by J. S. Scott
I was a little light-headed from the wine I’d guzzled, and I was ready to spill my guts. Maybe we’d never have sex, but that didn’t have to stop me from telling him what I thought.
I nodded. “It’s starting to hurt. That’s one of the reasons I want to go.”
Liam’s gaze was locked with mine, his green-eyed gaze intense. “I can make it stop hurting, Brooke. Don’t you think we should give ourselves a break?”
He wanted to fuck me. I could see it in his eyes. I wrapped my arms around his neck. My inhibitions be damned. I’d wanted to experience what it would be like to have sex with a man who really wanted me.
Now was my chance.
In two weeks, I’d never see this man again, and he was the only one who made me burn this hot.
I closed my eyes, letting my hands stroke down his back. He’d shucked his jacket, and all I had to do was find his bare skin.
I untucked his T-shirt and moaned out loud when my palms made a heated connection with his bare back. “This is so much better than the fantasy,” I said in a breathless voice.
To my displeasure, he stepped back, but only to lift his shirt over his head and drop it on the floor. “Touch me, Brooke. Fuck! I’ve wanted you for too damn long.”
My eyes popped open so I could look at him. Liam had the nicest body I’d ever seen, and being able to actually study his naked upper body, I felt almost giddy.
His blond hair was tousled from ripping off his T-shirt, but he was the most gorgeous sight I’d ever seen. His body was toned as hell. I reached forward and ran my hands down his chest and to his ripped abdomen. Tracing the sexy trail of hair that disappeared inside the waistband of his jeans, I shuddered. His skin was soft, but I could feel every hard muscle beneath it.
Even though we’d just finished the winter months, Liam’s skin was lightly tanned, a color that he apparently came by naturally. “You’re so damn perfect,” I said in a rush.
“I’m anything but perfect,” he grunted through clenched teeth, a sign that he was trying to hold himself back.
“These were never in my fantasies,” I said, touching the tattoos on his chest. One side had a broken heart with angel wings. The other side had a larger image, a fierce dragon that looked like it was ready to jump off his skin and attack.
He took my hand and lifted it to the heart. “This was for my parents after they died.” He moved so that my palm was touching the dragon. “I got this one when Tessa got sick. I wanted something that signified strength, because I knew we were both going to need it.”
I was mesmerized by the tats, probably because I didn’t see Liam as the type of guy who would have them. But he’d gotten both of them out of love for his family, and I found that extraordinary.
“Did they hurt?”
“Not as badly as the actual reasons why I got them. I guess I needed some kind of closure for my mom and dad. And when Tessa got sick, I had to find some way to get through it.”
“They’re beautiful,” I said, tracing the form of the dragon.
I let my hands stroke his naked back, feeling like I was in some kind of surreal trance. Right now, my entire world was the man who was holding me, and if I was dreaming, I sure as hell didn’t want to wake up. I knew the sensations weren’t being caused by drinking more wine than I usually did. It was all . . . Liam.
I looked up at him as he grasped the hem of my sweater, and I lifted my arms like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
He needed to be naked.
I needed to be naked.
I was desperate to feel our skin meld together.
I didn’t balk when he removed my bra.
I wanted this.
I wanted him.
I felt the heat rush between my thighs as I surveyed the hungry look on his face as his eyes devoured my bare breasts. “Fuck, Brooke!” He cupped both of them. “I can’t believe this is real.”
I knew exactly what he meant, but I teased him anyway. “They’re a hundred percent real. I’m not into plastic surgery.”
I’d always figured that you dealt with whatever DNA you got at birth. But I couldn’t help but be a little bit nervous about whether or not Liam would be turned on by my body once I was actually naked.
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled my body flush with his, like he knew exactly what I wanted.
“Yes,” I hissed as his hot skin caressed mine.
“Dammit! I’m not going to last,” Liam rasped.
“Then I guess we enjoy whatever time we get,” I replied.
Liam lifted my chin. “I’m not going away until you’re satisfied,” he vowed.
I closed my eyes as his head dropped down and he took my mouth with a ferocity I’d never experienced before.
I let myself fall into the embrace, my heart skittering as he claimed every inch of my mouth. He was demanding, and I had no problem giving him everything he wanted, my tongue tangling with his in a duel of desire.
My pussy throbbed with the need to feel him inside of me.
“Liam,” I whimpered when he had finally let me breathe again.
I put my hand between our bodies and groped the front of his jeans.
He was rock hard, and it was all for me.
He reached down for my hand and pulled it away. “Don’t. I don’t want to come like a damn teenage boy with my first woman. I want this to last.”
I wanted it to last, too, but my body was way ahead of my brain. I wanted to rush to orgasm because I was aching for him. “What can I do?”
“You can get naked,” he growled. He stepped back and reached for the button of my jeans.
I ripped at my jeans, eager to do whatever he wanted.
CHAPTER 6
BROOKE
The rest of our clothing came off in a frenzy. We dropped our apparel on the floor, neither of us giving a damn about where it landed.
Every wall I’d carefully constructed came tumbling down as I saw Liam’s covetous stare once we were completely nude.
