Winter Heat

by Jennifer Lucia

  Liam leaned back to unbutton his slacks, sliding them down his thighs to stand in front of me in just his boxer briefs. His dick was straining against the fabric, practically begging for me to release it from its prison. I licked my lips, ready to rip off Liam's underwear.

  A loud noise trilled from the living room. Liam's head snapped up at the sound, and I groaned in disappointment. I was so close to the prize.

  “Ignore it," I said, rubbing the bulge in his briefs. Liam paused before pulling his pants back up with a pained grunt.

  “I can’t. The only people who have that number are you and the office.” He snapped up his cell phone, holding up one finger to me as he answered the call. I shivered from the cold radiating from the kitchen window I was leaning against, and I pulled my robe back around my shoulders.

  "Go for Sullivan," Liam said, eyeing me hungrily from the living room. He gestured for me to pull my robe back off and I giggled as I shook my head. His expression turned serious, though, and my smile faltered.

  “Sir, it was an oversight.” Liam nodded. “It won’t happen again. I just had my guard down.” He glanced back down at me. “No, I’m not sleeping with a witness,” he said in hushed tones. “We are undercover as a married couple. Married couples kiss. It’s all just part of the cover.” Liam cursed silently, staring up at the ceiling as he leaned against the back of the couch and listened. I sank into a kitchen stool, not liking the sound of this phone call. “I understand. We’ll stay put from here on out.” Pause. “Yes sir,” Liam said one final time before hanging up. I waited for him to speak, knowing that I wasn’t going to like anything that he was going to say.

  When a minute of silent stewing had passed, I slid off my stool and took a tentative step towards the couch Liam was leaning against. His face was stony as he stared wordlessly out the window. “Liam?” He turned towards me and exhaled deeply.

  “We’re fucked, Kelsey,” Liam said, shaking his head.

  “What happened?”

  "Apparently there was a charming article written about the Langdon Falls Winter Ball last night. It was published in the County Gazette blog this morning."

  I cringed. "That was fast."

  “Guess what the cover photo of this article is?” Liam asked. “It’s a photo of you and me, looking into each other’s eyes like we want to rip each other’s clothes off. Those were McIntyre's exact words.”

  "Fuck," I said. "Liam."

  "Fuck is right, Kelsey. I compromised my job and, more importantly, your life, last night because I was thinking with my little head and not my big one. Whatever we’re doing here-” Liam gestured between us- “we need to stop. Before my priorities get any more compromised and my job performance suffers.”

  "Liam," I said. "Come on. This isn't your fault. We're not doing anything wrong here. Last night we were a little reckless, sure, but I take full responsibility for that, not you." I moved towards him but stopped when he took a step back with his hand up.

  “Kelsey, you’re a lawyer. You know a Marshal assigned to protect a witness shouldn’t be sleeping with that witness.” Liam ran a hand through his hair. “McIntyre says the tech team got the photo down as soon as they saw it, so hopefully there won’t be any fallout from this. We'll just have to wait and see. Until then, I think we should spend some time apart."

  “Spend some time apart?” I swung my arms wide. “How? We’re confined to this tiny cabin.”

  "You can stay in your room, and I'll stay out here," Liam said, shrugging.

  “You’re sending me to my room?” I asked.

  Liam sighed. "You can stay out here then, and I'll stay in the room. Kelsey, I don't trust myself around you right now. I just need a couple of days to cool off. You agreed to do what I said for a week, remember? Respect this choice." Liam moved past me into the kitchen and got himself a cup of coffee, then retreated into the bedroom.

  I slumped down on the couch, annoyed at Liam's physical and emotional retreat. I was afraid of the potential repercussions from that photo, though. Why was this county so quiet that the most prominent news was a couple of vacationers in a tiny town going to a dance together? What if the tech team hadn't gotten the picture removed quickly enough to ensure Jack hadn't seen it? Why couldn't I think rationally anymore?

  I settled in to watch television all day in my robe. I wanted to get some clothes from the bedroom but didn't want to test Liam, so I just pulled a throw blanket over me and laid down on my side. I watched trashy shows about drag queens and angry teenagers for the rest of the day, only getting up to pee or to forage for food in the kitchen. Liam never emerged from the bedroom on Sunday, and I fell asleep on the couch.

