“Yes, that’s fine.”
Chapter 8 - Natalia
A part of me eased as a breath I hadn’t known I’d been holding whooshed through my parted lips when he agreed that I could call him by his first name. As if a spell broke between us, we both hunched forward in our seats. If not comfortable, at least more casual.
We had the benefit of being silent when our waitress stopped by to refill our coffee. She wasn’t here for long, and he was back to staring at me. Not that I didn’t find his attention somewhat seductive.
“I’m surprised that you waited,” he said, and took another sip of his water.
“I didn’t mind, especially since you’ve been out in the parking lot for fifteen minutes.”
“Right. That was just, preparation.”
“I get it.”
I impulsively grabbed his wrist. I didn’t know why I did that, but Liam flinched backward, yanking out of my grip so fast that I shrunk back into my seat. Alarm echoed in the depths of his eyes. Then, his face shut down, returning to the familiar composed mask I was starting to recognize.
“I’m sorry…I didn’t think…” I apologized.
“It’s okay.” He refastened the cufflink that I accidentally loosened, carefully keeping his eyes averted away from me.
“Are you okay?”
He nodded. “Right this second, yes, I’m fine. Thank you.”
“You’re not acting like it.”
I shouldn’t have pushed him, but I was sick of pussyfooting. We wouldn’t get anywhere if someone didn’t speak up. He didn’t look at me. And why was I so turned on right now? My nipples hardened against my bra. I swallowed—hard—and tried to piece together what had happened between us. Even if Liam was going to act like he wasn’t phased, I couldn’t ignore the sudden dampness in my panties or my inner walls fluttering with the lust that made my panties instantly damp.
I’d never sensed anything like it. Not the way the energy flared between us. Something this powerful wasn’t supposed to happen with someone so different. Which made what had just happened between us a major topic of discussion. If I could persuade my reluctant companion to talk to me. He was still busying himself doing anything else but looking at me. Currently, he was examining his phone as if it was about to give him all the unanswered questions of the universe.
“What possessed you to help me…Natalia?” he asked.
Wait, what? The question was not from left field or anything, but I wasn’t prepared to answer. I came up short, and found myself more attuned to the sound of my name on his lips was magic. The way his voice caressed the syllables made the hairs on my arms stand on end. I crossed my arms and rubbed both my hands over my elbows. Let him think I was cold. Better that than the alternative.
“Um, well,” I paused trying to gather my thoughts.
“You seemed, excuse me, seem like a nice person, both in the way you treated me before and how you’ve been to me now. But…I don’t understand you. What motive could you have to help me? And if you were going to risk yourself to help me in such small ways…” he seemed to struggle with himself, his face wavering from anger to sadness into a flicker of unreadable emotions in the span of a couple of seconds. “You could have freed me easily, and you didn’t.”
He laid the icy cold fact out between us on the table. The truth was so raw. Shock moved down my spine as I searched for words. He was right. Of course, he was right. Still, the startling realization made me queasy. We’d come this far together. I wouldn’t lie to him.
“No, I didn’t free you. Yes, I probably had a chance once or twice. But with the way they watched the place, I would have been found out.”
“I get it. You couldn’t risk your safety to help me.”
“It’s not that I didn’t want to…” I scrambled to explain while our waitress bustled over with Liam’s food. Liam ate in silence as I played with my hair. This was going well. I suddenly wished I hadn’t come at all.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you, Liam. Truly. I wanted to, but I did the best I could given the circumstances. You have to believe that.”
He had a forkful of pancakes halfway to his mouth before he lowered them and looked at me. His eyes were cautious but clear.
“If I could do it all over again—” I started in again, but he held up a hand for me to stop talking.
“No, your apology is enough.” His voice was husky and rough. “It’s not…fair…for me to hold you accountable for the actions of the rest of your clan, especially when you did everything you could to make sure I survived what they did to me. I don’t have a right to be mad at you. I forgive you, but there’s nothing really to forgive. It should be me who’s thanking you.” He blinked a few times pushing his food away. “You didn’t have to do what you did for me, Natalia, and you did it at great cost to yourself. Being a dick and blaming you for something you couldn’t control would make me a monster that I can’t stomach, so I need you to accept my apology for wanting to lump you in with the rest of the fucked up bastards.”
A sense of absolution washed over me. I closed my eyes for a brief moment. I hadn’t known how much his forgiveness would mean to me, but now that I had it I wasn’t giving it up.
“The apology isn’t needed, but thanks anyway.” I pushed away my tea cup, fingertips buzzing with the ache to touch him again. To see if that weird spark sprang back to life or if it had been my imagination.
When I looked at him, his eyes were trained on the table and when I looked down I could see that my arm had extended out as if to do exactly what I’d just thought about less than two seconds ago. I swallowed and bit my lip. By the look on his face, my touch wouldn’t go over well. Casually, I pulled my arm backward and pasted on a smile. He moved his plate away. Both of his meals were half-eaten.
“Did you get everything that you came for?” My perky question made him cock one of his eyebrows, and I caught a hint of a smile.
I knew that meeting him had only opened up more questions for me.
