“What were you saying?” he asked her, giving her a swift smack on the bottom. She yelped in response, her hands gripping his sides.
Heidi was silent as he strode with her into the living room. Running a finger between her legs, he found her wet. He could already smell the desire raging in her and her long moan proved him right. Her sweet smell filled his nostrils.
He wasn’t going to make it to the bedroom.
Getting as far as the couch, he dumped her unceremoniously on the cushions. She landed on her back and immediately sat up in front of him on her knees. He stood there as she grabbed the waist of his sweatpants, jerking them down his thighs and freeing his cock. It sprang forward and she gripped him in her warm hands.
“What are you…” he started, but as soon as her hot mouth closed around him, all thoughts vanished.
She took him deep into her mouth before pulling back, her delicious tongue swirling around the head. Her tongue danced over him. He groaned a mixture of pleasure and frustration. He closed his eyes, trying to hold back. If she continued for much longer he was going to lose control. It felt so good it took him a minute to realize he had his hands tangled in her hair. He released her and stepped back, his cock popping out of her mouth.
Heidi frowned, disappointment on her face. He didn’t let her sulk for long. Pulling her up by her waist, he spun her around so her ass was in the air. She propped herself on her hands on the back of the couch, still on her knees. He pushed her thighs apart with his knee and came down behind her, his legs in between hers. Gripping her hair, he gave a gentle tug and she leaned back against his chest.
“Take the shirt off or I’ll tear it off,” his voice rumbled. Smoke slipped from his nostrils and he took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.
She did as he instructed, slipping the shirt over her head and tossing it on the couch next to her. He started at her shoulders, his palms stroking over her smooth skin down her arms. Reaching around, he held her breasts, weighing them in his hands. They fit in his palms perfectly. Like they were made just for him.
When he gently pulled her nipples she sucked in a shaky breath. They hardened under his fingertips.
“You like it when I touch you like this?” he asked her, rolling them between his fingers.
Her voice was barely audible. “Yes.”
He wanted to know what made her wet. What made her beg. “I want to know what else you like.”
She didn’t say anything. From the small moans that escaped her, he doubted she could think of much of anything. Releasing her breasts, he ran his hands down her sides. Her arms came up behind her to encircle his neck. When she looked back at him, her eyes heavy, he leaned down and kissed her.
Her mouth was sweet, her kiss urgent. Their tongues met in a tangle that reminded him of the way she had sucked on his cock. He wrapped his arm around her hips, his other hand moving up her spine.
When she moaned against his mouth he broke the kiss and pushed her shoulders against the back of the couch. With her ass in the air in front of him, he spread her open. He dipped a finger into her pussy before finding her clit. She pushed against his hand as he tapped on the small bud.
Liquid heat pooled in his palm as he touched her. Small cries escaped her mouth, her knuckles white as she gripped the couch. He spread her moisture around. He didn’t want to hurt her again and he already knew there was no way he was going to be able to be gentle. And he wasn’t.
Liam drove his cock in her in one hard thrust. Her pussy stretched to fit him and she cried out. He groaned his response, savoring the feel of her heat wrapped around him like a fist. His fingers digging into her hips. He pulled out and sunk in her again. His cock hit the back wall of her pussy and her body trembled around him.
They had told him humans were off-limits. They had told him to leave them alone. Don’t associate. Keep a distance. But as he drove into her again and again, he knew it was all bullshit. Maybe it was knowing that what he was doing was considered wrong. Maybe it was the threat of it all that made fucking her so good. He didn’t care about the consequences. Fuck them.
He climbed to his feet, taking her with him. She held onto the back of the couch as he lifted her off her knees. Her body held partially in the air, he fucked her. Her cries filled the room, echoing off the stone walls.
Sweat trickled down his spine. Smoke escaped his nose as he groaned in ecstasy. The fire raged in him, ready to explode. He pounded into her, every ounce of control he had vanishing by the second.
When she screamed and her pussy clamped down on him like a vice, he lost it. Pulling from her, he tore himself loose from her body and jerked the shirt from the cushion. His own orgasm rippling through him, he released her hip and let her fall to her knees on the couch. He didn’t let it touch her, too scared of burning her again.
“Are you okay?” he asked when he realized she had been silent for a minute.
“Mmm.” She turned her head to look at him over her shoulder, a smile on her face. She was still on her knees on the couch although her legs were trembling. “I want to do that again.”
9
Her body was sore. From her lips to her toes, she ached. She was exhausted and sweaty still, but she didn’t care.
After another round of sweaty sex that had taken them from the couch to the bed, she had fallen asleep again. By the time she woke up, the bedside clock said it was after five. The fire was burning bright in the fireplace and when she sat up in bed, she saw him sitting in front of the fire. He held a notebook and pencil in his hand, his brows scrunched in concentration.
As soon as he saw she was awake, he closed the notebook and got to his feet, announcing his plans to go into New Freedom for food and clothes. She had argued with him, telling him that she wanted to go with him to see Maggie, but he refused.
