“Ivy, I had no idea how to tell you darling, I didn’t mean to lie, I swear. I just didn’t want to destroy what we have.” He pleaded.
“That’s the fastest way to do it darling, by lying to me.” She responded.
“But Ivy, we’ve had such a very strange relationship. It started out as a way to prove myself to some…um, well to prove my charm could work even on the blind, and then I found I absolutely adored you. But you were so prickly about your independence. Early on I wanted to protect you so desperately I almost wanted to own you but you weren’t having any of it. You tore that idea down quickly and trampled it into dust. Then I had the accident and everything changed. You showed me how to live, with or without sight, and I didn’t want that to change. I know we’ve never said it but I love you. I’ve never said that to another woman but I do, I love you desperately and I didn’t want to jeopardize that. I couldn’t tell you.”
Ivy hadn’t said the words either, she’d never used them, too afraid of giving up her independence but she realized now that this was her chance at real love. Maybe even the one true chance she’d ever had.
“I suppose we aren’t the best pair at this are we? We’re both so afraid to commit, for our own reasons that I suppose you did think that was the only option.” She moved on the bed, gesturing for him to come and sit next to her.
“I’m not saying it was okay to lie to me, Liam, that had better be the last one you ever tell me, but I can see why you would. Especially if you love me. Do you really?” She asked, hoping this wasn’t another lie.
“Yes, I do darling. Ask anyone that knows me. The simple fact that I’m living here has everyone at the station bowled over. I’ve never really had a relationship, never a long-term commitment. Staying overnight is the longest I’ve ever lived with a woman. This is so very new to me and I’m so lost. I’ve found you, lost my sight, regained it, and I’ve been terrified I was going to lose you. It’s been so confusing for me.” Liam said and took her hand, watching her lovely green eyes move around in confusion, as if she was trying desperately to find his face to look for sincerity. His heart broke for her in that moment and he swore he’d never again lie to her. Liam never wanted to see that look on her face ever again.
“Right. But you can see again, you don’t need me anymore.” She said, giving him an out if he wanted it.
“I will always need you, Ivy. You are my heart now, my everything, and without you I might as well lose the ability to see again because my world will be meaningless. I need you to make me whole whether I can see or not because you are the other part of me. You know my fears, my secrets, my hopes and dreams. You understand me and I hope you love me.”
“I, well, Liam, I do. I, oh my I never imagined it was this hard! I do love you.” She said finally, the words pulled out of the depths of her soul. She’d hidden that emotion away when she lost her sight, locked it away as a defence. She couldn’t get by in her world with vulnerability and love was vulnerability. It was a weak emotion but Liam had shown her there was a strength that came with love, a companionship and a partnership that she hadn’t realized existed. She drew strength from him and she returned it. Perhaps that really was love, perhaps that’s what had been missing from her life, even more than her sight, someone to lean on and someone to lean on her.
Ivy reached her hand out to him, needing to touch him. The sudden realization that she could have sent him away and that she could have destroyed what they had by refusing to listen to him made her heart ache and the wall that had gone up around her heart melted instantly. Liam took her hand and pulled her to him, drying the tears that had suddenly come to her eyes.
Together they removed their clothes, desperate to be skin to skin, to find that link that made them whole in a far more than sexual way. This wasn’t just sex it was the sharing of souls and they both craved it. Ivy realized that’s why they were so good together, why the sex was so different. They’d reached for each other in the inescapable darkness and found a light that neither could see, a fire that grew between them, and fed their souls.
Ivy reached desperately for Liam’s body, hungry for the taste of him and Liam responded by slipping his mouth over hers, his tongue twining with hers. He realized she was still crying but knew it was an emotion that she couldn’t control. She’d locked herself away from the world while fighting to be a part of it, she was overwhelmed now with just how much she felt for him and though he regretted her tears he rejoiced in knowing she returned his feelings.
Ivy clung to him, his naked skin solace, his seeking tongue a lifeline. She craved his lips on her breasts and they were there, she longed for his fingers to fill her and they were there, she needed his scent to encapsulate her and there it was, filling her nostrils with the smell of the man she loved desperately. Ivy gave herself up to the depths of her passion, her desperation for Liam and fed his own needs with her hands, with her body. She writhed beneath him, needing more and more with each moment, each wave of passion overwhelming her, demanding more from him, demanding she give him more.
As he stroked her passion into stronger flames that threatened to consume her she exploded, his fingers delicately stroking her over the edge as she let out an agonized moan of release. But he wouldn’t let her stop and replaced his fingers with her tongue, stroking the oversensitive nub until she wanted to scream but again Liam drove her over the edge, a sensation of colours filling the vision she did not have. She gasped, the sparkling colours real to her in that moment, even if they weren’t, and she fought to stay in the realm where she could see something, if even for a moment, but then lost the battle and had to let go to Liam’s will.