“You gave me the closure that I needed, thank you.”
“Sure. So we’re done here?” I twisted my hands in my lap and glanced around at the other diner patrons.
“Did you have anything else you needed to say to me?”
A hot flush crept up my cheeks, and I shook my head knowing he probably wanted to ignore the chemistry between us. Chemistry I was starting to think was all in my head. Without concrete evidence, my theory would stay there, safe and sound, until I was home and could analyze it by myself with a nice bottle of wine. Well, I couldn’t do that tonight. While we’d been sitting here catching up, I’d entirely forgotten about my nagging brother and the meeting tonight that I had to attend. Liam was a welcome distraction.
“I got the check,” he smirked glancing at my empty tea cup as he flagged down our waitress again.
It was nice to see him almost cheery. He looked…younger. Without all the suspicion floating on the surface of his expression, he was even more beautiful, almost like a mid-nineties Leonardo DiCaprio but with a lot more wicked, dangerous muscle beneath his designer duds.
“It was really good to see you. I’d been wondering…”
I let that statement hang knowing I’d probably given too much away.
“No, Natalia. I get what you mean, I really do.” I watched while he tucked his wallet in his back pocket, politely declined the box our waitress had brought over for him, and slid out of the booth. I guessed we were done. “Can I walk you back to your car?”
I’d been halfway out of the booth when the question caught me by surprise. I jerked my head up, and he took a step backward laughing a little at my expense.
“That would be nice.”
He inclined his head, eyes sparkling with suppressed mirth. When I went before him, his hand glided to my lower back, and I caught myself from tripping in midstride. He had done a good job of forgiving me and was willing to overlook the past. Twenty minutes ago he hadn’t wanted me to touch him. Now his warm palm
pressed confidently into my lower back as he led us through the exit and down the steps toward the parking lot that had grown dark while we’d been inside.
“Mine’s the purple Jeep Cherokee. The one that looks like it’s seen better days.” I pointed to my beloved car sitting across the lot, away from most of the others. “She’s my vintage baby from the mid-90’s; I’ve had her four or five years.”
Liam made a polite, appreciative noise in the back of his throat.
“I know it’s not a Porsche or anything, but I fixed her up myself,” I added self-consciously as we approached my bucket of bolts. I used my remote to open the doors, ignoring the characteristically lame beep of a piece of shit car.
“You know a lot about cars?”
“Three brothers. I know a lot about fixing many, many things.”
We came to a stop by my car, and I rested my hip against it.
“That seems like it might come in handy.” He looked down at me as if expecting something else.
What, were we going to make small talk in the parking lot now? Was this some kind of bad blind date? I wanted to smack myself on the forehead. Instead, I toyed with my keys and tried to ignore the burning imprint of his body heat that still rested on my lower back through my clothing. It was as if he’d marked me. I didn’t know if he noticed too and was ignoring the press of fate between us. Or was he was ignoring the attraction between us because of who I was? Neither excuse really mattered. I didn’t want our connection to end.
“Do you think I could have your number so we can call or text? Just so I can know you’re okay. I’ve also got a great therapist I can recommend if you’d thought about seeing someone, I don’t know if that’s too personal,” I stopped babbling and looked at him as his face broke out into an uneasy grin.
“I don’t think a woman’s ever concocted so many excuses in one go to get my number before, Natalia. I’m a little impressed. Give me your phone.”
When I handed over my phone, he put in his information and handed it back to me. I pressed a button, and he jumped when his pocket rang.
“I had to test it. Make sure it wasn’t fake.” I shrugged one shoulder as he fished in his pocket, took out his phone, and programmed my number into his contacts.
“So we’re good?”
“I mean…I am.”
I left the unspoken question hanging in the air between us. If there was anything left that he needed to get off his chest, now would be the time.
“Thank you for meeting with me. Seriously.” Liam’s gray eyes met mine with a look of such sincerity that I felt my knees go to jelly.
So we were just going to ignore the elephant in the parking lot. Completely disregard the sexual attraction that made the air prickle between us and go our separate ways. I licked my lips, unable to glance away from his piercing gaze. Neither of us moved an inch. The anxiety inside had my blood boiling and my skin hot. He must have picked up on it because when I opened my eyes and looked at him again, he’d taken a step forward. I think maybe it was involuntary because when he towered over me, he looked around suspiciously as if some unseen force had drawn us close together.
“I should go.”
I didn’t know whether his ragged voice was a reminder to himself or me. When he took another step forward, I swallowed past the lump in my throat, fingers hovering near his right arm, and unsure whether they should land there. He boxed me in close to my car. There was a feral look in his eyes that I didn’t think he’d conjured and I imagined the identical look burned in my own eyes.
“Mhhhm.” A brief noise of agreement but neither of us did a thing.
I took a step forward myself. Until our body heat mingled and pressed against my skin as if our energies were feeling each other out. I couldn’t draw a full breath into my lungs. I pushed past the discomfort as my arm dropped abruptly back to my side. A small, low sound emitted from his chest as his nostrils flared, breathing in huge gulps of air. We were practically vibrating. Neither of us were going anywhere.