  ***

  I woke up to a blindingly bright room Monday morning. I sat up on the couch and rubbed my neck, looking around. Liam was brewing coffee in the kitchen with his back to me. I rubbed my sore shoulders and stood up. How did Liam manage to sleep on that couch every single night without needing a chiropractor?

  “Hey,” I said, approaching Liam unsurely. “How’d you sleep?”

  He turned to face me, coffee pot in hand. “Well enough, I guess. That bed is too soft. You?”

  “Badly, actually,” I said. “How can you sleep on that every night?”

  Liam shrugged. “Years of practice.”

  "Listen," I said. Liam tensed, but I pushed on. "Let's start over and stop being weird. I don't want to spend whatever time we have left together avoiding each other in separate rooms. Can we go back to being friends?"

  Liam nodded slowly. “Deal. And the photo issue has been taken care of, so we don’t have to mention the night of the Ball ever again.”

  An image burned itself into my brain- Liam ripping off my panties and shoving them into his back pocket. “You haven’t begun to see how naughty I can be.” I nodded, pushing the memory aside. “Deal.” I opened the fridge, reaching for the milk carton for my coffee. My hand only hit empty space, however, and I peered inside. “Aw, crap. We’re out of milk.”

  “Can you live without milk?” Liam asked, eyeing me. I shook my head, and he sighed. “Fine. We can make a quick trip to get some today,” Liam said, sidestepping to exit the small kitchen without making contact with me. “But no social visits. Just milk and that’s it.”

  “Okay,” I said, sipping my black coffee. I winced, placing the mug in the sink. “I’ll just go have a shower then.” Avoiding Liam’s eyes, I shut myself in the bathroom.

  I undressed quickly and got into the shower, washing yesterday’s laziness off of me. As I worked shampoo through my hair, I closed my eyes tightly to ward off thoughts of Liam’s sexy hands. And his sexy voice. And his sexy...no. We were starting over as friends, and friends didn’t fantasize about each other in the shower. If Liam could pretend, so could I.

  I turned off the shower and stepped out onto the cold tile, wrapping a towel tightly around myself. I opened the bathroom door and jumped. Liam was standing outside the bathroom door, looking as startled as I felt. Heat flared in Liam’s eyes as he surveyed me from head to toe. I flushed, clutching my towel tightly and trying to forget that Liam’s mouth had been on my nipple just yesterday.

  “Yes?” I asked.

  “I just wanted to let you know we should get a move on if we want to get to town. We’re supposed to get some nasty weather here any time now.” Liam lifted his gaze, pointedly looking anywhere but at me.

  “Okay, I’ll hurry,” I said, scooting past Liam into my bedroom. I leaned against the door with a soft sigh. How was I supposed to be just friends with someone whose hands had been all over my body? Someone who looked at me like he wanted to devour me? Just friends? Yeah, right. I pushed off of the door, shaking my head and vowing not to throw myself at Liam and make an even bigger fool of myself.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  I dressed quickly and went to the living room, where Liam was staring off into space on the couch. "Ready?” I asked, making him jump. He nodded, standing up and grabbing his keys. I followed him out the door to t
he truck. We drove in silence, and when Liam parked in front of the grocery store, I grabbed the door handle to swing open the door.

  "Kelsey," Liam said. I turned to him. "Remember. This is a quick visit. No need to put ourselves in the spotlight any more than we've already done." I nodded.

  It was a Monday morning, which meant thankfully that there was no one in the grocery store save for us and the cashier. I proceeded to the dairy aisle, but stopped short when I rounded the corner. Liam stopped beside me, looking down at me curiously. I nodded at the display where Daisy was filling her cart with gallons of milk. Liam sighed.

  “Fine. Go say hi. I'll go to get some bread for us, and then we'll leave when I get back." I smiled gratefully at Liam as he walked off, then stepped forward to greet Daisy.

  “Daisy, hey,” I said. “Fancy seeing you here.”

  “Ha. Hey, Agnes,” Daisy said, loading two more gallons of milk into her shopping cart. “I’m out of milk at the coffee shop, so I popped over here to restock.”

