“What should we tell the media about what happened? Or your family?”
It wasn’t a new discussion, but one we’d pushed back until after the funeral.
“Do we have to tell them anything?” Liam asked. “We could tell the truth, I suppose. Arthur’s already gone, so it wouldn’t be a burden on him. But despite the way he tried to take advantage of me and hurt us, he was still a huge part of my life. I don’t want to tarnish his memory by revealing the awfulness at the end.”
“I think he might have suffered from a mental illness,” I said. “Depression, likely. Listening to him speak, he wasn’t being rational at the end. I think a lifetime of disappointment and failure had plunged him into a dark headspace he couldn’t escape. He needed help from the outside, but he wasn’t in a place to ask for or accept it.”
Liam nodded. I could feel the motion from where his head rested against mine. “I think you’re right. What he did wasn’t logical—but who says that people are always logical? It just burns that he could have solved all his problems if he’d just been willing to sacrifice his pride.”
“Let’s go home,” I said. “You don’t want to deal with anyone else today, and I would rather be anywhere than stuck in that room with all those people talking about Arthur.”
“I’m okay with that. All I want is to spend the day with you, and I’m glad that’s something we can do without fear of it getting you hurt.”
I snuggled closer to Liam. I wanted to spend my whole life with him.
26
~ Liam ~
A crowd of people waited on the sidewalk outside the apartment.
“Damn.”
“Hmm?” Addison looked up from where her face rested against my chest. “Oh. You think they’re reporters?”
I nodded. “I see cameras. And there’s no other reason they’d be standing there. Not today. Not after we were seen walking out of Arthur’s funeral moments after I delivered the shortest eulogy in the history of the empire.”
She twisted a strand of hair around her finger. “I guess that wouldn’t help prevent the rumor mill from jumping to conclusions.”
“Not exactly.”
Not for the first time, I wished there was a way to teleport up to the apartment and avoid the press of people. After a lifetime in the spotlight, it became second nature, but there were still times it intruded too heavily on life.
“We could go somewhere else. A hotel, maybe. Wait them out, and then come back home once they’ve disappeared.”
I kissed her head. She was always thinking.
“No, we must face them eventually.”
The reporters had wheeled to face the car in anticipation of our exit.
“Liam! You left the funeral very suddenly today. Does that have any connection with your shoulder wound?”
“Liam Windsor! Any comment on Arthur’s suicide? Were you there?”
“Did you have anything to do with Arthur’s death?”
I held Addison tight. Gerald rounded the vehicle and pushed through the reporters, clearing a path.
“Liam, any comments at all?”
Once we got to the front door, I turned to face the cameras and microphones pressed in our direction.
“Arthur’s death was a tragic event, for myself and for the rest of the royal family. I have no comments as to the events of that evening or my injury. I will never have those comments.”
There was a momentary pause.
“Liam, you and Addison are back together now? When did that happen?”
I looked down at the woman on my arm. She smiled, and as always, it brightened her face even more than usual.
“Yes, Addison and I are together. And we will be for a long time.” I bent and kissed her to the sound of cameras clicking madly.
After the show, we turned and walked into the building, leaving the madness behind.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Windsor, Ms. Stewart.” Frederick tipped his hat.
“Good afternoon, Frederick.”
Addison winked as we walked by.
The quiet of the apartment was a relief after the bustle outside. The shoulder ached—it was a constant reminder of what had happened, and I couldn’t wait for it to heal.
“Why don’t you sit?” Addison said. “I’ll get you anything you want. Do you want a beer?”
I relaxed into the comfortable embrace of the overstuffed sofa. “A beer sounds about right. I just don’t want to think about anything important for a while.”
Addison returned from the kitchen with a cold bottle. She set it on the table beside me and climbed onto my lap.
“If you don’t want to think, I can help with that.”
The timing should have been all wrong—my mood was so soured from the afternoon that the thought of a sexual encounter should have grossed me out.
When Addison bent her face close to mine and the scent of her filled my nostrils, my mouth watered in a pavlovian response.
Just the nearness of her, the way she felt in my hands, was enough for me to rise to the occasion. I always needed her, and I could never have enough. I would do anything for her.
Running my hands down her back, a sharp jolt in my shoulder stole my breath away.
“Hey,” Addison said. She put her hands on my arms and held them down. “Relax. Let me do all the work. Let yourself heal.”
Her lips nipped mine, a brief nibble to reveal her playful mood.
“It’s hard to argue with that.”
She pressed her mouth more firmly against mine, her tongue brushing lightly against my lips, teasing before dipping into my mouth.
The kiss deepened, Addison expertly drawing me in, helping me to forget my pain—both physical and psychological—by providing a distraction I couldn’t refuse.
Addison settled her hips into my lap further, pressing our bodies against each other. The small sounds she made in the back of her throat as we kissed—not full moans, but halfway there—drove me crazy.
She broke the kiss and stood up, looking down at me.
