He swipes a finger across the screen to the next image. This one is of the back of the house, and it’s just as gorgeous. There’s a large garden and a private pool area as well.
“What is this?”
“This, Mrs. Jensen, is our new home.”
“What?” I squeal and grab the phone from his hands. I go back and forth between the two images for a minute before I stare up at him. “Is this . . . is this the house that you were building?”
“It is, with two slight differences.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah. Firstly, it’s ours, and secondly, there’s one room in there that has yet to be decorated. Its walls are white, and the room is empty. I wanted you to decide what goes into our nursery.”
The words that I want to say refuse to come, so I do the next best thing. I kiss him. I kiss him because I’m more than grateful for everything he does. For who he is. For marrying me today.
“I want you happy, Isla.”
“I’m beyond happy.”
“What do you say that we get out of here?”
“Right now? I haven’t even eaten.”
“Ah. I keep forgetting how fucking important food is to you now. Eat up, doll, because I need something sweet to eat later.”
I squirm on his lap and reach for the roll on his plate, place a little butter on it, and bite into the warm French bread. It’s possibly the best bread that I’ve ever had.
“Liam,” I groan once I’ve swallowed, and he chuckles before leaning in and taking a bite of what is now my roll.
“Hey! Back off, buddy.”
He reaches over and pulls my plate over as well. I finish up my bread roll and grab the second off of my plate before he can.
“Don’t fuck up my dress, dickweed. I’m going to have it framed.”
“Framed? Can they do that?”
“Yes, of course they can.”
“Where’s it going to go?”
“In our closet?”
“Ours?”
“Is that okay?”
“Yeah. I just liked hearing you say that something was ours.”
I smack his chest, and he reaches for the glass of whiskey that was just placed in front of him.
“What is it?” he asks.
“It’s a Balvenie 50-Year-Old,” Wade says as he and Hadley each take a drink from their tumblers.
“Assholes. All of you are assholes, and in six and a half months, I’m going to outdrink all of you. Be prepared to drown in my whiskey while you sink underneath the table.”
“I’m unsure if you’ll be able to handle much after giving birth, Isla,” Wade says, and I give him the best damn evil eye that I can manage.
“That’s cute.”
“Fuck you,” I hiss out through a smile and turn to Liam.
I lean over and kiss Liam after he takes a drink of the lusciously fragrant liquid. He tastes of lemons, oranges, honey, and vanilla, and I swear, I’m about to drool.
“Good, huh?” Liam asks as he licks my lips.
“So good,” I croon.
“That’s cheating,” Hadley says through a giggle, and I stick my tongue out at her.
“Trust me, nothing tastes better than whiskey and Liam.”
“I beg to differ. Nothing tastes better than whiskey and Wade.”
I roll my eyes as the two of them lock lips before stealing the bite of steak from Liam that he was about to place into his mouth.
“Keep that up, and I’ll spank this ass on the plane as well.”
“Is that a dare or a promise?”
“Both,” he growls into my ear and just for that, I grind my ass into his crotch, feeling his semi turn into a full-on erection. I shift on his lap until I can feel his length resting against my sex. I decide to stay in this position until he moves.
All throughout dinner and dessert, though, he doesn’t shift an inch.
My panties are soaked, and I’m only going to guess that I’ll be able to lick up his pre-cum as soon as he unzips his tuxedo pants in the hotel room.
Liam forfeits his ice cream to me, and I’ve never been more grateful because each scoop came with a gooey chocolate brownie, and I’m in a bliss-filled heaven. It’s almost as good as sex. Almost.
We say our goodbyes to everyone after dinner. Connor swears that he’ll be sure to make plans to visit us in Chicago. I get a hug from his dad, but not from his sister or mother. I wasn’t surprised that she simply ignored me.
The stale bitch.
We say our goodbyes to Wade and Hadley who will be staying in London for the remainder of the week. Maybe we’ll inspire them and Hadley will come back pregnant.
I’m tempted to say screw the plane ride home as his strong fingers run down my bare back as he strips me of my wedding dress in our hotel suite
Once he’s done, I turn around in his arms and allow my dress to pool at my feet. His lips quirk up in one corner at seeing me in my panties and nothing else.
“I’m a fortunate bastard.”
“That, my husband, you are.”
He runs his fingers down the center of my torso until he reaches my damp white panties. He flicks my clitoris, and I jump in his arms at the sudden jolt of pleasure.
I watch him get down on his knees in front of me and lift my heeled feet one at a time so I could step out of my dress before he shoves my legs apart and covers my panties with his mouth.
“Liam.”
“Let me have this, and we’ll go. I need to taste what belongs to me.”
“Okay,” I whimper as he slides my panties to the side and sucks me into his mouth. My hands scramble to hold onto his hair as he begins to eat me. My legs start to tremble and go numb as the pleasure swims through my veins. Liam moves his hands to my thighs to hold me steady as he takes what he wants from me.
“You taste incredible.”
“Liam!”
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll take care of you.”
