that five minutes later when I walk out of the store with a bag that includes
popcorn I cannot even pop. Another brilliant move considering my limited
funds.
I’m just full of them. I am less worried about who might be following
me than I am who might be waiting at my door when I arrive. Crossing the
parking lot, my gaze skitters here and there, watching for the stranger.
Watching for him.
I am about to cross the grass to the stoplight when a fancy black
sedan pulls up beside me and stops. My heart lurches and I whirl around as
the passenger window rolls down, but I cannot see the driver. Holding my
breath, I lean down to discover Liam occupies the driver’s seat, and the
man is power and sex in a black suit and a royal blue shirt that brightens his
already too blue eyes. He reaches across the car and opens the door. “Hop
in, baby.”
My stomach flutters at the endearment that he might use on all
women, but it doesn’t seem to matter. Right now, he’s using it on me. Right
now, his eyes are on me and even in the playfulness I sense in him, they are
as intense as the man. And Liam Stone is as intense as they come.
“Is this your car?” I ask, trying to decide what to do. Certain that
getting in the car with him is my ticket to being mindlessly lost in the
temptation that is Liam.
“Rental.” He arches a brow at my stillness. “If you’re worried I’ll bite,
I promise to tell you first.”
My eyes go wide before I can stop them and he laughs, a sexy, rough
sound deep from his chest. The same chest I have touched and want to
touch again. I glower at him. “I won’t.” The smart reply earns me another of
his sexy laughs, and he’s successfully seduced me right here in the spot I
stand.
Caving to the inevitable, I step forward and settle my bags on the
floorboard of the obviously expensive car. Discreetly inhaling, I steel myself
for the impact of being in a small space with him where I both long to be,
but see it for what it is. A mistake. Being near this man is not going to help
me say goodbye.
The instant I slide inside the car, expensive leather hugs my bare legs,
and Liam’s earthy scent tickles my nostrils, teasing me senseless. It’s
official. This was a mistake. A wonderful mistake. I tug the door shut,
rotating toward Liam and I am pulled into his arms, one strong hand sliding
into my hair. “Miss me?” he asks, and his breath is a hot tease on my lips.
My fingers curl on his jaw, the soft rasp of newly forming whiskers
teasing my fingers. I remember that rasp on my skin. Everything fades but
the moment and the man. No one has ever done that to me. “Did you miss
me?”
“I’ll let you decide.” His mouth slants over mine, his tongue parting
my lips, caressing against mine in one lush stroke. “Do I taste like I missed
you?”
I am melting like chocolate in the hot sun, and he has barely touched
me. But I want him to. Oh yes. I want him to. “I’m still not convinced.”
His lips curve a moment before he answers me by licking wickedly
into my mouth, teasing me with two deep strokes of his tongue that leave
me darn near panting. “Any doubt I missed you now?” he challenges.
My chest burns with his reply. Liam missed me. I have been missed.
This is unfamiliar territory and I like it. And I am so not ready to let go of
this man. “If I say yes you won’t kiss me again, right?”
“I’ll do a whole lot more than kiss you when I get you alone.” His
promise is somehow both soft velvet and rough sandpaper, and the air
around us shifts, thickens, the sexual tension transforming into something I
cannot name, far deeper than simple lust. Far harder to walk away from. He
strokes a tender hand down my hair and I lean into the touch like a cat
claiming her territory when he is not mine. He will never be mine.
“Hungry?” he asks.
“Is that a trick question?”
His lips curve. “I’ll take that as a ‘yes’.” He brushes his lips over mine.
“Me too, baby.
Me too.” He releases me and leans back in his seat and I am instantly
cold where I was hot seconds before. He puts the car in drive and cuts me a
steamy blue-eyed look. “Buckle up and we’ll be at your place in no time.”
I don’t argue, eager for anything that makes me feel grounded,
certain this man will take me on a wild ride before this night is over if I let
him. And I can’t let him. I squeeze my eyes shut, telling myself I will not do
anything but get out of this car. I will make small talk and ease the sexual
tension and get back where I need to be to do what I have to do.
“There’s a great Italian place next to the hotel, if you like Italian?”
My lashes lift at his question and settles on the logo on the
dashboard. “I’m a pasta addict.” I’m about to add “mostly Ramen noodles,”
but my gaze narrows on the logo on the dash and I decide he probably
doesn’t even know what Ramen is. “You rented a Bentley?”
He shrugs. “They didn’t have anything else.”
“They had nothing but a Bentley?” I don’t hide my disbelief. I’ve
never even seen a
Bentley and I figure that’s because they run in the six-figure range
and I don’t know people that pay that kind of money for a car. Really, I
don’t know many people who can even afford to park a car in New York, let
alone pay for the vehicle.
“It’s the only car I thought was good enough to drive you around in.”
