Winter Heat

by Jennifer Lucia

  Daisy laughed as she took in both of our expressions. "Amos, it looks like you've been outvoted. Both Agnes and I vote yes, so you guys have to come." Liam let out a long sigh. "We'll see what happens." I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. I grabbed Liam's hand and squeezed. He didn't let go, interlocking his fingers with mine instead. "That looks like a yes to me," Daisy beamed.

  “That’s a we’ll see,” Liam said.

  I pouted dramatically, leaning towards him. I nudged his shoulder with my own. "Oh come on," I said. "Pretty please?" I placed a soft kiss on his cheek, and he stiffened. "With a cherry on top?"

  Liam turned his face to mine. He quirked one eyebrow, then grabbed me softly by the jaw, surprising me by pulling my face into his. He brushed a soft kiss on my lips. My eyes widened, then closed in pleasure, as the kiss deepened. I opened my mouth slightly, allowing him to cover my mouth fully with his own. His tongue fluttered against mine, and my body softened into his. I didn't care that we were in a room full of strangers. I didn't care that we were full on making out in front of Daisy, who was still sitting on our couch's armrest. All I cared about at this moment was Liam and me and this kiss.

  Liam pulled back from our kiss, triumph in his eyes, and removed his hand from my cheek. He didn’t let go of my other hand though. “That’s a we’ll see.”

  I frowned at Liam and tugged my hand from his. I turned back to Daisy, my cheeks burning with embarrassment, and blushed even harder at her envious look.

  “Geez, get a room, guys,” she said. “I’ll, uh, leave you guys to it. The coffees are on me today. I’ll see you guys tomorrow night!” She stood up with a wink and wandered off, checking on customers around the shop.

  I stared into my coffee, willing the blush to disappear from my cheeks. I avoided looking at Liam so that I didn't jump into his lap and make out with him more, further embarrassing myself. Liam nudged me, and I finally looked over at him. He grinned widely and waggled his eyebrows at me, angering me.

  “What was that?” I hissed. “Aren’t we trying to fly under the radar?”

  “I needed to distract you and get you to stop nagging me. Plus, we’re a young married couple on a romantic vacation. I’m just acting the part,” Liam said.

  “Nagging you?” I smacked his arm. “Don’t be a sexist. Besides, married people don’t kiss like that, especially in public.”

  “You've obviously never been married to me, then," Liam said, his green eyes darkening. Unwanted arousal shot through me, and I looked away. I cleared my throat, ignoring the butterflies that had started fluttering in my stomach at the sensual promise in those eyes.

  “Anyway,” I said, clearing my throat again. “We should head back and check your email, see if our request for the phone call has been approved.”

  "Kels-," Liam warned in a low whisper. He realized his slip and looked around to see if anyone had heard him. "Agnes," he said louder, "It doesn't happen that quickly. I would be shocked if we already had a response."

  "Well, we can check anyway," I said, draining the last of my latte. I stood up and pulled on my coat, then looked down expectantly at Liam. He sighed and finished his coffee, then stood up, dwarfing me. I turned and led the way out of the shop, shivering imperceptibly when Liam placed his hand on my hip, steering me to the right towards the road back to our cabin.

  We walked back silently, Liam's hand never leaving my waist. As soon as I walked through the front door, I pulled off my parka and walked to the kitchen counter. I picked up Liam's laptop, powering it on. A government logo adorned the lock screen. I needed Liam's username and password to get in. I turned the laptop around to Liam, who typed in his credentials with a frown.

  “You're very persistent today. You know that?"

  “Yeah, well, if it gets me what I want, then I’m okay with that,” I said. I watched as Liam opened the inbox on his email account. I became giddy at the sight of an unopened email from McIntyre.

  Liam clicked the email and gave it a cursory once-over before turning the laptop to face me. "Looks like you've been approved for a ten-minute phone call on a secured line. We just need to let them know when you're ready, and they'll set it up with your burner phone to make the call."

  “Yes!” I ran to my room to unplug the phone from its charger and ran back into the living room. “Okay, I’m ready now.”

  Liam typed a response to the email, and after a minute of waiting, the laptop pinged loudly. "Okay, go now."

