I needed to hear that. I needed to know she was still with me.
I buried my hands in her hair, holding her close to my face, kissing her. I needed her taste to calm and center me. I groaned as I pulled her nearer, my emotions suddenly raw and needy.
Some part of my brain registered Everett and Cassidy leaving the room.
“I can’t lose you,” I murmured against her mouth. “I can’t even stand the thought of it.”
“You won’t,” she insisted, running her hands down my back. “I’ll be right here when you get back. I promise. I’ll be waiting on your gay ass to come home to me.”
I chuckled into her hair, knowing she was trying to lighten the mood. “Of all the angles I thought they’d go with, I never thought about that one.” I grinned down at her. “I was sure they’d point out what an old lady you were. Cradle snatching and robbing me of my virtue and all.”
Shelby mock-glared at me, but her tone was serious. “They probably will soon enough.”
I kissed her. “And it will be as false as this one. Equally insulting and filled with lies.”
She nodded. “I know, it was rather insulting. Like the only reason you’d date me is because you’re gay.” She huffed dramatically. “I’m not that hideous. I’ve got moves too, you know.”
“I know that, Beaker. I’ve seen some of your moves. Or were you holding back on me?”
She grinned at me. “Not telling.”
The way she looked at me made everything else fade away. I didn’t care about reporters or false stories or anything outside this room. Only her. Only us.
I pressed my forehead against hers, my voice serious. “Thank you. For today…for keeping me calm. For everything.” I sighed. “I love you, Shelby.”
She tightened her arms around me. She rose up on her toes, brushing her mouth over mine. “I love you, Liam.”
Three small words.
Words I desperately wanted to hear.
Ones I wasn’t sure she’d ever say.
Nothing else mattered.
Because everything right, everything true, was here in my arms.
“Shelby—” Crashing my mouth to hers, I let my lips and tongue tell her how I felt about her statement.
I dropped my face into her neck, breathing her in deeply.
She loved me.
My Beaker.
Mine.
Together, we’d figure this out, because I wasn’t letting her go. Ever.
I pulled her tighter, feeling my emotions beginning to overtake me. I wasn’t used to this intensity. Feeling the depth of such a powerful emotion for one person. Worried about them. Not wanting to leave them.
With Shelby, though, I felt it all. And right now, it was crashing over me.
She held me close as she returned my passion. “Say it again,” I pleaded against her mouth.
“I love you, Liam. So very much.”
“How long?”
She smiled as she traced my bottom lip with her finger. “Since you smirked at me and told me you were sitting there, interviewing me, commando.”
I looked at her in wonder. She’d even been ahead of me in this, only she kept it to herself. “All this time? You kept it to yourself? Even after I said I loved you?”
“It took me a while to admit it to myself,” she confessed. “I was afraid there were too many obstacles, too many reasons for us not to be together. I was afraid I wasn’t good enough for you. I didn’t think I could fit into your world. As your friend, I could at least be close to you.”
I shook my head. If anything, she was too good for me.
“And now?”
She sighed wearily. “I’m tired of holding the feelings in, Liam. I’m tired of trying to stay away and only be your friend.” She drew in a deep breath. “Malcolm let me know, so often, I was a failure as a wife because I never made him happy. I never did anything right in his eyes. Everything that went wrong was my fault. All the time. Even his inability to keep a job.”
I waited. She rarely spoke about her ex. All I knew was their marriage had ended long before he left her, and that when he did leave, he took everything they had, leaving her in a vulnerable financial position. Everett had disliked him intensely and hated how he treated Shelby.
“I swore I would never let my guard down again. I was too busy trying to fix what was wrong with me, to make him happy, I didn’t see what he was doing or that Everett was right, and Malcolm was only using me, until it was too late. Once I lost my job, and the only income for us, I was no longer of any use to him, and he left.” She snorted, “Taking everything of value with him.”
“Not everything, Shelby.”
She looked up. “What?”
“He left the most valuable thing behind—you. He was just too much of an idiot to know that.”
