SEAL's Bride: A Secret Baby Romance

by Vivian Wood

  “Here,” he said, handing her two gold keys. “I want you to make copies.”

  “Okay.” She shifted her focus onto the keys in her palm.

  Anything to avoid staring at Liam. He’d well and truly shut down any attraction on his side, just like she’d asked him to. She really needed to figure out how to do the same.

  Why couldn’t she just remember that Liam was a complete player?

  She recalled some of Jack’s stories. Liam can get any girl he wants. I’ve seen him start an orgy without even trying. I’ve seen girls fight each other over who gets to be with him.

  Even if some of that was Jack’s colorful storytelling, at least part of it was likely true. Liam slept with a lot of women. Hell, he never bothered to get her name back when they’d nearly hooked up.

  Her mind drifted for a moment, and she realized she’d missed something Liam said. Something important, apparently.

  “—moved in by the end of the week.”

  “Huh?” she asked, flushing at her own inelegance. She looked up at Liam, questioning. “What’d you want moved?”

  “Your things,” he said, looking at her like she might be a little slow.

  “My… um… what?”

  “I can’t have my assistant out of pocket. You’re too far away.”

  “Okay, but that doesn’t mean I need to live in your house,” Audrey said, lifting her chin to glare at him.

  “I don’t want to hear it, Audrey. I just signed the papers on a new house in Buckhead. Plenty of space. Nothing but space, actually. Until you find somewhere to live that’s less than a mile from my house—”

  “I can’t afford to live in that neighborhood!” Audrey protested.

  “Until you can, you’re with me. I’m not going to be inconvenienced by your living choices anymore.”

  He turned and started to walk off, leaving Audrey gawping at him. Then he stopped and turned back.

  “Call a moving company. You’ve got my credit card numbers, just charge it. I want this settled, immediately.”

  “Liam! Liam, we are not done here!” she cried.

  “Do it, or you’re sacked,” he said, walking off.

  You can’t fire me! she wanted to cry. But of course, he was Liam fucking Packham. If he really wanted to get rid of her, he could. Her and Jack both, gone from Atlanta Unified’s employ with a snap of Liam’s fingers.

  Damn Jack. Not that he’d kicked her out, exactly, but he and his ditzy new girlfriend had been groping each other on every surface in the apartment for a week straight. Audrey had basically been sexiled, just like she was living in her college dorm again.

  It won’t be that bad. It won’t even be weird. Liam will have girls coming and going, and you can have your own life too. Maybe even more so than at Jack’s, she told herself. Besides, you don’t have a choice.

  Get fired, and Liam will fuck up. Then Jack’s off the team, and we’re back at square one.

  Her phone beeped. She pulled out the fancy new smartphone she’d been given for work and checked it, finding a new text. It was from Liam, of course.

  I expect to see you at my house tonight, it said. And I could use some furnishing, you’d better have some delivered STAT. You have free reign.

  Then an address in a different location than the loft she visited before.

  Sighing, she gripped the key fob and checked her watch. Seven hours to have her things moved and get furniture delivered? She rolled her eyes, but she knew she had to at least try.

  She really, really wanted to get just one task right in Liam’s eyes. Prove herself. And this? It was probably impossible, but damn if she wasn’t going to try.

  ***

  Audrey kicked off her heels and sat down on the brand new leather couch with a relieved sigh. She looked around the house’s big open entertaining room, feeling accomplished. She’d worked her ass off today, no lie.

  What Liam failed to mention about his new house is that it didn’t just need some furnishings — it was completely empty. There was a dubious-looking mattress in one bedroom, a case of whisky still boxed up in the kitchen, and a few racks of Liam’s clothes in another spare bedroom.

  Other than that, the house was bare. It was also enormous, a two-story ultramodern affair with a nice big manicured lawn. There were two big bedrooms on opposite sides of the house, plus two guest bedrooms. After a good bit of dithering, Audrey decided to install herself in the large bedroom farthest from Liam’s.