  I punched in the digits that I knew by heart and listened to the line trilling. After four rings, my sister picked up.

  “Hello?” Anna said. “Who’s this?”

  “Anna, it’s me, Kelsey,” I said, sinking into a chair.

  “Oh, good. I didn't recognize the number, so I thought it was a bill collector and almost didn't pick up. Kelsey, where the hell have you been? You went radio silent after a cryptic call the day before Thanksgiving, and now we're all worried sick about you. Why haven't you called Mom? She nags me about you every day. She's convinced that you've been taken by the Mafia. You need to call her." "Taken by the Mafia?" I snorted.

  “You know how she is. She's a worrywart." "I know, I know," I sighed guiltily. "Anyway, how is everything? How are Julian and Jason?"

  “Don't avoid the question, Kelsey," Anna said. "What the hell have you been doing the past couple of weeks?" Pause. "Your nephews are fine, by the way. They're at Disney on Ice with Marcus today." Marcus was my saintly brother-in-law.

  “I’m in hiding right now.” I braced for the inevitable blowup. I glanced at Liam, who was frowning and shaking his head furiously.

  “In hiding?” Anna screeched. “Are you with the Mafia right now?”

  “No, I’m not with the Mafia. Geez.”

  “Kelsey, are you in danger? Should I call the police?”

  “I can't go into details, but I'm safe. I'm with a government official, completely protected from the threat." I looked at the ceiling, away from Liam.

  “Jesus, Kelsey,” Anna said. “Is this related to that recent jailbreak?” Anna was too smart for her own good.

  “Yeah," I said. "I'll be home soon though, and we can talk about this all we want then. Until that time, though, I have about four minutes left to talk about something good, like my gorgeous and intelligent nephews."

  “Julian is in a biting phase right now. And Jason has taken to licking every window he comes across.” Ah, my gorgeous, intelligent nephews. “Little monsters, but I’m legally obligated to love them. So, this government official you’re hiding away with, what’s he or she like? Stuffed shirt type, or someone fun?”

  “Neither. He's great though," I said in a low voice. No need for Liam to hear me saying that.

  “Oh, he’s great? Like great at chess or great in bed?”

  “I’m hanging up now. I just wanted to let you know that I’m safe, and for you to relay that message to everyone who asks.”

  “Kelsey, don’t hang up,” Anna said quickly. “I’ll stop asking questions, I promise.”

  Liam was moving his finger in a circle, signaling for me to move it along. "It's not that. I only had ten minutes for this call. I've got to go. I love you, I love the boys, Mom, Marcus. Bye!"

  “I love you, sister,” Anna said.

  “Love ya back, sister.” I hung up. I smiled at Liam, who’d been standing next to me during the phone call. “Thank you,” I said softly.

  He shrugged. "I didn't do anything to be grateful for. I just sent an email."

  “Still," I said, standing up. I wrapped my arms around Liam's neck, hugging him. His arms went around my back, awkwardly laying in the middle and barely making contact. He leaned his face into the crook of my neck and sighed. I went deeper into the embrace, and Liam rubbed my back. He released me from his arms and cleared his throat.

  “I'm going to take a shower," he said. "Then I'll be back in the living room to watch mind-numbing amounts of golf afterward."

  I wrinkled my nose as I watched him walk
away, then smiled at the mental image of Liam in the shower. It was a delightful sight indeed. Six-pack glistening with moisture as the water sluiced over his body, his biceps flexing when his arms raised to rinse the shampoo from his hair. His hands soaping up his chest, slowly moving downwards on the flat plane of his stomach, then reaching lower... I thought about the way that he'd kissed me earlier, with the promise of something more, and I fanned my cheeks. I needed a cold shower.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I stood over the kitchen stove Saturday morning, heating up a skillet while I waited for Liam to wake up. I looked over at the couch that doubled as his bed, checking to make sure he hadn't woken up yet. Liam was still fast asleep, which gave me a chance to study his features. His face, always adorned with a smirk or a scowl when awake, was softer when he slept. He looked younger, more approachable this way. I preferred him like this.

