by Nora Ash
“The Perkinson Family.”
9
Audrey
Four days.
It’d been four days since Liam typed his phone number into my mobile, four days since we’d parted with the promise of “soon”… and four days since I’d been able to take my eyes off my damn phone for more than a few minutes at a time.
But no matter how much I stared at the display, the only texts that’d beeped in over the past few days had been from my sister, my mother, and Pizza Hut. I’d ignored the first, answered the second (yes, I’ll come by for Dad’s birthday meal), and a half-eaten stuffed crust pepperoni pizza on my coffee table was currently bearing witness to my pathetic staring contest with my phone.
Why doesn’t he call?
I growled at my own desperation. I knew why he hadn’t been in touch—a guy like Liam undoubtedly had a very active social life. Getting in touch with the random one-nighter from earlier in the week likely wasn’t all that high on his to-do list.
Which meant that… I fingered the display, biting my lip with indecision. It was quite obvious that if I wanted to see him again, I’d have to be the initiator. But how pathetically desperate was that? I didn’t particularly want to come across as the needy girl who wouldn’t take a hint—I was too old for that.
…Like I was too old to sit by my phone on a Friday night, pining after a guy.
For fuck’s sake! I was a grown-arse adult. If I wanted to see a man, I could damn well send him a text and ask him to swing by.
Before I could change my mind, I typed out a quick text and pressed “send.”
Hi Liam, want to come by when you next have time? Audrey.
There. Short and to the point. Just pure business.
…The business of a booty call. Fuck, had I made it sound like a damn transaction? Why was I so terrible at this?
A sharp beep from my phone jolted me out of my spiraling thoughts. It was from him.
Sure. Be there in 20.
For a moment, I just stared at the message. Shock mixed with elation churned in my gut. I’d not even considered he’d have time to see me on a Friday night, but just seeing the few words he’d typed made everything inside me warm up as images of his silvery eyes and the eternal laughter they seemed to hold flashed through my memory. The past few days in work had seemed particularly gray and lifeless—as if the moment he’d left my apartment, the infusion of color and life he’d enveloped me with had disappeared and I’d been left in a deadened, washed-out version of reality. A reality I hadn’t known was so empty before he’d given me the briefest glimmer of what I was missing.
Which was absolutely preposterous, of course. We’d shared one night. A pleasure-filled night, sure, but even the mind-blowing sex like what he’d shown me really shouldn’t make the rest of my life seem empty by comparison. I’d worked hard to get where I was. I didn’t need a man to fulfill me. Not even one with a god-like dick.
Maybe Eileen was right. Maybe breaking my extended dry spell with such a vigorous round of shagging had given me a mild case of temporary brain damage—something she’d teasingly suggested when she’d found me staring blankly at the wall in front of the copier for the fifth time during the week.
A sharp twinge of excitement down low in my abdomen brought my thoughts back to the present. I’d see him again tonight. In… “Shit!” In fifteen minutes!
I jumped up from the couch and took a panicked look across my messy living room, mentally calculating where my efforts would be best spent.
He’s not here for the fucking living room, Audrey.
Decision made to let messy coffee table be messy coffee table, I spun and ran for the bathroom.
I’d just managed to clean my teeth and apply deodorant, and was mid-way through applying a quick layer of mascara when the door phone went with a loud buzz.
I squeaked, narrowly avoided to stabbing myself in the eye, and promptly dropped the mascara into the sink.
He’s here!
Shit, he’s here.
My previous excitement was suddenly overshadowed by a flock of butterflies settling into the pit of my stomach, and I pressed a hand against my top to try and settle them down. There’s no reason to freak out, it’s just two adults meeting for some fun.
But one of those adults had eyes that shone with warmth and light I craved like a heroin addict craves her next fix—and a body carved from goddamn marble.
Somehow, I made it to my hallway and pressed the speaker button on my call box. “Yeah?”