“You should drink your beer and enjoy the view.”
“The view?”
She stared into my eyes and bit her lip as she lifted the hem of her black dress a little—just enough to reveal the lacy tops of her black stockings.
“Oh. That view.”
I heeded her recommendation and sipped the beverage, settling in to see what she did next.
Addison turned and reached behind to lower the zipper holding her dress up. The movement was slow, deliberate. The dress had been proper for a funeral, so it hadn’t shown much in the way of skin. Each inch revealed more and more of the pale exquisiteness I loved.
Finally, the zipper reached the bottom, just high enough to cover her ass. Addison turned back around. Her arms were now crossed over her chest, preventing the fabric from slipping down and exposing her breasts. She’d forgone a bra since the dress had enough built-in support.
She bent over and shifted her arms until her hands were directly over her breasts.
“Do you want to see these?” she asked, her voice a low purr.
I didn’t trust my voice not to crack, but nodded.
Her hands inched lower, dragging the cups of the dress lower, until the entire upper mound of flesh was revealed. I leaned forward, eyes locked onto her fingers as I waited for the finale.
She teased me longer, pressing her hands together to create an impressive amount of cleavage. Then she let the fabric slip but kept her hands over her breasts.
The dress folded down around her hips and stayed there, hanging on her curves.
“Want to see more?”
I took a deep gulp of beer. “I would like that very much.”
Addison turned around, keeping the bend in her waist. With little shifts from side to side, she wiggled her ass until the dress slid off and pooled on the group around her feet. A small black thong was paired with a garter belt and stockings.
“Jesus.” I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the magnificent backside in
front of me.
“Like what you see?” Addison said over her shoulder. She wore a sultry smile.
She knows what she does to me.
“I love it. I could look at you all day. You are gorgeous.”
“Mmm, thank you, Liam.”
She turned again, hands still holding herself. With a wink, she lowered her hands, exposing the hardened nipples and perfectly shaped breasts I loved. She caressed her own body, tracing her curves with her fingertips and moaning as she watched my reactions.
“What about these?” she asked, her fingers slipping under the waistband of her panties. “Do you want these on the ground?”
“I think that’s only fair,” I said. “Your dress looks lonely down there by itself.”
Addison pushed the top of her panties down a few inches, pausing when they were on the verge of uncovering the treasure within. Then she turned once more, showing me the taut curves of her ass.
This time, she bent all the way over, her hair falling to the floor in a curtain as she looked back at me. The thong continued its travel downward, revealing herself.
“You are the sexiest creature I’ve ever laid eyes on,” I said. My voice was deep and rough—she affected me so strongly that I couldn’t have spoken clearly if I’d tried.
Addison stepped out of the thong and walked back to the couch in only her garters and stockings. “And you are my prince, and I will treat you so well that you’ll never want for anything ever again.”
She sank to her knees and put her cheek on my thigh. Her hair was a stunning contrast to the black fabric of my pants. Her hands ran up my thighs, finding my bulge and feeling the magnitude of my appreciation for her form.
“Is this for me?” she asked, looking up through her eyelashes at me.
“It’s all for you—only for you.”
The thin fabric of my tuxedo pants offered little barrier to her touch, and she rubbed me for several minutes, playing through the material before needing more.
“You should finish your beer,” she suggested as she unzipped my pants.
When she took me into her mouth, it was like joining a piece of heaven.
“Fuck, Addison.”
I let my good hand rest on the back of her head, gathering up her long tresses and holding them loosely so they wouldn’t get in the way.
She got better and better every time she gave me head, learning my body and the things that turned me on. She took her time, not rushing, but letting us both relax and enjoy the experience for its own merits.
The next several minutes passed in a blissful haze, a merciful release from any active thoughts.
Addison grinned when she came up for air.
“I love making you make those noises,” she said.
I hadn’t even known I was groaning.
She crawled onto the couch, straddling me once more. This time, when she sat in my lap, her pussy came into direct contact with my cock. The wet heat was smooth and soft against my shaft, and we moaned together as she shifted her hips to run the length of my manhood along her lips.
After reaching between us to steady my cock and rising high on her knees to give herself the right angle, Addison lowered to impale herself on my shaft.
“Oh, God.”
I would never tire of the way her eyelids fluttered as I entered her.
The familiar embrace of her internal muscles gripped me, the tight heat sending waves of pleasure like nothing else could. After so long with her head in my lap, my orgasm was already fairly close.
Addison kept the pace slow, deliberate. We kissed and touched each other and let the waves of sensation wash over our bodies, enjoying the journey without hunting for the destination.
We rose together, riding the high as Addison used her hips to bring us to the edge. She sat up taller and pulled my face to her chest as we reached our peak. Scarlet hair sheeted around me, wrapping me in a cocoon of passion as love and sex melded into a magnificent whole.
“Yes, Liam, come with me,” Addison moaned, slowing her hips so we could feel the delicacy of each sliding inch.
