by M. Skye
Kissing her, gripping her tighter, he let out a gasp when her hands found their way into his pants. He moved his hands down her body and made it to the hem of her dress. Tossing it across the room, he danced his fingers down her spine, allowing his tongue to blaze a path down her neck. Leaning back a fraction, he allowed her to push his pants down. Reaching for his shirt, he ripped it off with one hand and she laughed against his lips.
“Anxious, babe?”
Feeling her tongue slide past his lips and down his neck, Liam shuddered, letting chills race through him. “Always,” he laughed. “I want you so bad.”
“Uh,” she moaned, when he pushed her back on the bed, thrusting forward. “Liam,” she screamed, and he felt her insides stretch with his strong movements. Balling his hands in the sheets, he hoisted her legs up and she dug her nails into his forearms, scratching him along the way.
Making her juices flow around him, Liam was vaguely aware that he hadn’t taken the time to cover himself, but at the moment, that didn’t matter. Her body was his and he wanted to make his ownership apparent to anyone that ever dared to look her way. Biting down on her neck, he loved the gasp she displayed.
Feeling her push at his chest, Liam looked down to see her eyes clenched shut. Running a hand over her cheek, he watched as her eyes opened and she gave him a gentle smile. Deciding to shift the mood, Liam bent down, tugging her bottom lip into his mouth. Brushing his tongue into her mouth, he tasted her moans and smiled, rolling his hips slowly.
“Uh, baby. You feel incredible,” he hissed against her lips. Slithering his hands down, he grabbed her hips and she buckled towards him and he could feel her orgasm exploding. Most of their encounters went this way, with her climaxing several times before he did, but this time was unreal for him.
Rolling her over, he landed on his back and slid his hands up to her chest. Watching her back arch, he closed his eyes to prolong the intense pleasure. Looking at her would have caused him to cave too quickly, and he wasn’t ready. He needed more time; he needed more of her.
Holding her as she moved against him slowly, Liam let her name fall from his lips and she leaned down, brushing her lips against him. Weaving his fingers through her hair, he thrust upward, filling her completely. She paused for a second, letting the warm orgasm she was experiencing flow through her.
The heat, chills, moisture, and flooding amount of passion was overtaking her. Liam could tell because he was already more enthralled than he had ever been. Letting her orgasm play out, he sat up, kissing his way from her neck to the crease between her breasts. Letting his tongue bathe her breasts, he felt her body tremble and grabbed her head.
Tugging at her hair, Liam pulled back far enough to expose her bare neck and started to roll his hips, slowly. Feeling her legs cross behind him, he laid a hand on her hip to hold her in place. Moving slowly, stroking every sensitized inch of her core, he felt yet another orgasm approaching along with his own climax. Holding her, stroking her, licking and biting down on her pulse point, he let himself drain inside her and kept his movements going until he was too sated to continue.
Pausing to catch his breath, he was surprised when she kept moving. She had already produced three orgasms and given him his climax, but she didn’t seem to be done. Reaching up to push the hair from her face, Liam saw her expression and grabbed her arms, holding her in place. While he was trying to stop her, she was zoned out, still moving and dragging her nails down his neck. She ripped his flesh and he winced from the pain. When she finally opened her eyes, he saw the emotional flood sweeping through her.
“Draya?”
“No,” she shook her head. “You can’t stop. If you stop, I’ll have to think about it and I don’t want to. Just make me cum. Make me cum again, baby.” When he didn’t answer her, she just shook her head quickly. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m okay.”
“Draya.” He ran his hand over her tear stained cheeks. “You’re not okay, baby. I just want… Can you please talk to me? I’ve tried everything I can think of and I just need to know what will help. Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
Shaking her head, she slung the tears away. “You can’t fix it, Liam. He came here because of me and now he’s dead. I thought I could hold it together, but you need to go away. Get far away from me before you get hurt.”
Feeling his emotions boiling out of control, Liam grabbed her face and shook his head. “I am not leaving. Think of something else because that won’t work. I want to help you, but you’re not thinking straight if you think I’m leaving you on your own.”
“I can’t handle this, Liam. I’m so scared.”
“You don’t have to be; I’m here. You have to tell me these kind of things. We’re in this together. Damien can’t hurt you any longer.”
“He could get out. What happens then?”
“I’ll kill him,” he answered honestly and saw her eyes buck. “There is nothing I wouldn’t do to protect you. If something happened to you, I wouldn’t want to exist. Life without you won’t work for me.”
Leaning her head on his shoulder, Draya closed her eyes and Liam felt a little tension leave her body. He had questioned if she was ready for this and now he knew that she wasn’t. In the past, this kind of thing would have made him want to run in the opposite direction, but with her, he couldn’t think straight. He knew that Damien had been arrested for killing Andrew and it was evident that he was guilty, but he felt like someone else was in play as well. As tacky as he felt Damien was, he didn’t think he was behind the flowers. He still suspected Alea was responsible for that. Holding her, letting his mind run free, he let her fall asleep and placed her on the bed.