“It’s me.” Even through the scratchy static, I could hear the eternal smile in his deep voice and that hard Cockney dialect that made my panties dampen in Pavlovian response.
I buzzed him in and unlocked the door—and leaned against it with my eyes closed to try and get myself together. The way my heart pitter-pattered in my chest, you’d think I was a young girl waiting for her crush, not a grown-up business woman who’d arranged a night of passion with a no-strings lover.
Hard raps of knuckles against wood made the door vibrate against my back, and I nearly jumped out of my own skin with a shrill squeak.
“Audrey? You all right?” Liam’s voice was muffled by the closed door between us, but the laughter in it was unmistakable.
I internally cussed myself before I turned around, smoothed my top to settle myself—and opened the door.
Liam was leaning against the doorframe, his tall, broad-shouldered figure taking up most of the doorway. He flashed me a crooked smile. “Hey, love.”
Before I managed to get my tongue under control to form a reply, he swooped down and pressed a lingering kiss to my lips. The heat from his mouth penetrated my blood and exploded in pulsing waves down through my body until my mind fogged over and my core clenched in rhythm with my ragged breathing.
When he pulled back I stared up at him with wide eyes, mouth half agape.
His wry smile turned to a full grin at my clearly dumbfounded expression. “Can I come in?”
Mutely, I stepped to the side so he could squeeze past me.
Halfway on auto-pilot, I shut the door and turned around to face him again—but the sight of him standing there in his leather coat with that red, unruly hair and easy smile in my hallway after having pined for him for so long left me tongue-tied.
God, I’d missed him.
And I shouldn’t have. Not like this. This was way too intense, way too much.
The corner of his mouth hiked up a little higher at my continued silent staring. With an easy movement he shrugged out of his leather coat and dropped it on the small chest of drawers next to the doorway leading into the living room. But instead of taking mercy on me and breaking the silence, he just looked at me with that mischievous smile lurking in the corner of his mouth and simmering heat in his eyes that made my ovaries quiver.
Bastard.
“Tea?” I finally managed, way too loud. I could have slapped myself. Tea? Really, Audrey? Like a twenty-five-year-old sex god shows up at a woman’s doorstep for a cup of goddamn tea.
A low rumble of laughter made its way up his throat. “Maybe later.”
And then, finally, he took pity on me. The heat in his gaze smoldered, some of the mischief slipping to the background. He cocked his head and let those expressive eyes of his run up and down my body, leaving me shivering and too hot at the same time.
Liam took one step toward me, and I took one back, responding to the predatory smirk slipping over his sinful lips. Slowly, in a near-prowl, he herded me backward through my apartment and into my bedroom. I only stopped when I felt the bed hit the backs of my knees.
Liam closed the distance between us and captured my lips in a searing kiss that had me panting and clutching at his strong arms within seconds.
“Liam,” I whispered when he finally let me breathe.
An unexpected push and I lay on my back on top of the sheets. My entire body buzzed with anticipation. When Liam shrugged out of his T-shirt and let it drop to the floor, the heat pulsing thr
ough my body centered below my navel with a sharp twinge.
“I’ve missed you,” I breathed before I realized I’d spoken out loud.
He climbed on top of me, nudging my thighs apart so he could settle his still jeans-clad hips between them. The outline of his hard cock pressed against my clothed pussy, right where I was aching for him.
“I’ve missed you, too.”
10
Audrey
My head buzzed pleasantly with the echo of several orgasms as I lay sprawled next to Liam some time later, one leg hiked over his thighs and my arm across his chest. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt so at peace. Well, that was a lie—I couldn’t remember a time before I’d met Liam where I’d felt such peace. It was as if he had some magic fix against the constant undercurrent of stress in my life.
I smirked against his tattooed chest and let my fingers dance down his sculpted abs and along the narrow trail of ginger fuzz leading the way to his softened cock. Magic fix, all right.