  “Would you hand me a gallon? We’re out too.” Daisy obliged, handing me a gallon of skim milk.

  “I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to you guys Saturday night,” Daisy said chidingly.

  “Yeah, we were in a bit of a hurry to get home.”

  Daisy winked at me. “I can only imagine why. I’m surprised you made it to the front door with all your clothing on, the way that man was looking at you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be dramatic.”

  “I mean it. You and your husband are seriously into each other. Why be embarrassed by that?” Why indeed?

  “Well, I should go find Amos and get out of here,” I said. “It’s supposed to start snowing pretty hard this afternoon, so we want to be home before that starts.”

  “Okay. It was good to see you, Agnes. Go home and enjoy being snowed in with your super hot husband,” Daisy teased, hugging me.

  I squeezed her hard. Daisy tensed, and I pulled back to see what was wrong. "Daisy?" Her face had become ashen, all trace of amusement gone. I looked over my shoulder to see what had caused such a dramatic change in her.

  An unkempt man who looked to be in his forties was swaying in the aisle, holding a six-pack of cheap beer. He was glaring at Daisy so intensely that I was instantly uncomfortable. “Daisy, who is that?” I whispered.

  “Anthony,” she said grimly. “My ex-husband.”

  Ah. The abusive, alcoholic husband who used to beat Daisy. Great. I hated men that preyed on vulnerable women, men whose egos were so fragile that they needed to validate themselves by beating their wives.

  “Daisy,” Anthony called, his upper lip curling. “Hey bitch, I'm talking to you. Answer me when I fucking address you." Daisy didn't answer. She stood stock still, terror rising in her eyes. Anthony started walking towards us, and Daisy's eyes pled with mine. She started trembling, and I stiffened my resolve.

  I squared my shoulders and I placed myself between Daisy and Anthony. “Daisy doesn’t want to talk to you right now. I suggest you kick rocks and go sober up somewhere.”

  “Shut up, bitch, I wasn’t talking to you,” Anthony snarled. “I can talk to my wife anytime I damn well please, and a little bitch like you isn’t going to stop me.”

  He was advancing far too close now. I flinched as he grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me roughly to the side so he could get to Daisy. He reeked of body odor and whiskey, and the smell made me gag as I stumbled to catch my balance.

  There was a blur of motion, and Liam was there, knocking Anthony to the floor. He pinned him to the ground with a knee to the chest. Anthony struggled to get to his feet, but couldn’t unbalance Liam. Daisy and I looked on in horror and admiration.

  Liam leaned down, getting in Anthony’s face. “Apologize to my wife for shoving her,” he growled. “And apologize to your ex-wife for being a piece of shit.”

  “Fuck you,” Anthony spat. Liam pushed his knee harder into Anthony’s chest, making him groan. “Fine! I’m sorry for pushing your bitch wife out of the way when she was sticking her nose where it didn’t belong.”

  “That didn’t sound very sincere to me,” Liam said as he kneed Anthony in the groin. Anthony grunted loudly. “Try again.”

  “I’m sorry,” Anthony wheezed. “To both of you. I’ll leave Daisy alone.”

  “See that you do,” Liam said, standing up. He pulled Anthony up roughly and shoved him away. “Now get lost before I call the police on you for assaulting women, being drunk in public, and general vagrancy.”

  Anthony picked up his beer and swaggered off, cursing audibly under his breath as he disappeared around the corner in a cloud of odor and foul language.

  Liam turned to me, running his hands over my shoulders. He searched my face anxiously. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

  I shook my head and looked at Daisy. “I’m fine. How are you, Daisy?”

  Daisy’s lower lip trembled, but she quickly pulled it into a taut smile. “I’ll be fine. I should be used to Anthony by now, but it’s always such a shock to see how bad his alcoholism has gotten. This was a good reminder that my divorce was a good thing. What you did was amazing, Amos, though. You came out of nowhere."

  Liam shrugged modestly. "I came from the bread aisle. It wasn't anything special. I saw him with his hands on Agnes, and I saw red. I just did what any man would do when he sees women in danger.” I bit my lip and tried to convey my gratitude with my eyes. I took him by the hand and smiled warmly up at him.

