by C. J. Thomas
He smiled. “I like our options open, depending on where the evening takes us.”
Looking at the comfortable bed, thinking about enjoying it—and him—under the stars nearly made me forget about my obligation of seeing Dani tonight. Of course, I hadn’t exactly given her a time I’d be there. Besides, she had the car and was out with her friends.
His intense eyes stayed on mine. “Open the box.”
“Aren’t I supposed to be the one jumping with excitement?” I teased, just as the anticipation became overwhelming.
I untied the ribbon, pulled off the top, and gasped. I had no idea what I expected to be in there, but definitely nothing like this. It took me a while to bring myself to pick up the sleek silver cuff. The row of diamonds lining the side gave it a chic and very expensive look.
“It’s gorgeous,” I said as I slipped it on my wrist.
“It will match most anything . . . of Sadie’s that you borrow.” Liam gave me his mischievous grin, making my knees go weak, thinking about the things that grin precluded.
My brain wanted to calculate how much this present might have cost but I shut down my analytical thoughts and reminded myself to just enjoy our time. It didn’t matter how crazy I was for him, how could I accept it? I reached over to slide it back off but Liam gently caught my wrist.
“Leave it, please. I know you’re about to say something like you can’t accept it.”
I opened my mouth.
“And you’re thinking that it’s too much.” He pulled my hand against his lips. “I want you . . .” He kissed my wrist. “ . . . to know . . . ” My arm. “ . . . just how . . .” Kissed my shoulder. My neck. “ . . . I feel about you . . .” He pressed his mouth against mine and I melted into him.
Tonight couldn’t possibly get more perfect than this. “Thank you,” I said between breaths and kisses.
“Should I have the chef bring up the food or would you like me to continue?” He glanced over at the outdoor bed.
I smiled just as my stomach growled. “If I said to continue because I wasn’t hungry, I’d be lying.”
“How about dinner in bed?”
“I don’t think we’d make it.” I nodded to the basket on the far end of the table. “Any chance there’s bread in there?”
“Freshly baked.”
I unfolded the napkin keeping the rolls warm and pulled one out. “This should hold me over.”
He grabbed the whole basket with one hand and me in the other. “To keep our energy up.”
I laughed as he pulled out his phone. “Hold dinner. I’ll let you know when we’re ready.” He looked back at me as he pulled me across the roof. “Yes, it may be a while.”
CHAPTER 33
Tessa
A thrill surged through me as Liam guided me along the hundreds of tea lights scattered across the roof. His desire for me to follow his every whim burned in the evening air. My heart beat faster with every step, unsure what would happen next.
My only certainty was that it would involve the thrill of Liam’s touch.
No man had lasted long in my life. I’d always been too busy and driven for my mind and body to be present with a man for any length of time.
Liam slowed me down, and every time we were together, we grew closer.
As we reached the bed, Liam set down the bread, and with careful hands, he guided me to lay on my back. The outdoor material felt more comfortable against my legs than I would have guessed and I didn’t mind the idea of more skin exposed.
Instead of ripping my clothes off like I briefly imagined, Liam handed me a piece of bread and lay next to me. With my head resting on his arm, I scooted to him until the full length of our bodies pressed against each other.
We looked up to the sky. Sometimes the city lights made it difficult to see the early evening stars, but tonight they were clear and present and it seemed as though they twinkled a little brighter just for us.
We made our way through the bread basket, sharing the intimate silence, enjoying the company. Being this close to someone I felt so much for intensified the passion to come with every passing moment.
After a time, Liam propped up his head with a hand and gazed down at me. “This dress is very intriguing. I haven’t seen many that zip all the way up the front.” He gave me a slow smile. “Is it fully functional?”
I returned his smile, remembering my underwear-free surprise waiting for him. “Why don’t you find out?”
He grasped the zipper in his fingers. A delightful shiver went down my body and I waited for him to pull it all the way down. Instead, he frowned. “Did you have somewhere you needed to be tonight?”
I sighed and dropped my head on the bed. “I’d planned to go back to Greenwich tonight.” As I said the words, I knew I wanted nothing more than to stay exactly where I was. I held the bracelet Liam just gave me and couldn’t stand the idea of ending the evening early. “I think Dani can manage one more night on her own.”
Liam leaned over and kissed my ear. “Well . . .” He nipped a little lower. “. . . if you’re sure . . .”
Who was he kidding? There was no doubt I wanted to stay. I moaned as he kissed his way across my neck. “Yes, oh yes.”
“Good girl. Now, let’s see about this zipper.” He slowly inched it down, kissing my collarbone, little by little exposing my bare skin.
I waited to see his face when he realized I had nothing on underneath.
As he slowly made his way down, I lost myself in the moment, opening up to the pleasure to come. The zipper stopped at my bellybutton and I squirmed for him to continue.
“Is that your phone?”
His words shook me back to the present. I blinked and heard my ring tone where I had left my purse on the table. I sat up just as it stopped ringing. “I’ll check the voicemail later.”