The moment his tongue runs up my sex again, I swear I can see the light because he intensifies how hard his tongue is working me, and I want to scream out in decadent pleasure.
“Give it to me, Isla. We made the deal of a lifetime today. You owe me this.”
His tongue starts to flick against me at a faster pace, and I can’t breathe anymore. I start tugging on his hair and moaning as my orgasm builds up from the very tips of my toes.
The moment it hits me he glances up to watch as I throw my head back and scream until I can’t fill my lungs with a sufficient amount of air to scream any longer.
He doesn’t remove his tongue from me until my body stops twitching with each touch of his.
I loosen my fingers in his hair as he helps me out of my wet panties before standing up and pulling my naked body against his tuxedo-clad one.
“I love you, Isla.”
“Love you,” I whisper back and rest my head against his stout chest.
“Do you have another pair of panties? Ones that I can ruin on the plane?”
“I do.”
He smacks my ass before picking me up and carrying me to the bed before he grabs my new suitcase, which is filled with clothing, and places it beside me.
Instead of wrestling with clothes to get dressed, I watch him remove his tuxedo, and I want to jump him right now, but I know that if I do, I won’t have time to stop by and see Quinn before we have to be in the air.
“Stop staring and get dressed, doll,” he says without having to look over his shoulder at me.
“Fine,” I grumble and pull out a matching pair of white silk La Perla lingerie items, a gray knitted sweater, and black Capri pants.
I get dressed slowly as he pulls on a pair of jeans, a black shirt, and his favorite leather jacket. I take my time as he picks, zips, hangs, and bags up my wedding dress for me to take along with us.
Once I get up, I decide to slip my feet back into my white wedding heels and gather what little I have around the hotel room before ducking into the bathroom to pull the pins from my hai
r and ruffle it up a little so it falls around my shoulders.
When I walk back out, Liam is looking at the wedding ring on his finger, spinning it around and around before he looks up and stands.
“Are you ready?”
“Take me home, Mr. Jensen.”
“It’ll be my pleasure, Mrs. Jensen.”
We’re allowed back into the hospital where some of the women from the compound are still recovering. The majority of them, though, have been flown to the safe houses closest to their homes.
“Go right on in,” the nurse says and pulls the door open.
“Thank you,” I tell her as Liam and I walk into the dimly lit room.
“Quinn?”
She turns over and the smile on her face is beautiful when she sees us.
“I didn’t know that you two were coming back.”
“Do you honestly think that I would have left without saying goodbye?”
“I wanted to think that you wouldn’t.”
“Well, we’re here, and it was Liam’s idea to bring you some things. I guessed on clothing sizes, but he insisted on a phone and ID.”
“An ID?”
“He has his sources, apparently.”
Liam sets the basket on the seat next to her bed before running his hand around my waist when he moves beside me.
“I’m glad to see that you’re well. Isla was telling me that you weren’t sure what you wanted to do once you get out of here.”
“I really have no idea. I’ve completely lost the plot.”
“Well,” he says, “I’ve programmed both my and Isla’s information into your phone, and when you’re ready, I’d like to be the one to help you get started wherever you’d like. You’ll find a credit card in there as well. Please use it to get started on your new life. You saved my wife as well as my child. I owe you my life, Quinn.”
“Your wife? When did . . . I didn’t know that you two were married?”
“It happened earlier today,” I tell her and hold up my left hand for her to see my two rings kissing each other.
“Bloody hell, congratulations, you two.”
“Thank you,” Liam replies, and I smile down at her.
“We need to get going, but please know that we’re in your corner.”
“Sure, and thank you for everything.”
“You’re welcome,” Liam says and kisses the side of my head before pulling away and letting go of me long enough so I’m able to lean down and hug her once more.
“Promise me that I’ll see you soon, Quinn?”
“I have no doubt. Now go have fun with that gorgeous man of yours and if you find someone who doesn’t mind dealing with a damaged girl, send him my way.”
“You don’t have to rush into things, Quinn. It’s been years since you’ve been free. Right now, you need to live your life for you and only you. Focus on what you want out of life.”
“Thank you, I will. Text me when you land?”
“I’ll text you from Liam’s number since my new one is back in the States.”
“Sounds good. Have a safe flight.”
“We will, thank you.” I hug her once more and then step back into Liam and we lace our fingers together before walking out of her room and out of the hospital that has helped start the healing process for so many women.
I didn’t believe that many things about Liam would ever surprise me, but he did. I had no idea that he was going out of his way to make today as beautiful as it was. So, yeah, I owe the dickweed a blowey or two.
On our flight back to Chicago, he managed to ravage me a total of three times, and each time he made my body scream with tingling nerves on multiple occasions.
I’m currently curled up on my side against his gloriously naked body as I run my fingers up and down the ridges of his abdomen. He pulls me closer and adjusts the blanket over the two of us on the couch.
Liam is someone who I’ve always let my guard down with, and he’s one of the few people who show me that he’s okay with it. He loves me with no regrets, and if you told me six months ago that I’d be married to this asshole, I would have bet my life savings against you, but here I am.
