Liam

by Katie Dowe

  “I decided that there was no reason we should not come straight here,” he told her smoothly. “His eyes scrutinized her face. “You got some rest, which is good because I made the call to tell my housekeeper not to bother with dinner. Can you cook?”

  “Go to hell!” she told him succinctly as she got out of the car and stretched her muscles.

  He chuckled silently as he got out and instructed the driver to grab their bags. He nodded at the guard who handed him several messages before they made their way to the private elevator that would take them up to his apartment. Amani felt the twinge of familiarity and trepidation as she remembered the last time she had been there. As they stepped out of the elevator he sent her a look that told her that he was remembering as well. He waited until the driver had left before he turned to look at her, as she stood in the living room. “Don’t think of stealing anything darling, I have no compunction against searching every inch of your body.”

  She glared at him and walked off into the kitchen. He did not join her, fearing that she would end up using one of the knives on him! He chuckled as he went to the bedroom to take off his jacket and return some calls. He did not fear that she would run away from him because the place was locked up tight. He took his time to return the calls, including one from his mother and another one from his sister. He called his mother first and reassured her that he would be at the function on Saturday. Then he called his sister. “What are you doing up sweetheart? Shouldn’t you be getting your beauty rest?”

  “I have not heard from you in several days,” she complained. “Where have you been?”

  “I had some things to take care of. Where is the fire?”

  “I missed hearing from you and I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Now you have my attention darling, so talk.”

  Amani stopped in the doorway and listened to his indulgent tone and wondered who he was talking to. She shook her head as she refused to acknowledge that the emotion she was feeling was in fact jealousy! She hated him and that was that! She stood there and watched as he rubbed a hand at the back of his neck. Her eyes wandered over his muscled arm and his taut back. If only he was not so damn handsome! She thought in despair. And if only she did not want him so much!

  His head lifted suddenly and he saw her standing there, his gray eyes wandering over her face and mesmerizing her. “I will talk to you later darling,” he said and hung up the phone.

  “Does she know you are keeping me hostage inside your apartment?” she asked him caustically.

  “That’s between you and me,” he told her with a mocking smile. “Have you finished cooking?”

  “I am not cooking anything. I am not your maid and I am here under extreme duress. You might get me to agree to be here with you but I am not going to cater to your whims. You are wealthy enough to hire someone to cook for you or order takeout. Pick one.”

  Liam almost smiled at her defiance. She was really a magnificent creature and even though her situation was dire she was not bending in the least! “You win this time. We will order takeout and sit in the living room and have the meal. But next time I tell you to do something Amani, I expect you to do it without argument. Is that clear?”

  Chapter 12

  “What am I supposed to do when you are gone?” she demanded as she watched him knot the striped tie at his neck. He had made love to her over and over again last night, right in the living room after they had finished their meal, and Amani had found that she could not resist him even though she had tried. With one touch he had been able to break down her resistance! It had been humiliating to know that he had such control over her body and her emotions! She had called Hanson to tell him that she was still at the cabin and that she was okay, and she had done so while he watched her.

  She had woken up this morning to find that he was fully dressed in his an exquisite charcoal gray suit that fitted his muscular frame to perfection. She remembered him telling her that he was not the type to sit in an office but when he had meetings he had to do so and dress for the occasion. He turned to look at her, his gray eyes wandering over her curves. He had insisted on her being naked in bed but at some point during the night she had donned a light blue silk nightgown.

  “I have told my housekeeper not to come in until I tell her to, so you can do what she usually does.”

  “I am not a maid.”

  “No darling you are worse, you are a thief.” Even saying the word made him angry! He was shacked up with a damned thief and he could not send her away. He didn't even have the will to let her go and retrieve the painting and get her out of his life. He was addicted to her and it pissed him off!

  “And you are a hypocrite.”

  “Watch it darling–”

  “You think I do not know your family’s history? You are not from a well-bred bloodline as you like to pretend Liam. Your ancestors pillaged helpless people to get what they wanted so that you can walk around in ten thousand dollar suits and live in this exorbitantly expensive showpiece.” There was a derisive twist to her lips as she looked around his sumptuous bedroom contemptuously. “You stand there playing judge and jury over what I do and I can see how revolted you are to be with me, but you refuse to let me go. Why is that? I have told you that I will retrieve the painting, but that is not enough for you is it?” He stood there staring at her with his throat working and a dark expression on his handsome face and did not respond. “Answer me dammit!”

  He strode forward and Amani shrank back against the pillows in alarm. She had meant to get a rise out of him and she had succeeded all too well! He grabbed her by the arms and hauled her up to him, his eyes darkened to almost black as he stared at her. “You are right,” he said conversationally. “I am going to do what I should have done when my man found you, turn you over to the authorities. But first I am going to deal with Hanson and then I am going to grant you your wish.” He released her so suddenly that she fell back onto the bed, her eyes wide with fright! She scrambled off the bed and caught him just as he was leaving the room.

