Too Fast (Faulkner Security)

by Dru Parkes

  He’d checked in with his partners and had then spoken with my father who’d confirmed that the deal had been signed and that everything had gone smoothly and without any problems.

  We had lunch then headed back to the boat. He took my hand in his as we walked in silence for a few minutes, then he squeezed my fingers and looked down at me. “It’s good news that your father has signed the deal.”

  I kept looking ahead, not wanting him to glimpse my conflicting emotions right then. While I was pleased for my father that the deal had gone through, I was also sad that my week with Liam was fast coming to an end.

  I’d always known it would, of course, just as I knew Liam would be pleased that babysitting me was almost over so that he could get back to more challenging assignments.

  “Yes, it’s good news, and I’m going to resist saying ‘I told you so’ when I see my father. There was never any need for him to hire you to look out for me.”

  When he didn’t respond, I glanced up and caught the gleam in his eyes. “Are you saying you haven’t enjoyed the benefits of having me look out for you?”

  I smiled back. “No, not saying that. The unexpected benefits have made up for being incarcerated. And I have to admit, this place has grown on me.” I took a steadying breath, still not wanting to give myself away. “I’ll be a little sorry to leave.”

  “Made you into a country girl, have we? You’ll be confessing that you don’t want to go back to city life soon.”

  “I wouldn’t say that, but there are things that I’ll miss.”

  That was an understatement. It had only been a week, but already I didn’t like the idea of waking up without Liam beside me. Couldn’t imagine going through the day without feeling his arms steal around me as I tried my hand at basic cooking, or tasting his kiss, having him make love to me.

  Except it wasn’t making love. It was having sex. We’d both known that from the start.

  I tried to smile. Tried to be flippant and make him believe that my heart wasn’t squeezing at the thought of not being with him anymore. “There’s a certain simplicity about life out here,” I said truthfully. “It’s been good not having to worry about fulfilling anyone’s expectations, trying to be someone I’m not.”

  “Things can be like that back in the city.”

  “Maybe for some people, but it’s different for me.”

  We arrived at the boat and he retrieved a couple of beers. “How so?”

  I took the bottle he’d uncapped and handed to me. “My father has certain expectations. You saw how he is. He managed to persuade you to babysit me, although I’m sure you would have preferred to say no to that. He’s a hard man to refuse.”

  Liam shrugged, took a pull of his own beer and then sat on a tree stump. “What expectations does he have of you?”

  “He wants me to join the company. Learn to take over from him one day.” I found my own tree stump and sat. “Oh, God. I can’t tell you how the thought of that fills me with dread.”

  “Then don’t do it.”

  “Easy for you to say that.” I sipped my beer. “I’m his second choice, of course. He was grooming my older sister to be his successor. She was much more suited. She loved the business and used to follow my father around, even as a child, asking questions that I wouldn’t even know to ask as an adult.”

  “Seems crazy to go along with what he wants when you know it would make you unhappy. I’m sure he wouldn’t want that for you. Have you told him?”

  I nodded. “I can’t tell you how many times I tried to tell him, but he just tells me it’s my birthright and that I haven’t even given it a chance.” I took another long swig from the bottle as I felt my throat tighten up. “Maybe he’s right. I haven’t really given it a chance, but those years at business school didn’t manage to light me up, so I can’t imagine it will happen just because I join my father’s company. I feel trapped, but then I suppose a lot of people feel that way. I’m very lucky really, so I should learn to appreciate that.”

  Liam

  She looked so damn dejected that it was all I could do not to sweep her up and tell her everything would work out. That everything would be okay. Except that wasn’t my place. And it certainly wasn’t in line with the kind of relationship we had.

  This had been a week of mutually hot sex to pass the time for both of us until we got back to the city and could resume our lives.

  But it seemed Serena had a life she didn’t want to resume.

  “If business doesn’t do it for you, what does?”

  She perused the label on the bottle, and after a few moments pursed her lips. “I don’t know.”

  “Yes, you do.”

  She looked up, narrowed her eyes. “You wouldn’t get it any more than he does.”

  I kept my gaze on hers. “Try me.”

  After another long perusal of the beer label, she cocked her head to the side. “I always wanted to teach.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

  She tutted. “See? Told you that you wouldn’t understand.”

  “It’s not that. It’s just you took me by surprise. What kind of teacher? Kids? Adults?”

  “Children. The younger the better.” She took a drink of beer, then looked at me, her eyes bright with enthusiasm. “Have you watched little ones when they draw or paint? There’s a singular quality about it. Their whole being is in the moment, as if nothing else exists for them right then. Seeing how proud they are of their creation is the best.”

  I found myself smiling as I listened to her. Her enthusiasm was catching. “So, you’d teach art?”

  “I’d encourage it. I’m of the opinion that art should be free of rules and constraints. Children should have one aspect of their lives when they get to do something just for the sheer joy of the doing.”

  I thought of her own constraints, and knew she was speaking from experience. “I think you’d make a great teacher.”

  She held my gaze, as if she was trying to work out if I was being honest. Then she smiled. “Thanks.”