My heart was pounding against my chest so hard I could actually feel the rapid beats thrumming through my body.
I surveyed him, realizing that I was just as hungry for the sight of him.
My core clenched painfully, and it flooded with moist heat as I looked my fill, noticing every glorious inch of his ripped body. The well-delineated V beneath his abs looked like it was carved in stone, and pointing to exactly what I wanted. Sort of like a neon sign leading an alcoholic to the nearest bar.
And God . . . how I wanted to drink.
I stepped forward to touch his enormous cock, my fingers trembling as they wrapped around it.
He groaned as he caught my wrist. “Not happening right now, Brooke,” he said harshly. “Not now.”
His arm wrapped around my waist, and his hand tangled into my hair. He grabbed a handful of locks and pulled my head back. “I always knew it would be like this,” he said coarsely, his eyes so intensely green that it took my breath away.
I was vulnerable and naked. At the moment, all I wanted was to communicate my need to him. “I knew it, too. But maybe not as intense.”
I couldn’t explain what was happening to me if I tried. But I’d always known that if he touched me, really touched me, my defenses wouldn’t be any match for the fire that would consume my body in seconds.
He leaned down and caught my lips with a hunger so potent that I was helpless to do anything except submit.
There was no denying Liam right now, even if I wanted to, which I didn’t. I had to feel him, taste him, experience every ounce of pleasure he could give me.
“Mine,” he growled as he released my lips. “You were always supposed to be mine.”
His declaration only made my own possessive instincts worse. I knew exactly what he meant. I’d always had the same feelings as Liam. From the moment I’d laid eyes on him, I craved him.
He should have belonged to me from that first encounter, but he never had.
I have him now.
Maybe I’d have to let go of him eventually, but for now, I was all his. And he was mine.
I let my head drop back as he kissed his way over the tender skin of my neck and nipped my earlobe. I could feel the short bursts of his heated breath against my ear, and it made me crazy.
His rough palms were stroking up and down my back, exploring my skin, before he finally reached down and firmly grasped my ass.
“This beautiful ass has tormented me forever,” he said roughly against my skin.
I put my hands on his rear, but I didn’t grab it. I stroked over the tight muscles, remembering every time I’d lusted after it in the restaurant.
“Fuck me, Liam,” I whimpered. “I need you.”
His expression turned ferocious and raw, like it was completely his responsibility to soothe every ache I had. “I want this to last, Brooke.”
I speared my hands into his hair desperately. I’d always wanted to touch the locks to see if they felt as sexy as they looked. I let out a sigh as my fingers came into contact with the coarse strands. “You want it to last, and I just want it to happen before I go crazy,” I said shakily.
He lifted me up and sat my ass down on the kitchen island. It was the perfect height for me to wrap my legs around his waist, and I didn’t hesitate to try to bring us closer.
“Wait, Brooke,” he said as he stroked between my thighs.
He was met with a very welcoming liquid heat.
“Dammit!” he rasped, his chest heaving with the effort to hold back. “I can’t wait this time.”
“Don’t,” I pleaded. “I need you right now.”
His fingers stroked over my clit, and I nearly hit the ceiling. “Oh, God.”
The tiny bundle of nerves was pulsating with every rough pass of his fingers. I opened my legs to give him better access, my body humming for release.
“Come for me, Brooke. I want to watch you. I have to see it.”
The thought of him watching me at my most vulnerable wasn’t scary. It was erotic as hell.
I got hopelessly lost in sensation as his touch grew more demanding. I fell into the heat, and it consumed me.
There was too much stimulation to hold back. Just the fact that he was watching with a lust-filled stare that blew my mind was enough to get me off.
His mouth covered mine and I moaned against his lips as my climax came barreling toward me with a force that was almost terrifying.
I trembled against his fiery skin, my need for release so desperate that I felt like I couldn’t breathe. “Liam,” I gasped as he let go of my mouth.
“Let go, Brooke. I’ve got you,” he said urgently near my ear.
I closed my eyes as my orgasm took control, and it felt like I was never going to stop shuddering from the powerful release.
Gibberish came out of my mouth because I couldn’t quite form words. All I could do was babble and moan through the most satisfying pleasure I’d ever known.
I was panting as I spiraled down from the climax.
The intensity of the last few minutes was still registering when Liam grasped my ass with so much force that it was almost painful. He was inside me before I could quite recover.
“Yes,” I whimpered. “Yes.”
Liam was a big guy, but my body accepted him. The muscles of my channel relaxed to take all of him, and having him buried to his balls inside me felt so damn incredible that I wanted it to last, just like Liam did.
I fought an internal war between wanting the feeling of being connected to Liam to go on and on, and the demand that he start to fuck me to assuage my carnal instincts.
My legs wrapped around him and pulled him tight against my core, my hips pushing forward without thought.
Liam grunted. “I can’t wait, Brooke. You feel too damn good.”
“Fuck me,” I demanded, my body telling me it would settle for nothing less.
He yanked my ass to the edge of the counter, bringing us into the tightest contact we could get.