“He never made me feel that way.” Her quiet voice revealed her vulnerability.
“I’ll show you that—every day, if you let me. I know it took me a while, but I want you to know how much you mean to me. Let me in and trust me. I won’t let you down, I promise.”
“I want that, Liam. Very much.”
“Hey.” I waited until her eyes met mine. “We can have both, Beaker. You are my best friend—the added bonus is we love each other, too. It’s the best of both worlds. And you, you, are perfect for me. Never doubt that.”
The smile I loved so much lit her face. Warm, open, and filled with love.
“You’re the best of both worlds for me as well.”
I tugged her closer and kissed her deeply.
There was nothing left to say.
She had said it all.
“God, I miss you,” I sighed into the phone. “This week is never going to end.”
Shelby sighed. “You’ve only been gone two days, Oscar.”
“Two bloody long ones.” I paused. “Don’t you miss me?”
Her voice became shy. “Yeah, I do.”
“Where are you sleeping, Shelby?” I asked huskily.
“In your bed. It smells like you.”
I shut my eyes, groaning. I could see her there, her dark hair spilled across the pillow as she slumbered, curled up like a contented kitten. I wanted to be behind her, tucked around her soft body and feeling her warmth pressed against me. I could feel myself stirring, my cock aching at the thought of being close to her again. “I’m not letting you out of our bed for days when I get home,” I growled. “I’m gonna shag you senseless.”
“We don’t have to stick to the bed,” she whispered, teasing me. “I like the kitchen…and the sofa.”
“What about the desk—and the stairs? You like those too?”
She whimpered.
My head fell back against the chair. This woman was going to be the death of me. I also knew I had to change the subject and fast. I had a wardrobe fitting in a few minutes, and at the moment, I couldn’t possibly walk in there. “Behave, Beaker.”
Then I cleared my throat. “Any trouble today?”
She sighed quietly. “Ryan took me to the store to pick up some things. It was fine.”
“Fine?”
“He drove. I hid.”
“Did they follow?”
“No.”
“Really?” I was surprised. There had been a crowd outside the gate when I left and at the airport, yelling their inane questions with flashes going off so often it was like one steady bright light in my eyes. Even flanked by Everett and Mark, I felt exposed, and I worried constantly about Shelby. I made Everett promise to stay close while I was gone, before he left me at the gate. Ryan had come highly recommended by Mark, and he and Shelby had hit it off right away. The man was massive—almost as big as Mark, and he looked bloody menacing with a scowl that said, “Back the fuck off,” although his demeanor in private was far more affable. He, too, assured me no one would get near Shelby while I was away, and she was under his protection. I’d been fairly sequestered since arriving in New York, but I was more concerned about Shelby. She hadn’t left the house
since I’d departed, and today was the first time she had gone out.
“I had Ryan drive out with his windows open so they could see I wasn’t in the car. They hung around the gates.”
“Wait. I thought you just said you went out?”
“I did. I was in the trunk. Ryan let me out at the side entrance. I did my shopping and hid on the way home again. I chatted at him from the split seat in the back. He told me all about his wife and how they met.”
I burst out laughing. “Whose idea was that?”
“Mine.”
“Oh, Beaker, you are bloody brilliant.” I chuckled. “But that is rather dangerous. I don’t think I like the idea of you rolling around in the trunk, unrestrained.”
“You’d rather I be restrained, Liam?”
“I’d like to restrain you.”
She giggled. “Hold that thought, Oscar.”
“Oh, baby, I will.” Then I became serious. “They’ll catch on.”
“I know. But I fooled them today, and I’ll handle tomorrow when tomorrow comes.”
She still astonished me how coolly she was handling this pressure. “You are truly amazing,” I praised her. “I can’t believe how well you’re coping with this mess.”
“You’re worth it.”
God, I hoped she kept thinking so.
I heard my name and I sighed. “I have to go.”
“I love you.”
“Ah, Shelby, you have no idea how bloody much I love hearing you say that. I love you too. I’ll call you tonight.”