  I settled back on the log. “You should go for it. The minute you get back, you tell your old man you’re signing up for teaching school.”

  She laughed. “Teaching school?”

  “Yeah. You need a qualification, don’t you?”

  She nodded, turning the beer bottle in her hands as if she was contemplating the idea. “I can imagine what he’d say.”

  “Doesn’t matter what he says. You’re a grown woman. You can do what the hell you like with your life. Just tell him to butt out.”

  I was shot back in time to a conversation I’d had with my sister. When Callie had told me to butt out of her business. That she was building her career in social media and that I should keep my nose out of her career decisions if I knew what was good for me.

  I’d reluctantly kept my nose out, and she’d built an amazing career for herself.

  “It’s complicated,” Serena said. “He lost my mother and my sister. I’m all he has left. I can’t bring myself to disappoint him, not when he’s lost so much.”

  “You lost them, too.” I leaned forward and reached for one of her hands. “Your father loves you; any idiot could see that. He wants to protect you, keep you safe, but I sure as hell know that he wouldn’t want you to be unhappy. Tell him how you really feel. Make him understand what you want.”

  It took a while, but then she nodded. Sighed. “You’re right. I need to really talk to him.”

  “Good. And keep talking until he gets it, okay?”

  “Okay.” She squeezed my hand. “Should we think about getting back? If our previous outings are anything to go by, we’ll probably get waylaid on the way home and it’ll be getting dark before we know it.”

  The gleam in her eye keyed me into her meaning. “Why, Ms. Patterson. Are you suggesting what I think you’re suggesting? And you, a future teacher. Shameful.”

  She laughed. “Well, I’m not one yet.”

  “In that case…” I tugged on her
hand to bring her up in front of me. “I know this secluded spot on the other side of the lake that would be just about perfect for what I have in mind.”

  “Really?” She fluttered her lashes, all innocence. “I’d love to see it.”

  Chapter Seven

  Serena

  The drive home was much faster than the drive here just one week ago. With each mile my heart sank further. Too soon, the city limits were upon us, and even sooner the entrance to my father’s home.

  “Are you coming in with me?” I asked Liam as he brought the vehicle to a stop. “I’m sure my father would like to thank you.”

  He shook his head. “Our business has concluded.”

  My insides squeezed at the unspoken addendum. That not only was it concluded, but Liam was pleased to be moving on. He’d done what was asked of him and had enjoyed a week of unrestricted sex into the bargain.

  I should look at it in the same way. But the thing was, I’d gone and fallen hard for him. Which was stupid. Insane. But true, nevertheless.

  Not that I intended for him to know that. “Okay. So, I suppose this is goodbye then.” I hesitated, not sure whether to offer my hand or to lean across and kiss him. The kiss won out. Just a brief peck, a meeting of mouths that was respectful and distanced. It seemed ridiculous considering what we’d shared for the last seven days. How we’d done anything and everything to each other and had barely been apart.

  As I leaned back, I searched his face for anything that might indicate he was as reluctant to say goodbye as I was, but I found nothing. It broke my heart a little more.

  “I’ll get your bag.”

  He was out of the car before I could tell him there was no need. That I could get it myself.

  I really wanted to be away fast now, to get inside the house without embarrassing myself by begging him to carry on what we’d started.

  Luckily, one of my father’s security personnel came forward and took the bag from him, so that left us staring at each other awkwardly.

  “Bye then,” I said, this time offering my hand. “Thanks for everything.”

  He kept hold of my hand. “Serena…”

  I didn’t want platitudes. I didn’t want to hear that he’d enjoyed being with me. That he hoped everything would turn out well for me. Because I knew it wouldn’t. Not without him in my life.

  “It’s okay,” I said managing a shaky smile. “I really enjoyed our week. And now it’s time to get back to normal. Good luck with your next assignment.”

  I knew he was off to Europe somewhere, although he hadn’t given me the details.

  “Thanks. I enjoyed it, too. You take care.”

  I nodded; it was all I could do because my throat had seized up. Then I turned and hurried up the steps to my father’s home.

  Liam

  I got back in the vehicle, trying to resist looking back to where Serena had disappeared inside. My guts were in fucking turmoil.

  What the hell was happening to me? It was supposed to just be sex. I’d had relationships based on sex before, but there had never been this soul-wrenching confusion when those relationships had ended.

  I leaned back against the seat, tapping my fingers on the steering wheel. Why the hell couldn’t I just drive away? It was the easiest thing to do, right? Just turn the ignition, put my foot down, and I’d be gone. This would all be a very happy memory.

  But my damn body wouldn’t move.

  Last night, as I lay in bed with Serena tucked into my side fast asleep, I’d actually wondered if maybe we could continue this thing between us. But even as I considered it, I knew it was impossible.

  We lived different lives. She wanted to be a schoolteacher, for pity’s sake. And I basically lived out of a suitcase, heading to shit-knew-where on the planet at the drop of a hat.

  No. It wouldn’t work.

  So why the fuck was I getting out of the car and heading up the steps to her home?

  The same security guy who’d taken her bag met me before I could ring the freaking doorbell, and I resisted the urge to barge past him and shout for Serena.

