by Aria Cole
“Ha, it’d take me three years’ of tips just to afford the plane ticket. Not in this lifetime, but I'm good right where I am. Got plenty of good folks to talk to right here.”
“Cambridge is full of great people,” Liam said, looking at me with that beautiful sideways grin that stole my heartbeat. I was completely taken with him, and the fact that he was winning my dad over warmed my heart even more.
I took Liam’s hand thirty minutes later as we walked down the street to my place. “Thank you for being so awesome with my dad.”
“Anytime. He was fun.”
“I don’t know if fun’s the word, but it did get entertaining for a while there.”
“I’d do it all over again just to share another dinner with you.” Liam pulled me to a slow stop as we approached the bar.
“I won’t make you.” I shook my head and tapped his cheek sweetly.
“I hope you do.” Liam captured my lips in a kiss, his head angling to the side, his hands cupping my face. My god, I loved the way he held my face when he kissed me.
“You’re so bloody amazing, Charlie de Rossi.” He attacked my lips again, one hand caressing down my thigh and yanking it high around his waist as we stumbled back against the red brick wall.
“Just promise,” I whispered between kisses, “promise not to hurt me. I couldn’t take it.”
“I swear on my own fucking heart. I swear, if you’ll let me, I’ll protect you. I’ll keep you safe. I’m yours.” His fingertips danced across my skin like fireflies, lighting a flame in their wake. “When I say you’re mine, it doesn't mean you’re mine to throw away. It means I’m responsible for you—for your happiness, your well-being, your satisfaction—you.”
I kissed him again, my words bleeding with raw honesty. “I want that so much. I want that with you. Please take me upstairs, Liam.”
A low groan ripped from his throat before he hoisted me over his shoulder, one hand protectively holding my ass cheek as he pounded up the steps and into my apartment in the clouds.
Liam was coming home, back to my bed, with me. And not only was I letting him in, but I’d begged him, just as he’d promised. Arrogant bastard.
SEVEN
Liam
I ran my palms up and down her skin, working the thin cotton shirt over her shoulders to reveal her beautiful tits in that lacy fucking bra. “Christ, I’ve been dreaming about you.” I pulled the zipper on my jeans, desperate for relief from the constant strain of my dick against the restrictive fabric. “You drive me crazy, Charlie. You drive me so crazy I feel like I’m drowning in you.”
A soft gasp fell from her lips. “Fuck me, Liam.”
“Not a chance, baby. I’m going to make love to you. I’m going to love you until we’re both desperate and gasping for air. And after I have you, that’s it—you’re mine. No more flirting at the bar for tips, no more short fucking skirts that creep up those sexy thighs when you bend over. All of this”—I palmed her breasts, my gaze leveled on hers—“is for me only.”
Charlie swallowed, my words sinking in, and before she could reply, I wrapped a hand around her neck and brought her against my lips. Rapid, wild, frenzied breaths washed over us as she climbed up my body, her hands in my hair before I pushed her against the wall in her kitchen and angled my hips against her.
“I need to be buried deep inside you.”
“Someone could hear.” Her eyes darted to the front door, hanging wide open.
“Let them hear you. Just let them know you've got a real man to take care of your needs.” I thrust a hand beneath her waistband and fisted at the thin fabric of her panties. “A real man doesn't walk away. A real man takes care of what’s his.”
With one solid pull, I tore her panties from her body, her hands working the button before she slipped off her skirt. Fuck, she was so beautiful and alive. I couldn't imagine why anyone wouldn’t want to love her every day, just to see the light burning in her gorgeous eyes.
“Jesus.” I held her at arm’s length, gazing at all the creamy curves that were now mine. “You bring out the wild animal in me, baby. I’m going to possess you, make every part of your body cry out for my touch. When I’m done with you, the mark of my ownership will be burned into your soul.”
“Shut up, Irish,” her throaty voice purred, “and get inside me.”
