by Desiree Holt
The man whose bumper Liam’s car was currently lip-locked with started in right away, cursing Liam and telling the cops to “fix this damn mess.” Others began adding their voice.
The cop held up his hand, then introduced himself. “One at a time, please. We need to find out what happened.”
“I told you what happened,” the man snapped. “This asshole over here slammed right into me going the wrong way and look at the mess.”
Although to Liam it seemed like an entire day passed before the whole thing got untangled, it was really more like an hour. An hour in which he attempted to mask his pain, hold on to his temper and try to be aware of everything around him. Because that same sense of being watched still clung to him like a coat. He had no idea who the fuck might be watching him or why? He kept scanning the other cars looking for…what? What did he expect to see?
The cops radioed for an ambulance to at least administer first aid. Blocked off the highway in both directions and directed people to the closest off ramps. Figured out whose cars were drivable and who needed tow trucks and what kind. Took down everyone’s information and told them they could ask for a copy of the report.
In the midst of it all, Rosalie called him and he had to tell her what happened and assure her that no, he did not need to go to the hospital. And yes, the cops were there handling it. He also gave her his friend’s number and asked her to tell him today was off. Oh, and by the way. Could she send an Uber for him since his car was at that moment being loaded onto a wrecker. And also arrange for a loaner starting tomorrow. He’d cab or Uber over to pick it up in the morning.
And yes, he was going straight home as soon as Uber got there. Provided, of course, the cops were finished raking him over the coals.
And that was a nightmare itself. His knee and shoulder throbbed, his entire body ached, and if they asked him one more time to explain exactly how and why he crashed into incoming traffic, he might be arrested for murder.
When things finally wrapped up, Liam had a traffic ticket along with insurance information from the other drivers, a pounding headache and his shoulder and knee felt as if they were on fire.
He had told the tow truck driver to take his car to the body shop he used and now he Ubered back to his townhouse. Still wrapped in paranoia, he had the driver take him to the garage entrance rather than the front. In the kitchen he dropped his briefcase on the counter, grabbed a glass from the cupboard and carried it to the bar in the living room. He didn’t even bother with ice, just poured two fingers of Jack Daniel’s into it and took a healthy slug. The liquor burned on the way down but he hoped it would numb some of the pain, and maybe settle his nerves.
Ice, he told himself. And not just for the drink.
He was about to top off his drink and carry it upstairs so he could run a hot bath or maybe just take a shower when his cell rang.
Fuck.
He wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone right now. He answered without looking to see who the call was from, a rarity for him.
“Yeah?”
Silence, then a soft voice. “I caught you at a bad time.”
Oh shit. Sydney.
He blew out a breath. “Hi, Syd. Can we start this call again?”
Her easy laugh drifted through the connection and rolled over him like a tranquilizer.
“Sounds like someone’s had a rough day.”
“You don’t know the half of it,” he snorted. “But just hearing your voice makes things better.”
“We finished early today,” she told him. “And I needed my client to have a night off, from me as well as the trial. I wondered if you could squeeze in dinner at the last minute.”
Hell and damnation. The one night she was free, he was a physical wreck.
“Uh, listen,” he began.
“If you’re tied up, I understand,” she said quickly.
“No, you don’t understand.” He made himself take another deep breath. “Let me tell you what happened today.”
By the time he finished giving her the details, the Jack Daniel’s had begun to work and at least mellow him out a little. Holding the phone in one hand, he added a touch more Jack to the glass.
“Liam, you need to see a doctor. You could have some serious injuries.”
“No,” he assured her. “I’m more sore than anything. And it would have to be the one night you can get free. Damn.”
“No problem.” He could hear the smile in her voice. “Go get in a hot shower and stay in it as long as you can. I’ll bring over Chinese takeout and my skills as a masseuse.”
At the thought of her massaging his naked body, his cock hardened and tried to push its way out of his fly.
He started to tell her this wasn’t the best night, but then he thought, fuck it. They had to work so hard to find time together. She had a rare free night and he wasn’t going to waste it, no matter what.
“You’ve got yourself a deal,” he told her. “There’s a great new Chinese place about two blocks from me. Let me call in the order, if you’ll pick it up. And I warn you, Syd. I’m pretty damn useless tonight.”
“We’ll see. Okay, give me the name of this place.”
“And Sydney?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t ask me a bunch of questions, but just please do me a favor. Park your car in the garage at your condo and Uber over. I’ll make sure you get home okay.”
Silence hummed across the connection for a long moment.
“What’s going on, Liam? Are you in trouble?”
Damn!
“Are you asking as my friend or an attorney?”
There wasn’t a lot of humor in her chuckle. “For right now, let’s say a friend. A special friend, though,” she emphasized.
“Okay, let’s go with that.” He paused. “For now.”
He also gave her the code to his back door lock. He’d stopped using keys a long time ago, knowing how easy they were to steal and or duplicate. He called the Canton Palace, gave them his order and his credit card number. After he hung up, he realized he hadn’t asked Sydney what she liked, so he’d gone with some pretty standard dishes. Figured he couldn’t go wrong that way.
