“Heidi,” he started, his hand still on the wheel even though he had turned off the truck.
She let go of the door handle and turned in her seat to face him.
“Yes?”
“I want to kiss you.”
It was unlike him to ask. Perhaps he was uncomfortable since the fight they had, unsure if she would welcome him kissing her again. She found she liked the softer side of the dragon. The side that was unsure of himself. He was almost vulnerable.
“Then kiss me,” she said, already leaning toward him.
He stopped her, releasing her hand to cup her face. Holding her there for a moment, he looked at her, a flicker of emotion in his rich blue eyes.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I acted like an arse,” he said, his voice soft. “I shouldn’t have acted like I did when you found my paintings and the sketches of you. I shouldn’t have said I own you. I don’t. I see that now. I could never own you.”
“It—”
“No,” he silenced her. “Don’t tell me ‘it’s okay’. I want you to understand. No, I need you to understand that I sketched you because I love looking at you. You’re beautiful and I wanted to remember you exactly as you were right then. I wanted to be able to look back and see you again. It’s the same reason why I draw or paint anything. I want to remember it exactly.”
Her hand came up over his. “I don’t like feeling exposed.”
“I know.”
“That’s how I felt when I looked at them. I didn’t know why you would want to draw someone like me, not with what you’re capable of. Your paintings were beautiful and I am not. My ass is too big, my boobs too small, and my stom—”
His mouth closed over hers, stopping any more rambling that would’ve come out of her mouth. With gentle tugs, he pulled her bottom lip into his mouth and sucked until it was swollen. She reciprocated, lightly tracing her tongue over his full top lip until he opened his mouth.
Their tongues met in a slow, steady dance. He kissed her as if he wanted to prove to her just how beautiful he thought she was. He was gentle. His hands on her face were soft, as if he would break her if he wasn’t careful. It was nothing like he had ever done to her before. It was sweet, careful, and deliberate.
When she was craving more, wanting to take it away from the tender kiss it was, his lips left hers. She sucked in a breath, sure for a moment she had forgotten how. Her eyes opened slowly and met his. He dropped his hands from her face and sat back.
“Let’s go inside.”
She stepped out of the truck on shaky legs. They walked to the door together with Liam carrying their purchases in the plastic bags.
As soon as they walked in the front door, Randy was there. Her brother had slicked back his brown hair, the ends curling out around his ears. He was wearing khaki pants and a long sleeved black and blue striped shirt that was untucked and had seen better days.
“Where have you been?” he demanded as soon as Liam shut the front door.
“Liam, this is my brother Randy,” she said as a way of introduction. “We were at Walmart.”
“No. I don’t mean where you just were. I mean where were you when Grandpa died? You were supposed to be here taking care of him.”
Heidi groaned. She didn’t want Liam there to witness the back and forth between her and her brother. He embarrassed her. He always had.
“I went away for a few days.”
“You left him here. Jesus, Heidi. Don’t you care about anyone except yourself?”
Liam cleared his throat behind her just as Marie appeared in the doorway. “That’s enough Randy.”
Randy ignored their mother. “I know exactly where you’ve been,” he said, glaring at Liam.
“Shut up, Randy,” she snapped. There was nothing like being around her brother for a few minutes to make the child rear up in her. Growing older didn’t mean growing up, which was something Randy proved.
“Knock it off, you two,” her mother interjected before Liam could. Heidi knew the reason his face had reddened wasn’t because he was embarrassed.
Her mouth a thin line, she grabbed Liam’s arm and drug him up the stairs behind her. She wanted to get away from her brother before they ended up fighting just like they did every time he came home.
“Your brother shouldn’t talk to you like that,” he said as soon as he shut her bedroom door.
“He’s always been that way. That’s just Randy.”
“He’s an arse.”
The corner of her mouth lifted. “Why yes. Yes, he is. Why don’t you get dressed? I’m going to go talk to my mom.”
When he nodded, she left him there and went in search of her mother. She found Marie in the kitchen. Randy, thankfully, had disappeared. She talked to her mother for several minutes before Liam appeared in the doorway.
Seeing him dressed up wasn’t something she was used to, but she certainly could get used to it. He looked amazing. The burgundy shirt he wore complemented his hair, which he had tied at the nape of his neck. Lord, the man took her breath away.
She cleared her throat and went upstairs to dig a purse out of the back of her closet while her mother searched for her keys. Finding the one she was looking for, she dumped the contents on her bed. A twenty dollar bill, a tube of Chapstick, and a can of mace fell onto her covers. She stuffed everything back inside and went downstairs to meet them.
Marie, Liam, and Heidi rode in her mother’s Durango while Randy took his own car—a very loud Honda—to Marie’s brother’s house. Her aunt and uncle had planned to make lunch and have a small family gathering before the funeral which was in a few hours. The drive over was pleasant enough and when they got there, her aunt and uncle welcomed them with open arms.
Marie introduced Liam as Heidi’s boyfriend, which shocked the hell out of Heidi. She glanced at Liam to see how he reacted, but he just nodded and shook her aunt and uncle’s hands. At that point Uncle Harry latched onto Liam as if they were old war buddies.