  “Liam!” She gripped his forearm to stop him from leaving. “Please leave Hanson out of this. I – I will do whatever you want me to do, just leave him out of it.”

  He turned to look down at her, determined to shrug her off and go and do exactly what he had told her, but he was caught by her parted lips, the small nose with the slight flare to the nostrils and the fine features of her exquisitely beautiful face. He was in love with her! God help him! He had fallen in love with a woman who would never walk next to him as his wife. For the first time in his life he was gripped by emotions of which he had no control and he had no idea what he could do about it! He pulled away from her and stood there looking down at her, a frown etched on his brows.

  “Liam?”

  “Why did you choose me?” he asked her softly. “Why not someone else? Surely there were countless men with expensive art you could have chosen from, so why me?”

  “Because you had the best collections,” she admitted reluctantly.

  “You have come into my life and ruined–” He stopped abruptly, turning to walk away from her. He felt the crushing blow of the problem facing him and for the first time in his life he was stymied!

  “Liam?”

  He stopped just as he reached the door. “I will let you know what I decide when I come home later. In the meantime make yourself useful.”

  Amani bristled at that but wisely did not say anything!

  *****

  Liam sat in the early morning meeting and listened with half an interest, his hand toying with the paperweight on the table. The board met once a month to go over the financial details of the company and the latest acquisitions, as well as decide which charities they need to continue to support or let go of. His mother was on the board and they, along with Lorelei, held the controlling interests of the foundation that had been established years ago by generations of Moses. The holding was vast and far flung with treasures that defied description! Amani was righ
t, they had the best collections of jewelry and art around the world and the general public was highly aware of that. He had taken his wealth and status for granted over the years and had been careless with it! There were people who were suffering in the world, children abandoned by their own parents for one reason or the other and left at homes filled with other unwanted children, not getting the care they were entitled to! He had never thought of that before and the fact that he was doing so now was because of the woman he had left at his apartment. He had accused her of being a thief but he admired her and craved her more than anything in his life. He looked up surprise and realized that the meeting had come to an end. He sat there and watched as the men filed out, his eyes going to the sophisticated woman seated at the head of the table.

  “You have not said a word.”

  “I was more into listening,” he said idly.

  “Will you be attending the function on Saturday?”

  He moved his shoulders restlessly. “Do I have to?”

  His mother looked at him in surprise. “You never passed up a party darling and yes, you are required to be there. Are you okay?”

  “I am asking myself the same question,” he said with a wry smile. “I will be there Mother.”

  “Your sister will also be there. She said you spoke to her yesterday.”

  “I did.” He got to his feet and took off his jacket, loosening his tie in the process. “I hate these things,” he muttered.

  “Your father believed in dressing for the part,” Lillian said with a laugh as she watched her son stride over to the cabinet to pour some coffee. She also noticed that he stood there staring into the cup without taking a sip. “He also would have known what to say to you at this point.”

  He turned to look at her and his expression cleared. “At what point?”

  “Something is troubling you darling and I wish you would tell me what it is.”

  He smiled at her and sipped the coffee. “Nothing that a party on the yacht won’t cure.”

  “You have not had one in weeks.”

  That’s because I have been caught up in a situation that is beyond me! He thought bitterly. “I intend to remedy that pretty soon.” He finished the coffee and took his jacket from the back of the chair. “I have some things to deal with, Mother.” He walked over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “I will see you on Saturday.”

  He summoned Blake as soon as he went into his office and the man came within minutes. “I want you to do a thorough investigation.”

  “Who is the subject?”

  “Amani Lincoln.”

  If the man was surprised he did not show it. “How much do you want to know?”

  “Everything. From the time she was born until now.”

  Blake nodded. “How soon do you want this?”

  “Yesterday,” Liam said grimly. “Thanks.”

  Blake got to his feet, knowing that he was dismissed. Liam waited until the man had closed the door before he reached for his phone and made a call.

  “Are you busy?”

  “I run a billion dollar company so that question is an incredibly stupid one. But I am never too busy to talk to you.”

  “I am flattered,” Liam said dryly. “How is Robyn and my princess Talia?”

  “As a godfather to my daughter you are quite good when it comes to showering her with expensive gifts, but your presence would be more welcome. At least Adam visits and calls at least once a month.”

  “Adam has time on his hands.”

  “And you don’t?”

  “Is she mad at me?”

  “She is too young to be mad at you and you have a way of charming the ladies, including my wife. It’s pretty nauseating.”

  Liam laughed at that. “You are just jealous.” He paused and then continued. “I have a problem.”

  “Liam Moses with a problem. That’s a new one.”

  “Cut it out man, this is something that I have no idea what to do about.”

  “What is it?”

  “I met someone.”

