The man puts an arm on Aubelia’s lower back.
“Come on, it will start soon. Hello, Liam.”
“I’ll be right there. Stephen, have you met Carly?”
“Oh! No!”
It’s not hard at all to smile at him. He looks really nice. I extend my hand to him and his eyes shine with pride.
“So, it is you who makes my son sing?”
I let out a giggle while Liam sighs.
“It only happened once! And I wasn’t singing, I was humming.”
I turn to him, laughing. I picture him that cheerful and it makes me happy. I can’t help but love him more, knowing the effect I have on him. As we arrive in the section reserved for the family, Ava jumps up to hug me.
“Carly! I’m happy to see you!”
“Me too!”
“You know what, I was wrong. This dress is perfect. You’re just gorgeous!”
“Thank you! But I’m just ordinary next to you!”
For the occasion, she paired a royal blue dress with an azure-colored shawl, accentuating her tanned complexion. A silver necklace plunges into her cleavage adding class to her look. Next to her, a man with blond hair styled to perfection rises to his feet. He has a strong jaw and thin lips that form a single, slim line.
“Carly, let me introduce you Derrick!” she says as she enthusiastically points to her boyfriend.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“Me too! You’re Liam’s new girlfriend?”
I nod and Stephen arrives behind us, gently pushing us in our seats.
“You can discuss that later, kids. The ceremony is beginning.”
We sit down just as the wedding march begins. Already, Karl, Liam’s brother, awaits his bride at the altar. I turn to see her appear, but my eyes meet those of Liora a few benches away. She has daggers in her eyes, but I force myself to ignore it because I have no desire to get into a war with her. Obviously, she had her sights set on Liam before I arrived in the picture. No doubt this is why Richard wanted me to stay away from him to clear the way for her.
After the ceremony, we all gather in the garden for the reception. I meet many people Liam works with, who are distant family as much as close friends. Mr. and Mrs. Gallaway are also among the guests. I hadn’t immediately recognized the couple we ran into during our walk in the jungle of Bora Bora, but Liam reminds me, whispering in my ear in an amused tone. Of course, neither he nor I have forgotten what we had just done seconds before their arrival.
“Oh, oh!” Ava exclaims beside me.
“What?”
“Here’s the devil himself.”
My heart stops beating for a second as my father comes to mind. So far, I’ve been lucky and haven’t seen him, but I’m aware that I can’t avoid him all evening. But Liam’s sister was speaking about a woman.
I think I recognize her; she was with Liam aboard the cruise. Her platinum blonde hair sparkles in the light. Her face is both delicate and dangerous, with a touch of mystery in her charming blue eyes. She really has the whole package.
“Who is she?” I ask.
“Desiree Lauren.”
My ribs seem to close around my heart she’s Liam’s ex. Liv told me all the newspapers spoke of their break up for weeks. I swallow. Liam is talking with his friend, Jay, a few feet away from us. Desiree immediately notices me and approaches, all smiles.
“If I were you,” Ava advises, “I wouldn’t leave her alone with Liam.”
“What? Why?” Liam wouldn’t cheat on me? Right? Is he still in love with her?
“Oh, you can trust my brother. It’s her you can’t trust. She knows what to do to make a man submit, and she knows Liam’s weaknesses.”
This does nothing to reassure me, and I definitely don’t have what it takes to compete with a woman like her.
“Liam!” she smiles at my man who politely turns and kisses her cheek.
“Hello, Desiree. How are you?”
“Very good and you?”
“Have you met Carly?” he asks, turning to me.
I walk to him with a smile as if nothing had happened.
“Who?”
She turns to me, gauging me contemptuously.
“Oh! No. You’re Liam’s girlfriend, right?”
“Yes.”
My tone is firmer than I would have liked it to be, and I see in her eyes that she doesn’t appreciate it. She acknowledges me and returns her gaze to Liam. He continues to talk to his friend, while she prides herself at his side. I see a table with champagne flutes a little further away, so I move away to pick one of them up.
Suddenly, Liam grabs my arm to bring me closer to him, and I can sense control in this gesture, as if he were scolding me.
“Where are you going?” he roars in my ear.
“Elsewhere. Looks like you’re doing just fine without me.”
I’m not the sarcastic type, but I can’t help it; Desiree is provoking me. He looks up at his friends.
“Will you please excuse us for a moment.”
Jay raises his glass in his direction, indicating that it’s fine. Liam leads me to the dance floor.
He begins to dance and I try to follow.
“What did that mean exactly?” he asks on a disapproving tone.
“That you and Desiree seemed very close, and I literally ceased to exist.”
“She’s a former friend. Her family and my family have been friends for decades. I’m being polite with her, that’s all. Since when are you jealous?”
“She’s obviously still in love with you. And I’m not jealous!”
“So what if she is? It’s you that I love.”
“What happened between you two?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Excuse me?”
“You wouldn’t like me to tell everyone how our relationship is, and I have the same respect for her.”
