She glanced over just long enough to answer, “Finn and Harper.”
Shep didn’t say anything, he just grinned hugely as he took a drink of whiskey.
“Sorry boys, I still win over all of you,” Brendan said, looking around the circle. “Not only is Liam here my sister’s best friend’s boyfriend. But he’s also my wife’s best friend’s boyfriend’s brother. That makes us practically family.” Brendan clapped Liam on the back.
Liam laughed. “How about this? I’ll get all of you tickets.”
“Well, that was easier than expected,” Tripp said.
It was at that moment that Harper came over, her arms now empty…well, they were for a second before she wrapped them around Liam’s waist. She placed a kiss on his mouth before she pulled back to look at him. “Hey.”
“Hey.” One of his hands went to her waist while the other reached up, and he pushed a strand of her hair back and behind her ear.
She turned from him and looked to the group of men. “If you all will excuse me, I’m going to pull him away before the show starts.”
“No problem.” Finn nodded.
“Yeah, I should go find my wife.” Bennett looked around and spotted Mel on the opposite end of the porch. He headed off in that direction as Shep, Brendan, and Jax also broke off.
“Lead the way,” Liam said before he stole his own kiss from her lips.
One of her hands slipped down, grabbing his that was at her waist and twining their fingers together. She took a step away before she pulled him down to the opposite side of the porch, him following behind her.
“You leading me into dark corners?” he asked.
“Mmm, hmm,” she hummed. “Easier to do things in the dark.”
“What sort of things?”
“You’ll find out now won’t you?” She didn’t stop when they got to the empty end of the deck, instead rounding the corner and leading him up a flight of stairs to the second floor…and then another flight of stairs to the third floor.
Shep had explained to Liam earlier that the inside renovations had yet to be completed on the top story of the building, so no one was occupying these rooms. Not only that, but the automatic floodlights hadn’t been set up, either. Besides the moon, stars, and glow of the lights from the first floor, they were almost in total darkness.
The moment they got to the far side of the porch Harper turned and looked up at him. Her face was half in shadow, but he could still see the reflection of the moonlight in her eyes.
“You have a good time today?” Her free hand ran up his abdomen until her palm was flat over the center of his chest, her thumb moving back and forth.
Could she feel his heart beating as hard as he could? Did she know she owned it?
“I did.” He moved closer to her, making her take a few steps back until he caged her in against the railing. “But you’ve left a few things out in our conversations over the weeks. Like the fact that those people down there are much more than your friends. They’re your family.”
“They are,” she said without hesitation. “Absolutely, they are.”
“I liked seeing that. How much they care about you. That they would do anything for you.” He leaned in, kissing her mouth before he trailed his lips down. “It didn’t take that long for me to get there with you, you know.” He skimmed his nose across her jaw until he got to her ear, his lips brushing across her skin during the journey and making her shiver despite the warm summer air. “Actually, no time at all.”
“To get where?” she asked, more than a little breathless.
He pulled back, looking into her eyes as he spoke the next words. “Where I would do anything for you. Anytime. Anywhere.”
“Anytime? Anywhere?” She raised her eyebrow.
“Yes.”
Her palm moved up to the collar of his shirt, her hand fisting in the fabric and pulling him close. “Kiss me,” she whispered against his lips.
His mouth covered hers in an instant, both of his hands now framing her waist and holding her to him. She sighed as her body molded to his, her hands going up to his head and her fingers spearing in his hair.
“You taste like whiskey.” Her mouth moved against his, her warm breath coming out in huffs.
“You taste like honey…you always taste like honey.” He caught her bottom lip between his teeth, biting down lightly before he pulled it—along with one of her low throaty moans—into his mouth.
A series of pops sounded in the distance, and lights from the opening fireworks shone bright behind Liam’s closed eyes. He pulled back from Harper’s mouth, opening his eyes just as a red firework exploded with a loud boom. It illuminated her face, her eyes focused on his and showing that she was more than a little desperate for him.
Anytime. Anywhere. Anything.
He gripped her hips, spinning her so that she now faced out to the water. He was just able to make out the sound of protest from her lips before another round of booms filled the sky.
“Spread your legs and watch the show,” he growled in her ear as he pressed his front to her back, his hands skimming down her thighs until he got to the hem of her dress. He pushed his palms up and under the fabric, now sliding across her bare skin.
“So soft.” He pulled her earlobe into his mouth, giving it a small nip with his teeth at the same moment that he ran his fingers across the front of her panties. “And warm.”
Four separate streaks of white shot out diagonally from the right, and then a second later streaks of blue came from the left, crisscrossing in the middle.
He pushed the cotton fabric of her panties to the side, slipping one and then two fingers inside of her. He discovered that she was much more than warm. Yeah, she was hot and wet.
And she was all his for the taking. Which he would be doing.
Right now in fact.
Chapter Fifteen
No Going Back
Liam, what if someone looks up?” Harper gasped, her head falling back on his shoulder as he moved his fingers in and out of her in slow, delicious pushes and pulls.
