“I’m sure as shit not going to apologize for that.”
She laughed again and this time it stained her cheeks with a happy blush. “Of course not. But can I ask you to do something?”
“Anything.” It came out as a sighing whisper, but the promise of it echoed inside him like a yodel.
“Take me to bed, Liam. Make love to me.”
Everything stilled. His heart. Their breathing. The air moving around them. It all…stopped. Somewhere between Earth and Heaven miracles occurred. At the moment, that place was his garage and the granter was Grey.
Wordlessly, he opened his door and went around to open hers. Taking her hand, he waited for her to get to her feet. Then, he did something he’d wanted to do for two years. He swept Greycen Craig Burgess into his arms and carried her across the threshold into the house he’d dreamed of sharing with her.
“I can walk.”
“You can, but you’re not going to.”
Her breath was warm against his neck as she rested her forehead against his temple. The arousal he’d managed not to think too much about the last few days snapped at its leash.
Liam didn’t bother with lights as he headed to the bedroom, but once he stepped into his room, he hit the nearest switch. He wasn’t going to miss a look or a breath or a reaction. If she only gave him tonight, he would memorize every instance.
He set her on her feet beside the bed and despite the ravaging hunger roaring inside, he brushed the tips of his fingers over her cheeks and over her fake scar. Her breath rushed for freedom. Two years had passed since he felt a woman’s touch. Since he felt his wife’s touch. Every moment of suffering became worthwhile when she smiled up at him and toed off the metallic silver Toms.
He curled a strand of her wig around his finger and tugged gently. “Are you sure about this, Grey?”
“I am, but could you do me another favor since there’s no one else around?”
“Of course.” Like the anything in the car, it came out as a whisper. He was powerless against her requests, and he didn’t want to change it.
“Call me Opal. I think I miss being Opal.”
His heart broke for all that she’d given up, but in the next moment it soared because she was empowering herself to take it all back. And that was so sexy.
“I always liked opals.” He bent down and kissed her temple while simultaneously giving the wig a yank.
Opal gasped and reached for his shirt. She pulled it from his jeans.
“Are you sure you’re sure about this?”
“Very.” Proving her claim with action, she shoved his jacket off his shoulders and then, as if she’d done it before and so often it was natural, she unholstered his weapon.
He tensed for a flash. No one else handled his gun. Ever. But she carefully placed it on the bedside table so the handle was toward the bed, just as he did each night, and then turned her attention back to him.
“Are you sure about this, Liam?”
Fuck yeah. He rubbed his hands down her arms. “I’ve never been so sure, Opal.”
She breathed deep, her eyes drifting closed. He took advantage of her momentarily dropped guard and swooped in. Two years of abstinence topped with days of restraint imploded his control.
His lips closed over hers, moved in a hungry pace she matched instantly. She clawed at his shirt and belt. He kicked off his shoes. When she reached for the snap of his pants, he jerked from desire’s daze and grabbed her hands.
“I thought you were sure.”
“I am. I’m also sure you’re not going to attack me.” He kissed her gently. “This time anyway.”
She rolled her eyes but her hands slowed as they moved over his now naked torso. Her nails teased his nipples, leaving him to wonder if he’d miscalculated. Opal read his doubt if her grin was any indication.
“As I recall, attacking you holds a certain appeal.”
Yeah, she’d read him correctly. She’d thought he was following her in Vegas, had slipped into a building’s shadow and attacked him, demanded answers, when he passed. He’d answered her questions and then demanded she have dinner with him. That night had been the first time they’d slept together.
“Not this time.” He grinned at the memory though as he lifted her shirt over her head. Liam checked his watch by twisting his wrist and leaning left a little. “I’ve waited, dreamed, of this far too long to rush it.”
Liam knelt before her and kissed a path along the bottom edge of her bra. She was trembling when he made a return trip along the top edge of her pants. “Did I tell you,” he began as he popped the top snap of her pants, “how much I like this look on you?”
She shook her head and shifted her stance, rubbing her thighs together.
“All day I’ve had glimpses of your skin and been teased by the edginess and tightness of these pants.” He lowered the zipper and placed a nibbling and lingering kiss at her belly button. Ticklish where a small scar marred her smooth skin, her stomach twitched. “I’ve ached with the desire to peel away every layer of fabric hiding you.”
“You seemed so unaffected.”
“Grey. Opal.” Still kneeling before her, he looked up. If she’d managed to touch a little lower when she’d reached for his pants she’d have known the truth. He got a certain pleasure from pointing it out. “I am never unaffected when you’re near.”
Her hands framed his head. She rolled her hips, moving her pussy closer to his mouth. “Then, please, hurry up and show me.”
As weightless as an eagle in flight, Liam undressed the woman he’d promised his life to. Every inch of exposed skin was a dream realized and then the ultimate fantasy became reality. Opal stood naked in his bedroom.
“How’s it possible that you’ve gotten more beautiful?”
“Absence has made you delusional.”
“I’m not.” Determined to prove himself, Liam flipped back the bed covers, picked her up and then laid her down. Stripping away his remaining clothes, he joined her on the bed. Hands and mouth, brushing touches and breathy kisses, he explored her body until she writhed beneath him.