  It had a nice view of the back yard, an ensuite bathroom, and a sturdy door that locked. The guest bedrooms, not so much.

  Audrey was in a whirlwind all day, ordering a ton furniture from the nearby IKEA. Since she was already having her stuff moved from her friend Mike’s apartment in Marietta, she went ahead and hired the same company to pick up the IKEA furniture too. They even assembled most of it before they left.

  Of course, there was still a lot to be done, but she’d managed to get furniture set up in the living room, dining room, kitchen, bedrooms, and both the master bathrooms. Plus she’d ordered lots of small things from IKEA too, like plates and lamps and whatnot, most of which still sat in boxes.

  Her coup d’état was calling a local errand service to bring a number of necessities, such as toiletries, some basic food items… and wine. A case of her favorite cheap red wine from Trader Joe’s.

  Now she sat on the new white leather couch, put her feet up on the chic new coffee table, and sipped wine from a brand new stemless wine glass. She was basically a miracle worker, all things considered.

  Honestly, if it weren’t for the part where Liam was demanding that she live here, none of these tasks would be considered out of the norm for a celebrity’s assistant. Or at least Audrey guessed as much, from watching reality shows on cable.

  She just hoped Liam had truly meant it when he said the words free reign.

  When Liam swung open the front door and walked in, still wearing his dirty uniform, the look on his face when he saw Audrey relaxing in his newly furnished living room was priceless.

  “Bloody hell,” he said, dropping his muddy cleats by the front door and walking into the living room, looking more than a little surprised. “It’s like a real person lives here, innit?”

  “Yep,” Audrey said with a grin. “You even have a bed. And shower necessities. Aside from the world’s biggest box of condoms, which is all that was in there before.”

  “At least I’ve got priorities,” he said with a shrug.

  “You look like you need a shower,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

  She eyed the smudge of dirt on his cheek and the tousled look of his uniform. Even from here, she could smell him. Not bad, but sort of that earthy man sweat kind of scent. In a weird way, she thought it suited Liam.

  “Unngh, a shower,” he sighed, dropping his gym bag. “Want to help me, Ginger? The showers at the club are down. Some problem with the hot water.”

  “Well, now you have a fully stocked shower,” she said. “And no, I’m not interested in helping.”

  “And where have you settled?” Liam asked. As he spoke, he casually pulled his shirt up over his head and slung it over his shoulder.

  “I— I—” Audrey stuttered, blushing. “The big bedroom on the other side of the house.”

  “Trying to stay away from me, are you?” he teased, but Audrey wasn’t listening.

  She couldn’t not look at Liam’s muscular arms, chest, and stomach. Every inch was honed as only an athlete’s body could be. And he wasn’t lacking for bad boy charm, what with half his skin covered in brightly colored tattoos.

  “What is that?” she asked, pointing to the huge tattoo that dominated his chest. It was a blue crest with three medieval-looking blue lions and several red flowers, with ENGLAND emblazoned at the top.

  “It’s the symbol for England National,” Liam said, looking at her as if she were slow.

  “Right…” she said, shaking her head.

  “The biggest team in the UK,” he said slowl
y. “The team, in the dreams of footballers everywhere?”

  “I get the idea.”

  “Somehow I doubt that,” he said, shaking his head and moving toward his bedroom. “You should get dressed up, fancy-like. I have a gala event to attend tonight.”

  “What? That’s not on your schedule!” Audrey protested, pulling out her phone and opening the calendar she kept for Liam.

  “I only just agreed to it this morning. Lorrie from Saks Fifth Avenue will be here shortly with a rack of suits and dresses,” he said, heading into his room.

  He didn’t bother to close his bedroom door, and Audrey saw his shorts hit the floor right by the doorway. She gritted her teeth against yelling at him to attempt some kind of modesty, at least when she was in the house.

  They both knew Liam didn’t have a modest bone in his whole body.

  Before she could get too worked up, there was a knock at the front door. Audrey went and opened it, accepting a delivery of a whole rack of expensive garments.

