A Perfect Love

by Becca Lee

  After taking a moment for my words to register, a face-splitting grin appeared on his lips. He sat up and reached for the unopened packages, ready to get started and show me exactly how sorry he was.

  Liam made good on his word and made me scream. I’d always been a tad noisy when orgasming, but with both toys at work simultaneously, my throat was hoarse. It would have been especially perfect if followed up by sex, but I was practically glowing with what I’d received, particularly because I’d pretty much laid on my back, spread my legs and let Liam do all the work.

  However, when he pulled out the nipple clamps, I threatened to blacken his eye and attach them to his nuts. My threat, which was very real, had an immediate effect. He turned a funny shade of white and proceeded to hide them away. My breasts were growing rapidly and my nipples were becoming painfully sensitive, which had its pitfalls as well as its bonuses. But squeezing too much was definitely a no-no.

  After multiple orgasms, which tasted so much sweeter with a lighter heart, we’d talked some more before drifting to sleep. Surprisingly, I slept soundly, without a single need to pee. Even though my eyes were still a little puffy, and Liam suggested I take the day off, I was keen to get back to our version of normal. While we were still awaiting news of David, I refused to allow myself to be consumed with overthinking his intentions or disappearance. Before Liam and I slept, when we had talked, I told him I was worried. He then told me Mace had someone looking out for me. Despite being fiercely independent, the news reassured me, settling my anxiety. I also wanted to call the station myself to talk to an officer to find out exactly what was going on.

  Dumping our dirty breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, we headed out to our car and made our way to the office. Liam’s meeting was at nine, while I had some final designs to put together for another client. As soon as I was settled at my desk, I opened my emails, wanting to get on top of my admin before I got cracking.

  Working through the mass of emails, some from accounts, some from potential clients, I half-wished I’d played ignorant and waited for Donna, our PA. She only worked on Wednesdays and Fridays and was crazy efficient. I knew it would only take her half the time it took me to sift through and respond to the emails waiting for answers. Opening one from Marcus O’Brien, a deep frown formed between my brows as I scanned it.

  McKenny.

  That butt-monkey.

  Once again, the living turd was interfering with one of our contracts. Fortunately, he couldn’t have done his homework properly. If he had, he would have known Marcus was a close friend of my parents and wouldn’t be seduced by whatever it was McKenny was offering.

  For some reason, still beyond our knowledge, McKenny had taken a personal vendetta against our business. We were still miffed as to what his problem was. Liam had even challenged him about it, but to no avail. While he was a rival business, he was pretty big-time, unlike us. He also targeted different clients, had different specialisms in the industry. Regardless, he was on a mission to drive us out by poaching our clients. We had no idea how he even knew who our clients were; everything was confidential. Nevertheless, he was pissing me the crap off.

  Returning an email to Marcus, offering my thanks, I held back from telling Liam until after his meeting. The last thing I needed was for him to be distracted. After the emotional drain of last night, with my emotions still high, a simple email regarding this tosser pushed me over the edge.

  Unable to concentrate on my work, since I was all forms of pissed the hell off, I looked up McKenny’s number and dialled before I could overthink how annoyed Liam would be with me. I asked the receptionist to put me through to McKenny, giving my name.

  McKenny’s smarmy voice travelled down the line. “Mrs Mason, what a pleasure. This is a surprise call.”

  “Enough with the pretence, Marshall. Marcus O’Brien.” I left it at that. Never one to mince words, my pregnancy hormones seemed to ramp up my desire to cut through the BS.

  A light chuckle drifted to my ears. “Marcus O’Brien?” He lifted the name into a question. “Am I supposed to know who he is?”

  I bit back my desire to call him out and tell him to F off. Instead, I hardened my voice and continued. “Unless you’re willing to share with me what the hell your problem is, McKenny, I’m more than happy for this to be the last conversation we ever have. Truly.” I paused. The line remained silent. “No?”

  Still silence.

  “In that case, it needs to stop. Now. No more cloak and dagger, no more making contact with our clients, and no more trying to screw us over.”

