Her heart warmed as she continued to look at him. She loved that he was so caring.
Meg pulled her head away from his hand and rolled onto her back, so she wouldn’t have to look at him as she talked.
“It was different,” she said slowly and stretched her arms above her head.
“Good or bad?” She could hear the apprehension in his voice.
Her face flamed, and she turned her head even further away from him.
“Good,” she said meekly.
“Oh, thank God,” he groaned and pulled her back into his arms.
Meg turned to look at him. “Were you worried?”
“That you’d be pissed? You’re damn right I was.” He sighed. “I just couldn’t stop myself.”
Meg laughed. “I think you could have but didn’t.”
Liam shrugged. “Three years is a lot of time to fantasize about what you’d like to do.”
She put her elbows on his chest and looked into his eyes. “Oh? What else did you think about?”
“Not much fun in telling you when I could show you.” He smiled and flipped her over onto her back.
Meg giggled as he rested heavy on top of her.
“I think if we don’t stop now, we’ll never get out of bed,” she laughed.
Liam groaned and rolled back off of her. “You’re right,” he said. “Quick shower?”
Meg sat up and moved away from him. “Love to.” She smiled. “By myself.”
He groaned loudly when she climbed out of bed to fetch her clothes and bag.
“You remember what happened last time you teased me,” he warned.
Meg turned around to him. The hard lines of his face were soft and inviting. He raised a sexy eyebrow, and she grinned.
“I remember what happened.” She winked. “Maybe I’m hoping for a repeat.”
Liam laughed, and she found herself enjoying the sound. It wasn’t often that she got the chance to hear it, but it seemed like the past few days she had been hearing it more and more.
He smacked her ass as she raced by him and giggled at his attempts to catch her. “You better get in there before I decide I need to have you in the shower.”
Meg ran into the bathroom and quickly shut the door. She didn’t need him chasing after her and trapping her in his embrace, no matter how much she didn’t mind being trapped. Things had to get done, and they weren’t going to happen with him flexing in and out of her. Well, things outside the bedroom had to get done.
She grinned to herself, this was going to be a much better day than yesterday.
Chapter Thirteen
Meg padded out of the bathroom with her shoes still off. Her hair was wet, but she’d opted for just a little make-up and something comfortable. She wasn’t used to this kind of marathon sex. It had been fantastic, but she was slightly sore. Meg smiled to herself for about the millionth time. It was so worth it.
When she came into the kitchen, she found Liam at the table wearing just the sweats from the previous night. He was hunched over and taking quietly to someone on the other line. She wondered who would require such secrecy, but it didn’t take much of a guess. This whole time he’d been trying to shield her from the world his brothers lived in. Even if his brother Finn was attempting to leave the business, for now, he still was a mob boss, and his other brother, Ennis, had been conspiring with the Russian mob. In truth, it was a bit much to think about at times, but, overall, she did like Finn. He was smart-mouthed but seemed, deep down, to be a mostly good guy.
Liam looked up to her as he listened. His eyes widened at her cute flirty skirt that landed mid-thigh and simple blue blouse.
“I’ve got to go,” he said impatiently but paused to listen a bit more. “Yes,” he sighed. “I’ll be there.”
She watched as he hit end and tossed the phone on the table. His head fell into his hands, and he groaned.
Meg came up behind him and placed a firm hand on his shoulders. She rubbed out she kinks she found there. He hissed when she squeezed his hurt shoulder and jumped away.
“No,” he said, looking up at her. “It’s fine.”
Meg went back to her task.
“Finn?” she asked.
Liam nodded. “He needs me to come by tonight.”
“Should I even ask?” She stilled.
“Listen, you know what Finn is. There are going to be moments that aren’t always on the up and up.” He groaned. “God, things are just shit.”
Meg wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed behind his ear. “I love you no matter who your family is or what you need to do,” she whispered. “Part of loving you is knowing that you’ll never do anything that crosses the line. Breaking the law, that’s another thing.” She leaned in even closer to his ear. “Pretty sure what we did earlier broke a few laws.”
He turned around. She sighed when he pulled her onto his lap, resting her head against his chest.
“He’s grooming me,” he said to her. She could feel the rumble of his chest. “He really needs me, and I’m very close to saying yes. Only one thing stopping me.”
Meg say up to look at him. “What?”
He stared at her hard for a moment. “You. The need to protect you.”
Meg sat stunned for a moment but shook herself out of it.
“He’s your brother,” she said softly.
“For all of a few months,” he said.
She smiled at him. “And before that he was your cousin. You have family ties to him. He needs you.”
Liam stared at her for a moment, and she thought he might argue, but instead he smiled at her.
“Us and our families.” He shook his head. “I guess I’ll accept the position.”
Her heart bumped in her chest. She wanted him to take what would make him happy, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t worry, especially about a life she really knew nothing about. But if Finn’s woman could do it, she sure as hell could.
“So I have a favor to ask,” Liam said as he held onto her.
Meg watched his face, not really sure what to expect.
