by Lexi Hunter
"He's in there," I said, pointing at Grandfather's bedroom.
"Thanks." He headed into the room then paused and turned back to me. "Are you going to put some clothes on?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "Do you want me to put some clothes on?"
His tongue fell out of his mouth and I giggled. The towel shifted around me, sliding down an inch, and I pulled it back up.
"I, uh..." He was stammering. It thrilled me to see this hulk of a man suddenly at a loss for words all because of me.
"I'm just teasing," I told him.
"You're a funny one," he said, trying to sound calm, but I noted the way his eyes continued to dart around the room.
"I do what I can," I said.
Liam's smile faltered as he stepped inside Grandfather's bedroom. "Hello?" he called. I stepped in behind him and closed the door. He turned towards me, alarm registering on his face.
"Sorry, Liam," I said. His name rolled off my tongue like a gentle wave and I felt shivers run up my legs. "I guess I lied a little."
"You're Grandfather's not here, is he?"
I shook my head. "Do you hate me?" I formed my lips into a pout, hoping I looked like one of those silent screen stars who used to have men falling at their feet.
"I could never hate you," he said. "Just look at you. Only a fool would feel anyway except intoxicated when around you."
I smiled and suddenly realized that I'd gotten Liam exactly where I wanted him, but I was stuck. I'd never done this before and I had no idea what should come next. Liam stood waiting for my next move, only I had no next move. I hadn't even gotten to first base and the inning was almost over. Think dummy! Think!
I took too long. Liam shifted on his feet, uncomfortable. I was blowing it.
CHAPTER 7
Heat
LIAM FINALLY DECIDED the best course of action would be to acknowledge the situation. "I'm flattered Jackie," he said, his eyes glowing in the dim light of Grandfather's bedroom. "But I'm also twice your age and your dad's best friend."
"I've hardly seen you over at our place since you got back from Europe. And Grandfather said that you haven't been with anyone since your wife died."
Liam was about to say something but hesitated, and I was afraid I'd made a mistake. I shouldn't have mentioned his wife.
"I'm sorry," I said, trying to correct whatever I'd done. "I just... being alone for so long must be hard."
Liam stared at me, not moving. I couldn't even see him breathe. "I'm sorry if I crossed a line," I told him. "I just think that, if I'd have been your wife, I'd want you to be happy. That's all."
Liam's eyes burned brightly in his head. "She didn't die, Jackie. She left me. When I went to prison."
What?
"Prison?" I asked, losing my breath. Oh my God. I was half naked with a criminal.
"You were only twelve when I got sent up. Your dad didn't want to tell you the truth. I just got out. I'm still on parole.
"Wh-what's the truth?" I asked, feeling both nervous yet strangely thrilled. Prison? Liam really hadn't been with a woman in years, then.
"I caught my wife in bed with another man. I lost it."
I hardly felt the air fill my lungs. "Did you kill him?"
"No. But I wanted to. I settled for breaking his jaw instead."
"You got eight years for that?"
"Well... I also trashed his car... and I might have led the cops on a high-speed chase... and destroyed city property in the process."
"I see." I licked my lips. My mouth was bone dry. My heart was hammering.
"Still want to fuck me?" he asked, grinning slyly. He thought he'd just scared me off, but my towel was burning hotter than ever. His soft, pink lips invited me to kiss him, and my thighs burned, wanting him inside.
I walked across the room and placed his hand to my cheek. It was warm and tender, and when I kissed it he didn't pull away.
"Jackie," I loved the way he said my name. There were so many hidden layers that carried through his voice when he spoke. He could be listing things found in a trash can and he'd still sound hypnotic. Like the sound of a distant saxophone carried on the wind on a warm summer night. His voice left you wanting more, straining for just one more soft tune to tickle your ears.
"Liam," I said, trying out his own name on my own tongue. "I can't say I know exactly how you feel, but I can say how I feel." I took a big gulp of air. "I've never met anyone more attractive than you, and I don't think I ever will. And it's not just your looks, it's everything about you."