Liam still wasn’t ready to let her go, however, he wanted more of her moans, more of the gasps he’d become addicted to when they were his anchor in the darkness, and he drove his cock into her pliant body, driving his hips into her body again and again as her legs wrapped around his waist, pulling him deeper into her liquid heat. The grasping glove of her silken muscles spurred him on, and he felt her urgency as her nails raked his back, as she begged for more from him, until he exploded into her. He felt as though his soul was pouring into her, not just his seed, and knew he was exactly where he needed to be. Ivy was his home and as long as he had her it truly didn’t matter whether he could see or not because she was his light, his vision, and all he truly wanted now was her.
“You are my home, Ivy, you are what makes me real. I far more than love you, I need you. Nothing in this world can replace you and if I had to give up my vision to see you then that’s what I’d do.” Liam whispered against her sweat dampened hair, still joined to her body.
“Well, I have to say, Liam, it’s good one of us can see. I have a feeling we’re going to need to see test results if we keep doing this.” She laughed.
“What do you mean?” He asked, not sure what she meant.
“We haven’t used protection, my love, what usually happens when people don’t?” She asked, the idea pleasing her.
“Oh. Oh wow. Do you think so? Would that be alright with you? Do you want children?” He asked, worried she might not.
“I didn’t used to want them but they’d be part of us, wouldn’t they? We’ll find out tomorrow, darling. Never fear. Now, I want to show you how much I love you again, are you up for it?” She asked, teasing him by squeezing him intimately.
Liam gasped, blood flowing directly to the hard flesh she was now, somehow, stroking from inside of her body. “I don’t know how you’re doing that but don’t stop, it’s glorious!”
Ivy hushed him by pulling his mouth down to hers, her world complete and happy now. She’d been so happy when she accepted that award for her book, so certain that she couldn’t feel any more complete. She knew better now. Nothing quite compared to having the man you loved in your bed, in your heart, and in your life. Ivy was now truly complete, part of a whole, and though some might say she should have been happy with what she already had she was greedy enough for Liam to not care what anybody th
ought.
The End
Part VIII
Just You
Billionaire Second Chance Romance
Chapter 1
“I don’t care what you have on tomorrow night,” Cara hissed into the phone. The voice chattering back from the other end was a drawl, disaffected and bored. “No—no, no, no—Craig. Craig, please—“
The sound of the click echoed down the line, and her shoulders slumped. She replaced the receiver, shaking, and then let herself lean against the wall. There were tears starting to form in her eyes, and she had nearly worn out her ability to keep them back. She pressed her hand over her mouth, and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to keep from making a sound.
“Cara?”
Oh, God. No one could see her like this. Cara whirled away from the door and fumbled with her apron, acting as if she had come in here to change.
“Cara?”
“Uh-huh?” Her voice sounded a little strained, but she might have pulled it off.
There was a pause, and she knew Lexie was looking her over. The night cook at Bell’s Diner was young and supermodel pretty; blonde-haired and blue-eyed. She looked about fifteen…but she was one of the most clear-eyed, observant people Cara had ever met in her life. There was no point in trying to fool her. “You have a customer, sweetheart.”
Cara managed a laugh. She knew Lexie humored her by acting like every other world-weary diner chef out there, and humor was just what she needed right about now.
“Are you okay?” Lexie asked, more softly this time.
“I’m all right.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’ll be okay.” Cara turned around and wiped her eyes; no use in pretending. “Is my mascara running?”
“Nope.” Lexie smiled and disappeared. “I’m going to go start cooking. This guy always gets the same thing. Give him decaf.”
“Thanks.” Cara smiled after the girl’s retreating form. Four weeks on this job and she was just getting used to the dizzying array of people that came in. When she came out to see a tailored suit and a copy of yesterday’s Times, graying dark hair peeking out from above the pages and a Rolex glittering on the man’s wrist, she hardly gave it a second thought. There were only two kinds of people who came in this late: drunks, and stockbrokers.
She supposed he might be both. That would liven up the night somewhat. Without tips, she was practically working this shift for her subway fare.
“Decaf?” She asked lightly, pasting her diner-waitress smile on her face.
Her smile faltered when he folded his paper and looked at her, assessing. She had expected someone portly, or run-down, but this man looked to be in the prime of his life. The salt and pepper in his hair had clearly been earned with time, but the man wore his suit like he’d been born in it, the polite cut failing to disguise well-muscled arms and broad shoulders. His skin was caramel, his sharp jawline free of stubble, and his eyes were somewhere between black and brown.
“Yes, please,” he said politely.
Cara had to force herself to take a step, and then another. She seemed to have forgotten how to move; her fingers were clenched around the handle of the coffee pot so tightly that she was worried she might break it, and she knew she was staring like a fool. So this man was one of the most attractive people she’d ever met in her life. He was a customer. He was a rich customer. No one needed her staring like a teenager.
“I don’t believe I’ve seen you before,” he observed as she poured. His tone made it clear that he remembered nearly every person he saw.
“I’m new here.” Cara managed to jerk the pot up just in time to keep the cup from overflowing. “I don’t usually work this shift.”
Don’t usually, but didn’t have much choice, she thought. How many months in a row had it been since the child support had shown up? And Craig, she thought bitterly, didn’t even have anything to spend the money on. He lived with his parents and talked about clubs and champagne.
But it was no use thinking about that. And no use thinking about Darren, sleeping in their neighbor’s apartment because Cara couldn’t get the thought out of her head that someone might break in while she was gone. She tried not to let her smile flicker.
