On the Market (The Ballard Brothers of Darling Bay Book 1)

by Rachael Herron

  Her insides burst into flame. “Ditto.” She turned so that his mouth was on hers again, and the kiss that followed engulfed her body in heat.

  “We can take it slow, though.” He stroked her jaw with his thumb.

  “No.”

  “Sorry?” His voice had a catch in it.

  “Not slow.”

  Liam pulled her against him, and she felt again how hard he was. “Are you sure?”

  Funny, she was always unsure about sex. Usually she wondered if the timing was right, if she looked good enough, if she was with the right person.

  Right now, though, she was dead sure about what she wanted.

  And what she wanted was Liam. Inside her. Soon.

  She reached her hands between them and undid his buckle.

  Very soon.

  “You haven’t answered me.” Liam stopped her hand gently.

  She could feel him, hard and ready through his jeans, but his gaze was soft. “I’m sure.”

  “Sure sure?”

  “I’m so fucking sure.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Liam laughed, and the sound of it was an aphrodisiac. She moved faster, and so did he. She shrugged out of his jacket, and then Liam tugged off her tank top. When his eyes narrowed with heat at the sight of her breasts, she was glad she’d been too lazy to put on a bra when she’d taken off her work clothes.

  “You’re incredible.” His voice was low and rough.

  This was when Liam would lean forward, and take her nipple into his mouth, and she couldn’t wait for the heat and slickness of his lips—but he didn’t.

  He leaned forward, yes.

  But then he tugged at the chain around her neck. He lifted the key to his mouth, and kissed it gently, all the while keeping his soft gaze on hers.

  And she melted inside. All her bones turned to liquid and her heart got too big to keep pounding in her chest, and she was suddenly too nervous to say another word, so she pulled hard at the fly of his jeans.

  He laughed and the warm key fell back to her chest. She helped him out of his jeans, and then he returned the favor. Down to only their underwear, she straddled his lap as he sat on the edge of the sofa. He caught her mouth with his, and brought his hands to her cheeks. He decelerated, as surely as if a stop light had turned yellow.

  The problem was that Felicia wanted a green light. And speed.

  Liam drawled, “Slow down, sugar.”

  Felicia nipped at his bottom lip. “But I like fast.”

  She licked her way down his neck and then back up to his ear. Liam groaned. “Do you always get your way?”

  “Only at work.” But since work was her life… “Yes.” She wrapped her legs around him tighter, and tilted her hips so that the only barrier between them was the cotton of his jockeys and the wet fabric of her panties.

  “Well, hell. I was raised to be polite and give a lady what she wants.” He put his hands behind her neck and pulled her in tight. He kissed her hard, and left her no question about what would happen next.

  Until he spoke.

  “I’m going to ask, though, for a strange favor.”

  Felicia pulled back. “Should I be worried?”

  “It might not feel natural.”

  She blinked. “Now I’m really nervous.” She’d played some kinky games in the past, but was she ready to let a virtual stranger tie her up in a house in the middle of nowhere?

  Well. It was Liam. She might let him do whatever the hell he wanted to her.

  He laughed, a round, open sound. “You should be nervous. I want us both to face our fears, okay?”

  Now she really was worried. “Um. What?”

  He dropped his gaze, then appeared to take a breath. She could feel his chest expand beneath her hands. “Basically, I said on that stupid camera thing that I’m scared of people not accepting me if I show them who I am. And you said you’re scared to feel your feelings. So I’m going to suggest that if we shimmy all the way down to naked, and I really hope we do,” he moved against her as if to prove it, “then let’s both of us do what we’re scared to do.”

  If he’d suggested tying her upside down and whipping her with Red Vines, she would have been less surprised. She was staggered. “Oh.”

  He put his hand against her heart, and she felt her nipple tighten just below his fingers. “You feel. I’ll show you who I am. Neither of us will be scared.”

  “I can try.” She wanted to. Felicia really wanted to.

  He leaned back into the sofa, taking her with him. Then he rolled, so that he was on top of her, holding his weight on his elbows. “Naked shimmy now?”

  Felicia kissed him as she wriggled out of her panties, and kept kissing him while she tugged down his shorts. Condom, oh, condom, damn her, what had she been thinking? She should’ve already handled this —

  Liam kissed her right breast, taking the nipple into his mouth and sucking gently. “Gorgeous,” he said around it. “You’re fucking gorgeous.”

  Condom, condom. Felicia flailed her arm toward her purse, which was six feet away, at least.

  “Want to see a magic trick?”

  She was finally able to get the breath to say the word. “Condom!”

  Liam snapped next to her ear. Then he brought his hand in front of her face, flipping a wrapped condom from finger to finger.

  “I’m going to need you to explain how you did that.” Felicia ripped the wrapper off. “Later. Right now, I need you to do something else.”

  His shaft was so hot she wondered if the condom would melt. Or if she would. It didn’t seem out of the realm of possibility. She reached down between them and rolled the latex over his cock. He was still propped up on his elbows, and she could feel the tension in his muscles. One of them was shaking, but she wasn’t sure which of them it was.

  Liam kissed her again. “We can go as slow as we—”

  Him and his polite yellow stop light. She wanted it to go green. “Fast.”