“You see,” he went on. His thumb absently stroked the flesh just above her hip. “I sort of told my mom I’d be by for dinner.”
Meg’s face fell. He wanted to ditch her to go eat dinner with his mother.
“Oh,” she said and gave a small smile. “I understand.”
Liam frowned. “What do you understand?”
Meg looked at him and tried to hide her sadness. “You know,” she motioned with her hand, “that three’s a crowd.”
Liam laughed loudly. “You haven’t met my mom.” He grinned.
She lost her breath when he leaned forward and pressed a tender kiss to her mouth.
“I want you to come to dinner,” he said. “As my girlfriend.”
Her pulse thumped in her throat as she stared at him in shock.
“As your girlfriend,” she repeated and grinned from ear to ear.
Meg crushed him with another kiss, but this one was far more brutal. When she pulled away, her lips burned from his rough face.
“I take it that’s a yes?” He grinned at her.
Meg leaned down and gave him a soft kiss. “Yes,” she whispered.
Liam smiled broadly at her. “Good.” He cleared his throat and moved her off his lap for him to stand. “I’ve got to take a shower. I called Reed earlier,” he said from the doorway to the living room. “The fire was deemed arson.”
Meg wrinkled her nose. “We already knew that.” She rubbed the bump on her head.
Liam watched her hand and frowned. “This will make it harder for when you go to the insurance company since you were home during the fire.”
Meg paced the tiny kitchen. “Yeah, I was home lying on the floor, left for dead.” She stopped to look at him. “Can they deny me?”
“I doubt it,” he said. “You’ve got a number of people who can back up your story.”
She sighed. The last thing she needed was for them to shut down the repair
s. She knew it wasn’t that bad, no structural damage, but she wanted her pretty little kitchen back.
Liam wrapped her in his arms and kissed her forehead. “Just give them a call and get the ball rolling.”
Meg nodded.
“I’ll just take a quick shower, and we can go check out the damage before going to dinner,” he said and gave her shoulders a squeeze.
“Oh and Harley,” she said. “I’ve got to get Harley.”
“Maybe he should stay with your parents?”
Meg shook her head. “They have a big getaway planned for this weekend.”
Liam looked around at the little kitchen, likely wondering the same thing she was. How the hell was a dog like that going to fit into a little place like this?
She was certain he would say no when his gaze came back to meet his. “Better let your parents know we’ll be by after dinner.”
Meg grinned and threw her arms around him. Once again, she brought him into a sultry kiss. She groaned into his mouth when his hands cupped her ass under the skirt she was wearing.
Liam pulled back.
“You sure you can’t just come and take a quick shower with me?” he whispered.
Meg wiggled her way out of his grasp. She held up her hand to stop him.
“We both know there’s nothing quick about anything you do.” She scowled at him.
Liam grinned. “But it’s worth it.”
Meg had to agree. Just about everything about him was worth it.
“Off to the shower.” She pointed to the door.
He frowned at her order.
Meg leaned forward and smiled. “The faster we get all this done, the more time we’ll have in bed.”
His eye brows quirked up, and he laughed. “I knew there was a reason I loved you.”
She watched as his tight ass worked underneath the not-so-revealing fabric. When he was out of sight, she sighed. It was time for her to check the first thing off her list, so she could get to her evening of fun.
Meg picked up the phone and dialed the number on the back of her card. The elevator music hummed through the line as she waited.
She scratched her earlier thought of it being a good day and decided to settle for a good night.
*
“You don’t have to be so nervous,” Liam said from beside her as they drove along.
“I’m fine,” she said. Her stomach twisted in knots. No, she was well beyond being nervous. This equaled something far from being nervous.
She pressed her skirt to her leg. Maybe she should have worn something less…short. Meg glanced over at Liam. It had been nice to have him compliment her outfits. She’d never really tried hard with her clothes, and it was nice to know the one person she wanted to notice did.
“She’ll love you,” Liam said and reached across to take her hand.
She took his comfort. Pulling in a deep breath, she tried to steady herself.
“What if she doesn’t?” Meg asked.
Liam pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles.
“She will,” he said. “If anything, she might like you too much. I’m afraid we might leave here with a wedding date set and flowers.”
Meg giggled at him. She could only hope that it would go so well.
“I’m happy as long as I get so see baby pictures of you.” She winked.
“Oh Lord,” he groaned. “Yeah, you’ll get along just fine.”
Liam pulled the car to the curb and stopped. Meg looked out the window at the tiny house. The lawn was well managed, with pretty yellow flowers out front. It was small but loved. She smiled at the happy house.
She waited in the car as Liam came around to open the door for her. She figured this was as close to a real date as they were going to get until everything was settled, so she might as well enjoy the treatment while she could. Her vacation time would soon to be up, and she’d have to go back to being the computer geek around the office.
They made their way to the door. Her knees shook a little. Liam wrapped a warm arm around her and pulled her close. She smiled up at him and jumped when the door opened.