I hung up, thinking. Ryan had driven her, and all went well, but I didn’t want her in the trunk, as genius as that was today. And soon she would refuse to let him drive her if she felt she could do it on her own—I knew that for a fact. She would want to start testing the waters. Her car was older, a Honda that had seen better days—it was also the base model. No tinted windows, no air conditioning. She said she didn’t need it for errands. But things had changed. I didn’t want her that exposed when she left the house.
My name was called again, and I grabbed my phone, dialing Everett.
It was time to upgrade Shelby’s ride.
And I had $90,000 burning a hole in my pocket to pay her back.
Perfect.
18
Liam
I never thought the week would end, and I was thrilled when I finished ahead of schedule. I caught the first flight out so I would be home early in the day instead of late that evening. I had Everett keep the change a secret so I could surprise Shelby. With the early departure, I even slipped through the airport undetected. I hoped it would happen at LAX as well. I wanted to arrive unannounced.
God, I had missed Beaker.
She had been amazing all week. She kept her cool and her sense of humor, even when other stories surfaced about the fact that she was older and divorced, accompanied by pictures of her looking less than glamorous. I didn’t care about the age difference or the photos, and I was thrilled they had gotten the second part wrong. Once they found out she wasn’t yet divorced, it might get uglier. Although Everett thought the divorce would happen any day now. The lawyer he had hired was pushing it through as quickly and quietly as possible.
Cassidy issued a simple statement, and otherwise, we ignored what was being said as best we could. Ryan had proven himself a man of his word, helping Shelby get around safely the whole time I was gone. I knew the shouting and flashes bothered her, but she remained composed, which, in turn, kept me calm. I was gobsmacked at her attitude. She was brilliant.
Everett had a car waiting for Mark and me, and as usual, he chose a different style of vehicle so it wouldn’t be recognized. That meant there was a chance I could get past the crowd at the gate quite easily if they didn’t realize it was me in the back. As in the past, Mark would stay in the car and depart after I was safely in the house.
Entering my home, I headed straight for the kitchen, disappointed to find it empty. I saw two coffee cups on the counter and figured Shelby must be out with Ryan. I checked the garage, surprised to find her car gone. Had they taken hers? Where was his car? That seemed unusual. But I could smell turkey cooking in the oven, which meant she couldn’t be far. She was getting ready for me to come home.
Grabbing my bag, I went upstairs, walking into my room and breathing in the scent of Shelby. The top of my dresser now had bottles and jars on it—Shelby’s lotions and perfume, which filled the air with her fragrance. It made me long for her to get home. I tossed my bag in the closet and came out, stopping dead at the sight in front of me. Sitting in the middle of my bed, eyeballing me back, was a cat.
Well, maybe a kitten more than a cat. Striped gray, chocolate, and white, with huge paws and wide blue eyes, it blinked at me warily as we stared at each other. It had an amusing face on it—sort of a tough-guy expression with a pug nose, and a small scar along the side of its face. The baleful glare made me grin. I wasn’t overly fond of cats as a rule, but this one was rather…cute.
I approached the bed slowly. Where the hell did it come from? And why was it on my bed? It stood, stretching, arching its back, and walked toward me, sitting on the edge of the bed and extending its paw, patting my hand. Unsure what it wanted, I lowered my hand and awkwardly stroked the furry head. Immediately, it began to purr, pushing against my hand and looking at me with its blue eyes, pleading.
“Um…hello, cat,” I murmured. “How did you get here?” I sat beside it, shocked when it crawled up onto my shoulder, curling into my neck, purring. I sat for a few minutes, running my fingers through the fur on its back. Obviously, this was Shelby’s handiwork. Maybe she was so lonesome, she thought a kitten would be a good idea. I knew she had trouble sleeping when I wasn’t here, and maybe the kitten helped. Everett told me once she had been like that all her life—unable to sleep in an empty house. He had sheepishly admitted it might’ve had something to do with him forcing her to watch scary movies with him when they were younger. Maybe the kitten made her feel better. I would ask her when she got home.