The thought of someone seeing them was terrifying…and maybe just a little bit thrilling.
Dear God, these pregnancy hormones were getting a little out of control. Or maybe it had nothing to do with being pregnant and everything to do with the man who was currently working her over.
“Keep your eyes open.” His voice was ragged in her ear. “And if anyone sees us they’ll just think we’re watching the fireworks. They can’t see where my hands are.”
Okay…okay this was a good point. The wooden posts of the railing that ran around the porch were close enough together that it would be almost impossible for anyone to see. Plus, there was the added fact that the skirt of her dress was also providing some good camouflage.
So really she just needed to look like she wasn’t getting pleasured out of her mind…which would be about as easy as driving a semitruck through the eye of a needle.
And about two seconds later he made it five thousand times harder. His other hand was now joining the party and he was pressing his fingers to her clit. There was no way in hell she could stop herself from writhing against him, her ass pressing into his erection and the back of her naked thighs rasping against the denim of his jeans.
The sky in front of her exploded with colors. Green, blue, red, and white bursts filling the view before the sparks rained down in a sizzle. He moved his lips to her throat, opening his mouth and running his tongue across her skin.
“Liam.” His name on her lips was a plea as she reached for the railing, grabbing hold of it and giving herself better leverage to move.
“I’m going to need you to not move so much.”
“I—I can’t help it.”
“You’re going to make me come if you don’t stop.”
She turned and looked over her shoulder at him just as the sky lit up with a dozen blue rockets. “I don’t see why that’s a problem.”
“Because I’d rather be inside you.”
/>
“Then why aren’t you?”
To say that Liam moved fast would be an understatement. He pulled his hands from inside her, grabbing her waist and spinning her around again. Within a few seconds he had her backed up into the very corner of the porch. There were about five feet of shutters on either side, creating a ninety-degree barrier around them and completely blocking them from view of anyone down below.
But barrier or not, if someone came up to this level now, there would be no hiding what was going on in that corner. A fact that had escaped neither of them.
“You know there is the possibility that we could get caught?” he asked as he hooked his fingers into the sides of her panties and shimmied them down her thighs.
“I do,” she said as she nodded.
He kneeled down in front of her, lifting first her right foot and then the left, and freeing her legs. “So if you want to stop,” he straightened as he put her panties in the pocket of his jeans, “speak now or forever hold your peace.”
She couldn’t help but smile at those words because they were the same he’d said their first night together…when she’d been reckless and wild just like this.
Apparently that was their MO.
“I’m objectionless.” But as her hands were now at the front of his pants, pulling at his belt buckle, her words might be a tad bit redundant.
She had the button out and the zipper down, before she gripped the sides of his jeans and slid them down his hips. Her hand wrapped around his cock the second it was free, stroking him from base to tip.
“Nope, inside you.” He pulled her hand away. “You’re going to need to hold on for this.”
Before she knew it, his hands were at her thighs, pulling her body up, her back sliding up against the wood. Her arms looped around his neck on reflex, her legs wrapping around his waist.
He pushed inside of her in one powerful move as the sky lit up. The brilliant white light illuminated his face and the intensity in his gaze was staggering. He moved in and out of her in sure, steady thrusts and her mouth fell open in a gasp…or a moan…or both. She couldn’t be exactly sure as the air around them was filled with the boom, boom, booms of the fireworks…that and she really didn’t care because it felt so good.
His mouth captured hers, his tongue pushing past her lips and claiming her fully.
What the hell was she talking about? He’d claimed her fully months ago. She belonged to him completely.
Entirely.
He brought her right to the brink of an orgasm before his hips slowed, keeping the release at bay. Which she was beyond grateful for because she wasn’t ready for this to be done. She needed more time. More time with the air erupting around them while he moved inside her.
She hadn’t told him she was right on the brink. She hadn’t been able to say anything even close to coherent. He’d just known. And why wouldn’t he? The man knew her body better than anyone ever had before.
But it was more than her body. So much more. He knew her heart…knew her soul.
He pulled his mouth back from hers, his erratic breath hitting her lips in bursts as he rested his forehead against hers. “You feel so good. I’ll never get enough of you.”
“Promise?” The word escaped her lips before she could think better of it, and not a second too soon as another round of rockets exploded, this time making everything glow green.
He pulled back and fully looked her in the eyes, his skin now reflecting the red and blue fireworks that had just gone off. And then his mouth was at her ear, the low, steady timbre of his voice blocking out everything else around them.
“I swear.”
And just like that the need for him was clawing at every part of her. She moved her hands to his head, making him turn to kiss her, while she used every bit of leverage she could gain from the wall to move up and down the length of his cock.
Liam moved, too. Harder and just rough enough to cause the perfect friction between their bodies. She was the one who found her release first, going off and pulsing around him. But before she could recover for even a second he had her detonating again. This time somehow even more powerful than the last.