  I was strung so damn tight. And I wasn’t even sure why.

  “I want to see Serena,” I barked. “There’s something I forgot to tell her.”

  The man eyed me. I knew that look. I’d used it myself on numerous occasions.

  As we faced off, the door opened, and Serena was there. “Liam?” She looked at the man. “It’s okay, Douglas.”

  The man eyed me for another half minute, then nodded to Serena and disappeared around the house.

  “What is it?” she asked, looking so fucking beautiful that she stole my breath clean away. “Is something wrong?”

  “No.” I stared at her, my heart in my throat. “Yes.”

  “What is it?” It was only then that I saw the sheen in her gorgeous eyes. Had she been crying? Did that mean she felt the same as I did? That she didn’t want this to end?

  Driven by the possibility that might be true, I found my voice. “The thing is, I was wondering… Look, we had a great time this past week, and I thought…wondered…if you might like to keep it going.”

  Her throat contracted as she swallowed. “Keep it going. The sex?”

  I looked around, hoping to hell that Douglas wasn’t in earshot. Satisfied, I turned back. “Well, yeah. The sex. But, you know, the conversation as well.”

  She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “The conversation.”

  “Yeah, we get along okay.”

  She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. “More than okay.”

  “Yeah. So, maybe we could just… Fuck, Serena. I’m not ready for this to end. I want us to keep seeing each other.”

  “Why?”

  I shook my head, my frustration growing by the second. “I just told you.”

  “You told me that you wanted sex and conversation. You can pick up a woman in a bar for that.”

  I frowned, my head starting to ache. “I already picked up a woman in a bar. Now I want to keep her. And you want to know why? You really want to know why?”

  She nodded again. “I really would.”

  “Because I’ve fallen for her. I want her around because she’s the most amazing, beautiful, complicated woman I know. She’s a woman who blows my head off in the sack, then tugs at my freaking heart when she tells me how she feels when she watches a kid draw a picture.”

  I had to stop, take several gulps of air as my breathing became heavy. She bit her lip again. “You can be pretty annoying when you get all macho protective, but you’re also the first person I’ve confessed my dream to, the first man who supported that dream and made me feel I could stand up to my father so I could achieve it.”

  She was freaking killing me. “Does that mean you’d be on board with my suggestion?”

  She smiled, reached out to touch her hands to my arms. “Uh, huh. I—”

  I didn’t get to hear what else she was going to say because I had her in my arms and I was kissing the hell out of her. She felt warm, responsive and so damn amazing that I knew I’d move heaven and earth to keep her in my life.

  When we came up for air, I shook my head. “I don’t know how this will work, exactly, with me being away so much. But I want you in my life, Serena. I want to come home to you, make love to you, be there for you whenever you need me.”

  She stroked my cheek, her eyes shining. “We’ll make it work. Whatever it takes. Because I want you in my life too, Liam. I want you to come home to me. Make love to me. Know that I’ll be here for you.”

  I kissed her again and knew that she was right. We’d make it work. Whatever it took, we’d make it work. Because there was no way I was letting her go. Not ever.

  Epilogue

  Six Months Later

  Serena

  “Noah’s starting to get pissed with Blade and me.”

  I turned to look up at Liam as we lay together after celebrating my acceptance into college to study for a teaching degree. “Why?”

>   “I happened to mention I was getting tired of overseas assignments, just like Blade told me he was. Noah thinks he’s going to get all the overseas work dumped on him.”

  “But he loves the travel, doesn’t he?” I said, remembering how Noah had told me as much at Blade and Callie’s wedding reception a few months ago. “And so do you.” I hiked up onto my elbow to look down at him. “So why are you getting tired of it?”

  He grinned. “Take a wild guess.”

  My heart jumped, but I wasn’t going to let him say what I thought he was going to say. “No, Liam. That won’t work. I don’t want you giving up what you love. Not because of me.”

  I wished that I hadn’t let slip to his sister how much I hated when he went away, and how lucky she was to have a man who wanted to be home with her all the time.

  “What I said to Callie was stupid, and I said it in the heat of the moment.”

  “So, you don’t want me home all the time?”

  “Of course I do, but life doesn’t work that way. It’s not realistic. You have your job, one that you love. I won’t be responsible for making you give that up.” I reached down to kiss him. “You were the one who gave me the courage to stand up to my father, so that he’d finally accept that I was going to do the job that I want. You’d never ask me to give that up, would you?”

  “Fuck no.”

  Satisfied, I settled back beside him, stroked my hand over his masculine chest. “Then that’s the end of this conversation. You’ll keep doing what you love, and so will I. And then when you get home from assignment, you can do me.”

  He was silent for long moments, and just the sound of our breathing filled the otherwise quiet surroundings of the cabin. We always came here for a few days when Liam got back from overseas, and I was growing to love the place more and more.

  He turned so that I was underneath him. “Speaking of doing what I love…”

  My heart stopped, my insides a whirling mass of expectation.

  “That would be you, Serena. Because I love you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

  I didn’t hesitate. “Oh, God, Liam. I want that, too. I love you so much.”