“I see. I thought you’ve never had a girlfriend?”
He takes a deep breath, seeming to turn his tongue into his mouth.
“It’s true. We didn’t have exactly have that kind of relationship. It’s complicated.”
“I can understand you know, if you try to explain to me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to, that’s all.”
I really don’t like his answer, and I would just like him to confirm to me that he doesn’t have feelings for her.
“Carly, don’t you see?”
“What?”
“People have eyes for only you tonight. You have no reason to be threatened by Desire.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look around. Women are jealous of you and every man I’ve met wishes they were with you. Even Desiree can’t ignore that.”
“Women are jealous because I’m with you. And the only opinion that matters to me is yours.”
“My opinion? I couldn’t be happier. The most beautiful woman in this place is in my arms.”
His fingers line my neck and I lean my head on his solid chest. I close my eyes for a second and lose myself in this moment, feeling like we’re alone in the world. His grip closes around me and I feel so good that I forget all my problems. I would stay like this forever if I could.
Suddenly, a hand lands on my shoulder, and I straighten up to see Richard Lexington smiling at me. I jump and my whole body tenses up.
“Mind if I borrow your date, Mr. Walker?”
Liam gives me a questioning look. I almost want to signal him no with my head No, don’t let him come near me, don’t let him dance with me. But I don’t do it. And without giving me a chance to answer, the man takes my hand to drag me away with him.
My breathing abruptly stops, and immediately Liam closes his fingers on Richard’s shoulder and glares at him. Oh, this is not good! Richard will assume that I told him everything, and Liam will also be in danger. So I interject, playing it off as best as I can.
“It’s fine! You can give us t
wo minutes, I promise, Liam.”
“Actually, I was in the middle of a conversation with Carly,” Liam insists. “She’ll come find you later.”
Inwardly, I sigh with relief, but that fades when I see my father boiling with rage as he walks away.
“You haven’t told me everything, Carly.”
“Trust me, I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I promised.”
This is not entirely true, but I fear his reaction if I explained to him that Richard threatened to attack him. As the waltz ends, the guests stop and applaud the orchestra.
“And now, may the bride and her father step on the dance floor, please,” announces the singer, pointing out both of them with his right hand.
All smiles, Karl’s wife advances in the center of the dance floor to dance with her father.
“Excuse me,” a woman calls next to me.
“Yes?”
“Can I?” She shows me her camera. “It’s for the Sunlight Star,” she adds.
My expression darkens. My heart is pounding and I gulp, turning to Liam. He smiles at me, assuring me that everything will be fine. Behind him, I see Richard Lexington’s sharp look as if he was serving me a warning. I turn to the woman, nodding and smiling.
Liam moves his arm around my waist to affectionately hold me against him, and the journalist takes a picture.
“Thank you! And you are?”
“Carly. Just Carly.”
“Is it you who was aboard the cruise?”
“Um… Yes. I was.”
The woman grins. Aubelia and Desiree join us, greeting the woman as if they knew her personally.
“How was the decorator I recommended to you?” asks the journalist.
“Oh! She did wonders with my living room! Thank you for sending her my way!”
I see the confident look and the mean smile Desiree shows as she takes a sip of champagne from her flute.
“You know,” she says hypocritically to the journalist, “I think I have a restaurant to recommend to you because I know you love seafood so much. I heard the Wever in Jersey City is a must! It’s the new ‘it’ place.”
I’m both angry and taken by surprise. I would jump at her throat if I could.
“Oh yeah? Really?”
“Of course, Carly can confirm, since she works there.”
All turn to me and I don’t know how to react.
“Oh, I didn’t know you owned a restaurant, dear?” Aubelia notices.
“Mom!” Liam interrupts.
“I’ll be happy to try it,” the journalist concludes. “And maybe I could submit a review to my editor?”
I smile politely as I know her intentions are good, but I wish I could tell her not to do that.
“That would be nice,” I reply politely.
“You’ve inherited it on the death of your parents?” Aubelia wonders.
“No. I just work there. I… I’m a waitress.”
“What!” she outrages, her tone suddenly strict. “Liam, is this a joke?”
I notice the satisfied expression on Desiree’s face. She knew exactly what she was doing and where this would lead. Liam’s mother would have found out eventually, but after she learned to like me would have probably been a better time, and certainly not in front of a journalist!
“Can I have a word with you!” Aubelia orders her son.
Liam walks away with his mother.
Feeling the tension rising, the journalist walks away, leaving only me and Desiree.
“I suppose you’re happy?” I tell her.
“Very. Look around. You’re no match here, and you’re not good enough for Liam.”
“Keep telling yourself that. It’s me he brought tonight, not you. And it’s me he’ll go home with and who will sleep by his side tonight. I’m the one he chose.”
“For now. After all, I only have to look at you to know that he hasn’t taken you into his room yet.”
I frown. I know what room she’s talking about, but I can’t quite see the connection.