She supposed he had good reasons for not letting her join him, like the possibility of running into the fae and the fact that she had absolutely nothing to wear except for what he had in his dresser. He insisted she write down the sizes she wore and what she wanted him to pick up for her. She made the list while he showered and dressed, trying not to make the list too long or too expensive.
When he was ready to go, he kissed her forehead and left her sitting in the bed with a warning not to leave the safety of the cave. She reluctantly agreed and told him to hurry. He hadn’t been gone fifteen minutes before she missed him. Even with the fires going, his departure left her feeling cold.
After lying in the bed for the better part of an hour, she got up and went to his dresser. She tried on a pair of his sweatpants, but they immediately fell to her ankles. Giving up, she folded them and put them back in the drawer. She pulled out another one of the shirts—this time a long sleeved flannel that she halfway buttoned in the front. The shirt warmed her a little, but nothing like he did when he was close to her.
She pulled on a pair of his socks and made her way to the kitchen. Suddenly starving, she made herself a full meal consisting of two chicken breasts sautéed in oil, white rice and green beans. She ate in silence, missing him more and more by the minute. When she was done, she washed the dishes and put them away. Suddenly at a loss as to what to do next, she went into the living room and began looking through the bookshelf that sat a few feet from the fireplace.
Heidi paged through one of the books about mastering the art of charcoal, curious as to why he would have a book like that. In fact most of the books he had were related to art in one way or another, whether it was an artist’s biography or a book of paintings. He had surprisingly few novels, and the ones he did have were classics which she had already read.
Giving up, she went into the bedroom and made the bed. She could understand how Liam could spend his days here. It was a quiet kind of life, one that she could respect. She guessed he wasn’t much different from her in that manner. Her life was quiet and if she had wireless internet, she suspected she could stay here indefinitely as well.
Shaking her head, she tried to
rid her mind of thoughts of staying. She had obligations waiting for her at home and as soon as all this blew over, that’s where she’d be headed. Liam would stay in his cave and she’d be back to taking care of her grandfather and feeding him his supper while they watched Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune.
That was her life. It was the life she was used to and, thanks to her grandfather, was one she didn’t mind getting up in the morning for. As much as he needed her, she needed him. After her father had killed himself, when she was just out of diapers, her grandfather had stepped in and taken his place. He had raised her, made sure she did her homework, and had built her and her brother a tire swing. He was a father to her.
Everything in her life seemed to fall apart when he got sick. Her mother’s addiction to buying things she didn’t need seemed to overwhelm everyone in the house to the point where her brother moved out. Years of accumulated purchases filled the halls and rooms. Somehow Heidi had managed to keep it out of her and her grandfather’s rooms, but she knew it was only a matter of time before her space was no longer her own but rather a storage room for more of her mom’s stuff.
She hated leaving him, but she knew if she didn’t get out of the house soon she would end up burning it down. The clutter drove her nuts and the constant arguing with her mother kept her on edge. She missed her grandfather horribly now and even missed her mother. Part of her didn’t want to leave Liam—he had saved her life and was sexy as hell—but the other part of her wanted to see her family.
Eventually she’d have to leave and she didn’t know if she’d ever see him again after she did. He was so different from any man she’d ever met and he did have the whole Irish dragon thing going for him. He’d probably meet someone else and forget all about her; but she’d never forget about him. Even if she tried, how could she ever forget the Irish dragon who saved her life? And gave her amazing sex on top of that? She was sure he’d be the subject of her fantasies for many years to come, although her vibrator was no comparison to what he could do.
Now if only he would hurry up and come back. She may be sore, but she still wanted him. It was like he was a drug and she was addicted. She couldn’t get enough of him and didn’t want to get enough. No one had ever had this much of a hold on her before and it scared her. Perhaps what she felt for him was somehow related to him saving her, but she didn’t think it was entirely that. Of course she was grateful to him, would always be grateful, but at the same time what she felt was more than gratitude.
She wasn’t in a hurry to put a label on it but for the moment she decided to call it lust. Because that certainly was the truth. She lusted after him. The feel of his brute strength beneath her hands combined with his gentle—and not so gentle—touches. She loved the way he pulled her hair and the way he fucked her until she was screaming.
Heidi shook her head and finished fluffing the last pillow. If she thought any more about what they had done several hours before she’d end up crawling in the bed she just made so she could touch herself. It was pure craziness on her part.
When she glanced at the clock she saw he had been gone for a little over two hours. While she hadn’t expected it to be a fast trip, she had hoped he would be back by now. Leaving the bedroom, she walked back through the living room on her way to the kitchen to get a glass of water, her fingertips trailing against the stone wall.
It was cool and dry under her hands and surprisingly smooth. It felt nice on her hands and she couldn’t help but wonder if he had dug this place out of the mountain face himself or if it was part of a cave that was there naturally.
She wasn’t paying attention when she ran her hand over the tapestry that was hanging on the wall. All of a sudden she went from touching hard rock face to a void behind the fabric. Curious, she lifted the fabric to see a dark narrow passageway.
