She was on the floor, rolling around with Jasper even though she knew she’d probably regret it in the morning, when the doorbell rang again.
“I wonder who that could be,” she said, laughing. She kissed the top of her dog’s head and went to the door, opening it because she knew it was Liam. “Right on time.” She looked down at the dog hair on her clothes and winced. “I was planning to change.”
Liam just shook his head, grinned, and kissed her hard on the mouth.
Her toes curled, and her core tightened. Man, the guy could kiss, even just to say hello.
“Don’t change on my account. We’re going to end up with that dog sleeping, sprawled over our laps as we’re watching the movie anyway. Might as well stay in what already has dog hair on it.”
She pulled away so he could walk in, noticing the bags in his hands.
“Well, I don’t think I own anything without dog hair anyway.”
“I found that I’ve started to collect dog hair at my place, too,” Liam said with a grin. “Your dog.” As if Jasper knew they were talking about him, he lifted his head and flicked his tail.
Liam rolled his eyes, rubbed the dog’s head and back, and then leaned in for another kiss with Arden.
“I got us Indian food, but the mildest kind ever for your stomach.”
“I can do spicy most times,” Arden said, taking the bag from him.
“I remember, but I didn’t want to risk it tonight.”
“So, what do we have?”
“Chicken korma and lamb rogan josh.”
“That sounds amazing.”
“And all the naan you could need. Okay, maybe not all the naan because I’m about to eat like three-quarters of it.”
“Oh my God, my mouth is watering.”
“Good.” He kissed her again, his hand going to the back of her head, his fingers sifting through her hair as he pulled her closer. She could feel the hardness of him through his jeans pressing against her belly, and she groaned.
“It seems my mouth is watering for more than just food,” he growled against her lips.
“We can reheat this, right?” she asked, her breath coming in pants.
“Hell, yeah.” Somehow, the two of them ended up in the kitchen, the fridge open, and the food put away. Jasper stalked away, huffing out a breath. Arden didn’t care.
Her mouth was on Liam’s, and she just wanted more of him. His hand slid up the back of her shirt, undoing her bra as he ran his hands along her skin. Her breasts fell, but his hands were still on her, slowly moving their way down her back, over her butt, then back up the front to cup a breast.
She sucked in a breath, her head falling back.
“I love your hands.”
“Fuck, Arden, I can’t think when you’re around. I love your breasts, your back, your body. I just can’t stop touching you.”
“Did I ask you to stop?” she asked, her voice a purr.
“I hope you don’t, ever.” And then he was kissing her again, his mouth roaming over her cheek, then her jaw and down her neck. He tugged off her shirt, and she lifted her arms so he could pull it over her head, her bra going with it.
When she tugged on the bottom of his shirt, he grinned against her mouth, and he let her lift his shirt over his head. And then her breasts were against his body, skin-to-skin as the coarse hair of his chest brushed against the softness of her puckered nipples.
The sensation sent a shockwave through her, and she pressed her thighs together, her clit pulsating at the friction.
“You’re so fucking sexy,” he growled, kissing her again, but when he went to kiss her between the breasts, she pushed him away. He shrugged in question.
“I need to do something first. Something I’ve been waiting to do.”
And then she went to her knees, and he raised a brow.
“Fuck,” he drawled out the word.
“Not your knees, baby. I don’t want you to hurt them.”
“You keep using that excuse, but you never let me play.” She said the words as she undid his belt, and he swallowed hard.
“Fine, if you must.” She saw the laughter in his eyes, even through the darkness that was seduction with a tinge of worry.
When he reached over her, she groaned. He pulled two kitchen towels out of the drawer so her knees wouldn’t hurt.
It wasn’t the best, it wasn’t a pillow, but it was all that was within reach, and she wasn’t letting him go. Slowly, she undid his zipper and then slid her hand under the waistband of his shorts.
“Jesus Christ,” he growled. His hand was in her hair again, and she licked the skin below his belly and right above the waistband of his boxers.
“Salty,” she grinned. “I want more.” So she pulled him out and licked the very tip of his cock.
He was thick, pulsating in her hand, and he groaned, tightening his grip in her hair. She didn’t care, she just wanted him. And the tugging felt good, so amazing, she could feel it in her core.
She explored him, licking the crown of his cock and then down the length of him, placing small kisses along his shaft even as he groaned.
When she licked back up from the bottom, cupping his balls in her hand, he groaned.
And then she looked up at him and swallowed the crown of him whole.
“God,” he growled.
It seemed he couldn’t say anything else, just kept grunting. And that’s when Arden knew she had him.
She swallowed him a bit more, humming along his length as she used her hands to get the rest of him.
He groaned more, slowly rocking his hips so he slid in and out of her mouth, and she bobbed her head, wanting more of him. She tightened her grip ever so slightly, and he shook, his thighs pressed against her forearms. She swallowed more of him, wanting more. But before he could come down her throat, before he could finish, he pulled out. She whimpered.