After slipping on his shorts, Liam walked into the kitchen and began to clean up the dinner they never got to enjoy. As he cleaned he racked his brain, trying to figure out what his options were. As much as he knew he would dread it, he thought maybe enlisting his mother’s resources might be a good idea. She seemed to have a way of finding out anything about anyone.
While he finished putting everything away, he looked over to see his cell lit up on the counter. Reaching for it, he saw the name displayed and scoffed before hitting the talk button.
“What?”
“Where are you?” the voice asked.
“Home, minding my business.”
“You are supposed to be somewhere else, or did you forget our deal? I’m not going to keep reminding you about—”
Slamming the phone, Liam ended the conversation prematurely and looked back to his room. He was in deep, he knew it. He also knew that if Draya ever discovered what was going on, he would lose her. Running his hands down his face, he exhaled and dropped into a chair at his table. Pouring a glass of wine, he tried to calm his rattled nerves.
Pouring glass after glass, Liam looked over to see that he was halfway through the bottle and sighed. Pouring himself another glass, he sat the bottle down and felt a pair of hands on his shoulders. Watching her pick the bottle up, he tilted his head, witnessing her concerned expression.
“You never drink this much. Is it because of me?”
Sliding her into his lap, he exhaled and brought her head down to his chest. “No,” he answered truthfully. “I just needed a minute to myself. It has nothing to do with you.”
“You sure?”
“I’m sure,” he nodded. “I thought you were out for the night; did you have another dream?”
“No,” she shook her head. “I heard your voice; you sounded angry. Were you on the phone?”
“Yeah, but it was nothing,” he lied. “I was just clearing some things off my plate to make sure I can spend a few uninterrupted days with you.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“But I’m going to.”
“Liam… are you okay?”
Looking at her strangely, he grabbed her chin and gave her a gentle kiss. “Why would you ask that?”
“You’ve been having these emergencies pop up and I just want to be sure noth
ing has happened that you’re keeping from me. I know how you like to be all protective.”
“I’m protective, yes; but nothing happened. Nothing is going on that you don’t know. I just want us to spend some time together and I don’t want to have to rush off and leave you alone. It’s just stupid work stuff that is going to wait from here on out.”
Looking as if she accepted his answer, Draya wrapped her arms tighter around his neck and he heard her breathing evening out. Running his fingers up and down her back, he lulled her back into a peaceful sleep. Once he was sure she was out, he picked her up and retreated to the room.
Looking at her peaceful form on the bed, he knew he was dead wrong for all the lies he just told, but he couldn’t tell the truth; not yet. He had to settle some things before he lost the most important thing in his life. Things were unraveling fast, and he had no idea what to do.
Making sure she was secure, he walked back into the kitchen and grabbed the half empty bottle and tilted it to his lips. She was right, he hardly drank but this called for a change. He was going to need the alcohol to help him sleep; he just hoped it blocked out his own nightmares. He had been having them on and off since his father died and now they were back with a vengeance. To him it could only mean one thing; his guilt was boiling to the surface threatening to take him down. As hard as he tried, there was no escape. Not even Draya could help him out run it.
Chapter Six: Don't Cross Me
“Mrs. Caroline. Mrs. Caroline,” Brittney called out, trying to get her attention, to no avail. She was in her own little world until Draya got her attention.
“Mom, Brittney is speaking to you.”
Looking up from the program in her hand, Caroline gave Brittney a sad smile and she shook her head. “I’m sorry, honey. What did you say?”
“It was a beautiful service. Your speech was great.”
“He was a good husband for a while,” she said, trying to hold back her tears. “I think he still loved us. I just can’t believe he’s gone.” Patting her watery eyes, she looked to Draya and Ashton, forcing a smile. “I’m sorry, I’m such a mess. Do thank your father for performing the service. I know we haven’t been members of his church for years, but I do appreciate it.”
“Dad was happy to do it. He loved Mr. Andrew, and he loves you.” Giving Caroline a nod, Brittney grabbed Austin’s hand and walked over to Rico who had come in with Deja. They were still having problems, but he had decided to bend a little on the divorce issue. From what he had told Draya, they were dating again to see if they still had something. He had told her they could take it slow.
Grabbing Draya’s hand, Caroline gave it a squeeze and Draya pulled it to her mouth for a sweet kiss. “Baby, please thank Brenda for offering her house for this. Liam is definitely a keeper convincing his mother to hold your father’s dinner here. This nice Savannah air was just what we needed.”
Wrapping her arm around her mother, Draya leaned on her shoulder. “Liam actually had nothing to do with it. She volunteered all on her own. She knew my place was too small to host a gathering this size.”
“So she likes you? She approves of your relationship?”
Draya knew her questions were an attempt not to think about her father, so she indulged, wanting to do whatever it took to make her feel a little better. “We are pretty good. She has called every day since... since it happened. She checks on me and asks about all of you.”
“That’s great, baby. I’m glad you have someone outside of us to talk to. How are you doing with all of this? I know you were struggling.”
Sighing, Draya looked away and caught Liam’s stare on her. He was standing with his mother and Will but was watching her from across the room. “I’m dealing. Liam makes everything easier, but I don’t want to be depressed dumping all over him. I think he has something he’s dealing with himself.”