The heavy pole of flesh twitched at my attention, and Liam cracked his eyelids to look down at me. “Again?” Despite his body’s obvious interest, his tone was relaxed and lazy.
I giggled and let my hand slide back up to his pecs, flattening across one of the black swirls of ink underneath his pale skin. “Maybe later.”
Liam hummed with relaxed amusement at hearing his own words turned against him. “Wuss.”
“Chafing is a real problem, you know,” I said, trying for a prim tone. It earned me a chuckle and a kiss to the top of my head.
“I don’t think you can chafe, as wet as you get for me,” he said, just a sliver of smugness in his voice.
I huffed, cheeks flushing. He was probably right—the second he touched me, it was as if my abdomen liquified with hot, wet need.
“I’m glad you got in touch,” he said after a moment’s silence.
I bit my lip, my heart doing an odd flip. “I did ask for your number.” And I’d been damn needy about it, too.
“You were still high on endorphins,” he said with a shrug. “I figured you’d change your mind once you came back down. Smart girls like you tend to realize they shouldn’t make a habit of seeing guys like me.”
“Is that why you didn’t call me?” I said, and instantly regretted the question. Way to fucking go, Audrey. Amp up the neediness some more and see how fast he can get his pants back on. “I mean—”
He silenced me with a finger against my lips. “I know what you meant, love.”
I waited for him to continue, to answer my question, but he didn’t, and I didn’t have the courage to ask again.
“Are you leaving tonight?” I asked instead, somehow managing a casual tone.
“If you want me to, sure.” He released me and rolled over onto his side so he could look at me while supporting his head on his hand. His free hand found my bare stomach and stroked across it in a gentle caress. “But I’d like to stay for morning sex.”
“I’d like that, too,” I said, unable to hold back the smile spreading across my face as I looked at him.
The corners of Liam’s eyes crinkled with that innate happiness that had my heart skipping a beat. His hand moved from my stomach to my hip so he could roll me onto my side and pull me in flush against his chest. “Then I’ll stay,” he said before he dipped his head for another kiss.
It didn’t take long for my body to warm against his once more, but when I felt his cock rise against my stomach again and his kiss turned urgent, I pulled back with a laugh.
“How about that tea?” I asked, putting my arms between us when he tried to pull me back in.
“How about another fuck?” he countered, arching his eyebrows at me suggestively.
“Seriously, what kind of pharmaceuticals are you on?” I slapped his roaming hand away from my backside and rolled out of the bed before I succumbed to his all too convincing touch. If I wanted any hope of not being rendered with a permanent limp, I needed at least a small break before the next round.
Liam sighed wistfully and turned over so he could sit up. “No need for pills when you’re waving that sweet arse around, love. I’ve never known a woman as beautiful as you. ’S’far as I’m concerned, the only pharmaceuticals ‘round here are whatever amphetamines you’re hiding between your thighs.”
I snorted, hiding the way my cheeks heated with involuntary happiness at his obvious flattery by turning my back and pulling my thigh-length robe on. “I appreciate the attempt, Liam, but you don’t need to feed me bullshit lines. I’m not one of your impressionable girls.” I left the bedroom and bee-lined for the kitchen without looking at him. I didn’t want him to see how easy it was to listen to all the sweet things he said. It was one thing during sex—it was another to hear them when we both had a functioning blood supply to our brains.
After I finished the tea, I found Liam lounging in my living room, eating one of my leftover slices of now cold pizza with the same carefree attitude as always and not a shred of clothes on. Soft jazz, the old CD I’d left in my stereo from weeks ago, flowed smoothly through the air, and he’d lit a couple of the candles on the sofa table.
“Needed to refuel,” he said when I sat on the couch next to him, placing two cups of tea in front of us. He grabbed another slice and held it out for me, and when I took it, he pulled me into his body so I was resting against his side and chest, his pizza-free arm around my shoulders. It felt so good, so natural, and I instinctively relaxed against his warm skin.