Liam pulled out, then thrust his cock back into me. My muscles were straining to take a guy his size, but even if there was a little pain, it hurt so damn good.
“Yes. Harder,” I insisted.
“Baby, you don’t want it as hard as I can give it to you,” he said in a soothing voice.
Oh yeah, I do. Our reaction to each other was raw and primitive, and I felt every bit as needy as he did. “Harder,” I encouraged.
“Fuck. Don’t forget that you asked for it,” he answered with a fierceness that made my pussy take notice.
I loved this man’s intensity. It was something I’d never experienced before, but it was so damn addicting, maybe because I felt just as crazy as he did.
I was breathless as he showed me just how out of control we’d both become. I knew I’d have bruises on my ass in the morning from the hold he had on my butt. But every ache would be worth the satisfaction of Liam giving me what I wanted, hot and hard.
He pounded into me with a ferocity that I didn’t know was possible. All I could do was hang on to him, our bodies growing slick with a fine layer of sweat that caused us to slide together while we both strained to satisfy our feral needs.
I got lost in Liam, and I was pretty sure he was beyond rational thought, too.
“Liam!” I screamed as I felt my climax rising again.
It was different this time, and much more powerful than the first one.
When he pushed his hand between us and stroked over my clit, I imploded.
The muscles inside me spasmed violently around his cock, and I heard him groan. “Brooke. You feel so perfect, baby.”
He thrust himself inside me one more time as I milked his cock to release.
I had no idea how long we clung to each other, our sweaty bodies wrapped up until I didn’t know where I ended and Liam started. My racing heart slowed eventually, and we both caught our breath over an unknown period of time.
I was laid bare in front of Liam, and I didn’t care. Every emotion was thrown in front of him, but I felt safe in his possessive hold.
“We have to move eventually,” I said breathlessly.
He reluctantly started to step back.
I involuntarily tightened my legs around him. “Don’t leave,” I said, feeling vulnerable again.
He gently lowered my legs, and then scooped me up from the counter. “I’m not going anywhere, sweetheart. I’m here,” he said in a husky voice.
I rested my head on his chest, relieved that he wasn’t pulling us apart.
“Good,” I answered in a loud whisper. It was a foreign tone, one that I’d never heard leave my lips before.
“Are you okay?” he asked hesitantly.
He sounded unsure, and it melted my heart that one moment he could be a conquering alpha male, and then within moments, he was the concerned lover.
It was kind of an impossible combination not to adore.
I smiled up at him. “Never been better.”
A slow grin spread over his face, and my heart skittered when I saw the sexy mischief in his eyes. “Shower?” he asked.
Our eyes locked, and I was breathless all over again. Liam was obviously insatiable, but I knew I was going to be able to keep up with him.
We’d had almost a year to get to this point, and one taste of him was never going to be enough. “Yes, please,” I replied.
I know we were both stinky, and a shower sounded like heaven.
He carried me into the bathroom, and I learned just how naughty a little water could be before he took me to bed.
I lost track of how many times we’d woken each other up, our bodies craving more of the ecstasy that we’d discovered together.
I felt Liam with me all night long.
Unfortunately, when I woke up to the morning light, he was gone.
CHAPTER 7
LIAM
“You look like shit. I think you need to get more sleep.”
I eyed Xander Sinclair and shot him an ornery look. Maybe I did look li
ke hell from lack of sleep the night before, but I certainly didn’t want it pointed out to me.
I was already irritable.
Ignoring his observation, I took a slug of my morning coffee, hoping it would help.
Xander had become a morning person, so I was seeing him more and more at breakfast time. And today was no exception. He’d dropped in while I was brewing coffee, and a few mugs later, he still hadn’t left.
Leaving Brooke right before daylight had been the hardest damn thing I’d ever done. My instinct was to never let her go, but I knew everything would be different in the light of day, and I needed to decide on an action plan.
“Earth to Liam. Come back to the planet, please,” Xander said with a smirk.
I think I might have liked Xander better when he was miserable. He’d been too damn happy since he’d hooked up with his wife, Samantha.
Finally, I answered, “I didn’t get much sleep last night, but that’s not unusual for me.”
Xander shook his head. “Bullshit. You’ve been looking pretty much the same way since a certain waitress started working for you. You just look worse than usual today.”
He was right. All I could think about was Brooke, and the fact that she had a man in her life. But I wasn’t about to tell that to the cocky bastard across the table from me. “She’s leaving,” I informed him.
He gave me a knowing look. “So that’s what’s keeping you awake at night. What are you going to do?”
“What can I do? Her boyfriend hasn’t gone away, and she has a ton of family in California.”
“Then you have to make her want to stay, dude,” he advised. “Take her to bed and convince her she’d be better off in Amesport.”
“I did,” I said irritably. “It didn’t change anything.”
Having sex—fucking amazing sex—had done nothing except screw with my head. Yeah, I’d gotten off. Several times. Rather than helping, it had only made me want more. One night with Brooke had been even better than I’d fantasized, but now I was haunted by the fact that she was going home to somebody else.