“I recognize that accent. You’re from England, aren’t you?”
“Actually—”
A swift smack on Liam’s back and Harry was launching into tales of his time in the air force when he had been stationed at RAF Alconbury in England.
To his credit Liam listened politely, never again trying to correct him as to his nationality. As far as Uncle Harry was concerned, Liam was from England. Even when Marie tried to correct him he paid her no attention.
Heidi wasn’t embarrassed by her relatives. They meant well and it helped that Liam didn’t seem fazed by them in the slightest. Her aunt Wendy was telling her all about why she chose to have the kitchen painted a particular shade of blue when her brother marched in the house and slammed the door, screaming on his cellphone as he came into the living room.
“I don’t give a fuck. You cheated. You’re the fucking whore.”
Heidi groaned. Randy fighting with his girlfriend was just what she needed to hear about that day of all days.
“Randy!” Marie interjected, but her son ignored her.
The more relatives poured in, the more embarrassing Randy became. When he finally got off the phone with Amber, whom Heidi was just hearing about, he started in with their cousin Tony. Tony was Harry’s and Wendy’s son who had just graduated from high school. He had accepted a football scholarship to Pennsylvania State University and Randy couldn’t stop berating him for his choice of schools.
“Maine Black Bears, man. I don’t know what the fuck you were thinking leaving the state. Fucking pansy ass thing to do, man.”
Tony had enough restraint not to just knock her brother out. Heidi, on the other hand, was finding it more and more difficult as time went on. Today was the day they had to bury their grandfather. She was tired of hearing her brother’s voice.
Liam talked to her family, especially her mother and Uncle Harry. Heidi talked to her cousin Nora and Aunt Wendy until Randy came over to irritate her further. At least that was what she assumed his reason was.
Randy eyed her up and down as if he’d just noticed she had dressed up. “Why did you pick that dress?”
“You’re being a dick,” Heidi snapped under her breath. “Knock it off.”
“I’m just telling it like it is. You look like a chubby slut.”
Wendy turned and walked away, leaving Heidi there to deal with her brother, but Nora stayed by her side. “Randy, shut up. No one wants to hear your big mouth.”
“What the hell, Nora? You haven’t seen me in forever and you want to be a bitch too? What the hell did I do to deserve it?”
Nora rolled her eyes and tried to continue her conversation with Heidi. She had been telling her about the kind of car her parents were getting her for her seventeenth birthday but as soon as she mentioned the word Ford, Randy jumped down her throat.
“Why the fuck would you want a goddamned Mustang? Why wouldn’t you want a Honda? Honda CRX, man. I love mine.”
“Yours is loud as shit,” Nora snapped.
“Love it.”
“Why do you have to ruin everything?”
Heidi chose that moment to walk away from the rapidly escalating exchange between Nora and Randy lest she do something stupid like spray her can of mace in his face. She was determined it wasn’t going to be her ruining her grandfather’s funeral. Randy seemed to have that covered.
The room was too small. The noise emanating from her chatting relatives around her assaulted her ears. She went down the hallway and stopped when she reached the stairs. She sat down, relieved to be away from Randy and the stimulation of the room.
She never liked being around people. She supposed that was why she never had a problem taking care of her grandfather. It was the two of them most of the time. Her mother would be at work during the day and Randy…Randy would be Randy, but at least he had stayed out of their way.
Heidi twisted her fingers in her lap. When she realized she was picking at her fingernails, she forced herself to stop and close her eyes. She took a deep breath in preparation before she went back into the living room to find Liam and save him from her well-meaning uncle.
She didn’t have to find him. Liam found her. When she opened her eyes, he was towering over her. He watched her, those brilliant blue eyes etched with concern.
“Are you all right?” he asked her.
She wanted to nod and tell him she was fine, but she couldn’t lie. Instead, she shook her head. “I don’t want to be around my brother. I don’t want to be here at all. I just want to leave. I want all of this to go away. And above all, I want my grandfather back.”
He sighed and turned. At first she thought he was going to walk away, but then she realized he was going to sit down and so she scooted closer to the railing to give him room.
His arm pressed against hers as she stared down at her hands. It was comforting to have him so close to her. Just his presence was enough to calm down any anxiety that had started deep in her gut. She couldn’t hear her brother or any of her other relatives anymore. All she could hear was Liam’s steady breathing beside her and she took comfort in that.
“Nothing I do or say will make anything easier for you,” he said after a minute. “As much as I want to take away your hurt and your grief, I cannot. This is something you’re going to have to experience in your own way.”
“I don’t want to experience it.”
“Does anyone?” She could feel him looking at her.
“I suppose not.”
“As much as I think your brother is a royal arse, your grandfather was his grandfather as well.”
She smiled at Liam’s choice of words concerning her brother. “He makes being around him impossible.”
“Aye, he does that, but he is still your brother.”
Heidi leaned her head on his arm and closed her eyes. She loved her brother, even on the days he made it difficult to do so. He could only get under her skin if she let him, she told herself.
Liam made everything clear for her. He was her breath of fresh air when she felt herself suffocating. It wasn’t the first time, either. The memory of how he’d calmed her in the middle of the fae village entered her mind. His arms around her, sheltering her, had been so warm and the steady beating of his heart had reminded her that she wasn’t alone.