I arched one eyebrow, my cock aching and harder than I could ever remember. It’d never felt this way, never been this way. I wanted to haul her back to my apartment and tie her to my bedposts. I wanted to trail my tongue across her body, feel her warmth and hear her laugh every day of my future.
“You’re going to feel those words in the morning.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
She’d barely finished her question before I spun her around, pulled her outside the front door, and bent her over the railing. There wasn’t much to see—just a dark alleyway and the occasional bouncing headlight. I knew no one could lay eyes on her up here, but the chance made me rock fucking hard just the same.
Charlie’s fists clutched the railing as her arse brushed against my cock.
I yanked my pants down my hips, pulled my cock out, and slid it between the soft swells of her delicious arse cheeks. “I can't imagine taking you any way but bare. I want to feel you fisting around my cock. I want every last nerve inside you to know I’ve been there. I haven't been with anyone in a very long time. I'm so clean I'm practically a virgin again, but if you want me to wear a condom, I will. If you don't want me bare inside you, tell me now.”
“I want to feel all of you… it's been six years since—”
“Oh good, sweetheart. Don't know what I would have done if I had to have a single barrier between us.” I placed kisses across her shoulder blades before sliding my hands over the generous curve of her arse. “You’re so fucking sexy. I love everything about your body. I want you here.” I stroked my fingers against the tight little rosebud of her arse. “Not tonight, not tomorrow, but I’m going to need every inch of you.”
Soft groans escaped her lips, her hips still rocking as I teased my erection through her silky folds.
“Bad girl, you want it, don’t you?”
She nodded fiercely before her head whipped around and she caught me with an intense gaze. “Stop teasing me. I want all of you.”
She took my fucking breath away when she slammed back onto my dick, my cock instantly sheathed in her heat.
“Fuckkkk.” I gripped her hips, my body instantly picking up a rhythm to match hers. “You drive me fucking insane, love. Everything about you drives me out of my ever-loving mind.”
My hands trailed up her torso, discovering every inch of her skin before I kneaded her shoulders and planted a soft kiss between her shoulder blades.
“It’s never… I’ve never felt….” Her words escaped in small huffs before she reached back with one arm and pulled my head closer to hers.
I captured her lips, one palm holding her steady against my hips as I invaded her and melded us, the other hand cupping her neck as our tongues fucked furiously.
“I wanted an adventure this summer, but I never expected you.” I picked up my speed just as her legs seemed to give out. I supported her with one arm, arching her into a better position to hold us both, then I spun her in my arms. “Need to see your sweet face, beautiful.”
“Liam…” she hummed, her eyes falling closed for a minute as wetness hovered at her eye.
“No, love, this is just you and me. Don’t let anyone else in right now.” I licked away the teardrop when it fell across her cheekbone.
“You’re so amazing. I don’t deserve you.”
“Don’t say that about my girl.” I wiped another tear from her eye before kissing her long and slow. “I’ll tell you every day for the rest of my life how kind, beautiful, and deserving you are if it will make you believe it.” My hands trailed down her body, caressing her skin and soothing away the emotional pain that was never far from her thoughts.
; “Jesus, if I didn’t know better, I’d say I loved you.” Charlie swiped at a tear, her face curling up ruefully.
“That’s because you do, love.”
I hitched her thigh around my waist, pulling her into my arms and leaning her against the railing. “You love me so much it scares you.”
I kissed up and down her neck as I slowly invaded her again, breaching her sweet pussy inch by inch. Watching her head roll back and her eyes flutter closed, I filled her and nearly undid myself completely. I could have come in her body right that second, put a baby in her, hauled her off to the justice of the peace tomorrow, and died a happy man.
“God, Liam…” She groaned, and I knew I’d hit just the spot.
“Say it again, love.” I worked her clit in deft circles as her muscles began to quake.
“Liam…”
“Mmm, yeah, baby?” I pulled down the cup of her bra and licked at the pebbled rosy bud that greeted me in the cool night air.