“Me?” I balk, pursing my lips. “You, Liam Stone, are rich and spoiled. I
am not.”
“I’ll spoil you if you let me.” His voice is a soft, silky promise.
My chest burns with something I do not want to feel. “No.” It comes
out almost a hiss I cannot retract. “I don’t want your money.” I just want a
life.
If he notices my tone, he doesn’t show it. “Spoken like someone who
has never had money.”
Avoidance is always my friend. His questions are not. “Very few
people have your kind of money.”
“Which shows my point.” he assures me.
“Which is what?”
“I have the money to spoil you and I plan to.” He doesn’t give me
time to argue, shifting the subject like he’s stamped the topic done,
approved, fact. “Do you have anything that will spoil or can we go straight
to the restaurant?”
I don’t want food. I want to lick that tattoo of his before I say
goodbye to him. That would keep him from asking questions. Until it’s over,
I remind myself. “I need to drop by my place and change.”
His hot gaze flickers down my bare legs, and up again. “I like you like
this.”
My cheeks heat and my sex clenches. “You’re in a suit.”
“I’ll change. You stay the way you are.”
I open my mouth and snap it shut before I tell him I like him just as
he is. That isn’t going to help my goodbye campaign, but then neither did
kissing him. I try again. “Either way, I want to freshen up.”
Liam pulls the car in front of his hotel and a doorman is ins
tantly
helping me out of the car. By the time I’m standing, Liam is in front of me,
reaching for my bags, and he has them before I can stop him. “I’ve got
them,” I say, reaching out to take them, and darn it, our hands collide,
sending a tingling sensation up my arm.
My eyes dart to his, and I see the awareness in his stare. He too has
felt the connection.
Maybe this is only sex to him, or some need to protect me I can’t
understand, but it’s real. It exists and it is powerful.
“I’ll meet you at the hotel bar in thirty minutes,” I choke out from my
suddenly dry throat.
“You said you didn’t want to go to the hotel with me.”
“To your room. Hotel bars are open to the public.”
His eyes narrow, suspicion etched in their depths. “I’ll help you with
your bags.”
“They’re paper light. Let me hurry. I’ll meet you in twenty minutes.”
“I’ll walk you to your door.”
“If you come to my apartment, we’ll get distracted.” For once, I get
to speak the truth.
He arches a brow. “Is that supposed to discourage me?”
“Yes,” I replied tartly, and the urge to kiss him one more time before
I deliver the goodbye is too intense to fight. I push to my toes and lean in to
him, hands flattening on the hard wall of his chest, and press my lips to his.
He is stiff, unyielding, and I am instantly uncomfortable, second-guessing
my boldness. I begin to pull back when he drops my bags to the ground and
pulls me close, his hand sliding up my back, his tongue licking into my
mouth in one long, hot sweep that has me moaning into his mouth.
“You’re no recluse,” I accuse when his lips leave mine, shocked at the
scene we’ve certainly made, embarrassed to even look around and find out
who is watching.
“Or I just want to make sure you know how much I want you, no
matter what the price.
And you’re right. If I come with you to your apartment, we won’t
leave anytime soon.” He sets me away from him, and to my horror grabs
my bags from the ground and looks inside. His gaze lifts, brow arching.
“Plasticware?”
The warmth his declaration about wanting me had created turns
cold. “I haven’t had time to unpack.”
“So your things were delivered today?”
“My things are just fine.”
I reach for the bags and he shackles my wrist. “Amy—”
A horn honks, saving me whatever command is certain to come out
of his too-tempting mouth. “We’re making a scene. I’ll see you in a few
minutes.”
His jaw flexes, tension etched in his face. “I’ll be waiting.” He releases
my bags and my arm and I waste no time darting away. I am so tired of
running away.
Chapter Ten
Twenty minutes later I’ve changed into a simple, versatile little black
lace dress I scored for $29 on a bargain rack. With my heels on it’s a bit
sexy, but I tell myself I’m dressing up to feel confident, not to impress Liam.
I’m so good at lying, I almost convince myself it’s the truth.
I check myself in the mirror and argue with myself about ending
things with Liam. I begin with all the reasons I don’t have to say goodbye.
I’ve dated other men. I had a dorm mate, albeit we didn’t bond, but we
lived together. Liam can handle himself far better than anyone I have ever
known. But he is also the only person I’ve ever known with the resources to
dig into my past and get himself killed in the process. People have died. I
am not hiding for no reason. He could die. I won’t let that happen.
Resolve in place, I head for the elevator and ride to the bottom level.
The doors ding open and I am startled to find a denim-clad Jared standing
there. He grins at the sight of me, all sexy male charm and hotness.
“Ditched the t-shirt, did you?”
“I did,” I agree, finding myself smiling despite my nerves over Liam. I
step out of the car and expect Jared to move aside to catch the door. He
doesn’t and we are toe to toe. The sense of familiarity with this man is
instant, and I freeze, unable to move away. I am terrified, and not of Jared.