“Liam. Please.”
Gooseflesh popped up on her skin and his. Fiery passion and calculated restraint battled within.
His body’s needs became a command that needed to be obeyed, but he had an insight into Grey, Opal, he’d lacked before. She needed to know she was cherished, whatever name she chose, as much as he needed her to understand he was the one who cherished her.
Patience grew from adoration. Liam covered her in a trail of kisses that went down to her toes and left them both trembling. He was beginning his way back when she lunged, flipped him to his back and straddled him.
“You’re taking too long.”
She cocked her head and rubbed her wet sex along the length of his erection. Damn if he didn’t nearly lose it.
“I’ve waited two years to have you in this bed.” He flipped her so she was on her back. Like she had, he cocked his head and rubbed himself against her. She bucked, but he pulled away before she could achieve her goal. “I’m taking my time with you.”
Grey moved to flip him again. Liam resisted her attempt by stiffening. “In Vegas, you let me be on top.”
“In Vegas—” he kissed her hip bone while dancing his fingers down her side, “—I had every reason to believe we’d be together more often.”
“I’ve promised not to leave without talking to you.” She rested a hand against his face. He leaned into the touch, but his fingers stayed busy, edged closer to her pussy.
“Yep. And you’re about to have a surgery that’s going to keep you in a hospital bed for at least a week.” He traced the edge of her nether lips. Her hips bucked again. “I’m making sure you have plenty to think about.”
Locking his gaze with hers so she could see everything he felt, Liam eased a finger inside. She was wet and tight and so warm. He wanted to pull out and then sink deep so she circled his dick.
He slipped a second finger in with t
he first and thumbed her clit. His balls tightened and pulled up inside his body. Pressure built in his abdomen and lower back.
“Liam.” Her cry of desperation shook the room and put a smile on his heart.
He rotated his fingers, pushed deeper, pulled out. She fisted the covers, dug her head into the pillow and arched off the mattress. Her orgasm was close and as much fun as it was to go over with her, this time was all about her.
The nub of her clit hardened beneath the sweeping touch of his thumb. She swelled around his fingers and pulsed with the rapidly approaching orgasm. Her breath came in little pants, each one a balm to the wounds on his heart.
Everything he remembered about their time together had been spot on. The years of searching for her, planning a home for her, dreaming of her, were paying off with new memories. One day, when she was safe, he’d capture some memories with a camera, but for now his mind would have to be enough.
Ready to nudge her over the edge, Liam leaned forward and kissed her. Still moving against his fingers with beads of sweat dotting her hair line, she dove into the kiss.
She placed her hands on his hips and eased them forward, toward his dick. Her fingers wrapped him, squeezed and pumped. Her hips bucked, bumping his hand against hers. The pressure in his back and abdomen built. She was going to force him to join her, but he didn’t want to miss the sensation of her clenching around him.
Pulling away quickly, he sat back, panting. “You’re going to kill me.”
“The solution is a simple one.” The smile curling her lips penetrated her eyes and brightened the room. It was a happy one. Happy and unreserved.
Pulled in by the brilliance, he reached over her and opened the drawer beside the bed.
“We don’t need a condom.”
“Sure we do.”
She shook her head. “I trust that you’re clean. And pregnancy isn’t going to be an issue.”
That last statement required a conversation, because every quivering instinct told him it wasn’t a matter of her birth control choices. Those same instincts told him that pulling away would shatter what they were building.
He moved back, bracing his hands on either side of her shoulders. “I’m clean.”
“Me too.” As if she’d just won a major victory, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. Using the leverage of the grip, she pulled her hips up and slipped onto his erection.
Her sigh was a shudder and it moved into him, eliciting a gasp. Hot, wet, tight. She closed around him, body against body with no barrier. The sensations fired in rapid succession, fueling another round. Then she set her hands on his hips, dug the tips of her fingers into him and began to move.
Thoughts and control vacated. His body took over and joined her in the climb. Quick and then slow, slow and then fast, he alternated the speed of thrusts and withdrawals. He breathed deep, drew her scent into his lungs and absorbed the feel of her touch as they plummeted over the edge to release.
In the quiet afterglow, Liam brushed a hand over her short hair. “Sex aside, I’m glad you’re back, Opal.”
His wife was brave, smart and daring. She made him smile when he didn’t think he could. She woke him body and soul with a caress and slayed him with a request.
She’d asked him to make love to her. It had been a partnership from the beginning, and not because they were good in bed. Their partnership had started when they exchanged vows, but even in separation, with each of them honoring those vows, they’d continually reaffirmed their connection.
She would have her surgery, help Ruby. They would both recover. Jessup would be caught. Then, in the lull of safety, he would ask her to stay. If what they’d just shared was an accurate indicator, he wouldn’t have to worry about rejection.
Chapter Sixteen
Liam’s heartbeat was strong and steady beneath Grey’s ear. A sunset’s silence surrounded the house. Tomorrow’s surgery loomed, which should worry her, but for the first time in years, she felt completely free. More free even than she’d felt on the beach. “I’ve come to a decision.”