“Why do you think so? Has he said anything?”
“He hasn’t, but he never would. Liam is a person that likes to handle things without having to worry me. With everything going on, he wouldn’t tell me his problems because he is worried I’m going to burst into tears. He hates to see me cry.”
“That could be a good quality, but you should ask. Don’t allow your relationship to be one-sided where he doesn’t feel like he can come to you with things. You want to feel like a partnership.”
Nodding her head, Draya sighed against her mother’s shoulder. “Is that how you felt?”
“I felt like I may have contributed to him feeling like he had to seek comfort in another woman. We were having problems around that time and we had briefly separated, so he didn’t actually cheat, but I felt betrayed because of who it was.”
“Mom, this might not be the best time to ask, but...”
“Ask what you want.”
“Is Kelly our sister?”
“She is,” Caroline acknowledged. “Or at least it’s what he died believing. I just recently found this out.”
Scratching her chin, Draya tilted her head to the side. “You don’t believe she is?”
“I’m not sure. Deena wanted your father and those feelings weren’t returned; it’s why we moved. I suspected something but never had the courage to ask until I found out about Damien taking advantage of you.”
“Mom,” Draya held her hands up. “I’m not defending Damien, but things weren’t so black and white with us. It may have started off as a game to him, but I think he did catch feelings for me.” Peering around the room to make sure Liam was nowhere close, Draya began again. “He asked me to marry him.”
“When?”
“The night Dad died.” Looking at her mother’s hurt expression, Draya rushed to finish. “I said no. I would have never accepted because of what happened and because I am in love. Liam is everything Damien wasn’t. He is everything I thought Dad was to you. I guess you don’t feel that way now. I’m sure a lot of the love is gone.”
“I still love him; he gave me you and Ashton. The sleeping around wasn’t the worst part, it was the fact that he’s known about Kelly for years and kept it from me. He could have told me and I would have been upset, but I could have faced it. Letting me find out right when I found out that Damien had taken advantage of you, wasn’t the way to let that happen. I was so mad when we got that letter that I just wanted out. It was the final straw.”
“But you still loved him?”
“To the bottom of my soul. There was never a day I questioned that.”
“Why did you separate?”
“He wanted more children and I didn’t. I had my two. I loved you both but it wasn’t something I wanted to do again. You and your sister are my pride and joy, but it was hard. We were young and money was tight then. We didn’t have all that we... I do now.”
“I get that; I really do. I know having us was hard, but you were the best mother. I know Ashton and me don’t say it enough, but you are amazing. I never even knew you were separated because you kept things so normal for us. We had a happy childhood and I know how hard it must have been to keep up the front just for us.”
“I was never going to let you two feel anything but love from either of us.”
Holding her tighter, Draya just sat thinking about everything she would have said to her father if he had lived. There were so many things they needed to discuss and she had at least wanted to say goodbye. She only wished she had been the bigger person and heard him out that night at the restaurant.
Letting tears wet her cheeks, Draya felt a hand on her back and knew it was Liam’s. She would know that touch anywhere. With Brenda behind him, he pulled her up, wrapping her in his embrace. He had been so great throughout everything and had helped put everything together. From the cufflinks, they picked for Andrew to wear, down to the funeral programs, he had been involved. He had taken those extra days off just like he planned and hadn’t left her side. Even though he was at her beck and call, she could tell he was distracted. Something was weighing heavily on his mind; she just wished she knew w
hat it was.
“How are you doing?” He ran his hand over her face.
“Better,” she smiled shyly.
“Well, here, take this,” Brenda reached out two glasses to Caroline and Draya.
“Mother,” Liam warned. “This is a funeral.”
“This is a dinner after a funeral, son. They deserve a drink after everything they’ve gone through. It’s just a little cranberry and vodka, nothing too heavy,” she shrugged and Draya laughed, taking the glass from her hand, Caroline did the same.
“Thanks, Brenda.”
“No problem, dear. How are you feeling?” she turned to Caroline.
“Taking things one day at a time. I’m learning to adjust to being alone.”
“Well, you don’t have to be alone. You have your kids, who love you, and you have friends,” she patted her hand. “Now, I know this is a little unorthodox, but seeing as how we’re practically family, just bring your things down here and stay a few days. A little time on a relaxing beach might give you some new perspective. I know when my husband died, it helped me.”
Looking at her in confusion, Caroline took a sip of her drink and sat it down on the end table. “I thought you were divorced when he died.”
“Oh, we were,” Brenda nodded. “But I’m talking about when he died to me. In my mind, he’s been dead for over eight years. His body only died months ago. You’d have to be a sick, dead bastard to do the things he had over the years.”
“Mother,” Liam said sternly. “Not the time for your issues with Dad. This isn’t about you.”
Looking on amused, Draya watched them bicker and her mind was briefly off the drama in her life. After letting them go at it over two minutes, Caroline interrupted, surprising everyone. “If the offer is genuine, then yes, I would love to. I just don’t want to be an imposition.”