by G E Griffin
“Just come right out with it. Tell her it’s over and you don't want to see her again. Sometimes you have to be cruel to be kind. For Christ’s sake don't wait until she’s bought her plane ticket for Australia before you dump her.”
“I know you’re right. You’re the undoubted expert at dumping relationship baggage, the number of times you’ve done it over the years to get away from all those women keen to get their claws into you.”
Liam gave me a funny look, but didn't say anything. He took his phone out, checked the screen, then sighed and put it away again.
“Has Seraphina started working for you yet?” I asked. Liam’s head shot up and he stared at me.
“She starts tomorrow. Why do you ask?”
“I just wondered, that’s all. I… um… I was thinking about getting in touch with her. To apologise, clear things up between us.”
“Don't you think it’s a bit late for all that?”
“No, I think now the dust has had a chance to settle it might be a better time actually.”
“You’re not thinking of trying to start things up with her again are you?” He sounded totally horrified.
I just shrugged by way of an answer.
Liam virtually bristled with hostility. So he still didn't approve of me having any kind of a relationship with Sera, even if he was prepared to give her a job. But with Liam, I guessed he didn't have to actually like his employees, all he cared about was whether they could do their job.
“I think you’ve burnt your bridges there, Jamie. Sometimes it’s best just to move on and leave well alone.”
“Perhaps you’re right. I just wanted the chance to clear the air with her, try to put things right before I headed off to the other side of the world.”
“So, how’s the studying going?” Liam swiftly changed the subject, making it clear he had no wish to discuss Sera any further.
“Okay, at least until Poppy finds an excuse to interrupt me.”
Liam paused with his food preparations.
“Just deal with her, Jamie. You can’t afford to let this go on. You’re the one who is going to have to live with it if you bomb in your finals.”
“I will. You’re right. As soon as I get back, I’ll spell it out to her.”
Liam’s phone buzzed and he quickly grabbed it to check it out. I watched incredulously as a big smile spread across his face. Maybe it was news about some special deal he had going on that was making his face light up like that. I couldn’t think of any other reason.
“So, did you throw your latest playmate out extra early this morning?”
“I’m sorry?” Liam wasn’t really listening as he was busy sending a reply on his phone.
“I didn't see any blonde bimbo leaving on my way in today.”
“I don't have one anymore.”
“Oh, you’re in-between partners at the moment are you?”
“Not exactly.”
“Liam, what is the matter with you today? You seem distracted, and well… odd. Different somehow.”
My big brother was not his usual self at all. There was a different look about him. I’d seen him smiling several times now instead of just scowling and frowning as he usually did. And I got the distinct impression that he was not really listening to me, as if his mind was elsewhere.
“There’s nothing the matter with me. I’m fine. But I do unexpectedly have somewhere to be later on this afternoon, so we’d better get on with this lunch, hadn't we?”
Impossible as it seemed, it suddenly occurred to me that there could be another reason for Liam’s unusual behaviour.
“If I didn't know better, I’d swear you were maybe seeing someone, and that’s why you’re acting all weird and goofy.”
Liam avoided my eye by turning his back on me to get something from the cupboard. A classic avoidance tactic – I should know, because I was an expert at avoiding pointed questions from my brother. He was just as terrible a liar as I was.
“I’m right, aren’t I! That’s it! You’ve finally met someone.”
“I don't know what you mean by me acting weird and goofy,” he replied evasively.
“You can deny it all you like, Liam, but I can tell there is definitely something going on. So it seems even you are not immune to Cupid’s arrow, eh?” I grinned.
“Don’t talk such rubbish. Now come and sit down for your lunch, and tell me all about your plans for Australia now that you’ve got your visa sorted.”
I smiled to myself as I sat down with him and started to eat. He could deny it all he liked, but I knew I'd hit the nail on the head. It seemed that some woman had finally got my big brother acting like a love sick teenager.
Chapter 30
Seraphina
Thanks to Liam, I went from being a shy, repressed and ignorant virgin who thought she might be gay because of a total lack of interest in sex, to a sex-crazed, nymphomaniac sex addict. That was the effect he had on me. Thoughts of Liam dominated my days and my nights. I craved him, craved his presence, his body, all the time, every minute of every day. I only had to see him, he only had to walk into the room, and I wanted him, needed him, to the point of obsession. I would happily have spent all day, every day in bed with him, having any kind of sex he decreed, because he always made it so amazingly, addictively good.
Of course I did my best to fight this insane obsession, which wasn’t easy, because Liam appeared, at the moment anyway, to feel the same way about me. He seemed just as obsessed as I was, probably even more so, because he was so intensely jealous and possessive. He insisted that he had to know where I was at all times. He hated it if another man so much as looked at me, or if I appeared to take the slightest interest in a guy, which was really stupid because I wasn’t even remotely interested in anyone other than him.
Liam wasn’t the only one with a possessive nature. I found out about jealousy the hard way when I discovered Liam coming out of his apartment one evening with a gorgeous tall blonde draped around him. What little she was wearing showed off her fantastic curvy figure, and her bright red lipstick emphasised her full pouty lips. The woman just oozed sex appeal. Liam put his hand on the small of her back, and she gazed up at him adoringly, then kissed his cheek. She leaned against him as she put her hand on his shoulder, and I heard him say something like ‘my pleasure’ when she thanked him.