“You do know the curtains are open, right?” I murmured in between bites of pepperoni bliss. He was definitely on to something with this refueling idea. My stomach rumbled in appreciation.
“Gotta give your neighbors something to look at,” he said with an unconcerned shrug.
“You’re not bothered by anything, are you?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“Sure I am.” I felt a stroke through my hair, and couldn’t hold back a hum of pleasure. “Just never gave two shits about what other people think of me.”
“No one?” It seemed like such a foreign concept. As long as I could remember, I’d most definitely worried about what others thought of me, starting with my parents and including my bosses these days.
He made a thoughtful sound. “I guess my brother, Louis. But he and I are basically the same person, so… it’s never something I worry about.”
“Must be nice,” I sighed, not realizing how wistful I sounded before he pushed my chin up with a couple of fingers so he could capture my gaze with his.
“Anyone giving you any bullshit, love?”
The flash of something dark in his otherwise effulgent eyes seemed completely out of place on his beautiful, mischievous face.
“Not really,” I said. The memory of the abuse I’d been taking on a daily basis via a steady stream of emails from Perkinson made me wrinkle my nose. “I’ve got a really horrible client at the moment, but I’ve always had to measure up to my sister. And I’ve always come up short, you know?”
“I doubt you come up short against anyone.” He sounded so completely sincere that for a moment, I almost believed him. Then reality set in and I flushed and looked down. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“Flirt. Flatter.” I waved a dismissive hand. “I don’t want anything fake, okay? I… being with you is such a breath of fresh air from all the façades. You’re so wonderfully genuine. Don’t give me cheap lines, like I’m some naïve girl you’re trying to get into bed. That’s not what I want.”
He was silent for a short moment. Then his hand rounded on my chin again.
“Audrey, look at me.” His voice was far more serious than I’d ever heard it before. I obeyed on instinct and was caught in his gaze once more. There was so much sincerity in it, it nearly took my breath away
“I’m not feeding you some bullshit lines, love. You’re fucking beautiful, driven, and obviously smart as shit. I promise you I’ll be nothing but real with you, if you promise me you’ll stop t
hinking you’re somehow not measuring up. Not when you’re around me. Yeah?”
I stared at him for the longest time, letting his words sink in through the heavy thumping from my heart. Saw the flames of truth in those silver eyes, and knew I’d found the one place in the world I could be free to simply be, if only for a fleeting moment. In the arms of a man I’d thought I’d only ever see once.
My throat was too thick to produce words, so I nodded mutely instead. That was our pact—our promise that existed only in this space between the two of us. No bullshit. No façades.
Liam threw the leftovers of his pizza slice on the table and got to his feet. He held out his hand, and I let him pull me up next to him.
“I love jazz,” he murmured, slipping both arms around me. “My mother had this album.”
“Is she dead?” The way his mouth tensed when he said had made me place my hands on his chest in an instinctual attempt at offering comfort.
“Yeah. Many years ago. I don’t remember as much about her as my brothers do, but I remember this. Her love of music.” Liam rested his head against mine and held me tighter against his naked form. Slowly, he moved us in rhythm to the music, and I slipped my arms up around his neck.
“I’m sorry,” I said, softly so as to not drown out the melody enveloping our swaying bodies. “How did she die?”
“Shot.” He nuzzled his nose against my ear. “It’s not a happy subject, love.”
“Does it have to be?”
“It usually does. It makes people feel better.”
I twisted my fingers in the unruly ends of his red hair that brushed against his nape, making him look at me. “I thought we agreed you’d be real with me.”
A shadow of a smile touched his lips, but it didn’t have the usual sardonic quality. “We did.”
The pure, raw emotion in his eyes made me lift up on my tiptoes to press my lips against his.
Liam moaned into my mouth and tightened his grip around my body. Without breaking our kiss he lifted me up, sliding his strong hands down to grab my backside. I spread my thighs for his hips, and he carried me to the window, pushing me up against the glass.