Chapter Nine
This is a weird way to dive into a relationship. He’ll think I’m nuts.
And maybe I am.
Wait. I’ve done crazier things before, right?
But not on such a personal level.
She wasn’t an impulsive person. Earning her stripes as a highly successful attorney had taught her that impulsive usually led to trouble. But this was different, and she knew it. Felt it. Their one-night together had made her more positive than ever that whatever was between them definitely needed to be nurtured. The physical connection with Liam had zinged her from the start. But it wasn’t just sex, even though somehow that was what lack of time kept turning it into.
No, it was a lot more than that. They connected on all levels. She didn’t need him taking her out to dinner to know that.
Leaving her car in the condo building garage, she ran up to her apartment and took a minute to strip off her work clothes for jeans and a T-shirt. Tonight, she wasn’t being glamorous Sydney Alfiore. Tonight, she would be just Syd. She grabbed a few things she thought she’d need and stuffed them into a tote bag, then headed downstairs to wait for the Uber driver.
What in the hell was going on in Liam’s life that that he didn’t want her to bring her car? Or that he couldn’t discuss over the phone? The questions rattled around in her brain on the ride to his townhouse, preoccupying her so much she almost forgot to pick up the takeout. And why couldn’t she come in through the front door?
She paid the Uber drive and got out, juggling the takeout bags and her tote as she punched in the code for the garage entrance. When she opened the inside door and stepped into the kitchen, she nearly bumped into Liam.
“Oh!”
“Sorry.” He flashed a quick grin as he lifted the takeout bags from her. “I heard the door and came downst
airs to meet you.”
He had changed into sweatpants and a T-shirt and as she dished up the food, she was mentally drooling over him. For a guy who basically spent most of his life behind a computer, he had a body that would make most men weep. The sight of his broad shoulders, flat abs and sculpted muscles made her nipples tighten and the muscles in her core throb with insistent need. She couldn’t recall the last man who’d made her senses react so quickly and so intensely. She wanted to plaster herself to his body and feel every inch of him.
She could put the hot sex on hold for the next time and do what she could for his anxiety.
And maybe just a little sex, enough to make him feel good.
As they carried dishes and the takeout cartons to the table, she noticed that he moved stiffly and had acquired a slight limp, favoring his left knee.
After dinner, she’d make him let her look at it. She pulled out a chair, but before she could sit, Liam grabbed her, turned her to face him and planted a hot, open-mouthed kiss on her. She was so startled she just opened her mouth automatically, allowing his tongue to sweep in. The flavor of him permeated every part of her, heating her body and for a moment making her forget everything else.
When he lifted his mouth from hers and stepped away, she had to blink to bring the room back into focus.
“I just had to have one taste.” He blew out a breath. “I needed something to blunt the day.”
“I gather it was a bitch.” He held her chair as she seated herself at the table.
“In spades. But let’s eat. If I talk about it now it’ll ruin my digestion.” The grin he tried fell way short of its mark.
“Fair enough. We’ve got time later, after I make sure you’re relaxed.”
“And exactly how do you plan to do that?”
She was pleased that he could at least joke a little. “After dinner. Food first.”
She thought it was a miracle they could make easy small talk as they ate, but at last they were finished. They cleaned up together in silence. Then she made him sit and pushed up the leg of his sweat pants, frowning when she saw the swelling around his knee and the ugly bruise.
“Did you ice this at all?”
“Not yet. I figured I’d do it in a little while. I planned to take a hot shower first.”
“Hmmm. Let me see your shoulder.”
It didn’t look much better than his knee. Damn! That must have been some hit his car had taken.
“Okay.” She winked. “Tonight, I am your therapist. Here to give you therapy after a bad day.”
“That sounds great, Syd, and I want to take advantage of that more than anything.” He shook his head. “But I don’t think—”
“Right. Don’t think.” She lifted her small duffel that she’d dropped by the door when she came in. “How about showing me the way upstairs.”
“Oh, okay, but—”
“Shower, Liam. We’re going to shower and then I’m going to take care of your bumps and bruises. After that, maybe we can talk about what’s got your head in a twist and see if we can make sense of it.”
Sydney managed a cursory glance of the place as they moved toward the stairs. The townhouse was spacious, with most of the bottom floor a big open family-room-type layout. She had a brief glance at the comfortable furniture before he led her up the stairway.
His bedroom was huge, no less than she expected. But it was the bathroom that made her eyes widen. The shower itself was as big as some bathrooms she’d seen, taking up one wall, with a long sliding glass door. And the tub, if the time ever came to use it, could hold them and any activities they chose very nicely.
“All right, buddy.” She grinned. “Strip and get the shower going.”
He gave her one long, slow look before dragging his clothes off and padding into the bathroom. He tested the water until he was happy with the temperature then stepped inside and leaned against one wall, his head on his forearm.
And god! Didn’t he just look a wreck? Her heart ached for him. His entire posture screamed anguish and the marks of the accident stood out in bold relief. She could better see the purpling of a bruise on his left knee and his left shoulder. She could imagine how sore he was. Well, she was there to try and make it better, at least as much as she could.