I settled back against the headboard and let the kitten sleep. I rested my head on the wood, and I felt my eyes drift shut. I’d just sit here until Shelby got home.
A noise startled me, and I opened my eyes, meeting the sleepy blues of the kitten, who wasn’t happy about being disturbed. I glanced at the clock and realized I’d been asleep for almost an hour.
The noise came from downstairs, which meant Shelby was home.
I lifted the kitten from my shoulder and got off the bed. It followed me to the edge, giving a plaintive meow as I started to walk away. Turning around, I picked it up, grinning as it settled right back onto my shoulder, promptly digging its claws into my neck and curling up tight. I guessed that was where it liked to be.
Quietly, I went downstairs and peeked in the kitchen. Shelby was clearly not only oblivious to the fact that I was home but was searching for something in the bottom cupboard. All I could see of her was her tight ass sticking out of the open cupboard door, the black yoga pants accentuating her curves. My cock hardened thinking about burying itself between those plump cheeks.
I set the kitten on the floor, ignoring the pitiful look I got from it. Grinning, I snuck up behind Shelby, grabbed her hips, and pulled her sweet ass tight to my groin as I crouched over her. “Tell me, Shelby, why is it I came home to find a strange kitty in my bed? We both know I only want one little pussy waiting for me there.” I thrust forward. “Yours.”
Shelby yelped, her head hitting the cupboard as she pushed backward, scaring the kitten, who was trying to crawl up my leg, causing me to yell as its sharp nails dug into my calf. I stumbled back, taking Shelby with me, landing on the floor with a loud “oomph” as all the air escaped my lungs. The kitten jumped in fright, meowing loudly as Shelby scrambled off me, her pointy elbows digging in. Except as she rolled and sat up gasping, it was my turn to be surprised. Instead of warm, blue-colored eyes, startled, hazel ones met my shocked green.
That was not my Shelby.
> From the garage doorway, there was a loud gasp. “Liam?”
I turned my head and gaped at Shelby standing in the doorway. Pushing and scrambling, I backed away from the unidentified woman on the floor, who was staring at me, partially amused, partially horrified.
My gaze bounced between them. The kitten jumped back on my lap, crawling right to my shoulder like that was its rightful place.
Shelby’s voice was dry. “I see you’ve met Fuzzball. And introduced yourself, as only you can, to Caroline.” She waved her hand. “Are you trying to add her to the list of women who have screamed your name, Oscar?”
I shook my head violently. “Bloody hell, Beaker! I thought it was you—I missed your sexy ass, and it was beckoning to me!” I clambered to my feet. “It was all wiggling and lush—”
Her eyebrows shot up, and I realized what I had said. “I mean… Oh shit.” I hung my head in defeat, groaning. “Oh bugger,” I mumbled, squeezing my eyes shut.
I was so fucked. And not in a good way.
The woman sitting on the floor—Caroline apparently—began to chuckle. She glanced over at Shelby. “Charming,” she stated sarcastically. “A hornball. You neglected to add that to your list of attributes when describing your boyfriend.”
My ears perked up. Shelby had been listing my attributes? Maybe I could salvage this mess.
With a flourish, I stood and extended my hand. “Forgive me, Caroline. Allow me to introduce myself. Liam Wright at your service. May I help you up?”
With a grin, she allowed me to pull her off the floor. She was taller than Shelby, dressed in a snug T-shirt and yoga pants that showed off her curves and muscles. Short, dark hair framed her attractive face. Freckles scattered across her nose, and the golden color of her skin indicated a lot of time spent in the sun. Her hazel gaze was intelligent, and her wide mouth showed faint laugh lines beside it, hinting at her sense of humor.
A sense of humor I needed right now.
“I, ah, apologize for the arse grabbing. I thought you were Shelby.” I shrugged. “I don’t have many strange birds rooting around in my cupboards, waving their arse at me.”
Changing Roles Page 17