“My name is Perry,” the customer told her, and Cara nodded.
“Cara.”
“A beautiful name.”
“Thank you.”
A ding sounded from the counter, and Perry smiled over at the plate. “Bless Lexie, one of these days she’ll have my food ready before I even get here.”
“You know Lexie’s name?” Cara asked, rendered curious by this turn of events.
“I make a habit of knowing everyone’s name,” he said gravely. “And Lexie’s eggs are better than Jamie’s. But he makes better pancakes.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cara said, at a loss for any other words. She wove her way behind the counter and brought the plate out. “Ketchup? Hot sauce?”
“Hot sauce, please.”
Please and thank you. So he was one of those stockbrokers. The kind that said they weren’t too rich and privileged to remember people’s names. People like waitresses and cooks. People less than them. And wasn’t everyone going to be impressed now?
Cara set the plate down in front of him with rather more force than was necessary.
“Thank you,” he said, so mildly that she had to grit her teeth.
“Anything else I can get for you?”
“No, thank you.” His eyes focused on hers. “Are you all right, ma’am?”
“…Ma’am?” Cara asked him. Too polite. He was mocking her.
“It seemed overly familiar to call you by your name.”
“I see. Well, if there’s nothing else I can get for you—”
“Are you sure you’re all right?” He asked, his forehead creasing. “Have I said something to offend you?”
“No,” Cara snapped. “You haven’t. Please enjoy your food.”
Back in the kitchen, she leaned against the wall and groaned softly. She was never going to make it if she couldn’t be polite to customers.
“What was that about?” Lexie asked, looking over from where she was scraping the grill down. She was relentlessly neat, so much so that she threw a sponge towards Clara and gestured to the countertops. “Help me out.”
“Sure.” Clara began scrubbing.
“So…” Lexie prompted.
“He’s just one of those ones who mocks you the whole time.”
“Really?” Disbelief rang in Lexie’s voice. “He’s always been so nice to me.”
“Doesn’t he seem a little… too nice? Like he’s just doing you a favor by talking to you?”
“Not really.” Lexie shook her head. “And even if he was, wouldn’t that be…kind of better than everyone else we have in here? I mean, so he says nice things and tips well. Doesn’t matter if he thinks he’s better than us. The rest of the people who think that, say rude things and don’t tip at all, see what I mean?”
“There is that. But I don’t think I’ll be getting a good tip.”
“What did you say… ?”
“Nothing.” Cara shrugged. “It was how I said it.”
“He’ll tip well, anyway. He always does. Lord knows he has the money for it.” Lexie shot a glance over her shoulder, and shook her head at Cara’s uninterested expression. “Doesn’t anything interest you these days?”
“Not really, no. I’m too tired.”
“Well, look alive — that’s Perry Hammond, and he’s worth seventeen billion dollars.” When Cara only raised an eyebrow, Lexie snorted. “And it looks like he’s pretty taken with you. Even tired, you look like a million bucks.”
She was probably right. Cara’s curls, when they behaved themselves, tumbled fetchingly in a waterfall of auburn, and her blue eyes were very bright in her heart - shaped face. She was not tall and stately, as many New Yorkers seemed to be, but she had a sweet smile and a sprinkle of freckles over her tiny nose. She was, she admitted
, very pretty.
Not that it ever did her much good.
“Well, I’d need to be seventeen thousand times as pretty to be on his level,” she told Lexie wearily.
“Well, don’t say I don’t ever set you up.”
“I won’t.” She dropped the sponge in the sink and washed her hands. “I suppose I should go see if he needs anything.”
“That’s the spirit,” Lexie said encouragingly.
“Don’t. I’m just going to get him some coffee.”
“You could at least try—” Lexie was saying as the door swung shut.
“Can I get you anything else?” Cara asked. She was trying to keep her voice pleasant, but it was remarkably difficult. What was it about this man that set her on edge? First he looked like a stockbroker, then he looked like an athlete, then he was too polite by half, and now she found out he was a billionaire. He set her on edge, and she couldn’t figure out why.
“No, thank you.” He slid a fifty onto the table and stood. His food had been eaten, the silverware placed neatly on the plate; the coffee mug piled on top with a used—but folded—napkin. “I hope you have a good night, ma’am. I hope you know I did not mean to offend you.”
“Uh-huh.” She couldn’t seem to say anything else, so she only watched while he hesitated, before nodding his head and leaving, expensive shoes tapping on the laminate flooring.
It was such a pity when the jerks were handsome.
“Hello, ladies.”
“Mr. Smith.” Cara turned at the voice and smiled, this time a bit more sincerely. The man who owned the diner was kind, very forgiving of her mistakes, and observant enough to call out the riff-raff who took liberties with the waitresses.
“I see Perry was here,” he said now, eyes fixed on the fifty. “Good man.”
Cara refrained from rolling her eyes, and Mr. Smith looked around himself before heaving a sigh.
“I, uh…I have something to tell you. Lexie, could you come out here a moment?”
Kane (Alexander Shifter Brothers Book 1) Page 44