Liam laughed and I felt my face go red. I dropped his hand and turned towards the door. He grabbed me and spun me around before I could open it. "I'm sorry," he said. "I wasn't laughing at you, I swear. It's just... I've never met anyone as honest as you. Or as beautiful."
His hand cradled my wrist, caressing it, locking us together. There was a live current that ebbed and flowed between us, shifting each time we moved, growing stronger with each new confession.
"I'm twice your age," he said.
I smiled and raised my head to whisper in his ear. "I don't care."
It's now or never.
I wrapped one hand around his neck and stood on my tip toes. His lips were soft, and at first, I was gentle with him, only brushing my lips against his. They tasted like red velvet cake. The color of his eyes deepened and he wrapped one arm around my waist. I pressed my lips to his, harder this time, and when our mouths met it was like we'd been here before.
I slid my tongue along his teeth, my heart exploding in my chest. Oh my God oh my God. I'm doing it! I'm kissing him!
There was a moment when all the hurt from Aaron and Brie tried to surface, tried to make me doubt that Liam was enjoying this as much as I was. I almost stopped, almost asked him if this was a pity kiss. At that exact moment, Liam let himself go, grabbing me around the waist with both hands and pulling me tightly to him.
His core pressed against mine, desire coursing through his blood, and I remembered that I was only wearing a towel. My skin was no longer warm from the shower, but I knew other parts of me were heating up, getting ready for the race to begin. Only this would be no race, this would be a marathon.
Liam pushed away from me right as I was about to lift his shirt over his head. I wanted to see those muscles I knew were rippling under his clothes. All his muscles.
"What's wrong?" I gasped, unable to believe that he had enough will power to stop what was happening. I knew I could never be that strong, not when it came to the sweet taste of his lips. His scent lingered in my nostrils—vanilla buttercream. I wanted to devour him.
"You're my best friend's daughter," he said.
"So?"
"I just... can't."
He hurried past me and pulled the bedroom door open, racing down the stairs. I raced after him.
"Liam," I cried as he reached the front door. He didn't turn around right away, just stood there with his hand on the knob. The moonlight stretched across him, and I saw the tension in his body.
"I'm no good for you," he growled.
"Turn around," I told him, trying my best to sound confident so that he'd listen. Inside I was shaking... with lust... with passion... but mostly with the energy that zipped and zapped between us even now. Confidence was one of the few things I remembered from speech class. If you wanted people to listen, you had to sound sure of yourself.
"Turn around," I said again. To my amazement, he did.
He doesn't really want to go. He wants you to stop him.
I thought my brain was right and planned to do just that.
I stood halfway down the stairs. Liam stood with his back to the front door. It was getting dark outside, but not too late. Maybe eight or eight thirty. The only light coming in was through the windows and a soft night light in the kitchen that glowed almost as much as the moon.
"Don't leave," I said. Then I took a deep breath. My hands shook as I prepared to ask him the one question that I was terrified to ask, but had to know. "Don't you want
me?" I let it out in a rush, knowing his answer must be yes, but still afraid it might be no.
His eyes never left mine. "Of course I do," he said. I let out the breath I'd been holding and took another step down the stairs. I knew if I blew it now, I'd never get another chance. Liam wasn't just any man, he was the only man. If I missed my opportunity, I'd never forgive myself.
I was at the bottom of the stairs now and watched his eyes as they followed me through the growing darkness. A sliver of light from the bedroom upstairs fell down the staircase, crawling across my bare thigh.
I pulled the towel from around my chest and let it fall to the floor.
CHAPTER 8
Hooked
LIAM'S EYES BULGED out of his head. "Jackie," he said, barely a whisper.
I walked slowly to him, letting his eyes roll over my body from head to toe. Although part of me wanted to hide my nudity, I wouldn't let myself. There was nothing about me that deserved to be hidden. As Liam's eyes filled with lust my confidence soared.