  I turned back to the stove, turning on the range fan so the smoke detector wouldn't go off and disturb him, but the whir of the fan was much louder than I'd anticipated. I glanced back over my shoulder to make sure the noise from the fan hadn't woken Liam. I wanted to surprise him with breakfast in bed- admittedly not for entirely altruistic reasons. I was trying to butter him up so he'd agree to go to the Winter Ball that night, and they say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

  I hummed softly to myself as I cracked six eggs into a bowl and started beating. I poured the eggs into the skillet, then started on the pancake mix. I stirred the pancake batter with one hand while scrambling the eggs with the other.

  “I had no idea you were so skilled with your hands,” Liam said, making me jump about a mile.

  “Damn," I said. "I was trying not to wake you. I wanted to surprise you with breakfast."

  “How domestic of you," Liam teased. "Sorry about ruining your plans to kiss up to me so that I'll agree to go to a dance with you in an extremely public venue."

  I sighed exaggeratedly and swung around to face him. One eyebrow was quirked as he poured himself a cup of coffee. I plastered an innocent smile on my face. "I can't just do something nice for you?" I started spooning eggs from the skillet onto a serving plate, then poured some dollops of batter onto the skillet.

  “I’m sure you could,” Liam said. “But I’m also sure this is not an entirely string-free breakfast.”

  “Well, while we’re on the subject, I think we should revisit going to the Ball. I think it’s a good idea for us to go, for reasons other than just having a good time. Daisy has undoubtedly already told everyone that we’re going. It’ll be less conspicuous if we go than if we hide out at home.”

  “I believe one of us is experienced in Witness Protection, and therefore knows best. Spoiler alert- it’s not you, it’s me. We’re skipping the dance. Why do you want to go to some podunk dance anyway?” Liam asked as he shoveled pancakes and eggs onto his plate.

  “Don't be an ass," I said, turning off the stove. I poured a copious amount of syrup on my pancakes while Liam looked on in silent disgust. I grabbed my coffee on the way to the dining room table, and Liam followed, taking the seat perpendicular to mine.

  “You're not going to win this argument, counselor," Liam said. "But it's cute to see you try. How's your syrup soup this morning?"

  I stuck my tongue out at him and then focused on eating my breakfast. I finished chewing an especially large mouthful of eggs and swallowed. "You know that I'll just go without you. It'll make me more vulnerable to attack and be a nightmare for you at work when your superiors catch wind of it."

  “You are begging me to have a reason to tie you to the bed." Liam winked at me as he ate a pancake.

  “Ugh, just give in. Please,” I said, leaning forward and pouting. Liam continued eating in silence, picking up the remote to turn on the television. I snatched the remote out of his hands and shoved it down my shirt. "And I'm going to kill myself if you turn on any more goddamned golf," I said.

  Liam snorted. “You think I won’t just reach in there and grab that remote? You’ve just made getting the remote a way more enjoyable experience.”

  I blushed but stood my ground. "I'm stronger than I look." I pulled the remote down my shirt and put it in my waistband. I slumped under the table, satisfied that Liam wouldn't reach over and grab the remote if he couldn't reach it. I fumbled with the remote in my waistband to turn on the television, and I flipped it to a show about desperate housewives in Baltimore. I had a small sliver of hope that Liam would get so annoyed by the vapid show that he'd do anything to turn it off.

  Liam just chewed his food, however, and watched the show with rapt attention. I shot him a disgusted look when the first commercial break came on, and I flipped to a different channel. "Hey!" Liam objected. "I want to know what Becky does when she finds out about Anita cheating on her husband!"

  I rolled my eyes and stood up, dropping my plate off in the sink on the way to get a coffee refill. I moved to the living room and plopped down on the couch, snuggling up to Liam's pillow. It smelled faintly of him- woodsy, like pine and the way the ground smells after it rains. I discreetly breathed it in, not wanting him to catch me sniffing his pillow like a weirdo, then started flipping channels. I never stayed longer than five minutes on any one channel, mindlessly scrolling through programs. Liam appeared above me from the back of the couch and snatched the remote from my hands. He flipped it back to the housewives show.

  “Hey!” I pouted.

  “I have a proposition for you." "Oh?" I sat up and turned so that I was on my knees, facing him.