But then his mouth was on hers, and his hands were on her butt, her legs around his waist.
Somehow, he’d undone her jeans and pulled them down to below her knees. Her ass was on the counter, both of them grasping for each other, gasping, breathing.
They tugged and pulled, and then he was inside her, one quick thrust. They both groaned. Arden let out a scream, wanting more. She arched into him, her breasts aching, needy. And then his lips were on her, sucking one nipple into his mouth, letting go with a bite before kissing the other. All the while, he thrust in and out of her, pulling her closer to the edge of the counter as he fucked her hard.
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. He was inside her, surrounding her, and then his thumb was on her clit, and she came, clamping around his length as he thrust again, and again. But he didn’t let go of himself or her clit. He pressed down again, and she came once more. Somehow, she came a second time. And then he filled her, shouting her name into her neck as he pumped once, then twice, and then stilled, holding her so close that she felt her nails dig into his back, and his body tremble along hers.
That had been hard, fast, and…everything.
And then she felt him fill her in a different way. She pulled back and met his gaze.
“Fuck,” she gasped.
“Jesus Christ. How did I…how did I do that? I forgot a condom. What the fuck, Arden? I’m so sorry.”
Horror filled his expression. He reached around for a paper towel, wet it in the sink right beside her, and then pulled out slowly to clean them both up.
He was shaking, a look of abject horror on his face.
So she kissed him. Then she put her hands on his cheeks, pulled him close, and kissed him again.
“It’s okay,” she whispered. “I forgot, too. It’s not your fault.”
“Hell yeah, it is. I’m supposed to be the one who remembers. I’ve been doing this for how long? I’ve never once forgotten a condom in my life. What the fuck, Arden? I am so sorry I did that to you. To us. I…I’m clean. I can go get results if you want. But I, uh, I went to get blood tests, you know, just to check everything
after the news with my parents. And I guess…fuck, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay. I’m clean, too. We do a lot of tests for the lupus and things. And I’m on birth control. So, we should be fine.”
“I’ll get you the results. I promise.”
“Same. It’s okay, Liam.” She petted his cheek and kissed him again. “You’re taking care of me. It’s okay.”
He held her then, holding her close even in her kitchen, both of them naked. And while part of her knew she’d have to bleach the place, she shoved that thought from her mind. She was only thinking of her—of Liam.
Because they’d been lost in the moment, and they had made a mistake, but it would be okay. Because she was on birth control, and there were other ways to make sure this didn’t happen again.
They were safe.
And as he held her close and she knew that he just wanted to take care of her, it told her that she was one step closer to falling in love.
And that scared her more than what had been forgotten.
Chapter 17
Liam sat in his truck, telling himself that he was going to get out soon. He had to get out. It was just hard to do when he knew that he was being a chickenshit.
He knew he should have come to his mother before this. He knew it. He just hadn’t made good decisions. He’d needed time to decompress, to think. Now, he felt like he had taken too long. No, a month wasn’t a super long time in retrospect, but he knew he had hurt his mom.
She had been there for Liam his entire life, but the fact that everything he knew had all been based on a lie? That hurt him. He needed to figure out what to say. Because he’d taken his time, knew he didn’t hate her. But he needed to figure out how they were going to be. How they were going to make this happen.
He’d just needed time. And he’d had it. Now, he needed to actually get out of the truck.
His fists tightened on the steering wheel, even if the engine was off, and he sighed.
He was here because of Arden. Because she had faced so much and kept going. He couldn’t back away from his life because he was scared. She hadn’t.
Hell, he had forgotten the fucking condom, and she had been the one to console him. Her. Yeah, they were both clean, yeah, she was on birth control, but what if something happened? What if, like with his mother, that small percentage occurred. He didn’t know what pregnancy meant with lupus. He hadn’t researched it because, frankly, it wasn’t his place, and they weren’t there yet.
What if he’d put her in danger because he forgot?
And because all of that was in his head, he knew he needed to at least fix something.
And that meant actually talking to his mom. And not being an asshole about it.
There was a soft tap on his window, and he froze before looking to the left.
“Your sister called and said you were coming,” his dad said as Liam opened the door.
“Yeah, I told her and the others so they wouldn’t think that I’m a complete jerk.”
“No one thought you were a jerk, son.”
His father flinched a little at that, and Liam figured that was the hard part now. Because Liam hadn’t flinched. This was his dad.
No, he didn’t really know what he was going to think about all of it later or what would come next, but the fact that his dad had flinched using the word son? That sucked.
It made him feel as if his heart were being ripped from his chest. It made the cavernous hole in his body pull on itself and make him feel like he was going to throw up.
“I still feel like an asshole sometimes,” Liam said softly.
“I’m going to go drive around the block or something,” his dad said.
“You should go to Ethan’s. I think he was planning on calling you soon to make sure you were okay.”
His dad snorted. “Ethan is as much of a meddler as Bristol, yet she’s the one that gets the bad rap.”