I answered her call without words, flooding her with my love.
She collapsed over me, taking care even in her blissful state to avoid disturbing my shoulder.
“I love you, Addison.”
“I love you, Liam Windsor.”
27
~ Addison ~
The setting sun sent streaming colors flaring across the sky like an intricate tapestry wrought by expert artisans.
“Isn’t that the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen?” I asked.
Liam smiled and squeezed my hand, pulling me to him. “Second most beautiful.”
His words earned him a kiss, but also a playful slap on the shoulder. “You are such a suck up.”
“Guilty.”
His arm settled around my shoulder, and we stood in the gardens and watched the sunset as it transformed the blue sky into a magnificent display. Only when the colors had faded into dusky twilight did we continue our walk.
Liam’s shoulder had finally healed enough that it didn’t hurt every time he pushed himself. It was even good enough for him to return to the sports he enjoyed—tennis, mostly.
It also meant that he could pick me up and push me down wherever and however he wanted me, which was only good news as far as I was concerned.
“What are your plans for the winter?” I asked. “This summer has been incredible, but I’m not a huge fan of the cold. It’s a shame that Britain doesn’t have a California.”
I was still careful not to presume too much. I loved Liam and was positive he loved me, but assuming I had the right to decide something as major as where he lived for a season might be presumptuous.
“My plans? Were you planning on spending it apart?”
“Just don’t want to push.”
We couldn’t walk too fast through the gardens while holding each other as closely as we were, but that didn’t matter—the closeness was the point.
“We can go wherever you want to go,” Liam said. “I had a feeling you might want to travel, so I recently bought a yacht for sailing around the world.”
“A yacht?” I’d never dreamed that I might one day get the chance to live on an actual yacht.
Okay, I may have dreamed about it since Liam and I started dating, but that is still amazing.
“That’s right. I was thinking about inviting James and Kat along to spend a few months enjoying the sun in the southern hemisphere, if you were okay with it.”
I winced. James had forgiven me for stabbing him in the back, but I was still embarrassed beyond belief at my actions. My jealousy had almost ruined my best friend’s life, and only his own skill and ingenuity had saved him.
I still hadn’t met Kat, but I knew jealousy was no longer a factor.
I have found true love, now.
“I think I’d like that. It would be good to catch back up with James again.”
Liam grinned. “That’s good, because I already asked them, and they said yes.”
“Liam!”
“What? It’ll be good for everyone involved.”
I shook my head. “You are far too used to getting your way in everything you do.”
“Now I am. I almost went mad when you refused to sleep with me for all that time.”
“Maybe I should cut you off again to teach you a lesson.”
I stuck my tongue out at him, but we both knew it was an empty threat—I was as addicted to him as he was to me.
“Is that right? Maybe I’ll do the same. You haven’t even seen the lengths to which I could tease you.”
His words sounded like a promise, and the jolt between my thighs proved how eager my body was to test exactly what Liam meant by that.
“I don’t know if I could survive that. I’d probably die from need.”
“I’ll make sure you don’t go off the deep end,” Liam said. “Ah, we’re here.”
“Here?”
Liam hadn’
t mentioned having a destination in mind. We’d strolled through the gardens almost every night over the past month. It had become a ritual, personal time that we could be ourselves and chat without any of the social pressures that came along with being where cameras might be watching.
The path split, and one side led to a grassy meadow. Candles set in pairs lit a wandering path to a large pavilion. A soft glow on the canvas roof indicated even more candles, but it was too far away to see any more detail.
“What’s this?”
“Let’s check it out,” Liam said.
We walked through the trimmed grass, following the candles to the pavilion. Hundreds of candles were set out and stacked on the ground, and little tables, and hanging from baskets. Rose petals covered every square inch of open ground, so thick they were a soft carpet of blood red.
Liam used his hand over mine to guide me to the center of the space. As we entered, the melodious pure tones of string music floated into the evening air.
“Is that… live music?” I asked.
Liam pointed to the opposite side of the pavilion from where we entered. A string quartet played in the dim candlelight.
When I turned back around, Liam had knelt on one knee amid the roses.
“Liam?”
“Addison,” he said, his voice deep and sure. “We met through dark troubles, yet I can’t help but to be glad they brought us together. You have been a shining light and a passionate spark in my life unlike anything I knew to be possible.”
He used his free hand to reach into his pocket, pulling out a small box and flipping it open with his thumb.
Liam didn’t even wince as my hand crushed his at the sight of the ring.
“Oh, my God, Liam!”
“Ever since you entered my life, my heart has been full to bursting with the love I have for you. I already know that I will want no one else for as long as I live. Addison, will you marry me?”
“Yes, of course! Liam, of course I’ll marry you!”
He grinned as he slid the ring onto my finger. Then he stood and swept me up in his arms, kissing me soundly.
“I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Bad Boy Boxed Set Page 28
