by LeAnn Ashers
He turns around and looks at me, and my breath catches in my throat at the sight of his eight pack. Are those even legal? He clears his throat, and I tear my eyes away from his abs. His eyebrow arches and he smirks. Busted. I look at everything in the room but him. My face burns with embarrassment.
“What do you want to drink?” I can’t help but notice the amusement in his voice.
Fuck me.
“Water is good.”
He takes out two bottles of water, puts them under his arm, and picks up both plates.
“You made me breakfast.”
He is a sweetheart. He has always been a sweetheart. He’s always gone out of his way for people, doing things that others wouldn’t think about doing. I walk ahead of him into the living room and plop down on the couch, and he sits directly beside me. He hands me a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast.
“Thank you.” I smile and dig into my food. I am a foodie. I love any and all food, and I eat a lot of it. Thank goodness I have a high metabolism, or I would be screwed.
“You have work today?”
“Yeah,” I grumble. Any other day I would be happy to leave for work, but not today because I want to spend the day with him.
“What time do you have to be in?” he asks.
“Four.”
He nods. “You mind dropping me off at the clubhouse so I can get my truck? Then I will follow you to work.”
“Okay, that works for me.” I shrug.
We arrive at the clubhouse around three o’clock, and my father is the first person to step outside. He looks at me and then at Liam, who his keeping me by his side.
“Hey, baby girl.” Dad pulls me away from Liam, who snatches the back of my pants, not allowing me to go far. Dad glares at him, and Liam stares right back. The pissing match is for real with these two, and it’s only gotten worse. Neither would admit it, but they secretly like each other.
I roll my eyes at the two of them, and I spot my stepmother, Kayla, standing at the entrance looking highly amused. I pull away from them and they reluctantly let go.
Kayla pulls me into a hug. “I can’t believe he has gotten this hot,” she whispers into my ear and I laugh. She is right, he is a man now. All man. He is not what you would call pretty; he is huge and muscular and looks like a badass. He is beautiful, in his own way.
A way that I love.
“Tell me about it,” I whisper back. She giggles and Dad turns around to eye her. “Busted.” I laugh. She ducks into the warehouse, pulling me with her.
I spot my little brother playing with the other little kids, and he looks up and sees me. My heart lightens at the sight of his beautiful smile. He is now ten years old, and it’s so hard to believe.
He walks over to me and hugs me.
“Hey, little bro.” I muss up his hair, and he ducks and gives me the look. The look that is my father’s, the very one that tells me I am in deep shit. This never fazed me as a kid. I knew that I had him wrapped around my little finger. I learned, from a young age, that I just had to act all sad and cute and I’d get my way. If Dad said no, I would just go to one of the other guys in the club. It was great being the only girl for so long.
Butcher walks into the room and sees me. He waves me over and I hug his middle. Then I hug Techy and Kyle. I haven’t seen them in a couple of weeks; work has been getting the best of me.
“How is work?” Kyle asks, leaning against the table.
I grin. “I love it, but it’s tiring. Seems to be a lot of gunshot wounds here lately.” I look at them pointedly.
They tense and look at each other. I guess they had something to do with that. The door opens and in walks Liam. He spots me and walks over, and he shakes hands with Butcher, Techy, and Kyle.
“Good to have you home, Liam,” Kyle tells him.
Liam looks at me and then back at them. “Good to be fucking home.”
I hide my smile and look at Kayla, who is practically swooning over Liam. Dad is just glaring at him like he is the cause of all his troubles.
Liam
Her father is pissed at me, but I couldn’t give two fucks. The moment the door to the warehouse shut, with Paisley inside, he threatened me to keep me away from her.
I told him, and I fucking quote, “She is mine and you will have to kill me before I’ll leave her.” That’s why he is pissed, and I don’t blame him. I will be the same if I am lucky enough to have a daughter someday, and I honestly hope that I don’t. Too many fuckers in this world. I have firsthand knowledge of how horrible people can be.
“Bye you guys, love you.” She waves and I follow her out of the clubhouse. I can feel the eyes glaring at my back. I flip them off and they all laugh. I couldn’t give two fucks what they think. We all know that Paisley and me is something that is going to happen.
Paisley
Liam walks me to the hospital entrance. My stomach is in knots because I am not sure what I need to do or say. We are in a weird place where I don’t know what is going on. I thumb the strap of my bag, gnawing on my bottom lip. “I guess I will head on in,” I tell him, and he takes a step closer.
I hold my breath waiting to see what he will do. His face bends down, his lips settling on my forehead. “Have a good day at work, Baby.” I close my eyes, enjoying feeling him against me.
“You have a nice day too,” I tell him and he lets me go. I turn around and put my hand over my mouth, trying to seem calm and collected, when I am anything but that.
Vanessa looks at me, wide eyed. “Girl, he has it bad.” She groans. “I am so jealous!” She screeches the last part.
I laugh and put my back on my locker. She eyes me up and down. “You’ve had this man hooked since he was seventeen years old. You’re a goddess.”
I laugh again. “He has had me hooked too. The moment I laid eyes on him, I was a goner.”