  “We'll go to the Winter Ball tonight for an hour or so, to deflect suspicion about us," Liam said. I squealed and readied myself to launch into Liam's arms. He held up his hands to stop me. "On one condition- you have to do what I say, no matter what, for an entire week afterward."

  I wrinkled my nose, ready to protest. “Just do whatever you say, no matter what? Even if it’s against my better judgment?”

  “Kelsey, you're supposed to be listening to me anyway. This is just a formality, and a way to have a little fun. Take it or leave it." Liam's tone brooked no argument.

  I considered for a second, then nodded. I went in for the hug, squeezing him tightly. "But nothing unreasonable, right? Just normal stuff like ‘Kelsey, don't go into town by yourself' or ‘Kelsey, stop changing the channel.'"

  Liam looked offended. "Do I seem like the type of person who would abuse their position of power with unreasonable requests?" I shook my head slowly. "Good. Now, Kelsey, you're always taking baths. That sounds like a wonderful idea. Draw me a bath. I like extra bubbles and the temperature to be precisely a hundred and three degrees. Thanks, doll."

  “Get real,” I snorted.

  “I guess we can skip the party tonight then." Liam smiled at me smugly, then pulled off his shirt. "I'm waiting," Liam smirked as I determinedly stared at his face.

  Conflicting emotions swirled inside of me. Part of me wanted to tell Liam to go fuck himself and to forget about the party tonight. Part of me wanted to play along with his little game until the week was up. An embarrassingly large part of me wanted to do nothing but stand here and gawk at his naked torso.

  The part of me that needed more social interaction won out. I stomped out of the living room to the bathroom, ignoring Liam's chortle. I dumped a quarter of the bottle of bubble bath into the tub and turned on the spigot. While the water was running, I found a thermometer in the medicine cabinet and stuck it in the water until the tub was full. Hundred and two degrees. I smiled with satisfaction at the rebellion. I crouched next to the tub to turn off the flowing water and called to Liam.

  He appeared in the doorway, clad only in a bathrobe. I swallowed as I took in the sight of him. His muscular legs were flexing under the short hem of the robe. His bare chest was peeking out from the not-quite-tightly-sashed front of the robe. And if you looked a little lower, you could almost make out his- I dragged my eyes back to his smirking face. He waggled his eyebrows at me, and I felt my cheeks redden. This tiny bat
hroom was feeling much more crowded now that we were both occupying it. "Are you going to stay here while I bathe? If you do, I might ask you for a shoulder rub while I take my bath."

  “No.” I swallowed. “I’ll just go look through my trunk to see what I’m going to wear tonight.”

  “You go do that," Liam said silkily. I shut the bathroom door behind me just as Liam was dropping his robe. "This water's a little chilly," he said. "Next time, use a thermometer."

  Ugh.

  ***

  Several hours later, I'd managed to pick out a dress that was both sexy and upscale. Whoever had packed my trunk for me seriously had a solid eye for size- the dress fit me like a glove. It was white, with a black lace overlay that made the dress look almost gray. The zipper went down my back from my neck to the top of my butt. It looked amazing on me, except I couldn't quite get the zipper to zip all way up. I threw on a long necklace that was at the bottom of my trunk and finished the look with bright red heels that matched my lipstick. I gave myself one last once-over in the floor-length mirror and patted my hair to tamp down flyaways. I opened the bedroom door, took a deep breath, and walked into the living room where Liam was waiting for me.

  He looked gorgeous. He was watching television on the couch, wearing a black button-up shirt under a black blazer, with jeans and loafers. He'd shaved, which only served to emphasize his square jaw and chiseled features. It was almost unfair how good he looked without putting any effort into it. Liam looked up from the television and did a double take when he saw me.

  I twirled around to give him a full view of the outfit, and he let out a low whistle as he stood up. Coming to stand next to me, he placed his hand on my back. I melted a little under his touch, and he held my gaze. Liam ran his hand up my back lightly, coming to rest at the halfway- up zipper, which he tugged up to the nape of my neck. He kept his hand there. "Kelsey, you know we're trying to fly under the radar, right? Every guy there is going to be staring at you tonight. All the women, too, probably."