knew before I started coming out with them, that he hadn’t done it before me either. Nate said once, after spending an hour trying to convince him to sing Baby Got Back with him, that he never goes up there because he is as tone deaf as it gets. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. Liam just nodded and turned his gaze back to the stage. But I also know from being around this group long enough that despite his over confident demeanor, Liam Beckett has a mean phobia when it comes to being in front of a crowd. Something that Dani has had way too much fun with in the past.

  That knowledge is what holds me to my seat. When he stood from the couch, I instantly felt his loss and my body moved to the edge of my seat, almost as if it was trying to stay connected when I lost his weight against my side.

  When the opening to Van Morrison’s, Brown Eyed Girl fills the air, I gasp. Liam, with all the confidence in the world, takes the mic and opens his mouth. His voice ringing out around us, booming through the speakers, hits every note as if the song was written just for him.

  Perfect pitch.

  His body moves with the beat and even with a song like Brown Eyed Girl, Liam’s movements look nothing short of sexual to me.

  My heart speeds up and I know, without a doubt, that he’s planned this moment just for me.

  You’re my brown-eyed girl.

  As I watch him work the crowd like a pro I feel like I’m about to jump out of my skin. The need to have those hands, the ones that are holding the mic to his lips, on my body is burning me alive.

  He keeps singing as he jumps off the small stage and makes his way over to our area. I can see our group eating this up. Clapping and singing along with him as he takes the final steps until he’s standing right in front of me.

  “Hell yeah,” Nate yells and grabs the mic when Liam hands it off before the song finishes and I hear him belt out the end of the song as the crowded bar gets even louder.

  “Darlin’,” he pants and reaches out a hand for me to take. I don’t move. I can’t imagine what my face looks like right now, but whatever he sees brings a smile to his lips the likes of which I’ve never seen before. “Take it, baby. Take my hand. ”

  With a trembling arm, I reach up and finally take his hand.

  I MIGHT PUKE.

  If the churning in my gut is any clue, it might be soon.

  Fuck, this better work.

  When I hear my name called out, I shove that feeling aside and make my way to the stage, tagging the mic from Todd, the announcer, and waiting for the music to start.

  Never once taking my eyes from where Megan is sitting.

  Fuck, this better work.

  She’s moved since I stood, her ass just about to fall off the edge of the couch. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes holding me captive.

  Yeah, baby, I’m sure you didn’t see that coming.

  When the song starts, I instantly forget my hatred for being on display like this and look at Megan as if she is the only woman in this room. She might as well be. As I jump from the stage and make my way to her, making my intentions clear as I keep my eyes locked to hers, I’m rewarded with seeing her eyes light a fire and that desire I’ve been waiting to see, start an inferno. Her chest is moving rapidly when I take the mic from my mouth and shove it blindly toward Nate.

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  This is it.

  Moment of truth.

  I know, from Dani, that Megan has been living a little lighter since I left last week. I also know, from her help conspiring to get Megan here tonight, that it’s a green light, full steam ahead for number two on our list.

  The rush that’s flying through my body from my little moment in the spotlight is making my breath come out in pants, but I keep on, eyes on the prize as I reach out and hold my hand out for her.

  “Darlin’. ”

  Her eyes go from my hand to my face. I wait for the panic to wash her features, but when I see a hunger that could rival my own take over, I feel my body relax and with a grin stretches my lips.

  Thank Christ.

  “Take it, baby. Take my hand. ”

  To anyone watching I’m sure it looks like the simplest of gestures. But I know, I fucking know, if her hand hits mine that she finally sees what I’ve been waiting for. That she is ready. Ready for me to give her everything.

  I hold my breath. The magnitude of what this moment means hitting me like a tsunami.

  This. This is it.

  When her soft skin comes up and even through her trembling movements I know, my girl is ready.

  Time for number three.

  “Time to go,” I tell her and she nods. It’s small, but she nods. I bend down, grab her purse and turn without saying a single goodbye to our friends and walk out the door. Not with Megan behind me, nervous or scared, but with her matching me step for step as we head through the bar and out into the warm Georgia night.

  When we reach my truck, I unlock the door and help her into the cab, handing her her purse after she clicks her belt. She looks in my eyes and gives me a smile, not timid at all. Her smile is strong and sure.

  “Ready?” I question.

  She closes her eyes, clears her throat and her smile grows, “Yeah, Liam. I’m ready. ”

  “That’s my girl. ”

  I lean forward, hands pushing into the soft hair around her face and I curl my fingers, giving her the slightest pressure before I press my lips to hers in a kiss that demands her compliance. It’s a kiss that shows her without words what’s to come.

  Breaking the kiss, I press my forehead to hers and pray I can get through the next step without my rock hard cock taking control.

  Soon. But not yet.

  I round the hood and jump into the driver’s seat, turning to look at her as her fingers run along her swollen lips. She moves her head and when her eyes hit mine, those lips tip up and a carefree excitement takes hold of her nerves and I breathe easy knowing I’ve finally broken through.

  “Where are we going?” she asks as my truck bounces through the dirt path we turned off of just seconds before.

  “A little late to ask, darlin’,” I joke.