“That’s what I thought,” she confirms from my silence. “There’s a part of Liam that you don’t know and he’ll never show you. I know it. I saw him at his best and at his worst, and he showed me the dark side he’s hiding from you. I know who he really is and I can give him what you never will. He doesn’t think he needs it now, but believe me, it’ll come. And when that happens, it’s me he’ll come back to.”
I gulp knowing she’s telling the truth, and it hurts. I don’t get into it with her, I simply leave. I don’t want to see anyone, so I sneak inside and find myself in a corridor that leads to an administration office. All of a sudden a door closes behind me and I turn, startled. A man in his forties stands in front of me with shaved hair, a stern look, and his lips pointing down.
“Who are you?”
“Your father isn’t very happy to see you here today,” he replies.
My heart is pounding. He works for Richard? I’m alone in a corridor where no one can hear me scream and nobody even knows I’m here. This really wasn’t my brightest idea!
“What do you want?”
He walks toward me and I panic, so I turn to run away. As I rush to the door, his hand grips my arm. He violently pulls me towards him and I scream.
“Let go of me!”
The man is thrown against the wall to my right. I jump back and turn around, surprised to see Liam standing there, furiously pinning my attacker against the wall behind him. His glare alone could kill the man.
“Tell Mr. Lexington if he has some score to settle with Miss Scott, it’s with me he’ll have to deal with! Do I make myself clear?”
The man gives a brief nod, wisely preferring to avoid the confrontation. Attacking a defenseless young woman is much easier than taking on an opponent twice his size. He walks out without wasting more time, leaving Liam and me alone.
“Are you okay?”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“Now are you gonna tell me what’s going on?”
“What about you?”
“What are you talking about?”
“Apparently I’m not the only one keeping secrets.”
He sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“What did Desiree say?”
“She told me about a room where you took her. A room where you’d never take me.”
“And she’s damn right.”
“Why won’t you?”
“Because! Carly,” he finally says, “I don’t want you to know that side of me, can you understand that?”
“No. No, I can’t understand that. Because I want to know everything about you. I take you fully, with your faults as much as your good qualities, just as you do for me.”
“Fine. The day you really let me into your life, I will let you in mine. But right now, I feel like I’m only gravitating around you.”
“I’m sorry,” I breathe. These words hurt me more than I could have imagined. I don’t see what more I can do!
Liam advances slowly towards me, wrapping his hands around my waist.
“Let me help you. I can, and I want to.”
If I tell him what’s going on with my father, he will show me his secret room, but I wonder if I want to take that risk. I’m beginning to wonder if I really want to know what he’s hiding in that room, but it makes me sick just thinking that he shared something with Desiree that he doesn’t want to share with me.
“Hey!” he whispers, his fingers sliding along the sides of my face. “Don’t think that I love you less because of that, it’s just the opposite. Carly, if I were to lose you, I couldn’t stand it. I’ve never had this fear with any other woman.”
He leans in to kiss me tenderly, and his tongue caresses mine.
“Let me show you what you do to me,” he says, taking my hand and putting it on his erected penis. “What you mean to me,” he finishes.
His palms slide down to my hips and my buttocks, down to the back of my thighs. He
presses his pelvis against mine before lifting my dress with delicious caresses. He inserts his hand between my legs, delicately rubbing the back of his fingers over my private parts. I let out a sigh of pleasure that sends my head backwards. His index and middle fingers gently massage the most sensitive place of my anatomy.
My legs are shaking. My breathing intensifies and my lower abdomen contracts as a wetness quickly spreads onto his hand. His fingers then push inside me and I groan, begging for more. I need it so much!
“You want me, beautiful?”
“Yes!”
“Tell me how much?”
“Too much!”
“What would you do to get me?”
“Anything!”
“Really, anything?”
One nod answers his question. Yes, I would do anything for this man. At this point he wins, and I see the triumph in his eyes; the feeling of power it gives him. It excites him so much! The center of his eyes seriously darken and a dangerous spark shows on his face.
He presses me against the wall to my right, lifting me so I can wrap my legs around his pelvis. I cling to his neck, kissing it again, and again, and again. He unbuttons his pants with one hand to free his erection that’s already pushing against me. He pushes inside of me, beginning his gentle back and forth movements.
The sensations are multiplying and my body is hungry for more. He accelerates the pace, and I groan against the crook of his neck, letting my breath caress his sensitive skin. His grip tightens on my back as his own enjoyment reaches its peak. Feeling him desiring me so much is such a turn on. Suddenly, all of my muscles relax as a liquid releases between my thighs. I continue my orgasm as he continues ravaging me.
All my limbs soften and contract again. My already swollen and sensitive flesh becomes more stimulated and an explosion boils in my body. My heels dig into his thighs while his merciless blows leave me no chance. My fingers clench on his shoulders and my back arches abruptly. I let out a scream that became impossible to hold in.
A Borrowed Life (Carly and Liam #1) Page 21