“Will you?” Liam leaned over me as I laid back down. He trailed his fingers from my neck to my chest and slipped his hand under the material. “No bra, hmm?” His deep voice vibrated in my ear as he flicked my nipple with his thumb. “Good girl.” Liam pinched and twisted hard enough to make me gasp. As my body thrummed with pleasure, I could feel how wet he made me. He grabbed the zipper again where it rested on my stomach. “Now, let’s see what else you’re not wearing for me.”
My phone rang again and Liam dropped his hand.
I groaned. “Let me see who it is.” Scooting off the bed, I pulled up my zipper. I definitely expected to lose this dress tonight, but not as I ran for the phone.
Picking up my purse from the table, I pulled out my cell. The number was a Greenwich area code, but not one I recognized. I answered just before it went to voicemail again.
“Oh, thank God.”
“Dani? You okay?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t have called again if everything was okay.”
My thoughts shifted back to the last time Dani called me in a panic from another phone—from Dad’s phone—to tell me our parents were gone.
Unexpected grief struck through me so fast that I gripped the chair and sat. From the corner of my eye, I could see Liam, the candlelight flickering against his skin as he quickly moved toward me.
He had a hand on my back, asking if everything was okay before I could even process what Dani was trying to say to me.
“Tessa? Did you hear me?”
Though it was hard to hear over the static, someone in the background said, “Two minutes, Douglas.”
“What was that about?” I asked, right about the time the static got worse.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I got arrested and—”
“You what?” I stood suddenly.
“Do you think I wanted to call you with this?”
I rubbed my forehead, trying to switch gears from the pain of thinking about Mom and Dad over to dealing with the next episode of Dani’s downward spiral.
“Did you try calling Edward?” I asked, pressing my ear to the phone, hoping to hear her answer.
“Why the . . . would I cal
l our lawyer?”
I closed my eyes in an effort not to roll them and fell back into the chair. Liam’s hand returned to my back. “Don’t worry about it.” Maybe that was for the best. Having him do anything this time of night would probably cost us double.
“Are you in . . . yet?”
I could only assume she had said ‘Greenwich.’ “No, but I’ll head that way.”
Dani cursed, probably putting it together that it would take that much longer for me to help her out.
Liam gripped my free hand and squeezed, giving me the extra boost of strength I needed.
“I don’t know what the hell I’m doing here. I did—”
“Don’t say another word. Not until I get there.”
The last thing she needed was to implicate herself in whatever she got mixed up in. I hung up the phone. Liam gave me a questioning look and I zipped my dress up the rest of the way.
“That bad, huh?” he asked, and I told him what little I knew. “Then we better head out.”
“We?” I asked.
“You don’t need to take the train this time of night,” he said. “I’ll drive you.” I opened my mouth but he continued, “I’m pretty sure you know by now that when I make up my mind to help, there’s no changing it.”
I sighed as a strong gust blew out several of the candles. The night that had steadily been moving from amazing to perfect just took a sudden turn toward disaster.
As Liam escorted me off the roof. I squeezed his arm and thought, at least I have him.
CHAPTER 34
Liam
“You didn’t have to take me back home tonight, you know,” Tessa said from my passenger seat.
“I wouldn’t have offered if I didn’t want to.” A late evening drive to Greenwich wasn’t in the plan but I couldn’t think of much I wouldn’t do for her.
She crossed her legs and her dress hiked further up her thigh. I shifted in my seat as my cock hardened for the thousandth time tonight. She really had no idea what she did to me, did she?
I glanced over to the zipper running down the length of her dress and wondered just what she had underneath. I gripped the steering wheel and told myself now was not the time to pull over and find out.
With the whole night planned out, I’d done my best to hide my disappointment when Tessa received the call from her sister. Tessa already had enough to deal with.
Though she held a calm expression, Tessa threaded the strap of her purse around her fingers. In and out, her movements rhythmic and precise, like she tended to be most of the time. Probably had something to do with her analytical mind.
I reached across the center console of my Rover and squeezed her hand. When it took her a few moments to return it, I knew Dani’s arrest hit her harder than she’d let on.
“Even after I moved to New York City a few years back, Dani and I stayed close.” Tessa looked out the passenger window for a long moment. “For the last week or so, she’s been calling and hanging up. After everything happened, I’ve gone home as often as I could, but she doesn’t want to see me, not really.”
“Sounds like she doesn’t know what she needs.”
“I don’t either. There’s no way I could stay there every day. Not with all those memories. Between Mom’s decorative taste of modern-chic to Dad’s pet projects, everything there is, well, them. I’ve offered for her to stay with me in New York, but she won’t leave.”
“It’s probably harder on her than she’s admitting. You can’t force her.”
Tessa flipped her purse strap in her fingers again. “I know I should go easier on myself. I can’t control her and all that.”
I chuckled. “I see you’re giving my speech for me.”
“There has to be something I can do for her,” Tessa said. As I took the first exit out of New York, I could feel her gaze on me. “I know that you don’t like to talk about it, but anything you could tell me would be helpful.”