She nods.
There is a knock on the door and it’s pushed open, revealing an amused Liam. I’m probably as pale as Vanessa is right now. “Want me to bring you lunch?” he asks, his eyes full of laughter.
Oh my god, did he hear what I just said? My heart feels like it just skipped a beat. “I will text you when I am going on break,” I manage to get out.
“Alright.” He winks and starts to shut the door; then he peeks in again.
I gulp.
“I am a goner for you too, Baby.”
My mouth opens and I stare at the now-closed door, then at Vanessa, who is sitting on the booth clutching her chest.
“Oh my god,” I whisper over and over while I try to wrap my head around what just happened.
Vanessa manages to laugh. “You’re so fucked,” she says gleefully.
I can’t believe he just said that. One thing I know for certain; you couldn’t take the smile off my face even if you tried.
A Few Hours Later
Today has sucked, completely and utterly. It isn’t even lunchtime yet and it sucks, because guess who broke their arm?
Tony!
The very same guy who was starting to harass me at Pat’s—until he saw Liam, that is—and to top it all? I was assigned to be his nurse.
Life is just perfect, isn’t it?
Now I have to walk in there and give him some pain medications. I let out a deep breath and plaster on a fake smile as I step into the room.
Tony sits up in bed, grinning. “Well, if I knew you was going to be my nurse, I would have broken my arm sooner.” His grin is creepy, sending chills up my back.
“I am here to give you pain meds.” I give him the shot. “You should feel better soon.” I can feel his eyes burning into me, and I just want to get out of here. This guy makes me feel totally uncomfortable just by being in my presence. I turn around, avoiding looking at him.
A hand wraps around one of my ass cheeks, pinching. I gasp and whirl around, my fist landing on his cheekbone. “Do not ever fucking touch me!” I yell into his face and he laughs. His uninjured hand grabs his dick, and his tongue shoots out, licking his bot
tom lip.
I am shaking with anger. I hate him. I walk out of the room, and I hear Vanessa call my name. I step into the locker room, trying to contain myself so I don’t walk in there and beat the shit out of him.
The door opens behind me. “Vanessa, I am fine,” I tell her without looking around, not wanting her to see my angry tears.
“Why the fuck wouldn’t you be fine?” Liam asks.
Well, of course it would be him. I count to ten and look around. Liam looks me over, and he sees my tears. He sets my food down on the chair and stalks over to me, his face like stone.
“Who bothered you?”
I shake my head. “Liam…” I start to argue, not wanting trouble. He interrupts me, his hand pressed to the back of my neck. “Who. The. Fuck. Bothered. You.”
“Tony,” I whisper.
Liam searches my face, shaking with anger, his jaw clenching and unclenching. “What did he do?”
I duck my head. I don’t want him to know.
“What the fuck did he do!” he yells and I close my eyes. I finally tell him, “He grabbed my ass.”
“He did what?” He lets me go and pushes me gently into the seat. “Eat your food, Baby,” he says gently and he walks out of the room. I stare at the door.
What is he going to do?
I open my bag to see he brought me Mexican food. I know, in moments like these, there is absolutely no way to stop him or any of the other guys from doing what they want. If I weren’t worried about getting fired, I would have drug that fucker out by his hair myself.
Not even five minutes later, Liam walks back in the room and kisses the top of my head. “Have a nice rest of the day.” He winks and then he is gone.
I guess it went well?
I hurry and finish my food, and I walk to Tony’s room. I see a doctor examining his other arm, Vanessa looks at me. “It seems that he fell getting out of bed and broke his other arm.”
I cover my mouth to stop my laughter, my stomach aching from holding it in. I duck into the bathroom, not able to restrain myself any longer.
I am finally off work. I get a text from Liam letting me know that he is at the entrance waiting on me. I look through the glass door to see him standing there.
“Well, it seems someone fell and broke their other arm,” I tease and he shrugs.
“I knew he was a clumsy fucker, with that ugly mug. It could do with some decorating.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I wave my hand. He walks me over to my car and helps me inside, looking around the parking lot.
“Anything new happen?” I ask.
He shakes his head. I shut my door and he climbs on his bike. Tomorrow is my day off, and I am ready to sleep in and relax.
I get to the house a few minutes later, and the gate slams shut behind me. Using my phone, I alarm the high-tech gate and fence Techy installed around my house.
“If Tony pulls shit like that again, I won’t be as nice,” Liam warns me, his hand pressed to my back.
“Well, if you call breaking his arm nice,” I tease and unlock my door before stepping inside.
Liam’s expression darkens. “Nobody fucks with you, Paisley. That shit won’t happen.”
He is after my heart.
“You off work tomorrow?” he asks.
“Yes.”
That slow, sexy smile takes over his face. “Tomorrow, I am taking your ass out on a date.” He goes into his room as I gape at his back.
I guess that means I have a date with Liam. This will be our first date and I am thrilled, but I’ve got to admit that this is new territory and I am bit nervous.