  “You are always meeting someone Liam and that has never posed a problem before.”

  “This time it does. She is an unusual woman Timothy.”

  “How unusual?”

  “She is a con artist.”

  There was a pause as that bit of news was digested. “What do you mean by that?”

  Liam explained the details.

  “So I take it you did the right thing and handed her over to the authorities.”

  “I did the wrong thing and she is now stashed inside my apartment.”

  Another pause, this time longer. “What are you doing?”

  “I am being judge and jury,” he said wryly.

  “To what end? And for how long?”

  “I cannot let her go man, each time I tell myself that it is time to let her go I cannot do it.”

  “Wait a minute! Are you in love with her?”

  “Bingo!” he said bitterly. “I cannot be with anyone else and that has been the case since I first met her. She consumes me Timothy and I have no idea what to do about it. She said she would get the painting back so that I could let her go and I am refusing because I do not want her out of my life. I have become you and Adam and the other men I used to scoff at! How is that for justice?”

  He noticed that Timothy did not laugh and he was happy about that! He was not sure he could stand to hear his friend reduced to amusement at his predicament. “You cannot keep her locked up in your apartment, man.”

  “I know,” he sighed. “I have to make a decision about her soon.”

  “What will it be?”

  Liam ran a hand on the back of his neck wearily. “I have no clue. I cannot marry her–” He laughed harshly at that. “Here I am thinking about marriage for the first time, to the one woman I can never be married to! How pathetic is that?’

  *****

  “You are quiet,” Robyn handed over their six-months-old daughter to her husband as she searched his ruggedly handsome face. He had come home earlier than usual and had walked straight into the nursery to help her with Talia. They had hired a nanny but they preferred to put their little girl to bed themselves whenever they were at home. Timothy wrapped his free arm around his petite wife’s frame and dropped a kiss on top of her head. He had fallen in love with her the moment she had plowed into him while they were both jogging and it had only increased with the time he spent with her. He could never see his life without her and he shuddered to think of being without her and their beautiful daughter.

  “How about we take a seat?” He pulled her over to one of the comfortable lounge chairs in the nursery and kept her at his side. Their daughter’s eyes were closing and very soon she would be fast asleep. “I spoke to Liam today.”

  “I hope you told him that he is the worst godfather and that we are mad at him,” Robyn said huffily.

  Her husband spared her a wry glance. “I did not tell him that because as soon as you and Talia see him, it is a different story. He has both of you wrapped around his little finger and I am quite annoyed by that.”

  Robyn leaned over and gave him a kiss on his lips. “It’s just that he is too charming for his own good. But I promise that when I see him next I am going to give him the cold shoulder.”

  “As if you could,” Timothy said without rancor. “But I doubt we will be seeing him for a while.” As briefly as possible Timothy told her what his friend had told him. His wife looked at him in shock and then taking their daughter out of his arms she went to put her inside her cot, pulling the blanket over her, lingering there for a moment before coming back to join her husband.

  “I always knew he was going to fall in love one day and be forced to change his way but I never dreamed–” she shook her head.

  “Neither did I.” Timothy pulled her into his arms and stroked her hair. “He sounded so confused and scared darling. I have known Liam for years and I have never heard him sounded like that. He genuinely does not know what to do.”<
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  Robyn put her hand on her husband’s chest and inhaled his scent, her body infused by the warmth and the obvious love he had for her! “He will figure it out darling. He is Liam and he is going to figure it out eventually.”

  *****

  He was almost tempted not to go straight to his apartment. He had loitered at the office building until after six and had deliberately not called her for the entire day, telling himself that he wanted her to suffer through the uncertainties of not knowing where she stood or what he was going to do with her. But he was avoiding hearing her voice, even though he wanted to, and had reached for the phone countless times to check up on her. The place was quiet and for a minute he thought she had found a way to escape him. He felt his heart thundering inside his chest as he made his way into the kitchen where there was a meal inside the warmer, and then into the suite of bedroom that was his. He walked out and headed into the living room, stopping as he saw her lying on one of the sofas, her head propped up on some cushions. She was fast asleep, with one hand dangling near the carpet. She was wearing denim shorts and a loose top that had shifted and was exposing parts of her breasts. He walked over to her slowly so as not to wake her and hunkered down to stare at her. She has such flawless skin! He thought as he stared at her exquisite features. Her skin reminded him of coffee and cream and her mouth – he closed his eyes because ehe could feel himself harden as he stared at her slightly parted lips. She snored slightly, he thought indulgently. He had spent nights listening to her when he could not sleep. He could not look at her or think about her without wanting her and that was the problem. Each time he thought about letting her go he balked at the idea and found himself panicking at the thought of never seeing her again! He got to his feet abruptly and reaching for a throw blanket he pulled it over her carefully. He stood there looking down at her for a moment before turning and heading out of the room to go and take a shower.