  “Well, I don’t think I was able to form a sentence that would make sense until just now. ”

  “Yeah?”

  “You, Liam, kiss me stupid. ”

  My laugh comes out quick and I turn to look at her for a second before returning my eyes back toward the dirt road before us. I know this road like the back of my hand, but in the dark I know better than to take my attention away for too long.

  “Stupid isn’t how I want you. ”

  “How—how do you want me?” Her question is just above a whisper and the quiver attached to each word works my cock so well, she might as well have wrapped her lips around my shaft.

  I can see the clearing just ahead and I wait until the truck’s parked before I answer. Turning slightly, I reach out and with one finger pop her seatbelt free. Her eyes follow my hand and as the fabric of her seatbelt moves across her chest she pulls her arm free and lets it clang against the side of the truck.

  “How do you want me, Liam?” she repeats, her body moving slightly so that she can see me better.

  Reaching out with both hands I grab her hips, curl my fingers into the soft skin and pull her toward me. She helps, just as eager as I am to be closer. Her legs move, straddling my lap, and when the weight of her body settles against my lap, we both moan. My hands, still at her hips, pull her toward me in a rocking motion that has the heat of her pussy warming my erection to the point that I’m questioning if I just came a little.

  Her small hands come up and wrap around my neck. “How do you want me?” she says with her lips moving against my own.

  My tongue comes out and I trace the curve of her bottom lip. When her mouth opens slightly, causing her lip to move closer to my mouth, I nip it with my

teeth, pulling it slightly before letting go. Her eyes hood and her hips rock forward against my hold, causing my fingers to dig in tighter.

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  “Tell me, Liam. How do you want me?”

  Rocking her against me again, I watch as her head rolls back and I bring my head toward her exposed neck. Running my tongue over the soft skin from her collarbone until I reach her jaw, where I once again give her a soft nip.

  “Do you feel it, darlin’?” I ask, ignoring her repeated question.

  Her head tips forward and she nods.

  “No, baby. Do you feel it?”

  She takes a few stuttered breaths and as I wait, I run my hands from her hips, up the tight material of her black tee and when my hand passes right under her pits, my thumbs roll over her erect nipples before I continue my path, until my hands curl around her neck and I pull her head forward until she has no choice but to look at me and only me.

  “I want you, darlin’, to feel. That feeling your body gets when it’s sparking at every nerve. When your skin feels tight and your stomach drops. When you don’t know if your heart is beating in your chest or coming through your throat. I want you to feel that wind in your hair, pulse racing, wild, free as a bird, stomach-dropping rush. I want you to feel,” I pause, bringing my lips to hers in a soft, eyes-open, kiss, “everything. ” I finish and close the distance again.

  Her mouth opens instantly and when I push my tongue inside and meet hers, the kiss goes from wild to electric. Her hands slide into my hair and she grabs hold and pulls me as close as I can get while her hips move without reservation. A kiss that is dangerously close to having me rip her clothes from her body and taking what I’ve been craving.

  I pull back when I feel my balls start to pull tight, ripping my mouth from hers as we both pant rapidly.

  “Fuck me,” I groan, tilting my head back and fight back the orgasm that almost had me coming just from dry humping.

  “I want that,” she whispers.

  “Words, Megan. You want what?”

  “Everything. ”

  “Well, thank fuck. ”

  “THIS WAY, DARLIN’,” LIAM TELLS me as he walks us from his truck and into the darkness.

  I know we’re in the middle of nowhere. As his truck pushed through the dirt path and into the clearing you could just tell there wasn’t anyone around for miles. When his headlights shut off and you could see millions of stars light up the sky like little gas filled flashlights, it was confirmed. No way you would see something that beautiful, a sky so clear, there wasn’t one single spot you couldn’t see for miles, if there was even a town close. I would guess, seeing as we didn’t pass a single house for at least five miles, that there isn’t much of anything out here.

  “Uh, Liam?”

  He stops and I almost slam into his back.

  Turning, his hand comes up to hold my cheek against his palm and I search through the shadows around his face to find his eyes.

  “Trust me?”

  “Yes,” I tell him instantly.

  His fingers spasm against my skin.

  “Finally. ”

  That one word warms my belly and I roll onto my toes and touch my lips to his.

  “I wasn’t ready yet, before I mean. ”

  I don’t know where all this newfound strength is coming from. If I had to guess, it’s all because of the man standing in front of me.

  “Yeah, darlin’, I know you weren’t. You took my hand. That told me everything I needed to know, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t good to hear you tell me. ”

  “I’m sorry. ”

  Time for me to take that step. The last one I need to climb from my old life and on to the new path full of hope and promise.

  Letting the darkness be my shield, one I know I don’t need against Liam, but one I’m going to hold on to as a safety blanket regardless, I take a deep breath and knock some more of that damn wall down.

  “The way you make me feel, it scares me. It’s a good feeling. A different kind of fear. More of an unknown. Never, not once in my twenty-three years have I ever felt a connection as strong as I do when I’m with you. ”

  He drops the hand he had been holding onto and moves to wrap both of his arms around me. His chin rests against the top of my head and he doesn’t speak until my arms circle his waist.