Terrified of this piercing black hole that I know too well will suck me into a
place where everything and everyone is a potential threat. I swore I would
never return to this place but I feel the fingers of the beast reaching for me,
pulling me inside.
“You’re supposed to take that out of the box.”
I blink Jared back into focus and the very fact that I have to says a lot
about my state of mind. “Box?”
He glances down and I briefly follow his gaze to the iPhone box I
wasn’t able to fit into my small purse. “Oh.” I lift it slightly. “This. I like the
box. I’m a rebel like that.”
He laughs. “A woman out to seduce me.”
I snort, a ridiculous sound that makes my answer all the more
meaningful. “I’m the last person to seduce anyone.”
His light brown eyes fill with the amusement I intended to spark.
“You had me at the t-shirt and high heels,” he teases.
“You are never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“Probably not.” He flicks a quick look up and down my body. “Does
the dress mean your things arrived okay?”
This is almost the same question Liam asked me earlier and my mood
swings from comfortable in our neighborly banter to completely uneasy. I
make a weak attempt at a smile.
“All is well in Amy-land.” I’ve barely spoken the lie when the cell
phone begins a mocking ring from inside the box. Jared arches a brow and I
quickly say, “Late to a dinner thing. I should run.”
“So you have friends here already?”
I avoid a lie I might have to remember later and shrug. “I guess the
t-shirt and heels were an ice-breaker. I’m going to head out. Goodnight,
Jared.”
“Goodnight, Amy.”
There is a softer quality to his voice I now think I’ve heard before. I
have no idea why, but something about his tone strikes a memory and a
chill slides up and down my spine. Spots begin to form in front of my eyes,
and oh no. No. No. No. Let it stop now. Please let this not be happening.
But it’s too late. The pinching sensation in my forehead I know all too well,
but haven’t felt in years, begins to form. I sway and Jared grabs my arm.
Reflexively, my hand goes to his chest.
“Whoa,” he murmurs. “What just happened?”
I can’t open my eyes. I don’t even try. “Blood sugar,” I whisper,
reverting to the excuse I’d used years before when these spells hit me. “I’m
fine.”
“You don’t seem fine.” He sounds worried. Worried is not good.
Worried will get me an ambulance and attention I don’t need.
I inhale and the air feels like lead in my lungs, but the pain is good. It
wakes me up and brings me back. “I am.” I force my lashes open and the
spots begin to fade. Relief washes over me. I am already past this episode.
“Really,” I assure Jared. “ I already feel better.” Except that my hand is on
his chest. Appalled, I je
rk my hand back.
He chuckles. “Easy. You’ll tumble over.”
“No. I’m fine. I’m steady now.”
He hesitates but lets my arm go. “That kind of reaction will kill a
man’s confidence, you know.”
I doubt seriously this man has confidence issues. “Sorry. I was just
embarrassed.”
“Don’t be embarrassed.” His voice is a gentle caress.
More of that familiarity creeps into my mind and the spot in my
forehead starts to tingle at the moment my phone starts to ring again. This
time the sound is music to my ears, offering me a welcome escape from
another episode and from Jared.
Jared’s lips quirk. “You really need to ditch the box.”
“Or get a bigger purse,” I say, sounding like a complete idiot, which
fits perfectly with me touching a stranger’s chest. I am officially ready to get
the heck out of here. “Thanks for the save. I’ll see you around.” I don’t wait
for an answer. For the second time today, I take off running, only this time
I’m running to Liam, not away from him, and that feels so much more right
than the goodbye I have to deliver with the phone in my hand.
In a short dash across the street, I approach the hotel in a gust of
wind that has my dress lifting. With a gasp, I struggle to capture the skirt
and juggle the phone. Somehow, I shove the material down and through
the wild mass that, thanks to my new purchase, was my sleekly flat-ironed
hair, I watch the doorman smirk and nod. Cheeks heating, I hurry past him,
wondering if he also witnessed Liam and me tongue-dancing in front of the
hotel earlier. This night is off to a grand start. I was right when I decided to
change clothes. I need all the confidence I can get to survive the next
fifteen minutes.
Stopping inside the doorway, I spot the sign to the restaurant/bar
directly ahead. Even here, a good twenty feet away, I can already hear the
rumble of voices over the sound of music coming from inside the archway
entry. I might not know Liam well, but my instincts say he will not like my
choice of meeting location.
As if he’s heard me, Liam exits the bar, irritation etched on his
handsome face, and his eyes collide with mine.
His expression softens and warms, and I watch the frustrations of
moments before melt away, as if seeing me makes everything all right. I do
not move to meet him, frozen in the bittersweet knowledge that seeing me
Escaping Reality Page 11