“Just like I’m the one that wrangles, and Aaron’s the one that cleans up after us all.”
“Well, you all do a pretty good job.”
“You taught us.”
“Don’t hurt your mom,” his dad whispered. “Please don’t hurt your mom.”
“I won’t. It already hurts, though, doesn’t it?”
“I won’t leave if she’s going to end up a mess,” Timothy Montgomery said, his jaw tightening.
That same jaw that Liam had thought was his but wasn’t. He needed to learn what to do. Learn how to figure it out. He had to. But it was going to take time. It was always going to take fucking time.
“Go to Ethan’s. I’m sure Aaron will show up, and maybe Bristol, too. Let me and Mom talk.”
“You’re a good boy,” his dad said, reaching around to give him a hug, and Liam got out of the car.
“I hope so. But, Dad?”
His dad swallowed hard and nodded. “Yeah?”
“I’m still not okay. And I don’t know when I’m going to be okay. I hope you realize that.”
“I do. But we’re going to be here. No matter what.” And without another word, his dad went and got into his SUV, hopefully driving over to Ethan’s.
Liam sent his brother a text to give him a heads-up just in case, and Ethan sent back a thumbs-up emoji. Well, the other Montgomerys in his life were all set. Now, it was time for Liam to figure out what to do.
He didn’t have to knock on the door. “Hey,” his mom said, her hand over her heart. “I saw you parked out there. Didn’t know when you were going to come in, so I sent your dad out.”
Liam nodded, noticing the way her eyes had tightened with the word dad. Yeah, they were all having a problem with that. Maybe Liam just needed to get it out. What it was, though? He didn’t know.
Because he did not want to be the bad guy in this. And he was afraid that if he yelled at his mom, if he did anything to make her cry even unintentionally, he would be the bad guy.
His mom took a step back, and he followed her, walking into the home that he had grown up in, the one that they had moved into when he was about two. Apparently, they had lived in a smaller apartment when he was born, one they had moved into soon after their wedding. Liam tried not to think about the fact that he didn’t know if his father had lived there on his own first or if his mother had or if they’d gotten it together. He had never asked. Because they never talked about that time.
But they had moved here when he was a little kid, and all of his memories had been made here. When his brothers and sister were born, this is where they were raised.
It was where he’d had his scrapes kissed by his mom, all his booboos healed. Where he had snuck in his first girlfriend and then been yelled at and pulled by the ear into the living room while she was quietly driven home.
Apparently, he hadn’t been too good at deceiving.
This was the house where he had sipped his first beer with Ethan, and their friend, Lincoln.
Even though they had been two years younger than Liam, they had all been as thick as thieves, getting into things when they shouldn’t, and pretty much being teenage assholes about everything.
They had watched over Bristol together here, made sure she was the sweet, innocent Montgomery.
Even though they all knew she wasn’t.
They had all babied Aaron, probably to the point where he was the most spoiled of all of them, even though you couldn’t really be too spoiled in their family.
Liam remembered Ethan helping him with his science and math homework when he was in high school, and then in college for that matter, even though Liam was the older brother.
He remembered sitting in this living room and telling his parents that he had gotten an offer to be a model, and his mom freaking out that it was some sexual predator instead of an actual agent.
The fact that he had been lucky that it had actually been an agent had been a blessing.
He’d been too stupid at the time, too young and sheltered and naive to actually realize that it had been a real concern.
> He remembered sitting in his room, trying to drown out the endless hours of Bristol practicing her cello. Hours and hours of her becoming someone with decent talent, to finally becoming a brilliant artist.
He had spent hours in this house, watching Aaron play with different types of mediums for his art over the years—charcoal and paints and paper. Pen and marker and photography. And then his brother had tried his hand at clay, buying an old turntable that he and Ethan and Liam had dragged into the garage.
They had been so scared that his parents would yell at them for moving things out of the way, but then their dad had come in and shown them how to fix the legs to make sure it was even. All the while, Bristol had been their lookout to make sure they didn’t get caught.
It hadn’t mattered that their dad knew what was going on all along.
And then when Aaron had found his love with glass-blowing, it had been Liam’s money from his modeling gigs that had sent him to his first apprenticeship.
Aaron hadn’t known that at the time, but he knew now. Not that Liam cared.
They all worked together. They were a family.
And it was really fucking weird to think that things could have been entirely different if this man named Steve had taken Liam in instead. If Liam had known at the time that he wasn’t their true blood brother the way they were with each other.
“You have so many thoughts on your face, Liam.”
He looked up at his mother’s voice and frowned.
“What?”
She reached up, cupped his cheek, and then pulled her hand back as if stung.
He hadn’t moved, but this was the first time they had been in the same room for almost a month. It was like she was a stranger but also wasn’t. She was still the same mom he remembered, there was just a jagged edge to their relationship now that he wasn’t sure they could fix. Then again, maybe the jagged edge was him.
“You’re thinking so hard that I can see a thousand thoughts running over your face. Will you tell me what you’re thinking?”
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