  “Now, now, Jo. I’m not quite sure where you’re getting your informa—”

  I cut him off. “It stops. I’m not interested in anything you have to say. Just seriously, back off.” I heard Liam exit the conference room. I needed to wrap this conversation up. “Is that clear?”

  “Crystal.”

  “Fabulous. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk with me.” My heart was pounding quickly in my chest, banging so loudly I heard its beat. “Have a great rest of your day.” I hung up, averting my gaze to Liam, who was pulling out a file and heading back into the meeting room. He used his back to push open the door, sending me a cute wink as he did so.

  Immediately, I relaxed. It was amazing how a simple gesture could put me at ease. My breathing steadied, my adrenaline no longer spiking. Looking at my sexy husband, I knew the call had been worth it. I’d do pretty much anything to secure Liam’s happiness, with the exception of nipple clamps, of course.

  It didn’t take me much longer after the phone call to finish my admin tasks, and then I worked on some last-minute additions on a design for a client. By the time Liam emerged from the meeting room and said good-bye to his appointment, it was lunchtime and I was famished.

  His hands clamped on my shoulders, he massaged gently, forcing a groan between my lips. Dropping my head forward, I enjoyed his firm fingers on my taut muscles.

  “How’s your morning been?” he asked.

  “Mmm…” Words were a struggle when he was loosening up my shoulders so darn well.

  Chuckling, he paused his ministrations. “Come on. Let’s head out to lunch.”

  The grumble forming on my lips from his still fingers stopped at the mention of food. “Sounds like a plan.” I hesitated a moment, wondering whether to tell Liam now or later about the email. Reluctantly, I stayed put a moment, opened the email and indicated toward the screen with my head. “You best read this first.”

  Hands still on my shoulders, he leaned down and forward a little. “The little bloody shit.”

  “I know.”

  “This is getting out of hand. I’ve a good mind to—”

  “Erm, I may have just called him and spoken to him.”

  Liam stepped back and swivelled me around on my chair. “What happened?”

  I recounted our conversation and his lips twitched slightly. “You know you shouldn’t have called him, right? He’ll only get on our case for harassment or something equally obnoxious.”

  “He can bloody well try.”

  Liam smiled at me, affection shining in his eyes. “I love you, woman.”

  Standing, Liam held my hand.

  “I might talk to Mace about this one. It’s his business, too. Plus, Mace has the contacts to dig around a little.” He pulled his mobile out of his pocket and flicked a quick text off.

  It was a great idea, and I mentally berated myself for not thinking of it myself. “Are you texting him now?”

  “Yep. No time like the present.”

  Smiling at Liam’s swiftness—he was all about immediate action—all thoughts of McKenny were pushed to the back of my mind as we headed for the short walk into town, only pausing to lock up.

  A warm breeze surrounded us as we made our way down the street, bringing with it the salty sea air. Autumn was my favourite season in Queensland. After yet another crazy-hot summer, the welcome drop in degrees made the daylight that much sweeter. Rather than chasing me in
to an air-conditioned building, it was instead bliss when the sun touched my shoulders.

  “Can we sit outside to eat?”

  “Sure thing,” Liam replied, squeezing my hand lightly. “What do you fancy?”

  “Let’s just head to the bakery. That way I can grab a sandwich as well as a slab of cake.” I hesitated. “Or maybe a pastry?”

  Laughing, I turned to look at him, loving the warmth of his smile. “How about both?” He glanced my way and winked.

  “Sounds like a plan.” My stomach did a little happy dance. Pastry and chocolate, and cake, and ice cream—okay, anything high in calories and delicious—were my vices of late. And the thought of having double intake of yummy goodness was all it took to have me bouncing with excitement. Oh, how my life has changed. I marvelled at the thought.

  Finishing off the cinnamon swirl, I licked my fingers. Darting out my tongue, Liam’s voice made me freeze. “Stop.” Tongue half out, I raised a brow in question. “Let me.” He grinned.