She slid open the door slowly, not wanting to startle him. As it was he jerked, knocked his sore knee into the tile wall and swore loud enough she could hear him over the running water.
“Sorry, sorry, sorry.” She stepped under the water with him.
He raked his gaze over her naked body. “You’re a welcome sight, but be warned. I don’t think I’m in proper shape to appreciate you tonight.”
“Right now just being with you is enough.” She cupped his cheeks and studied his face, noting the deep lines cut by tension and the anguish in his eyes. “Okay. Let’s get you soaped and showered. Then I’m going to tend to your obviously aching body. Those are some bruises you’ve got, so come on. Turn around. Try to relax while I do all the work.”
The fact that he didn’t laugh at her weak joke or protest, didn’t do the macho thing where he insisted he was fine, told her more than words that something was going on with him that was more than just daily stress.
She poured some of the body wash from the bottle on a shelf into her hands. Lathered it up and began to smooth it over the rigid muscles on his back. He was so tense she wondered why the muscles didn’t just snap like overstretched rubber bands. She took her time massaging from neck to waist and down the length of each arm. She took extra care when she came to the injured shoulder, feeling the heat of the injury beneath his palms.
Damn! Whatever happened, he wrecked himself pretty good.
When she reached his ass, she had to put her hormones in park and pretend she was soaping a mannequin. She crouched down to take care of his legs then nudged him to turn around. It took every bit of her self-control to soap and rinse the front of his body without letting desire poke its head into the process.
When she got to his cock and his balls, the corners of her mouth inched up in a tiny grin.
“Apparently the rest of your body hasn’t gotten the message that your mind is dealing with some bad stuff,” she teased.
“No shit.” He chuffed a laugh. “I need to send it a message because I’ll tell you, tonight it’s—”
“Not a problem,” she interrupted. “That’s not why I’m here.” She looked up at him. “We’ll have plenty of other opportunities for that. Right?”
“Right,” he agreed. “And thank you.”
“No thanks necessary.” She placed a soft kiss on his swollen, bruised knee and stood up. “Okay, I think we’re done with this.”
She made sure they were both rinsed off before turning off the shower. Then she wrapped both of them in two large bath towels, tucking the corner of hers so it would stay in place.
Sydney stood on tiptoe to plant a light kiss on his lips. “Let’s move into the bedroom.
Liam chuckled. “Any other time, I’d say bring it on.”
“Any other time I’d let you. Come on.”
In seconds she had the covers folded way back on the bed and Liam stretched out on his stomach, the towel draped across his hips. When she pressed gently on his shoulder, he groaned.
“Fuck, that’s sore.”
“It looks it. How did it happen?”
“Auto accident.” He stifled a groan. “Wrenched my shoulder and jammed my damn knee into the steering column.”
“This will help. Just close your eyes and try to think of anything but this.”
“Normally I’d think about sex,” he joked. “But…”
“Think about a trip to Hawaii and lying in the sun. Where was the last vacation you took?”
“Would you believe me if I told you it was so long ago I’m not sure I remember? Pathetic, right?”
“Might be, if I wasn’t in the same boat.” She uncapped one of the small bottles she’d brought with her, poured some into the palm of one ha
nd and began to gently massage it into his left shoulder.
Liam let out a tiny moan of pleasure.
“Damn, Syd. What is that stuff? Is smells almost as good as it feels.”
“A magic lotion I got when I wrecked my knee waterskiing.” She chuckled. “Serves me right for doing something so idiotic. A turtle is more coordinated then I am.” She dripped a little more onto her palm and began the circular motion again. “So, while I have you at my mercy, why don’t you tell me what’s got you so upset? And why I had to Uber here and come in the back door? Is this part of the same feeling you had the other night at the hotel?”
“Uh-huh. But it may be all in my imagination,” he told her, “and I don’t want you to think I’m a stupid idiot.”
Sydney began to gently knead the flesh of his shoulder. “Then maybe talking about it will put it in proper perspective. Come on. A man doesn’t get where you are in the world of technology by being easily spooked. Let’s have it.”
“It started about a month ago,” he began. “Remember I mentioned it when we were in the hotel bar? It hasn’t gone away. Just a feeling. A sense of being watched.”
By the time he’d given her most of the details, she was finished with the massage. Damn it!
He’d had his eyes closed while she was working her magic, but now he opened them. “So, what do you think?”
“Turn over and I’ll give you my opinion.”
When he did, she covered him from waist to lower thighs with the towel. She didn’t need to be distracted by the sight of his incredible shaft. She grabbed a second bottle, another one a doctor had prescribed for her knee. With careful, gentle strokes she began to rub it into his knee and the area around it.
“Okay.” Liam closed his eyes as if he couldn’t watch her while she told him what she thought. “Let’s have it.”
Sydney weighed her words carefully. She was pretty sure Liam wasn’t someone who was easily spooked, or jumped at shadows. Something must have triggered it, so she needed to figure out what.