  “Well, it wasn’t nothing to me,” Daisy said. “You two go home now before the snow starts really falling and you can’t drive home. I’ll be fine here.”

  “You sure?" Liam asked. "I can walk you out if you want."

  Daisy shoved us away. “Go, go. Anthony has probably already scurried off somewhere else to lick his wounds.”

  Liam looked unconvinced but didn't push the subject. "Okay. If you're sure you're okay, then we'll head out." He nodded at Daisy, pulling my hand gently.

  “Hell of a husband you’ve got there,” Daisy said with a wink.

  I had to agree.

  ***

  The snow was starting to fall massively as we left the grocery store, making me glad we'd gone when we did. When we got back to the cabin, I busied myself with starting a fire in the giant fireplace while Liam brought in cords of firewood.

  “This storm is supposed to bring four feet of snow,” Liam said. “We should stock up and conserve supplies in case the power goes out.”

  I nodded in agreement, going outside with Liam to bring wood in. The altercation in the grocery store had only heightened my awareness of Liam, and being so close to him made my skin light up with heat despite the cold outside. I got goosebumps every time he brushed by me, and it was all I could do not to tackle him in the snow and rip off his clothes.

  We finally got the last of the wood into the cabin and stood by the blazing fire, admiring the massive woodpile we'd brought in together. I looked down at my watch. Half past noon. Time to hunker down and wait out this storm.

  “Wine?” I suggested. “It’s after noon, so we’re past that hump of being morning drinkers.”

  Liam chortled. "Why not? Not like we have much else to do."

  “That’s the spirit!” I said, though I could think of plenty other things we could do, and many different places we could do them in. “I’ll uncork a bottle and be right back.” I went to the kitchen and plucked a bottle of red from the cabinet. I grabbed glasses and a corkscrew on my way back into the living room, where Liam had spread a throw blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace.

  He patted the floor next to him, and I sat down, stretching my feet out in front of me so that the fire warmed my toes. The heat was too intense, though, so I folded my feet under my knees. Liam poured the wine and handed me my glass. I accepted it and leaned back onto one palm. I stared into the fire as I sipped my wine, entranced by the crackling and popping of the logs in the fireplace.

  “Thank you,” I said,
looking over at Liam.

  His face was soft as he studied mine. “For what?”

  “Earlier, with Anthony. Defending your wife,” I teased.

  “Don’t mention it,” Liam grunted. “It wasn’t a big deal. I just got rid of a drunk who was bothering you.”

  “It was a big deal to me,” I said. I looked into my wine glass, avoiding looking directly into Liam’s gaze.

  “You’re welcome,” he said gruffly, falling silent.

  "So, Liam Sullivan. Tell me more about yourself. We're friends, right?" He shot me a sardonic look. "Well, we're at least co-workers. Don't co-workers tell each other about their lives?" "First off, we're not co-workers. I was assigned to protect you. That doesn't mean we're working together."

  “Same difference,” I said. “We’ve done some things mere co-workers don’t do.” I winked at Liam, who rolled his eyes. I nudged his arm, urging him to talk.

  "All right," Liam sighed. "Well, you already know that I grew up poor in Portsmouth." I nodded. "My dad died when I was six. Killed, actually, in a robbery. Completely pointless death- killed over money. Anyway, after that, my sister and I were raised by my mom, who never remarried. Pretty standard childhood- altar boy, baseball, biking around with my friends. I graduated high school and went straight into the military. After that, I went into the Marshals. Now I live in Norfolk with my dog, Buster. That's all there is to me." Liam shrugged. That positively wasn't all there was to Liam, but I didn’t want to press my luck when things were so fragile between us. “What about you, Kelsey Jones? Tell me more about you, the hotshot lawyer who defends serial killers.”

  “One serial killer. And I thought he was innocent." Liam nodded. He'd been kidding. "My parents divorced when I was ten, which was a blessing because my father is a piece of crap. I grew up with one sister, Anna, and she has two gorgeous sons that I'm proud to call my nephews. I went to college in New York and went to law school in Virginia. Now I live in Virginia Beach when I'm not being stalked by serial killers. No pets, but I do have a ficus."