  My heartrate jumped a notch as his lips found mine, and he proceeded to kiss and lightly trace my lips with his tongue. By the end, I grinned like a fool and was horny. Contemplating the man before me, a surge of warmth flooded me, reaching my heart and making it swell. I loved him so bloody much.

  His hotness was a help, since he was drop-dead gorgeous, but with all we had been and continued to go through, he was my constant strength. That strength alone was enough to flip the heat levels to inferno between us, my love for him the catalyst beneath every single emotion I held.

  “Do you want to make out?” A grin stretched across my face. I was deadly serious. I also knew that a make-out session at the picnic table was not the ideal place. I was desperate to mount and ride him, but I would imagine the locals would have a few choice words to say about that.

  Tilting his mouth with a smile, he clasped my hands and stood, tugging me up. “You don’t need to ask me twice, baby. I’m always ready for you.”

  He spoke the truth. Just a slight hint of the possibility of sex, and he was hard. Horny teenager didn’t even cover it. It had always been the same. His readiness for me did wonders not only for my own libido, but for my ego, too. Being desired by the man you loved—bumps, lumps, snoring and all—was pretty bloody awesome.

  Hand in hand, we went back to our office space. Once inside, Liam locked the door behind him and his lips made contact with mine. With our lips gliding against the other’s, heat unfurled in my tummy and pushed to my sex. It was only the previous night when Liam managed to make me scream more than once. Apparently, his hot gift had reawakened my own desires, which had lain dormant for the last few weeks.

  Breaking away, I unbuttoned his shirt, my hands roaming over his cut muscles and ink. Fingers wrapped around two of his belt loops, I tugged him toward the meeting room which held a leather sofa. When we were in front of it, I kissed his chest, hoping my lips seared heat across his skin like I knew his did to mine, while all the time I worked at unbuttoning his jeans. As soon as I was able, I shrugged down his jeans and instructed him to sit. My stomach, while growing nicely, was not too huge to ensure I could sit on his lap facing him. It also meant my sensitive breasts could see some action. They ached for his touch and his mouth.

  Shucking his jeans off completely, he stood in his naked glory, his penis bobbing in hello. I stroked his length gently before he sat and I proceeded to strip. I wasn’t offering a strip show. For one, my agility was long damn gone, and for another, I just wanted to get my bloody clothes off, as I had an itch, which needed to be scratched. Being sexy, which on the rare occasion I brought into the bedroom, was not a priority. I went for heat and passion any day rather than looking like an idiot feigning sexy.

  With eagerness, Liam helped me onto his lap. In an impressive level of swiftness, I managed to hook my legs around his thighs and impale myself over his hard length. A content sigh escaped our lips in sync and we both grinned at each other, passion and love reflected in our eyes. Rising and lowering my hips steadily, it didn’t take long before I was whimpering on the precipice of exploding and falling over the edge with a scream caught in my throat.

  Ignoring the office phone and both our mobiles, Liam grunted in release a short moment after my own. I was thankful he was able to hold off. Liam had moments, like most men I was sure, of coming before I reached my own orgasm. In such cases, he always apologised around a cheeky smirk, blaming my hotness as his inability to hold back. But that time, my va-jay-jay was content and pulsating happily around him.

  Kissing him once more before I detangled myself and went searching for tissues, Liam’s phone rang once more. I sighed. “Okay, no more ignoring the phone I suppose.” With strong hands, Liam assisted me off his lap. He then reached to his jeans and pulled out his phone.

  “Mace?” he answered.

  I swiped some tissues off the side unit in the room, wiped myself down and dressed. Heading to the bathroom, I disposed of the tissue before making my way back to Liam.

  Liam was dressed and standing feet apart, one arm folded against his chest, the other raised with his phone to his ear. I watched him closely.

  “You’re kidding?” His eyes flicked to mine. “Damn, so what shall we do?”

  I walked toward him and stood by Liam’s side. His hand reached out to me and settled on my back, where he rubbed small circles. His movement was soft and reassuring, immediately putting me on alert. It was clear he was needing the comfort himself. I expected him to explode in expletives at any moment unless he absorbed the comfort he needed. With that in mind, I leaned against him, snuggling against his chest. One of my arms pressed against his back, my fingers latching on to his shirt.