I glanced over. This wasn’t something I ever talked about. Something meaningful crossed her face but it was hard to tell exactly what it was in the dark. “What’s that look for?”
“I just—” She rubbed her palms together. “I’m sorry I asked, but I just need to know how to handle this. It’s not only about me. It’s Dani, too.”
Well, hell. “My parents died in a helicopter accident.” The words spilled out. Tessa already knew that, but I hadn’t put it so bluntly . . . ever.
No one else needed to know what I’d been through. Maybe not until now. I reminded myself that I said I’d do damn near anything for Tessa. Telling her a little about me should be easy street compared to some things. Should be didn’t mean that was the case.
“So, what happened to your family . . . it was unexpected, too? How did you deal?”
“The hardest thing for me was being alone. I didn’t have a brother or sister going through the exact same thing I was.”
“See, that’s what I don’t get. She’s choosing to do it alone.”
“Her calling you means she wants to reach out. It might mean that she doesn’t know what to say. Or—” I paused, not really wanting to finish.
“Or what?”
Yeah, load of good that did me. There was no stopping Tessa from wanting to know something. Something I usually dodged, no problem.
But right now, helping her mattered more.
I just didn’t want to hurt her in the process. “Or she thinks you’ll judge her.” When Tessa sighed, I added, “I reacted worse than she did at first. I tested the limits. She’s doing it with ice cream. I found whatever extreme stunt I could find.” I was lucky I was still alive.
“If you had only seen our pool that day.”
“It’s what she needs to do. Doesn’t matter that she’s pushing you away. I was able to get over things because I had supportive friends and other family there for me. Like you are there for her. Just stay on it.” I squeezed her hand again. “Things get better. When you’re ready, put your efforts into something meaningful. I started my dream business.”
“The photography studio.”
I nodded. “It’s my way to give back for all they did for me.” After a time, I said, “I’ve helped you, right? I don’t just mean tonight. But in general.”
“You take my mind off things. Some distractions have been more enjoyable than others.” Her eyes grew big. “Not to say everything hasn’t been wonderful—”
I chuckled. “Don’t worry. I get what you mean.”
To make her feel better, and for a bit of my own pleasure, I trailed my fingers up along the inside of her thigh. Her moan told me I was definitely on the right track.
As I slid my hand higher, Tessa tensed in anticipation. The moment her head leaned back, just before I touched exactly where I wanted to, I squeezed her leg and pulled away.
She whimpered and I chuckled again, glad to be there for her even in times like this.
CHAPTER 35
Liam
The police station’s waiting room had enough places to sit for half the city. Given this was one of the more upscale towns in the Tri-state area, they had more money than they knew what to do with rather than ever expecting to fill them.
“Do you want this row of gray chairs, or that one?” I asked Tessa and she gave me the look I was going for.
“We should probably talk to someone before sitting down.”
I smacked her ass.
“Hey!” Her eyes widened as though saying, Really? Here?
I gave her a look back to let her know I’d happily take her anywhere. Non-verbal communication had its own kind of thrill and it came so easily with Tessa.
The officer at the desk sat with a straight back in his swivel chair. Short-cropped hair told me he probably came to the force after serving the country. Good for him. He kept filling out reports and didn’t look up even as we clearly stood in his vision. Something told me he wasn’t trying to be rude, just on task.
“Hey, Phil,” Tessa said in a genuinely cheery voice as she
propped her elbows on the counter.
I frowned and double checked that his badge only said ‘Landstorm.’
The man’s face transformed the moment he saw her. “Tessa. It’s good to see you.”
A non-verbal exchange went between them and I didn’t know if I should step back or step up to him.
“Phil, this is—”
“Liam,” I added, though I knew it wasn’t my name she’d forgotten.
She gave me a smile and I realized she didn’t know what we were. I’d never exactly been one for titles.
I put my arm around her. It wasn’t about what we were as long as we had this. As soon as it was only the two of us again, I’d be sure to show her.
“We brought your sister in tonight.”
“That’s why we’re here.”
The officer shook his head at himself. “Of course it is.”
She went easy on the guy. I wanted to tell him she certainly wasn’t there for him, but I wasn’t sure he noticed I was in the room. And I wasn’t someone who ever went unnoticed.
Hell, if I didn’t care so damn much for Tessa I’d tell her to flirt with him to get her sister out of here. Though I couldn’t see her leading someone on like that.
“What’s she in here for, anyway?”
I expected the guy to have to check some report but he rattled off the details of the arrest as if he’d brought her in himself.
“At 5:06pm, Officer Tisdale received a call from Mary’s Bakery on 3rd and—”
“Phil, you really don’t have to be so formal with me.”
He blushed and I stopped myself from groaning. Good thing I wasn’t in the habit of punching guys in jealousy. This would probably be the worst situation to be in if that was my thing.
“The owner, Mary, caught her stuffing muffins.” He swiveled one direction in his chair, then the other as he spoke. “Not as in putting things into the muffins, but as in putting them in her mouth and in a bag.”
Tessa gave him her easygoing laugh. “I’m following.”
“The owner told her to leave but she just kept eating.”