I’m not hurting, and I’m not suffering while he holds me like this. I’m safe.
“Does it feel good to be home?” he asks as he kisses the top of my head.
“It does, but nothing feels quite as incredible as being in your arms. What are we going to do with the loft, by the way?”
“We can keep it or rent it out. I’ll leave that up to you. I know how much this place means to you.”
I close my eyes and nuzzle into him. “I’ll need to think about it, but I cannot wait to see our home.”
“We can head over after I sleep off the impressive number of endorphins currently vibing through my system.”
“Deal.”
When I wake up again, I’m alone on the couch. I stretch out my sore limbs before tossing the blanket off of myself. Walking naked into the kitchen, I smile when I see Liam opening a Chinese-takeout carton and I perch on the barstool just as he looks up.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of seeing you like that.”
I reach over the island and grab a fortune cookie, open it, and take a bite before Liam shoots me a glare.
“What?”
“Aren’t you supposed to open those after we eat? Surely that cardboard shit can’t be good for the baby.”
I look down at it in my hand before pulling out the fortune and casting the remainder of the cookie aside.
“What does it say?”
“Something about counting my blessings. What did you get us to eat?”
“All of your favorites. I wasn’t sure what you’d still enjoy.”
I lean over the kitchen island and crook my finger at him to come closer. He complies, and I kiss him once before sitting back down and opening one of the three containers he takes out of the carrier.
Thirty minutes later, I’m stuffed, but still craving something. Fried pickles? It’s hard to say, really.
“Go get dressed, and I’ll take you home.”
“Is it done? Like, can we stay there tonight?”
“Would you like to?” he asks as he steps between my bare thighs.
“I’d love to.”
“Go pack a bag, baby doll.”
I squeal and push him back slightly so that I’m able to jump off of the stool. I run up the flight of stairs to the bathroom and turn on the shower to clean off the residual sex before I start packing.
As the water falls on my skin, I think back to what we’ve both endured, and what ultimately brought us together. The steam slowly fills the room as I bathe my skin in a fragrant body wash. The hot water seems to calm me down after the orgasms that consumed me earlier, but my mind keeps drifting to the how. How we got to where we are today, and if anything would be different if life took each of us down a different street.
“Liam?” I call from the shower, and minutes later, I hear him step into the bathroom, and he pulls the shower door open.
“Are you okay?” His concerned eyes flash down my body in search of something out of place.
“Yes, I was just wondering.”
“About?”
I massage the shampoo into my hair and sigh as the water hits my breasts at the perfect pressure. “Do you think that she would mind?”
“Who? Quinn?”
“No. My sister.”
I move underneath the water spray and let it wash away the suds laced through my hair. The regimented routine of showering doesn’t slow as he replies to me.
“As in Chloe?”
“Yes.”
He opens the glass shower door wider before he steps in under the spray with me, wrapping both of his arms around my naked body.
“I’m not sure how to answer that, Isla. What I do know, though, is that she would have done anything to finally meet you. I should have made it happen before everything took place. I should have pushed her more after each excuse that
she fed me, but I didn’t.”
“Liam, none of what happened is your fault. Not with what my mother chose, nor what happened to Chloe. Plus, without you, I wouldn’t have even known that I had a sister.”
He reaches out to grab the bottle of conditioner, squeezing some out into the palm of his hand before returning it to its place. He starts to massage my scalp with his fingers as he begins to speak.
“A lot wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t around, doll, but I cannot change the past.”
I can tell that he’s trying to figure out what to say, so I let him have a moment of silence as I close my eyes and enjoy the feel of his fingers massage my scalp.
“Honestly, I don’t think that she would mind. What I do know, though, and as fucked up as this is going to sound, I believe it to be true. I think that my initial attraction to her was because she looked like you. Sure, I loved her, but when I think back to those emotions that I felt for her all of those years ago, none of them compare to what I currently feel for you. Not even in the slightest.”
“Liam.”
“Trust me, Isla.”
“I do, you know that.”
“Good, now listen to me and absorb what I’m going to tell you wholeheartedly.”
I nod and move back under the warm spray as he helps me to get the silky conditioner out of the strands of my hair.
“I recall the first day that I saw her. I was drunk and high out of my mind at a beach bonfire, and you walked up to me in a fucking string bikini. I about fucking flipped to see you in Australia, but when you opened your mouth . . . it wasn’t you, and then I drunkenly noticed all of the differences.”
“Like what?”
“There were a lot. Her voice wasn’t as velvety smooth as yours, she had a good four inches on you, and her hair was cut just above her shoulders. As long as I’ve known you, you’ve never had it that short, and I doubt that you ever will.”
I chuckle because he’s right. I love my locks too much to haphazardly chop them off.
“We sat and spoke for a long time. I remember showing her a picture of you, and she froze up on me. I’m not sure if that’s when all of the pieces fell into place for her, but when I met her mother, I knew. I remembered seeing a picture of her in your dorm room—the one that you got after your grandmother’s death. You would stare at it and give it the finger each time you walked in.”
Intertwined: A Redemption Novel Page 30