  “Okay,” he continued. He nodded, despite being on the phone. “Yeah. We’ll actually head home.” There were a few beats as he listened intently to Mace. “Sure thing… Okay, that makes sense… Will do. I’ll talk to you in a few.”

  Switching off the phone, I waited for him to speak. Immediately, thoughts of David popped into my head. Maybe the police had found him. Heart racing at the thought, I tilted my head to look at Liam. Glancing down at me, a small smile lifted his lips. His warmth was genuine; the smile was not.

  “Come on. We’re out of here.”

  I stilled, my body grounding itself in defiance. While Liam thought he could play Captain Caveman with me, this was not one of those times. I’d be threatening him with those damn nipple clamps again if I had to. It was rare I made an idle threat; he knew this.

  He sighed, no doubt feeling my body turn tense. “I promise, as soon as we’re in the car, I’ll tell you what Mace said. Okay?”

  I harrumphed. “Fine. But no edited version, okay?

  He kissed me lightly on the lips and nodded in agreement. “Fine. Get what you need.”

  “What do you mean? You drove.”

  “I mean any work you may need to do over the next couple of days. Anything you can’t access online.”

  Squinting my eyes at him, he returned his own unwavering stare.

  “Fine, but as soon as we’re in the bloody car, you talk. Got it?”

  “Got it.” He smiled.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Liam

  McKenny. My ego had stood in my goddamn way. I’d pretty much ignored him and had not seen him for the threat he was. My arrogance at how good Jo and I were meant he’d remained under my radar. While a competitor of sorts, I admittedly hadn’t really seen him as that. He was well established, and catered to a different clientele than us. Jo and I never had any grand schemes to poach his clients, and had actually refused to work with a couple because of their previous work with him. This wasn’t due to some sort of honour code either, admittedly. Simply, what the client was after wasn’t what we could provide. As such, this thing to do with McKenny, while it left me somewhat dumbfounded since we simply didn’t understand his animosity, didn’t truly concern me.

  That was until I reached out to Mace.

  Once Jo was strapped in the car a
nd we headed home, I felt her gaze on mine. Eyes on the road, I began to explain what Mace had shared. “Mace immediately knew who McKenny was.”

  “What? This is to do with him?” I heard the confusion behind her words.

  “Yep. Mace was pissed I’d never mentioned anything before about him. Apparently, he’s into some dodgy shit.”

  “What dodgy shit?” Jo interrupted, always impatient.

  “Meth, apparently.”

  “You’re shitting me? Seriously, McKenny Butt-Monkey is a meth-head?”

  I shook my head. “No. A dealer, or supplier, or something. I’m still not sure.” The whole thing was beyond bizarre. I didn’t know the full story yet, but Mace’s concern was enough for me to be worried and take him seriously.

  “Frick me!” She took a breath, indicating she was about to say more. “So what’s with his business? Is it a front, or whatever they call it? Why hasn’t he been arrested? I don’t understand why any of this matters to us. Surely, Mace can call it in or something. He still has friends in the force, right?”

  Her questions were valid. The thing was I had no answers. I didn’t have a goddamn clue what any of this meant or what it had to do with us. On a shrug, I spoke, “No idea what any of it means yet, baby. Mace is doing some digging. He’ll call as soon as he knows anything. In the meantime, he wants us to stick close together and work from home.” The thought alone left dread in my gut. The fact Mace would give such an order, and that was definitely what it was, sent warning bells ringing. I knew without taking my eyes off the road Jo would come to the same conclusion.

  It was funny. I half-expected my spitfire to come back in fits of rage and threats, but she’d changed in more ways than one with her pregnancy, as had I. Instead, she remained stoically quiet and still. I risked a glance to look at her face before allowing my gaze to drift back to the road. She was worrying her lip, something I rarely witnessed. Jo was a badass in her own right. I hated she was worried, but there was nothing I could offer in way of reassurance until I spoke to Mace.