  “I’m Lorrie. You’re Liam’s date?” the perky personal stylist asked.

  “That’s me, I guess,” Audrey said.

  “Lucky girl,” Lorrie said with a wink. “Let me just show you what I’ve brought…”

  Lorrie went through each garment with her, recommending a very classic Tom Ford tux for Liam. Then the stylist eyed Audrey for a minute.

  “You know… you have such a good figure…” she said, biting her lip. “I think I have to at least try to nudge you toward this Badgley Mischka number…”

  Lorrie unzipped a garment bag and pulled out the most stunning dress Audrey had ever seen. It was floor length black velvet and silk, with sheer black film covering the bust, shoulders, and arms.

  “Do you want me to wait for you to get ready so I can help you get into it?” Lorrie asked.

  “Um… no, I’m sure I can manage,” Audrey said.

  Lorrie didn’t look so certain, but she just nodded and said she’d be back to collect the other garments later.

  “Oh… and you’re probably going to need these,” Lorrie said, handing her a bag. “Nothing personal, everyone wears them.”

  Audrey peeped into the bag and found a variety of girdles, support hose, and several waist-cinching undergarments.

  “Ah… uh, thanks,” Audrey said.

  Brushing her fingers over the fitted velvet skirt, Audrey realized she was going to have to do some serious primping, and fast. But first, she should deliver Liam’s tux.

  Grabbing his bag, she headed to his room. She stopped at his doorway and peeped inside, wondering where to leave it.

  No Liam to be seen, though the light was on in his bathroom and she could hear the faint hiss of the shower running. A reminder that she needed to drop the suit and get going with her own beauty routine.

  She held out the suit, wondering where to put it. There wasn’t a good, safe spot to hang it…

  Laid out across the bed, then. She walked over and laid the bag down with the utmost care, not wanting to wrinkle anything. Then she realized he’d need a shirt to go with it, and wondered if she was supposed to lay that out, too.

  From the look of interest on Lorrie’s face when she talked about Liam, no doubt the personal stylist would have laid out more than a shirt for him.

  Audrey made a face and sighed. She wasn’t Lorrie, she was Audrey. Audrey wasn’t chasing anybody around, and Liam least of all.

  She turned on her heel, ready to leave, then made a strangled sound.

  Liam was standing in the bathroom doorway, dripping wet… and completely naked.

  Not just naked, but… aroused. And shockingly well-endowed, to boot.

  “I—” Audrey gasped, then spun around. “I was just leaving your tux! Why are you naked?”

  “Do you shower with clothes on?”

  She could hear Liam take a step toward her, and she felt her fingers begin to tremble.

  “I’m leaving!” she blurted out.

  “You don’t have to,” Liam said. She could hear the laughter in his voice, and it made her face burn.

  Not only was he a total man slut, but he was shameless.

  She fled his bedroom, breath hitching in her throat. By the time she’d grabbed her dress and slammed her own bedroom door shut, locking it behind her, her heart was nearly hammering out of her chest.

  She couldn’t get the image of Liam in the buff out of her head. He was nothing but a big column of sleek muscle, covered in a wild tangle of tattoos.

  And then there was his cock, which was… Well, Audrey hadn’t seen that many in her lifetime, but Liam’s certainly took the cake. Long, thick, and hard as a rock.

  She bit her lip, embarrassed at the way that heat pooled low in her body when she thought of Liam’s body like that. She was almost as bad as him!

  Trying to put it out of her mind, she hurried to get ready.

  Forty minutes later, she’d managed to get her hair styled into long, smooth 1940s movie star waves. She’d put on subtle smoky eye makeup and bright red lipstick to complete the effect.

  She managed to get the dress on, and it looked fantastic, clinging to every curve just so. She could only admire herself in the bathroom mirror, since her new bedroom wasn’t really set up yet, but…

  For the first time in the longest, she felt… elegant.

  “Audrey!” Liam yelled from the living room. “Can we get a move on, please?”