“I don’t like it when you’re upset,” he said. “I find that I have this intrinsic need to, to…”
When he faltered, she looked up at him. He was staring at his feet and a frown marred his face. “A need to do what?” she asked when she realized he wasn’t going to continue.
Blue eyes searched hers. He was going to tell her that he loved her. She felt it, felt the unspoken words that she just knew he would speak. The tension of the moment hummed in the air between them.
“Protect you.”
Disappointment washed over her. “Oh.”
“You’re a remarkable woman, Heidi.”
His statement made her smile. Grasping his hand, she stood. He stood with her and followed behind her as she climbed the stairs. She knew the house like the back of her hand. Leading him to the guest room, she closed the door behind them and turned the lock.
“What—”
She cut him off. “Kiss me, Liam.”
He silently regarded her and for a long moment she thought he wouldn’t do it. Her cheeks heated at the prospect of being denied. He’d been good to her since her grandfather’s death, but perhaps he wasn’t willing to take their relationship back to where it had been before they left his cave.
She was about to apologize to him when his hands came up to hold her face. His mouth covered hers in a kiss hungrier than any he’d ever taken from her before. A wave of heat punched her gut and suddenly she wanted him more than she had ever wanted him before. The need to have him inside of her consumed her.
Heidi grabbed him by the burgundy shirt he wore. She pulled him against her chest, her mouth meeting his in a bruising battle for control. When he bit her lip she went straight for his belt. Jerking at the leather, she was able to free it.
His hand found her breast, squeezing almost to the point of pain. She cried against his mouth as she struggled with the button of his pants. If she didn’t have him now, she would lose her mind. His hand was between her legs when she finally got his zipper down and freed him from the restraint of his pants. He was so hard in her hand.
She moaned as she stroked him. He grunted and pulled his cock out of her grasp. When he released her mouth, he fell to his knees in front of her. He pushed her dress up to her waist and he wrenched the panties from her body. There was no teasing, no toying with her. He dove in, his hot mouth closing over her clit.
A loud moan tore from her mouth when he sucked on her. His hand clamped over her mouth as soon as the sound started to escape, muffling any other noises she made. She couldn’t control it. It was all too much.
Her hands braced against the cool plaster wall behind her. It was the only thing keeping her on her feet. Her insides twisted and she found herself pushing against his mouth. Sweat beaded on her brow as she sucked in air through her nose. Her heart threatened to explode in her chest.
He probed her pussy with his tongue and she tangled her fingers in his hair. Higher and higher he took her, his fingers biting into the top of her thigh. He went at her like a starved man.
When her knees began to shake, threatening to give out beneath her, he was on his feet. He had his pants down and her hoisted against the wall before she realized it. She wrapped her legs around his waist. He replaced his hand with his mouth. She met his tongue in a heated battle, tasting herself in his hot mouth.
His cock rammed into her and she wrapped her arms around his neck. His hands dug into her ass as he held her, pounding into her. He slid inside her easily enough. Her body was ready for him, aching for him. She didn’t think she had ever needed him to fuck her as badly as she needed it right then. She couldn’t get enough of him.
When he buried his face against her shoulder, his large palm clamped over her mouth again.
There was no control left for her. She was dangerously close to being pushed over the edge. When she came, she felt the heat gush from her, dripping over her ass and the hand that held her up.
The groan that tore from his throat would’ve been louder than her own cries had it not been muffled against her shoulder. His cock shuddered deep inside her before he cruelly jerked it out, his body quaking as he came.
When he slowly lowered her to the floor she saw he still held her ripped panties. She righted her skirt and begged her legs to stop shaking as he pulled up his pants and shoved her panties in his pocket.
She placed her hand on her chest as her heart slowed and her panting eased. She closed her eyes as she tried to get herself together enough to go back downstairs. Taking a shaky breath, she opened her eyes and looked at him. He was staring at her, half a smile on his face, and his blue eyes twinkling in the soft lighting.
When they went back downstairs, there were no stares directed at them. No curious glances or knowing looks. Everyone was engaged in conversation with a few people starting to leave for the church. Liam and Heidi took that opportunity to start her mother’s car while they waited for Marie in the cool air.
Liam didn’t know what to make of it. Fucking her like that. He had come close to mating her. Coming in her, burning her from the inside, would seal the deal for them. Another second and he would’ve bound them for a lifetime. He didn’t know how he felt about that but for some reason he felt more disappointment than anything. Disappointment that he had pulled out in time.
The ride over to the church was a short one. Liam had been raised Catholic, but rarely went to church. From what he could tell, Heidi was the same way. A belief in a higher power, but no true commitment to the religious organization.
There was an open casket and he stood back as she said goodbye to her grandfather. She kissed the old man’s forehead, tears silently running down her face as she whispered things to what was left of him on earth.
When she turned, he was there. He held her hand and together they walked back to the pew to sit next to her mother and brother, who’d thankfully become quiet and solemn once they’d arrived at the church.
Up In Flames (Netherworld Series Book 2) Page 15