You would think I wouldn’t be because I have known him for so long. We have been friends or in the in-between place since we were teenagers. But that is not the case. This is different. This is the beginning of what he said all those years ago, and I quote:
“I am coming for you, Paisley.”
Oh boy.
Liam
I look at her standing in the kitchen, staring at the wall, speechless. I grin and go into my room, mission number one accomplished.
Check-fucking-mate.
4
Paisley
Breathe, I tell myself while I put the finishing touches on my makeup and hair. Liam is waiting in the living room while I am getting ready.
Liam has hung around the house mowing my lawn, binge-watching TV, and just doing whatever. I slept almost all day long; I needed to catch up on sleep.
But now, we are going on our first date, and I am nervous--beyond nervous. This is my first date ever. Liam was my first and only kiss, mind you. At twenty-six years old, I am as innocent and virginal as they get.
Which is almost pathetic if you think about it.
I unplug my straightener from the wall and put away my makeup. I take a step back, admiring myself. I am wearing white skinny jeans and black boot-leg heels. My top is black lace, and the sleeves are open to mid-shoulder.
You got this! I encourage myself and open the bathroom door, walking straight to the living room without thinking.
Liam stands when he sees me enter and his mouth opens, and I smirk. His eyes narrow on my mouth before his eyes move up and down, raking over my body.
“Fucking beautiful.”
I couldn’t stop my enormous grin even if I wanted to. “Well, thanks.” I wink, spinning around slowly so he can get the full effect. My butt looks fabulous in these pants.
“Don’t do that shit.” He grabs my hand to stop me, and I snort trying to control my laughter.
His eyes narrow on me. “Let’s go, we have reservations,” he says grumpily, and I grin at the back of his head as he pulls me along.
Liam
She knows exactly what she fucking does to me. She has an amazing ass, which she catches me staring at quite often. She spun around, letting me get a full view.
Fuck me, doesn’t she look beautiful?
It’s pure torture, plain and fucking simple. She knows what she does to me, and she likes to tease me. It’s fucking torture.
She keeps looking out the window trying to hide her smile, but I see that shit. I held out for years because we wanted to wait until I was out of the SEALs before working on a relationship. But now I am out of the SEALs, and all bets are off. And waiting is becoming more and more painful.
Being a SEAL is something you have to be determined to do, because it will forever change you. The shit I saw over there is tough. I had friends die, and some were captured. Tortured. That kind of shit will never leave you.
Over the years I learned that I will never deserve someone like Paisley, but now I don’t give a fuck. I am going to be selfish and I am going to have her anyway.
“What has you thinking so hard?”
Paisley
Liam is staring out the windshield intensely. “What has you thinking so hard?” I ask.
He tilts his head toward me, a smile tugging at his lips. “You.”
I arch an eyebrow, my stomach knotting. “Me?”
He lifts my hand to his mouth, where he presses a gentle kiss. I shiver. “Yes, you.” He smirks.
“You’re sweet.” My stomach is in knots.
I love this side of him. He is smiling sweetly at me, which is something I rarely see from him. He looks at me fully. “Only to you.”
My heart. I am not sure I can take sweet Liam right now. I hide my face, trying to hold back the smile and not look like a loon.
We pull up in front of the nicest restaurant in town. Liam opens my door and lifts me from the truck.
Liam doesn’t have a beard like most of the other guys. He is clean-shaven, but he has a rugged look that is just all man.
“I am starving,” I tell him, and my stomach growls for the tenth time since we left. I am surprised he hasn’t heard it.
He laughs. “I know.” He looks pointedly at my stomach.
My mouth opens in shock, and I smack his chest lightly, pretending to be mad. He laughs harder, tugging me into his side for a small hug, whic
h has me smiling like a loon once again. He doesn’t let me go. His arm is still wrapped around me, pressing me against his side, as we walk inside the restaurant. He gives his name and we are soon seated.
I fully expect him to sit in front of me, but he picks up his chair and sits beside me once again. I like it. It’s different from what a lot of guys do. Honestly, it makes me feel protected. I also feel like he wants me to be close to him—but most of all I feel protected.
Just being in his presence gives me a sense of security I haven’t had since I was sixteen. He just has this presence about him.
“You know this feels strange,” I confess to him.
His brow furrows in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“This is our first date,” I whisper, looking at the restaurant around us.
He kisses my temple. “Fucking adorable.” He opens his menu.
I pinch the side of his leg. “I am not adorable.”
He laughs and gives me a look telling me I am being ridiculous. “Baby, you’re beautiful and you fucking know it.”
I smile, ducking my head to look at the menu. I am someone who is pretty confident in who she is because it was ingrained in me. Dad told me to accept who I was and be comfortable with who I was.
So I am.
Liam’s hand rubs my back gently. Even though he is not saying anything, it’s his way of letting me know he is present. It’s the little things like this I notice the most. Even from across the room, he will look at me, make eye contact, and go back to his conversation. In high school he would lock eyes with me, making sure I was okay, and then he would go back to his class.
High school was, honestly, a rough time for me because everyone knew what went down with the school janitor. Many of the girls went around saying I attacked him.