‘Get your fucking hands off my fucking boyfriend’, I wanted to scream at her, instead of which I was struck dumb as I just stood there staring gormlessly at the pair of them like an idiot.
Liam’s face froze when he saw me. Was that a guilty look on his face? Had I caught him out because in my excitement to see him I’d turned up a few minutes earlier than arranged when I’m usually late?
Then the blonde turned and looked at me, but she hardly batted an eyelid as she dismissively turned her gaze back to Liam. She clearly didn't see me as any kind of threat or rival for his affections, and she made me feel like a silly little girl compared to a proper woman like her.
“Please wait. I’ll be back in just a minute,” Liam said to me curtly as he headed towards the lift with this woman. He didn't introduce us or make any kind of explanation, he just walked off with her, leaving me standing there like a lemon.
I was so livid, so angry that no way was I capable of just standing there calmly waiting for him to return from walking this bimbo back to her car or wherever, and then have to stand there and listen to him making some lame excuse about what was going on. I stormed back to my apartment, slamming the door behind me.
What had I just witnessed? Had I just inadvertently stumbled on Liam reverting to type? The sexy blonde with a great rack had always been his playmate of choice, so had he been messing around with her behind my back? Was this why he always wanted to know where I was, so that he could keep all the different strands of his life safely separated? Was everything he’d been telling me a pack of lies?
I paced up and down taking deep breaths trying to calm myself. Perhaps there was a simple,
logical explanation for this…yeah, that’d be that he was fucking her as well as me. Grow up, you silly little girl. This is the real world, not some twee, schmaltzy Disney story about a Prince finding his one true love with a Happy Ever After ending. Wake up and smell the coffee. Once a manwhore, always a manwhore. Liam wanted to have his cake and eat it. Naïve inexperienced girl for the novelty factor on the one hand, experienced fuck buddy on the other. Best of both worlds.
It wasn’t long before Liam was at my door. I let him in without saying a word, and he followed me through to the living area.
“I asked you to wait, Seraphina,” he frowned.
“Well, perhaps I have better things to do than stand around waiting while you get rid of your previous assignation.”
“It wasn't like that. You were early.”
“Oh I'm so sorry for curtailing the fond farewell with your friend. How rude of me,” I replied sarcastically. I stood there with my arms folded across my chest, trying to hold it together, but in serious danger of losing it big time because of the incredible jealousy sweeping through me and the pain at the thought of Liam’s betrayal.
“I can see how things maybe looked, but Kimberley…” Liam started trying to make his excuses, but when he started using the bitch’s name, I really lost it.
“Kimberley, is it? Well things must have got pretty fucking cosy between you and Kimberley, seeing as you’ve got her lipstick all over your face,” I interrupted him. “Kimberley looked very flushed and satisfied as if you’d just fucked her brains out actually,” I spat at him.
Liam looked shocked. He tried to wipe his cheek with his hand, but that just smudged the lipstick and made it look even worse.
“Seraphina, if you’d just calm down and listen for a minute…”
“Calm down and listen to the lies you’re going to spin me? No thanks. I’m not stupid and I know what I saw. I warned you that if I got even the slightest hint that you were back to your old ways, that would be it between us. I won’t be messed around, Liam. We’re finished.”
“No, we are not finished. You’re being irrational and childish because you won’t let me explain that this is all perfectly innocent ….”
“Perfectly innocent? I saw the way Kimberley was looking at you, the way she was rubbing those big tits of hers up against you. She’s the type you’ve always gone for isn’t she? So I can imagine she’d pretty much be your perfect woman. Are you denying there’s ever been anything between you?”
“No, I'm not saying that…”
“I knew it! Kimberley’s one of your playmates, isn’t she?”
“She was, but she’s not anymore.”
“Okay, so what was she doing in your apartment?”
“As I was trying to tell you, she’d gone out for a run when a man started following her and made her feel unsafe. That’s why she looked flushed, she’d been running, not for any other reason. She came in here to ask for my help.”
“She just happened to be jogging past your apartment when this happened, wearing the skimpiest of skimpy outfits, with a full face of makeup including that slutty red lipstick, and you just happened to be there to welcome her with open arms?”
“What was I supposed to do, Seraphina? I could hardly turn her away could I? She asked for my assistance and I felt obliged to help her as I would anyone under similar circumstances.” Liam stood there with his arms folded defensively as he scowled at me.
“I bet you did. So what happened to this mysterious threatening man? Did you go after him?”
“No, by the time Kim explained what had happened, he’d gone.”
“How convenient for Kim. I'm sorry Liam, but it sounds like a complete pack of lies and I’m not buying any of it. I wish you’d had the guts to tell me straight out that you were bored and ready to move on, but I’ll do it for you. I want you to leave. We. Are. Through.” I started marching towards the door to open it for him.