“Liam, I…”
“Say it, beautiful.”
“I… I-I think I—” Her legs stiffened, and I felt the slow roll of her orgasm pulsing through my dick.
“Say it.”
“I love you.” The words escaped her lips in a rush, the release still pummeling through her body and sending my orgasm rocketing off.
I held her against me, the only thing I was unwilling to let go, as stars burned behind my eyelids and our bodies trembled.
“I love you so much.”
When I slowly eased out of her, the cold air hit my cock and I nearly jumped.
Charlie smiled dreamily before I pulled her into my arms and carried her across the threshold into her apartment, kicking the door closed this time.
“Do you mean it?”
“Mean what, love?” I cooed as I laid her in her little bed, her body supple and sated.
“That you love me?” She rolled and yawned like a cat.
A lovesick grin stretched across my face as I crawled into bed behind her, pulling her into my body and locking her in my embrace.
“Every word. I love you today, I’ll love you tomorrow, and I’m pretty sure I even loved you yesterday.” I kissed the hollow of her neck, loving the taste of our sweat mingling on her skin.
“You’re too nice to me.” She yawned, one delicate hand curling into mine before her eyes fluttered closed.
“Never, baby. No such thing.” I placed a kiss on the top of her sweet head. “You’re the one who’s too good for me.”
I trailed my fingertips through her silky hair. She’d burrowed right into my heart when I least expected it, and having her, all of her, only solidified one thing—Charlie was it for me. Charlie was everything I needed. And Charlie needed me too. I could see her blossoming every single day, our banter and discussions opening her heart and her mind. I closed my eyes and prayed that when Charlie finally found out who I really was and where I really came from, she wouldn’t hit the road, unwilling to trust me ever again. Hurting her was the last thing I wanted, but I was too afraid that being forthright would send her away before she’d even had a chance to love me and mean it.
EIGHT
Charlie
“I don’t want to go to work tonight.” I stretched and yawned before curling around the solid-bodied man that’d shared my bed last night. The only man to ever do so.
I couldn’t believe I’d asked Liam to come up last night, but his constant thoughtfulness and generosity had hooked me. I’d never met a man more charming, more genuine, more real than Liam Fitzpatrick. Somewhere deep in my bones, I knew I couldn't lose him. I knew he was good for me, even if I couldn't quite figure out exactly why.
“We’ve got all afternoon. We could do something fun.” Liam walked his fingers up the underside of my arm, making a delicious shiver rip through me. “Or stay right here and have a love-in.”
I laughed before launching across his body and straddling his hips. The sheet that had been around my naked form fell away, and his eyes instantly fell to my round breasts and the nipples I knew were pebbled from the cold. I pressed against his morning erection, sandwiched between us and driving me wild with lust. “I like the sound of that last one.”
“I vote in favor of that last one too.”
“Perhaps we’re in agreement more often than I thought,” I teased and took his lips in a rabid kiss, pulling at his bottom lip when I backed away.
A violent vibration came from the direction of my nightstand, and I swiped Liam’s phone, about to pass it to him when a new picture message caught my eye.
“Who’s this?” I tilted my head as I took in the elegantly posed picture. A large family, seven people at least, were dressed in the poshest clothing, including neckties and military medals. It looked totally old-fashioned except for the high quality of the photo. They were definitely a modern family.
“Ah, my dad.” Liam glanced at his phone then flipped it over on the nightstand, his hands at my hips again. “We had a family picture taken last time I was home, I haven’t seen it yet.”
“That was your family?” I swiped the phone and inspected the picture still waiting for him on the home screen. “Does your dad make you do reenactments or something?”
“No.” Liam pulled the phone from my hands again. Now I wanted to see it more than ever. “Charlie, no.”
I was already studying the picture again, this time taking in the opulent furnishings of what looked to be like an old English estate house.