  His eyes lit with heat, and he thrust into her fully, hard and fast.

  She gasped as it felt like all the air was pushed out of her lungs. He was big—just enough to stretch her, just enough to hit the very back of what she could take.

  He was just fucking right.

  And he was still on his elbows, as if he wanted to keep his weight off her, to keep her safe.

  That was the thing, though. She felt safe.

  And more than that, she felt. So much.

  So she told him. “You’re perfect. You are totally, completely perfect.”

  He gave a low moan in her ear and started to move. She lifted her hips to meet him, to match him with every stroke. He pulled his head back to watch her, and she’d never felt more beautiful. The harder and hotter he got and the faster he moved, the darker his eyes became.

  Felicia had never been a talker in bed before. But every word she said to him made her get wetter, and every word seemed to turn him on more. “Liam, oh, god. You fit me. You fit me. Jesus, Liam, please don’t stop. Please—don’t—stop.” Each word did something to her, to him— she didn’t think it was because the words were dirty. He was listening. As if he was hearing more than her words, more than she could say out loud. As if he could hear her feelings, even if she didn’t know what they were. “Please don’t stop, please don’t stop.”

  She meant it—she wanted this to go on forever. Could it, please? How could she make that happen? She’d do anything to keep it going, but she was getting closer to orgasm with every move. Every thrust brought her clit into contact with his pubic bone, and every stroke lifted her breath into the top of her lungs, as all parts south of her navel contracted into one fine, perfect, trembling tight point. She wasn’t going to be able to help it—she couldn’t stop—

  Felicia lost the ability to speak, to come up with even one more word, and then he spoke low in her ear. “I hear you. I hear you.”

  She came so hard it felt like an explosion, shrapnel taking off the top of her head. Lights flashed behind
her eyelids. She shattered.

  And she’d never be able to put herself back together again. He heard her.

  Then he came with a roar, and she wrapped herself around him, holding him, catching him.

  He collapsed on top of her, a sweet, heavy weight that felt like safety, like contentment.

  “Felicia. Sweet Jesus.” He lifted his head to look at her.

  She turned her face—he’d see the tears that had suddenly sprung to her eyes but—

  “I heard you,” he said.

  You’re everything. She couldn’t say it.

  Not now, not when she could barely breathe for happiness and the fear that filled in behind it.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Liam woke, confused at first. He was happy—so stupid-happy—but why? And where was he?

  The room smelled like dust and fresh wood. And sex.

  Felicia.

  She was the reason his arm had fallen asleep. They were still on the sofa. Sometime in the middle of the night, he’d gotten up and explored closets until he’d found an old wool blanket. It was scratchy, but Felicia’s skin was so soft she made up for the itch. Her head rested on his bicep, and she gave a soft little “pah” every time she exhaled. He’d never heard a cuter noise in his life.

  He reached as carefully as he could for his cell phone. Her breathing didn’t even change.

  Good, it was still early. He could stay like this with her for another thirty minutes before going to pick up Timbo from the school sleep-over. Automatically, he opened his email to see if there were any fires that needed putting out.

  Nothing was in flames, but there were two emails from Felicia about filming with his brothers, and one reply from Aidan.

  She’d been working. While he’d been sleeping. He’d been on the sofa naked with her, and she’d been sending work email.

  Carefully, he pulled his arm out from under her head. He rubbed his face and his eyes. What did her working while he slept mean? Had he missed something? A cue of some sort? Was he so boring that she just waited for him to sleep before going back to work?

  As he stared at the screen, a text landed from Timbo. I can’t wait for today. I’m going to be the best intern they ever had.

  He had thought he’d have at least a couple more days before they started shooting in earnest. Maybe a little more time to spend with Felicia. He really knew nothing about television production, that much was obvious. This pace was so fast, so immediate. Felicia needed to spend some more time in this town, and maybe she’d learn what it felt like to slow down, to watch a sunset, to lie in bed and drowsily think about how good the coffee would taste.

  “Oh, my god, what time is it?” Felicia sat straight up as if a string had yanked her out from under the blanket.

  “Not even eight yet. We have time. Good morning, gorgeous—” Gorgeous? Lame. That was probably what every man called her. He wanted to find a name to call her that suited her—that suited the way he was feeling.

  Good morning, love.

  No.

  He was crazy. It had just been sex.

  But it had been sex with a woman he wanted to spend a really long, slow time getting to know better. She’d spoken her feelings to him, even though she’d said she wasn’t good at it. He’d told her his fear, that opening up to someone would lead to pain.

  And she’d kissed him in response.

  He wanted to spend the day with her, not working. He wanted to spend the week with her. The year.

  More.

  He was nuts.

  Gorgeous would have to do.

  But she wasn’t listening anyway. She was up and off the sofa without even a morning kiss. Was this the way she always got up? As if she woke with an engine already going full throttle?

  Lucky for him, she was still stark naked and didn’t seem to mind that he was staring. All that soft brown skin, those incredible breasts that he’d teased and tasted last night…

  Felicia didn’t even seem to notice his staring as she pulled on her clothes. “Holy crap, I’ve got to get back, get a shower, change my clothes, and then be back here in less than two hours.”