“No, we fucking well aren’t, because I've done nothing wrong. If we were over I would tell you to your face, but we are not. You’re jumping to the wrong conclusion without listening to the facts. We are not over and you will hear me out whether you want to or not.” Liam grabbed me by the arms and held me firm as he practically yelled in my face.
“Yes, Kimberley was my fuck buddy, and maybe she still wants to be, so tonight possibly was a ploy to get back with me, but it doesn’t matter because I am not interested. That’s what I made clear to her when I took her down to her taxi. I told her that I’ve changed and I don't want that kind of lifestyle anymore.”
“But you didn't tell her about me. You didn't introduce me as your girlfriend when you had the chance.”
“You were the one who suggested we keep things under the radar. I only agreed because of Jamie.”
Liam took hold of my chin and forced me to look at him, his deep blue eyes boring into me.
“We agreed that we’d be monogamous. I’m not a liar. I wouldn’t cheat on you, Seraphina. How many times do I have to tell you?”
Part of me wanted to believe him so badly, while the other suspicious part of me refused to be convinced. It could still all be lies. Of course he would deny it all, wouldn’t he?
“How would you feel if the roles were reversed? If you saw a really hot guy leaving my apartment kissing me and thanking me?”
“I’d want to fucking kill him, of course. But it would be him I didn't trust, not you. I would at least give you the benefit of the doubt and give you the opportunity to explain things rationally to me.”
Liam’s words hit home. Perhaps my fiery temper had made me fly off the deep end and I was being unfair. When he saw me hesitate in my wrath for a second, he bent down and softly kissed me on the lips.
“When are you going to start trusting me, Seraphina? When are you going to start believing that what we share is different from anything else I’ve ever experienced, and that I wouldn’t do anything to risk ruining it?”
He released the grip he had on my arms to pull me into his embrace. Feeling his arms slide around me, inhaling his wonderful smell, resting my head against his broad chest all persuaded me to believe him. I really wanted everything he said to be true, because it felt so right to be with him like this.
“Okay, perhaps I overreacted just a smidgeon,” I finally mumbled into his chest as I let myself relax against him. “But you have to promise me that you won’t see this Kimberley again.”
“I hadn’t planned on seeing her today, and I certainly have no plans whatsoever to see her in the future,” he assured me, as he kissed the top of my head. “You’re the only one I’m interested in seeing. No one else.”
“I don't understand why,” I murmured. “Kimberley is really stunning. I can totally see why you’d want to be with her, and you two looked so good together. I guess that’s why I flipped.”
“I used to think Kimberley was attractive, but not anymore. There’s nothing natural about her appearance whatsoever. Not like you . You are a natural beauty. You don't need to wear layers of makeup or bleach your hair to look good. You look just as beautiful when you wake up first thing in the morning as you do at any other time of the day. But it isn’t just about your looks, Seraphina. Kimberley is a nice enough girl, but I never had any kind of a connection with her the way I do with you. I want to be with you every chance I get, every spare moment. I've never wanted that with anyone before. Only you.”
As Liam kissed me again, I pushed to the back of my mind the little niggling doubts that still festered there. I let him make love to me, swamped and overwhelmed by the intensity of the feelings he always stirred in me.
Only Liam. Because he is The One.
~*~
I struggled to stick to my plan to maintain a healthy distance between us, to keep myself as a separate entity who would be able to carry on with my life when the day came that Liam got bored of me and was ready to move on. But I tried my best, because seeing him with Kimberley like that had been a real wake up call, whatever he’d
said to convince me that we should carry on seeing each other for now.
I insisted that we only spent Friday and Saturday nights together, usually spending one night in his apartment and the other in mine. The rest of the time, although we usually saw each other after work when he was around, I tried to insist that we returned to our own apartments and made our separate ways to work. Sometimes though, I just couldn’t help myself and my resolve weakened. Liam would text some suggestions about what we could be doing, and somehow I’d find myself at his door, or inviting him down to mine. That’s what had happened the Sunday before I started at Starr Capital, when he’d been meeting Jamie for lunch. I’d said I wouldn’t see him again that day, but somehow after we’d exchanged a few texts, I found myself unable to resist seeing him again once Jamie had left, and of course we’d ended up in bed together – again. It scared me how out of control I felt, because this was not like me at all.
Work was my salvation.
I absolutely loved my job at Starr Capital, and it provided a welcome relief from my obsessive thoughts of Liam, because I could throw myself into concentrating on my designs rather than him. Of course, I still had to get through the challenge of my daily meeting with him.
Naturally Liam was very different in the office to how he was with me at the weekends. Outside of work, he looked every inch the bad boy rather than the serious business man as we explored the local area together, laughing and joking together as we held hands, him scruffily unshaven and in his casual jeans and T shirt. I found myself unable to take my eyes off him, drinking in the sight of his great body, his intense blue eyes, and his relaxed, smiling face. He looked so much younger when he was like this, than when he reverted back to his office persona.
But I also found office Liam, the man I had to deal with at work, incredibly sexy because of the powerful aura that emanated from him. He was always the ultra smart, highly efficient and well groomed big boss, with his impeccably sharp suits, and perfectly coordinated shirts and ties.