“What’s that?” Liam’s Scottish accent became more defined when he neared sleep.
She’d allowed herself to forget that after walking away from him. Now she realized how much she’d missed it.
“When this is all over—the surgery, Jessup, everything—I don’t want to give up the identity the U.S. Marshal Service gave me.”
“Why’s that?” His fingers combed through her hair, tickling the nape of her neck at the end of each swipe. She snuggled deeper into his side.
“Hearing you call me Opal. It wasn’t right. Opal’s dead.”
“She’s not dead. She’s just changed.”
“No. When I chose those torn clothes I was clinging to who I was. I wanted to be Opal, because she was free and daring and didn’t care what people thought of her. She did what she wanted, when she wanted, damn the consequences.”
“Sounds a little like the woman I married.”
“Undeniably so.” She traced the contours of his chest and stomach, soaking in the luxuriousness of the moment. “But the woman you married prefers the idea of a tight circle of friends instead of a large circle of acquaintances. She doesn’t dress in ways that draw attention to herself. She wants nothing more than to be a part of something special.” Tears crowded her eyes. “And she wants to have children. Opal didn’t care about any of that.”
“Grey’s your legal name, so if that’s the one you prefer it’s easy to keep. As for the things you want, you can have them. Some of them you already have.”
She shook her head against him. He’d chased away nightmares and welcomed her into his home, arms and family. She was safe with him. Her secrets had to be too. “Remember when I said a condom wasn’t necessary?”
“I do.”
“That’s because I can’t have kids.”
“Do you want to tell me why?” His question was soft and held zero judgment.
She’d talked it out in therapy enough that the words were easy. Having the confidence he’d feel the same way about her when he heard her story was another.
He would hear it sooner or later. Now was better than in a courtroom during a trial. At least now she had the benefit of not looking him in the face to see his pity. “Ruby had just turned seventeen when our parents walked out on us. She got the courts to give her custody of me, but I didn’t take the abandonment well.”
“Few would.”
“I began experimenting with drugs, alcohol and sex. Ruby was so busy working and trying to keep us fed and housed that I got away with it for a long while. Until I got arrested for stealing some chips from a convenience store.”
“I found that police report when I connected you to Ruby,” he whispered, like it was a secret he shouldn’t tell. What he knew barely cracked the surface of her scab-covered past.
“Ruby bailed me out and got me cleaned up. She helped me get my grades turned around in time to apply for college. Fast forward to my first round of semester finals. The pressure got to me and I started using again. Ruby tried to get me clean, but I wouldn’t listen. She took the hard line and told me to call her when I was ready to stop using.”
“You were still using when you witnessed the Matoots’ murders.”
She moved her head in a nod. “I was easing off. I hadn’t talked to Ruby in nearly a year, and had almost thought I was strong enough to reach out again.”
“She still loves you, Grey. I can tell by watching you two together that she’s never stopped.”
“Yeah, but there was a time when I didn’t love her. Or, I loved the drugs more.”
“You’re not the first person to have an addiction, but you got clean.” He turned her to face him. “And you became a stronger person because of it.”
“I’m not strong.”
“More than you know, but you’ll have to see it for yourself.” He brushed a thumb over her eyebrow. The kindness in his brown eyes encouraged her. “Tell me the rest.”<
br />
“They were smuggling drugs in cake mixes sold locally. A package went missing and a kid overdosed.” She swallowed and forced herself not to look away. I took it. “I gave him the pills. We split them.
“A kid died because of me, which made the Matoots change their minds, which is why they confronted Jessup.” Her heart rate sped. The dream would be particularly vivid tonight, as it always was when she thought about the night her life came to an end. “They died because of me and then I snapped up the U.S. Marshals’ offer so no one could find out what I’d done. In the process, I left my sister behind, never giving her the truth she deserved.”
Liam didn’t look at her with judgment or pity. In fact, he looked at her no differently than he had since meeting her. With kindness and understanding.
“That night.” She braced herself for the next part. She didn’t remember all of it, dissociative amnesia a doctor had called it, but what she did recall had to be said. “Jessup found me hiding in the storeroom. The only other employee was a new mom who was definitely too good to touch a drug. He knew I was the one who’d taken his product. He’d just lost a profitable distribution avenue.”
“He was pissed,” Liam said.
“I expected him to pull his gun and end it as quickly as he had for them.” Her stomach knotted. “He said he wanted me to suffer. He stabbed me multiple times.”
It was the first time she’d said it without shuddering and it was because of Liam.
Liam ran a finger over the scar by her belly button. “He did this to you?”
She nodded. “And then, while I was bleeding all over the place, he raped me.”
“How did you get away? How did you survive?”
“I remember hearing someone outside the storeroom, but it goes black after that. The next thing I remember, I was in the hospital with Micah passing me a contract and promising to keep me safe.”
Liam was silent for a long time. His finger moved back and forth over the scar he’d kissed earlier. “You can’t have children because of the attack.”
She shook her head.
“And you want them.”
“It’s something I’ve thought a little about.” Primarily in the last two years after having glimpsed married life with a man who seemed like he’d be a good father.
Taste Me Deadly (Sensory Ops) Page 14