  He folded his hands behind his head and leaned against the padded arm of the sofa. “Are we really in such a hellfire hurry?”

  “You might not be.” She reached under the low table for a shoe. “But this is my job.”

  “So you like it?” Liam yawned and stretched his arms up and overhead. “The job, I mean.”

  She glanced at him. Even in her fevered state, without a lick of makeup and with a serious case of bed head, Felicia was amazing. Electricity seemed to spark from her miles of exposed skin, and he wanted to feel that current again, to feel every inch of her.

  “It’s all I ever wanted.”

  “So it’s your dream job.”

  “Yep.”

  “What happens when someone like you reaches all your goals?”

  She seemed to stumble for a second. “I guess—I guess you’re happy.”

  Last night, she had seemed to be. He didn’t take the credit for that, as much as he would like to. She’d not only made love openly and joyfully, she’d seemed to really be with him the whole time. Her face had been happy when he kissed her the last time, right before he fell asleep.

  Was she running away now? Or just honestly in a hurry?

  “I have to pee.” She padded out of the room.

  Liam pulled on his jeans and shirt. Her necklace with the key on it had fallen to the floor—he tucked it into his pocket to make sure it stayed safe.

  He looked at his phone for a few minutes.

  A response email came from Felicia to Aidan.

  She was literally in the bathroom, working.

  This was ridiculous.

  He went to the bathroom door. He listened, but heard nothing but the bing that sounded like an email landing.

  Liam knocked.

  The door cracked open. She wore a smile, but he couldn’t read it. Was she annoyed? Or amused?

  “It’s been so long,” she said.

  “I had an idea for our date. But I’m going to keep it a secret until we go on it. Will you trust me?”

  He watched her blink. He watched her think about the question. Damn if it should be this hard to decide.

  “Remember it has to be filmed.”

  “That’s not an answer.”

  “Yes.” She licked her bottom lip and opened the door wider. “I trust you. Don’t you have to go pick up Timbo or something?”

  “Yeah, in about half an hour. Tell me something. Did you really get up and send work emails in the middle of the night?”

  “Sometimes work helps me sleep.” She slipped past him and back into the parlor, where she searched her purse for something.

  He trailed behind her. “Sometimes having amazing sex helps me sleep. It doesn’t work that way for you?” Stuck overnight on a couch with a long, leggy, naked brunette like Felicia, he’d have been in no hurry to do a title search or pull a credit report, no matter how eager the client was. “Hey. Know what?”

  “What?” She looked up him and then back into her purse. Her lashes were thick and clumped. He remembered them dropping lazily to her cheeks after her third orgasm the night before. She put a piece of gum in her mouth and held out the pack toward him. “Not as good as a toothbrush but it’s all I’ve got.”

  He took a piece. “You don’t have to be scared, you know.”

  She chewed faster. “I’m not.”

  “Okay. I am, though.”

  “Why? Of what? What are you talking about?” Her words tumbled out quickly. Too quickly. She was frightened of this—whatever this was between them.

  “I like you a lot. A lot a lot. I want to get to know you better. I know I’m acting like a damn golden retriever or something, but I get excited about things. That’s just me. I’m glad we’re doing this, and I’m glad you’re going to let me show you Darling Bay.”

  “Look. I never stop working, Liam.” She snapped her purse close
d. “That was fun last night. Don’t get me wrong. Working is just who I am. I’m boring. Don’t worry, though.” Felicia tugged on her second heel. “We can find a way to get you the bonus, even with the physical contact clause out of the contract. If that’s what you’re worried about.”

  Liam felt his jaw literally drop. “Jesus.” Sex meant something to him. And that’s why he belonged in Northern California. “I’m just going to pretend you didn’t insult me like that.”

  “No, I thought—”

  He reached for his socks, and then his boots. He sat on the most uncomfortable chair in the world and tried to suck up his disappointment.

  She was from LA, he had to remember that. The pace there was a thousand times faster. Did sex not mean as much there? “You thought that’s why we hooked up?” Such a casual way to reference what they’d done to each other in the middle of the night. Over and over.

  “No.”

  He narrowed his eyes, and she relented.

  “Okay,” she said. “I wasn’t sure.”

  “You should be sure about how I felt last night.” How he felt now, in the light of day was something he couldn’t even guess at.

  Felicia shook her head. “I don’t—”

  “It’s okay. It’s totally fine.” He pulled on his second boot and pushed a big old fake smile onto his face. His jaw was so stiff it hurt. “It’s all good. I’ll see you back here later, okay?”

  “Liam. Don’t just go.”

  But how could he stay?

  As he got into his car, he didn’t let himself glance in the rearview mirror at himself. He was pretty sure he looked just the same, even though he felt completely different. Liam was confident he was a good guy. But a woman like Felicia didn’t fall for a simple, good guy. Someone in her line of work would inevitably fall for a wealthy plastic surgeon who ran marathons and ate Paleo.

  He didn’t even jog.

  He was just a guy who sold houses while trying to be a good foster dad.

  A foster dad who was going to be late picking up his son if he didn’t hit the gas.