A short, thin woman with salt and pepper hair answered. It was clear she had been quite the beauty back in her earlier years. Nearly wrinkle free, Meg wondered how she was able to maintain such flawless skin.
“Ma, this is Meg Allen,” Liam said to his mother. “Meg, this is my mother, Eva.”
Meg held out her hand to the woman. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
The woman looked from Liam to Meg and then back to Liam.
“As in the girl you’ve been mooning over?” Eva asked.
Meg pulled her hand back and shrunk into Liam’s side. She knew this dinner was a bad idea.
“As in my girlfriend,” he said.
Meg just wanted to shrink into nothingness.
“Oh, honey.” She grabbed Meg and pulled her into a great hug. “Why didn’t you say so?”
Meg stood in shock as the woman held her in a warm hug. Her wits finally returning, Meg returned the hug.
Eva stepped back abruptly but kept her hands on Megs arms to get a closer look.
“I have to say, you weren’t wrong about how pretty she is.” Eva smiled at her, and Meg couldn’t help return the infectious gesture.
“You talked about me?” She turned to Liam and smiled at the red that colored his cheeks.
“Talked about you,” Eva laughed and ushered them inside. “He couldn’t seem to not talk about you.”
Meg turned to look him again, and he shrugged. Her heart sped up. It seemed that every time she learned something new about him, it ended up being something wonderful that he had never shared.
“When you went away to London for the summer, he was a sight to be seen,” his mother marveled. “I can’t tell you how glad I am to finally meet you.”
Eva looped arms with Meg and led her over to the couch. Liam took the chair across from her. Meg loved how young he seemed in his mother’s house.
“So tell me how things have been since you’ve been back,” his mother asked.
Meg caught his eye and the slight shake of the head.
“With the wedding and our budding relationship, there isn’t really much to tell.” She smiled at Liam and hoped that would be good enough.
“So when did you two start dating?” Eva looked happily from Meg to Liam.
Liam leaned forward. “After she came back, I confessed my love.”
Meg grinned. “More like he was forced to confess his love. With the his job offers and the chance that I might move to London, he really had no choice.”
The room fell silent. Her smile slipped as she watched the tension between Liam and his mother.
“What job offers?” Eva demanded.
Liam sighed. “It’s nothing.”
Meg watched as Eva folded her arms in front of her chest. “You work too hard,” she said.
For the first time, Meg could hear her Irish accent become thick with her worry.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. Liam shot Meg a glare, and she shrank back.
“I have to worry about it,” Eva said sadly. “I’m your mother.” She looked between them. “You’ll understand when you have children.”
Meg leaned back further into the couch, trying to distance herself from the conversation.
“Okay,” Eva said. “Let’s leave this for later. I hope you like stew, Meg.”
Meg smiled and stood. “I do.”
She liked the way Eva lit up when she happy about something. “Good,” Eva said. She clapped her hands. “I’ll go get supper on.”
Meg stood to follow but was stopped by Liam pulling her to the side.
“What the hell was that?” He glowered at her.
“I didn’t know you hadn’t told her,” Meg whispered back.
“She doesn’t need to know that.” He glared at her.
Meg placed her hands on her hips and glared right back at him. “Well maybe you shouldn’t keep
so many secrets. Then I could keep track of them.”
Liam let go of her arm and stood tall over her.
“Next time you want to tell me how to deal with my family, don’t,” he said. Anger laced his words.
Meg reeled from his cold blow.
“Don’t worry,” she said, emotion choking her as she spoke. “I won’t.”
Meg pushed hard against his chest as she swept into the kitchen.
“Eva,” Meg said with as much pep as she could fake. “Would you mind if I freshen up first?”
“Across the hall,” Eva said quietly and gave her a small smile. Their voices had clearly carried.
Meg held it together just long enough to make it into the bathroom. Door shut behind her, Meg let the tears slip down her face as she silently wept for the joy that was now lost.
Chapter Fourteen
The car ride home was far more quiet than he had hoped.
Liam had watched her carefully all throughout dinner. He was still angry she had told his mother about the jobs, but he hadn’t intended to be so harsh. When she had come out of the bathroom and joined him at the table, it hadn’t escaped either his mother or himself that Meg’s lower eyelids were slightly puffy and red. Her mother had shot him a dirty look.
All through the meal, he tried to engage Meg in hope that she’d forgive him, but she limited her responses to two-and three-word sentences. His mother didn’t seem to have near the issue. Meg talked with her just like she had before. Although he did notice that she tended to shy away from anything to do with him.
He looked over at her after driving in silence for some time.
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly.
She turned her sharp eyes on him, and he could see that she was close to losing it again.
“Sorry?” She glared at him. “Well thanks for that.”
Meg turned the other direction in her seat.
“Come on, Meg,” he groaned. “I fucked up, but we can get past this.”
She turned back to him. Tears rimmed her pretty brown eyes, and he felt like shit for being the one to put them there.
“You told me to stay out of your family business,” she said coldly. “How can I even think of having a relationship with someone who hides things from his family and so easily dismisses my feelings?”
Liam Page 10