I lunged towards him, not giving him a chance to run, and kissed him hard. My hands flew over his chest, caressing the muscles I'd only glimpsed from a distance till now. He didn't stop me or try to pull away. Instead, his shirt went over his head and dropped to the floor.
I pushed him away from me, just far enough so that I could take in his body. I'd seen it in my head so many times since first meeting him and it was even better in person. His chest was a solid wall of muscle covered in tattoos. Dragons and barbed wire stared back at me, dark and dangerous.
"Are you sure you're as old as my father?" I teased.
"How old is that?" he asked, pulling me closer to him. My breasts fit snugly against his chest.
"If I didn't know better, I'd probably guess you were thirty," I told him.
"Liar," he said and bit my lip.
I slid my tongue over his bottom lip and tasted the heat that came off him.
"Are you sure you don't want someone more your own age? Who doesn't have a past?"
"Boys," I scoffed, kissing his neck. His hands moved up and down my body, exploring me in ways I'd never thought possible. "I've tried boys. It didn't work out so well for me. The last boy was Aaron, and he only hurt me."
"I'd like to break his nose for what he did to you."
I smiled and lifted my eyes to his. "Wouldn't it be better to take what he never got?" I hoped the insinuation was clear because I wasn't sure I could say it without turning as red as a beet.
"What do you mean?" Liam asked. His body was hard against mine. His chest was hot and my hands roamed over it. His hands caressed my back then carefully came around to my nipples, teasing them to a point.
Suddenly, his head lifted and his back went straight. "You don't mean..." He cut off mid-sentence, his eyes all wonderment. "You're not a..."
"Virgin," I finished for him. I nodded my head before letting my chin drop. My cheeks burned. His hand came under my chin and tilted my head back up to meet his eyes.
"Why are you embarrassed about it?" he asked, genuine curiosity on his face.
I shrugged. "Because," I said, trying to cast my eyes down again, but Liam's own eyes held me transfixed. "I was ready to give myself to Aaron, but he chose someone else. I thought... maybe... it was me. My body." I couldn't believe what I was confessing to Liam. These were the types of things girls wrote in their diary.
Liam laughed. It caught me so off guard I couldn't help laughing too. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Liam said. "You're goddamn gorgeous."
"Then why are we still standing here talking?"
"Because it's been a long time since I've done this," he said. "Eight years. I'm practically a virgin myself."
I realized that Liam's own confidence was lacking almost as much as my own. He needed me just as much as I needed him. Somehow, knowing this intimate detail about Liam made me feel safe. He understood my own fears and insecurities.
"That only turns me on more," I told him.
He raised an eyebrow and my heart went into overdrive. My lungs pumped oxygen like I was running a sprint. I kissed his neck and he moaned soft words into my ear, breathing another secret. "I've never met anyone until now who I wanted like this. I thought I'd never find it again."
"Shut up and kiss me."
He followed my order and before I knew it my feet were off the ground and he was carrying me up the stairs. It would have been too weird in Grandfather's room, so Liam set me on the bed in the guest room. He laid me gently on the covers and I leaned back, opening my legs for him, going purely by instinct.
He knelt at the bottom of the bed and climbed halfway over me, stopping just above my sex. His tongue slid over my right thigh, caressing the sensitive skin there, before moving to that special spot between my legs. I'd never felt such an explosion of fireworks. My head felt light and my eyes saw stars. I couldn't believe this was happening, and I was so glad that it was happening with Liam. It could never be the same with anyone else.
Liam's breath tickled me as his tongue lapped below my waist. Aaron and I had never done anything like this. Not even close. I giggled, remembering when I'd that thought Aaron was such a good kisser. What a joke. I wanted Liam to feel the same pleasure he was giving me, so I gathered my strength and wriggled my body until I was out from under him.
"Ssh," I said, kissing him, before sliding to my knees in front of the bed. His pants were still on and I pulled them down. He stepped out of them and kicked them to the side of the room. His excitement wasn't hard to miss. I reached out tentatively with my tongue and tasted him. He was salty, but there was an underlying sweetness. Like salted caramel. He moaned and I thought that was a good sign, so I pulled him into my mouth and began to stroke him with my tongue. His hands came around my head and helped to guide me. I sped up, putting my hands on his ass as I pulled him deeper into me.