  “The last thing I want to do is scare you, Megan. That’s the last feeling I want you to have when I’m here. What scares you?”

  “That’s a long story, Liam. ”

  “Lucky for you I’ve got all the time in the world when it comes to you. ”

  I tighten my grasp on him and soak up the way his embrace fills me whole.

  “Every time you’re around me I just know I’m that much closer to falling way too quick. It’s something that I know if I let happen, I’ll tip over the edge in a free fall that I wouldn’t be able to pick myself up from if I lost it. ”

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  His arms go tight, his body solid, and I take a second before continuing.

  “You, everything that is you and the promise of you, is something I’m terrified to take because you hold the power to crush me. You hold all of the power here. ”

  I feel his head move as he shakes it lightly.

  “Yeah, you do. And it isn’t just me, Liam. You wouldn’t just be crushing me, but Molly too. I let you in and it isn’t just me I’m giving you. I’m giving you a little girl who I’ve known for a while now, but only just come to terms with, is so desperate to give her heart to someone to hold. ”

  “Darlin’, you give me that and there is no way I would throw the world away when I hold everything I want in my hands. ”

  “You say that now, but—”

  He pulls back and I silence immediately.

  “I say that now because I have no doubts. Megan, I’m not just some stranger you just met. You know me. I’ve gotten to know you as much as I can. You opened yourself up to me for one night and I knew with no fucking doubts that I would fight until I was blue in the face for this chance. I’ve watched as you’ve come alive, baby. You had me hooked before I even said one word and everything I’ve discovered about you over the last year and a half just dug that hook deeper. These few weeks, seeing you grow and heal took that hook and dug it so deep it hit bone. That was all you. All I did was give you a little push. ”

  He pauses, but I know he isn’t done when his finger comes up and silences my words before they can leave my lips.

  “You spend one second with Molly and you’re in love. Doesn’t matter if you’re a stranger on the street or a man with his own desperate need to give his heart to someone to hold. Wouldn’t be a hardship to take what she so willingly gives, darlin’. I want that. I want this. I want you both. Please tell me you can see that. ”

  “I see it,” I utter as my vision clouds with tears.

  “You see what,” he implores his tone just a hint away from begging.

  “Everything,” I choke out.

  He doesn’t say another word. His body relaxes instantly against mine and before I can blink, I’m pulled flush against him and his mouth is against mine. I gasp, breathing him in as he uses my shock to deepen the kiss further until I’m not sure where I end and he begins.

  Our hands roam over each other’s bodies in a frantic pace. I slip my hands under his shirt and moan when I feel his warm, soft skin against my fingers. It’s an odd mix of silk and steel as I move my hand over the ripped muscles of his back and sides. My fingers dig in and try to find purchase when he bends slightly and with his hands flexing against my bottom, he pulls me up and my legs leave the ground to wrap around his hips.

  “I had plans, Megan,” he moans against my lips. “Have a list of things I need to check off, but right now that has to wait. ”

  “Wait for what,” I breathe, kissing a path from behind his ear and down his neck.

  “For me to make you mine. ”

  He starts walking, back the way that we just walked. I continue to let my lips learn his skin as he moves to open his truck. When he drops me lightly into the passenger seat, I whine from the loss of his body. Bending forward, his lips find mine again and when he pulls back, the dome light above our heads illuminates his face.

  “Last chance,” he tells me with a wicked grin. “And this time I mean last one, darlin’. We take this step and make no doubt about it, you will be mine. You give me this and I fucking promise you that I will never make you regret taking that step. You ready to jump from that chapter you’ve been skimming through and skip into mine?”

  I give him a smile, one that is full of confidence and not the least bit unsure as the words that he had told me weeks before come back between us.

  “I’m ready. ”

  “Fuck,” he groans. “Buckle up, baby. ”

  My smile doesn’t slip for a second. Not when I pull my belt across my chest. Not when he slams the door and races to his own. It grows wider when he slams the truck in drive and fishtails back onto the path that will take us back toward town. It isn’t until his big hand reaches out and takes my leg in his strong hold that my smile slips slightly, but it only slips because my head falls back and I whimper and try to rub my legs together to ease the ache between them. I lose the smile completely when my mouth drops open and that whimper turns into a loud whine as his long fingers dance up my legs until he slips beneath the hem on my shorts and pushes my panties to the side, pressing against my clit in sure movements that have me panting in seconds.

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  “Fucking drenched,” he grounds out through his tightly clamped teeth.

  I roll my head against the headrest and look across the cab at his face. His finger dips from my swollen clit and as he drops his hand lower, his wrist twists slightly so that when he gets there his finger slides deep inside me.

  My legs spread instantly when his thick finger fills me and I hear his rumbled groan fill the space around us as he slides his finger as deep as his position allows before pulling it back, then repeating his movements until I can feel myself soaking his hand. If he keeps this up, I won’t last. He adds a second finger and my hand digs into the door and I reach out, wrapping my other around his forearm and choke on shattered breaths when he thrusts his fingers so deep, I feel like I’ve been electrocuted as he hits that spot that has me panting, whimpering and begging incoherently.

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