Getting a candle from the mantle in the living room, she lit it in the fireplace. Lifting the tapestry out of her way, she held the candle in front of her as she went down the short hallway. It was only a few feet before she found herself in the hidden room. Looking around, she saw another small fireplace that was unlit, although there were logs inside ready for a fire.
The room itself wasn’t very big. A small desk sat against the far wall, but what truly captured her attention was the large easel next to the fireplace. A painting was sitting on it and as she approached it, she was able to make out the details. It was a painting of the mountain they were on if she was correct. Squinting her eyes, she thought she was able to see the ravine she had fallen off of. It was a bird’s eye view and she couldn’t help but wonder if it really was a dragon’s eye view.
The painting itself was beautiful. The leaves of the trees were the amber and crimson of autumn in Maine. Glancing down at the bottom of the painting, she saw his signature which was the single black outline of a flame. Liam had painted this and it was incredible.
Heidi knew she probably shouldn’t be looking through his things, especially since he kept them and the room hidden despite the fact that he probably didn’t get many visitors. She couldn’t help herself. She needed to see more of what he’d made, partially because the one painting she saw was so beautiful but also because she wanted to know more about him.
Other paintings were leaning against the wall and she looked through them all. Most of them were landscapes, some were night scenes which were just as breathtaking as the painting that was sitting on the easel. She didn’t have to go outside when she looked at them. They were so detailed they almost looked like photographs. One painting he did of the moon, full and beautiful with a ring around it. It reminded her of how the moon had looked only a few days before she had left for New Freedom with Maggie and she couldn’t help but wonder if he had painted it then.
Smiling to herself, she went over to the stack of notebooks he kept on the desk. The desk itself was covered in splotches of paint. Paint tubes of all kinds were in a wooden box he kept on the floor next to the desk. Paintbrushes were standing up in a glass jar next to the notebooks. Pencils and pieces of charcoal were scattered over the desk and she pushed them to the side as she began flipping through the books.
The first couple of pages in the first notebook were the same things she had seen in his paintings. Rough sketches of the same moon painting were on the very first pages. Pencil sketches of a flock of birds were on the next several pages. She was sure she could be content to just look through his artwork forever. It was as if she was seeing the world through his eyes, and she loved it.
When she turned the page again her jaw dropped. She very nearly dropped the candle she was holding and had to put it down on the desk. Holding the notebook in both hands, she held it to the candle light sure that her eyes were playing tricks on her. They weren’t. The charcoal sketch on the page was her.
A very naked her.
Liam had been gone much longer than he had anticipated. After walking to where he kept his truck hidden, he drove into town. He picked up all the items he needed from Martin’s General Store which was at the edge of town. It was where he always shopped since New Freedom didn’t boast too many options. The town itself was small and there was no hiding the curious looks he got from the shifters when he was there. He always thought it was best not to tread too deeply into their territory.
Finding everything Heidi had listed hadn’t been difficult, although it had been difficult for him to pick out clothes for her. Going by the sizes she had listed for him, he picked up a few pairs of jeans and shirts. Buying women’s underwear was a task he had never done before and one he didn’t really like. She wanted a few pairs but picking out what he thought she’d look nice in was almost impossible when he didn’t want to see her in any at all.
Giving up, he ended up just throwing a few pairs in his basket before checking out. Gerald Martin—the old shifter who owned the store—eyed him suspiciously as he rang up his purchases but to his credit, he didn’t comment or ask questions. It wasn’t every day Liam bought women’s underwear and clothing. In fac
t, it came closer to never, so he couldn’t fault the man for the strange looks he gave.
He respected the old man. Gerald Martin had owned his store for as long as Liam could remember. He was a kind man who would occasionally engage in small talk with him, but today he was quiet, minus the few pleasantries they exchanged. He couldn’t blame him for his continued suspiciousness. After all, while Liam’s presence in the town was accepted, seeing him wasn’t something most of the shifters looked forward to. Only Jonah differed in his opinion of Liam and it was because of that relationship Liam’s presence was allowed at all.
Not many people liked a dragon coming anywhere near something that was flammable. He could tell them day in and out that he wasn’t going to burn their little town to the ground but it wouldn’t make a difference. The fear of dragons was ingrained in everyone and had been for centuries. It was nothing new to Liam. It was something he expected and mostly welcomed. It meant privacy for him and the ability to avoid people, since most of them annoyed him.
After driving back, he parked his truck at the edge of shifter territory and pocketed the keys. His walk back to the cave took longer than he would have wanted thanks to the awkwardness of the bags. It was rare that he came back with more than a few bags. Today he was loaded down with them. He would have to find a closer spot to park if Heidi continued to need this much stuff. He didn’t like leaving her for as long as he had.
When he got downstairs to the cave, he didn’t see her but he heard her. Placing the bags on the couch, he stared at the tapestry hanging on the wall. He hadn’t anticipated her finding the room, but it was apparent she had. Her sharp intake of breath told him she was in there. And that she had probably found the drawings he had done of her.
Up In Flames (Netherworld Series Book 2) Page 12