  She frowned. Picking up her white clutch and slipping on a pair of black heels that came from her stash of Bloomingdale’s items, she swept up the dress’s hem and swished out into the living room.

  The look on Liam’s face when he saw her was worth all the hassle and rush of getting ready. He stood in the living room, bow tie still untied, bottle of whisky raised halfway to his lips.

  When Audrey made her entrance he froze, his eyes going wide as they roamed up and down her body. He lowered the whiskey bottle, his brows hunching together.

  “Jaysus,” he said with a low whistle.

  Audrey blushed, but she wasn’t about to let Liam make her feel awkward. She felt sexy and powerful right now, and nobody was going to ruin that for her.

  Tossing her clutch on the couch, she walked straight over to him.

  “Need help with your bowtie?” she asked.

  Liam just nodded, watching her with something like hunger.

  “You know how?” he asked, sounding a little surprised.

  “Of course. My granddaddy was a good old boy from Savannah, a lawyer,” Audrey said. As she began twisting his black silk tie, she sucked in a deep lungful of his spicy, clean scent. “Granddaddy wore a bowtie almost every day of his life. All the sons of old money families dressed like that.”

  “Quaint,” Liam said.

  “And… there you go,” Audrey said, giving him a soft smile as she straightened his tie. “Looks good.”

  She patted his chest, ready to turn away. Liam trapped her fingers with his, holding her hand just over his heart. Audrey stilled, looking up at him.

  They were suspended like that for a long moment, watching one another, Liam’s heartbeat thudding faintly under Audrey’s palm.

  “What do you want?” Audrey asked in a soft whisper.

  “Just… you look fit, that’s all,” Liam said, his Cockney accent slipping out for a moment. “Beautiful, I mean.”

  Audrey bit her lip, then pulled from his grasp. “We should go.”

  “Right, right,” he mumbled as she walked away, heart beating wildly.

  Just get through the night without embarrassing yourself, she thought.

  Straightening her back, she got ready to leave.

  5

  Audrey

  Audrey grabbed her purse and a white shawl, then followed Liam outside. He passed his Range Rover up and strode down to the end of his driveway, looking left and right down the street.

  “We’re supposed to have a car,” he said, pulling out his phone.

  As he made a call, Audrey took a moment to a
dmire Liam in his tux. She wouldn’t ogle him openly the way he’d done to her, but… the man did look ridiculously handsome tonight.

  “Ah, there we are,” Liam said as a gleaming white limo pulled up. “Ladies first, eh?”

  He opened the limo door and handed Audrey into the car, then slid in beside her.

  “This is nice,” Audrey said.

  “Yeah… we gotta stop and get your brother,” Liam said.

  “Ah,” Audrey said, deflating a little. For some reason, the idea of Jack tagging along put her off.

  Not that she and Liam were on a date or anything, but Jack would undoubtedly bring some kind of drama to the party. Well-intentioned as he was, Jack just attracted that kind of mess in spades.

  She turned to say so to Liam, but she was sidetracked by the fact that Liam was staring at her. That same hungry look was on his face again, and here in the cramped confines of the limo it felt much more intense.

  “What?” she asked, her voice wobbling.

  “Nothing,” Liam said, shaking his head. “Should we have some champagne? Really do the proper cheesy limousine thing?”

  He moved to pop a bottle and pour them both a glass of sparkling wine, and the moment passed.

  Audrey was starting to feel like she had whiplash. One minute, Liam was snapping at her and bossing her around at work. The next, he was intentionally standing right behind her, naked.

  He went from snarling and difficult to… well, whatever that look was. Desire? Appreciation?

  Maybe she was reading too much into it. Maybe Liam just hadn’t gotten laid in a while, or maybe he just appreciated all women that way. He certainly hadn’t put up a fight when she hopped onto his lap at the club that first night…

  Stop it! she scolded herself. You don’t want Liam’s attention. You’re his employee, not his flavor of the week. Or night, more like. You like nice, normal guys who have stable jobs and like to stay in every night.