"Oh God," he groaned.
Then his hands were lifting me off the floor and laying me back on the bed. Excitement bubbled over me, but more than that, there was raw passion... a buzz of energy that flowed between us each time we touched.
I braced myself for whatever was about to happen next. I'd only ever heard stories from my friends or online tell-alls, and how much of that was true I didn't know. So far, everything that had happened was better than anything I'd ever read. I only hoped Liam was enjoying himself as much as I was. As if in answer to my question, his body pressed against mine, his lower half struggling to contain itself.
"I'm waiting for you," he whispered. And I realized he didn't want to push me too far too fast. It was very considerate. Fuck considerate.
"Ready when you are," I said, grinning and biting my lip. Liam's response was a swift kiss that sent tingles up my spine.
"Your wish is my command."
CHAPTER 9
Bed
LIAM'S HIPS PULLED back before sailing forward again. He plunged deep inside me with all the force of an ocean wave. My eyes rolled back into my head and I forgot how to breathe.
I'd been afraid of the pain, but it was only a slight tingle, like when the doctor pokes you with a needle, and then it was over. He lay very still, waiting to see if I was okay. I nodded and ran my tongue over his chest to prove it. The care he took with me told me what my gut had been telling me all along—that I could trust him. It was the greatest feeling in the world, knowing that I wouldn't have to live the rest of my life in an empty shell devoid of trust and the warmth of a man.
Liam began to move. The rhythm was slow at first, giving me time to adjust to the new sensations crawling in places that had never even registered with me before. Those places must have always existed, but until now I hadn't been aware of them. It was like my body was coming to life. I clawed my hand into his back and his spine arched.
"Too much?" he asked, concerned.
"More," I screamed. His breath was heavy and sweet as it caressed my face. It smelled like cookies.
My fingers dug deep into him as he moved faster
inside me. I was too overwhelmed with sensations to note any particular thing on its own. His lower body pumped heat, his chest felt like the sun. The warmth came from all around me and I couldn't define the exact pinpoint of its source. It was simply everywhere and everything.
I moved my hand through his hair and liked the way it slid over my fingertips. It was like I was on some sort of acid trip. The colors in his hair grew brighter, his eyes glowed browner. The feeling of his skin against my own was like a psychedelic induced euphoria. I wondered if he felt any of this too or if it was entirely me.
"What do you see?" I asked, almost losing my breath as our bodies melted together.
"I see you," he said, his eyes wide and electric, "with satin skin and golden hair. You're an angel."
I pushed my hips against him as he pounded into me, his head falling back. "Oh my God," he screamed. "It's never been like this before." We were both panting and I wondered if anyone had ever hyperventilated during sex.
I knew now that every doubt that I'd ever had about myself was nothing more than tired, melodramatic angst. Liam made it clear to me that there was no woman anywhere that could compare to me. Nothing else mattered to us except the love and trust that spilled between our bodies.
I wouldn't have thought it possible that it could get better than it already was, but Liam proved me wrong. The feel of his body as he plunged deeply into my cave shook me. I couldn't stop myself from convulsing.
He slowed his pace then, deciding to tease me a little, I think. He pulled out for just a second, then plummeted back inside me even deeper than before, kissing my neck. I tried to reach up to touch his chest with my tongue and felt a spark fly off him, almost burning me.
"I think I'm going to..." but I bit my lip to stop myself. I didn't want this feeling to end. Not only did his body fit perfectly in mine, it was like our minds were one. Would this happen every time? Christ, I hope so.
"Not yet," he said, sensing where my mind and body were headed. He wanted us to finish together. He didn't need to tell me that, I just knew. My breasts bounced with each new pulse as he drove himself deeper into me. He fondled my petal pink nubs, rolling them between his fingers.