He pulled his mouth from hers, burying his face in her throat as a groan erupted from his throat and vibrated across her skin. His hands tightened on her thighs, his fingers digging into her flesh in the sweetest sort of pain as he came inside of her.
The second they were finished, he turned around and she dropped her feet from where they were crossed around his back. He leaned against the shutters, sliding down until his ass was on the floor. She was straddling him, her body still wrapped around him in every way.
They sat there for a moment, looking at each other in stunned silence…well, silence besides the constant bangs from the fireworks that filled the air around them. But Harper barely heard the rockets exploding in the air over the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. Her hands went to his shoulders, bracing herself as she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his.
She wasn’t sure how long they stayed like that, but when they pulled apart the air around them was quiet, the fireworks show apparently over.
“We should get back down there.” He reached up, tracing her hairline. “Before someone notices we’re missing and comes looking for us.”
“I suppose you’re right.” She stole one last kiss—her tongue still tasting the whiskey that lingered in his mouth—before she moved off his lap and stood. She immediately felt the absence of him inside her, and by the sound of regret that escaped his lips she guessed he missed being inside her just as much.
He stood up, too, pulling his jeans back up and buckling his belt. He pulled her panties from the pocket of his jeans and handed them to her, but there was no point in putting them back on until she could sneak into the bathroom and get herself cleaned up.
When she made a move to start heading for the stairs he grabbed her hand and pulled her back until she was fully up against his body, both of this hands at the small of her back and holding her to him.
“I meant more than just sex, Harper.”
“What?”
“Me never getting enough of you. It’s everything that has to do with you.”
“Good thing you swore on it.” She grinned up at him. “Now that it’s out there, there’s no going back.”
“Honey, sooner or later.” He moved one of his hands to her chin and gently pressed up, tipping her head back. And then he was leaning down, his lips hovering just above hers. “You’re going to figure out there was no going back for me the moment I met you.”
He kissed her one last time before he reached for one of her hands. And as he led her back down the stairs to join everybody else, she knew it was neither sooner nor later…
She’d already figured it out, because there was no going back for her, either.
* * *
Sunday morning dawned much like Saturday, Liam waking up with a sleeping Harper in his arms. They went to Mass with her parents at the one and only Catholic church in town, and when Mrs. Laurence found out that Liam had been born and raised Catholic he got another couple of points without even trying.
After church they went to brunch at LaBella. Liam had been more than interested to see where Harper worked, and the high-end hotel and spa was a pretty fancy setup.
Besides the storm that blew in, Sunday night was a quiet affair. Just the two of them—and of course Luna, who jumped every time thunder rolled across the sky—curled up on the sofa with the newest episode of Ponce playing on the TV. Apparently Harper was a pretty big fan of the show, and she was also #TeamRosamund.
Liam took Harper to work on Monday, that way he could use her cruiser to get around town. Not only did she trust him with her vehicle, but she gave him a key to her apartment to come and go as he pleased. Both of these facts had him grinning like an idiot.
But she had that affect on him.
It was late that morning when Liam headed over to the inn to hang out with Adele, Logan, Abb
y, and Jace…and he brought Luna with him, too. What? The storm still hadn’t passed and the little dog was legitimately terrified. How was he supposed to leave her when she’d been shaking like a leaf and staring up at him with eyes that begged the question: you aren’t going to leave me, are you?
For the most part they just hung out in the more than spacious suite on the second floor. And everywhere he went, Luna was right by his side. Not only that, but the second he sat down she was immediately hopping up on his lap, circling once, and then curling into a ball.
“Wow,” Adele said in mock shock. “Winning over her canine? It’s a good sign when her dog loves you, too.”
His hand that was scratching the top of Luna’s head paused as he looked over at his sister. She was sitting at the opposite end of the sofa. Her hair was all pinned up in her customary curls, a purple bandanna tied to the side acting as a headband. That was all he saw of her as she was wrapped up in a throw blanket. The dark gloomy weather and blasting air conditioner were making for perfect snuggling conditions.
“Too?” he asked.
“Don’t be dumb. That girl’s in love with you just as much as you’re in love with her.”
“That so?”
“Oh, so you guys haven’t had that conversation yet.” She didn’t even attempt to keep the surprise out of her voice.
Nope, they weren’t discussing that at the moment. It was true he and Harper hadn’t had that conversation…yet. He wasn’t all that ready to rock the boat. Things were going well…really well in their journey to catch up.
“Speaking of winning over a woman’s canine.” Liam didn’t hesitate in flipping Adele’s line of questioning on her. “Where is your dog?” But his question wasn’t a necessary one as they both knew exactly where Katharine Hepburn—Adele’s dalmatian—was currently hanging out.
Even from the living room of the suite, the telltale noise of the dog’s nails hitting the tile in the kitchen could be heard. Adele’s eyes darted over and landed on Jace who was currently making a sandwich for his on-the-hour snack. The guy ate like a Hobbit, had about ten meals a day.
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