Then my eye landed on an intricately wrought coat of arms hanging on the wall directly behind the family. I zoomed in as close as I could on the picture to make out the large inscription gracing the plaque.
Fitzpatrick Royal Irish Lineage, HRH The Queen
“Wait… are you…?”
Liam’s gaze burned up all the oxygen between us as he watched me. The details suddenly lined up, the pieces finally locking into place.
“Your dad isn’t just into history, is he?”
“No, he’s not.”
“And he’s not a politician either, right?”
Liam’s eyes swam with desolation.
“Liam? Is he a politician?”
“Charlie—”
“I can’t believe you!” I leapt off the bed, sped across the hallway, and locked myself in the bathroom.
“Charlie, just listen to me for a second!”
“No! I told you no secrets, and you kept the biggest fucking secret of all?” I swung the door open, pushing aside when I sped by him. I pulled a shirt over my head before yanking his clothes off my floor and pounding past him again. “How could you?”
“Charlie—”
“Don’t Charlie me, don’t beautiful me. You’re a fucking prince! You’re part of the royal family! You lied to me about everything!”
“I didn't lie to you about anything! What you saw, all of it is me. I’m not like them. Ireland doesn't even have a royal family. It’s an honorary bullshit title that means nothing!”
“How can I believe anything you say anymore?” I screamed, my head pounding with white-hot rage. He’d been dishonest, either by lying or lying by omission. “I let down my guard with you. I let you into my heart, yet you didn’t even tell me the biggest detail of your life? God, you talked about your childhood, your siblings. How wealthy are you? Huh? You could probably buy twelve of my apartments. Could you buy the bar? The whole town?”
“That doesn't matter.”
“Of course it matters. We’re from opposite sides of the tracks. Oil and water don’t mix, will never mix. Everything about the way you and I live is different.”
Liam’s eyes cast away for a second, his beautiful hard edges only covered by the dark scrap of his boxer briefs. God, I wanted to fall into him and forget this morning had ever happened, forget that photo, forget that I knew what I now knew.
“Money doesn’t matter to me at all, Charlie. Who gives a shit if my family could buy all of Cambridge if they wanted to? Or half of Boston too? That isn’t me. I don’t t
ake shortcuts, and I work for everything I’m given. If you don’t know that by now, then I’m not sure what we’ve been doing.”
“Money is the only thing that matters when you don’t have any of it.” I shook my head. “And we agree on one thing—I'm not sure what we were doing either.” I turned my head away, trying to hide the tears burning my eyelids. “I just wish you had told me before I begged you to come up last night.”
I crumpled his clothes I’d been holding, then I swung the front door wide and threw them straight over the railing. They landed in a heap on the street below. “Goodbye, Liam.”
“Charlie—” He groaned and lurched for me as if he hadn’t even seen me throw his clothes out of the front door. “Christ, I’m sorry.”
“Bye, Liam.”
“Charlie—”
My heart exploded into a thousand painful shards as I pushed him out the door. The shards sliced through my organs before they fell to my feet in a hopeless pile.
“I love you,” I whispered after I’d slammed the door, and I allowed tears to stream down my cheeks. “I trusted you.”
The past tense of that statement crushed the only remaining pieces of me left. I pressed a hand against the old wooden door, imagining him pounding down the steps after his clothes, shamed so completely that he’d never return to my doorstep or my life.
I felt the warmth of the door bleeding through my palms as I sucked in a shallow breath and tried to compose my thoughts. “Liam…”
NINE
Liam
I stood on her stoop, my palms pressed against the aging wood door, my heart bleeding for the pain I’d put her through.
Maybe I was too much of a coward. I’d sensed my family’s wealth could be the thing that would push her over the edge. The prejudice against the upper class that she’d grown up with had been so present, even in just one conversation with her dad last night. But I’d overcome it. We were meant to be together. I’d ridden the high of her all night and had the best night of my entire existence in her bed.