“You’re…not leaving.”
Static charged through the air, raising all the small hairs on the back of my neck. His attentive look made me feel like some kind of caught prey. A squirming kitten caught in a trap, only I was happy to be snared, and more than willing to go quietly. His gaze narrowed, tongue grazing his lower lip. Such a sensual, small motion that my stomach flipped, twisting as my hands went to fists at my side.
“No. I’m not.”
Small, soft-spoken words that were loaded with power. He leaned forward, cupping my face with both hands in a soft, commanding grip. A gasp strangled in my throat, and I thought I heard a muttered apology. And then, his lips met mine.
Chapter 9 - Natalia
I was all dreamy-eyed about our first kiss until I walked in the door of my house. Carlos was waiting for me when I dropped my keys into the bowl in the entryway of my apartment and judging by his pacing along with the scowl, he wasn’t pleased with me. What else was new?
“I assume there’s a reason you’re here, big brother?” I decided to play dumb. Probably in my best interest and I quickly checked to make sure I’d turned my phone back on in the parking lot. Yup, he’d have no idea I’d merely skimmed all of his commanding messages. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
On my way down the hallway, I dropped two shopping bags down on the couch. I’d stopped on my way home to pick some things up, just in case he didn’t believe my story. Now I was glad I’d committed. I glanced over my shoulder watching him poking in the bags. My eyes nearly rolled into the back of my head. When I finished up in the bathroom, I walked out to Carlos staring down at my phone screen.
“Excuse me! What are you doing?” I made it halfway across the apartment and made an attempt to snatch my phone out of his hands before I fully knew what I was doing. “How’d you even get into my phone?”
My incredulous tone didn’t seem to bother him one bit. Neither did my vain attempts to wrestle my device away from him, all he did was pivot and hold the thing up higher so I couldn’t reach it unless I jumped.
“Your tiny fingerprints were all over the thing, Natalia. A blind man could have gotten into this thing,” he barked, scrolling away. “What have you been up too, little sister?”
He held the phone up high above his six foot three frame in a gesture not unlike something a schoolyard bully would do during recess. I refused to be cowed into acting like a small child. Instead of taking the bait, I tapped my foot and crossed my arms sending him a death glare that I hoped would fry off the rest of his male pattern baldness. He was a typical meat head, jock type compensating with muscles and an overt overload of testosterone to make up for what he lacked in basic human decency. My parents had spoiled him rotten before the rest of us and it showed in his behavior.
“What I do on there is none of your business. I pay the bill. Give it back, Carlos.”
He grunted turning away from me as his shoulders squared and a small sound grew into a large hiss that echoed in my shoebox apartment.
“You met with the fucking billionaire? After everything we told you?” He rounded on me as I instinctively took a step backward bracing myself for the coming verbal war. “You’re not to associate with him. You know this. What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“There’s no reason why I can’t see him.” I lifted my chin just a hint and stood my ground. “My attackers are working to find some middle ground with us through my security detail, right? There’s no specific threat that should keep me from answering a social call.”
“Pssh, that looked like more than a social call to me, Natalia. How long has this been going on? How long have you been going behind our family’s back?”
“This was the first time. The only time. He needed answers and after what we did to him I thought it was only fair—”
“No, Penn! You don’t get to think, that’s the point. This isn’t some World War Two flick and you’re not a nurse healing a wounded man back to health. He’s not going to wake up
one day and sweep you off your feet with all his money raining down on you like a fucking parade. Get out of your daydreams and back into reality. Do you know what your association with him could do to us? Did you tell him anything?” Carlos wiped a meaty hand down his face with a groan, unable to even look at me. “For fucks sake, he could be a fucking spy for them, you realize that? Your little stunt could have cost us a great fucking deal. Goddamned reckless little girl!”
I flinched but didn’t step backward from his gesturing as he threw my phone and it hit the wall bouncing off it after cracking the plaster and landing on my beige carpet. I blinked, incapable of anything else. His rage took up all the air in the room. His energy soaking into my soul, a thousand invisible ants tracking across my skin as he continued to rant about disappointment and trust broken in me. After the first minute, I simply stopped listening to him while he threw all the contents of my shopping bags around the apartment with all the finesse of a caveman.
He was prone to tantrums when he didn’t get his way. This appeared to be no different, and I clenched my hands behind my back hoping against hope that he didn’t go for anything truly breakable. My peripheral vision darted to the phone lying on my carpet, fingers itching to pick it up. If it was broken, he was buying me a new one. It wouldn’t be the first replacement I’d gotten from him in all our years as siblings.
“I didn’t think I did anything wrong,” I uttered weakly knowing that by playing into the meek female role he expected me to play that maybe he would back off.
He instantly deflated as I compressed my lips together rejecting the lie that had slipped off my tongue. A subtle nod sealed the deal. I’d given him what he wanted, my submission, and an implication that I felt bad about it as well as thoroughly chastised by his lecture. Carlos flexed his fingers and licked his lips. When he did reach out to touch me, his large palm squeezed my shoulder with understanding.
Two Cowboys Next Door Page 18
