“Keep it. You might need it on that drafty bus tonight.”
There was nothing drafty about the bus. It was brand new with state of the art everything. And while I wanted to point that out to him, to argue that I had my own sweater on the bus so I didn’t need his silly coat, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
“You know, it’s my job to take care of you. Not the other way around,” I teased, playfully jabbing my index finger into his chest.
He grabbed my hand, holding it by the wrist. My eyes dropped to where his touch radiated against my skin. “I’d like to think we take care of each other,” he murmured, lifting his other hand to brush my hair back from my face. My heart galloped inside my chest at the innocent but erotic caress.
Aaron stuck his head out the door. “Liam, I hate to break this up, but Marcos is holding.” He waved his cell phone at Liam. “Can’t keep the Congressman waiting.”
Liam released me, his playful demeanor gone in a flash. He glanced over to Aaron then to me. He appeared so torn and it pained me to see him in such dire straits. “I’m sorry. I need to take this.”
I laughed and shooed him off. “Go, Congressman. You’ve got a job to do.”
As he reached up and brushed my hair back from my face, the moonlight, bright and golden, twinkled in his eyes. “Thank you, Elizabeth. I’ve had a wonderful evening.”
Oh, shit! That sounded like a date line or something. No! This wasn’t a date. He was only being polite. That was Liam’s way. Always kind and polite.
I forced a smile and bowed my head. “As did I. Now get to work.”
“You heard the woman!”
Liam dashed up the steps and I followed close behind. The bus doors shut behind me. I stood at the entrance and watched as he disappeared into the conference center. My cellphone rang and all non-professional thoughts fled my mind. Well, almost all. My fingers trailed the fabric of his coat as I answered the call. This evening proved to be exactly what I feared. And now, between his sly move of diversion and his act of chivalry, Liam was leading on the scoreboard.
Liam 18 - Elizabeth 15
Or was it Liam 19 - Elizabeth 15?
I was starting to lose count. How was that possible? This was a game. A game I was determined to win.
Or was I?
I sat at the kitchenette table, my head in my hands, with nothing but the sounds of sleep and the whirl of an engine humming around me. For the most part, everything was dark, save a dim light over the little sink and the sliver of moonlight slinking in from the oblong window. Pain pulsed through my skull, punching the back of my eyes with every beat of my heart.
My headaches were becoming far more frequent and painful. I was unsure what triggered them. At first I thought it might be from insomnia, but for the last eighteen plus years I’d survived on four to five hours of sleep a night. Sometimes less. That couldn’t be the issue. No, the cause went much deeper, and if I were to be honest with myself, I could guess the culprit.
This headache struck the moment I parted ways from Liam and answered my phone. Lucky for me, it was Jordyn on the other end.
I rubbed my temples in a circular motion. Not even that alleviated my agony. And when I thought it couldn’t get worse, the bus drove over what I could only assume was a pothole in the road. It jostled me to the point that I thought my head might implode.
“Elizabeth?” The sound of Liam’s soft, husky voice made my already soured stomach jump. I lifted my face to find him standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, his head tilted to the side. As if to tease me, his white t-shirt lifted just enough for me to see the deep lines of his abdomen angled down into his cotton night pants. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I managed with a smile ─at least I thought it was a smile─ plastered to my face.
Liam closed the distance between us in two steps. He took my chin between his fingers, and gently turned my face, scrutinizing me from each angle. “No you’re not.”
I hated how easily he could read me. In an act of defiance, I pulled away from his hand and leaned back in my seat. My stomach twisted and twirled as a wave of nausea washed over me. I wanted to tell him to back off, that I was okay, but I feared what might happen if I opened my mouth.
Liam dropped his hand to his side, his fingers tapping against his thigh.
I screwed my eyes shut, the metallic taste on my tongue signaling that I was about to make a huge ol’ mess on the floor if I didn’t get it under control fast.
“Are you going to be sick?” he asked, his tone worried but calm.
“I’m fine,” I repeated, sounding more like a frog than a human being.
Warm skin met my face, as Liam’s knuckles drifted down my cheek. I opened my eyes to find him peering down at me. Deep lines buried into his forehead, his brows furrowed with concern. “Elizabeth, I’m not trying to goad you. You look miserable, and I don’t like it.”
I licked my lips, swallowing down the saliva coating my tongue. A small, weak sound tore from my lips as I whispered, “I have a headache. That’s all.”
“Have you taken anything for it?”
One nod, that was all I could muster for him.
“Do you get them often?”
My instinct was to shake my head, but my stomach thought otherwise. “Only recently.”
Liam stepped around behind me. I attempted to turn my head to see what he was doing, but two hands brushing my hair away from the back of my neck stopped me. The pain was immense. Every hair follicle tingled along my scalp, but the pleasure his touch created was exhilarating. That single touch consumed me in such a way I wanted nothing more than to melt against him. His long fingers explored along the back of neck to my skull, leaving a trail of heat on my skin.
“You’re dealing with stress headaches,” he stated with absolute certainty.
“What are you? A doctor now?” I sneered, aggravated at how comfortable I was at being touched by him, but worse yet, how easy it was for him to touch me.
“No, but I do have some experience with this type of headache.”
I twisted my hair over my shoulder, wincing at the pain it caused. “You’re wrong. I don’t get stressed.”
Liam chuckled, his balmy breath swept over my exposed neck. “Well, something’s stressing you out. From what I can tell, you carry all your stress here.” He lightly pressed his thumb into my neck near my spine. I almost screamed in agony, but he moved so that both hands rested on my shoulders. His thumbs traced along the bridge between my neck and arms. “And here.”
I tried to roll my shoulders, but his grip was too tight, forcing me to stay in place. “This is crazy. I’m not stressed!”
“Fine. But you do have a headache. So, let me help you.”
I squirmed, attempting to escape him. Between his gentle touch and my pounding head, my body was a mess of confusion. “Like I said, I took some aspirin. I’ll be fine.”
“You push yourself too hard, Elizabeth. Just let me help you.”
I shoved his hands off my shoulders and scooted forward in my seat, turning to face him. “I don’t need your help.”
Liam threw his hands in the air. The concern that once painted his expression turned into exasperation. “My God! Why is it so difficult for you to accept help?”
“Because I’m scared, okay?” A hard shiver flitted down my arms as the words flew from my lips. I clapped my hand over my mouth, instantly regretting my momentary loss of control. I couldn’t believe I’d voiced that aloud. No one, not even Jordyn or Harper, had ever heard me utter those words before. So, why him? Why now?
“Of what?” he spoke slow and soft. He took a step toward me, but I was up and out of my seat before he could touch me again. I was afraid of what might happen if I felt his hands on my skin once more. He was tempting. Too inviting. And by far too dangerous to me. It was imperative that I kept my distance.
“Nothing. Forget I said anything.” I moved to the small sink and rested my hands against
the cold steel. Sweat prickled my skin and my pounding head became a constant throb. From the window I caught sight of his reflection. He watched me. Analyzed me. All the while he inched in closer to me, eliminating the gap I’d managed to put between us.
“What are you scared of, Elizabeth?”
Though I doubt he meant to push me, it had become a habit of his, or more like a habit of ours. The command emanating from him surged the fury inside me. I whipped around to face him, my stomach whining over the movement. “I’m scared of trusting people. People lie. They cheat. They steal. I’m better off handling things on my own so I don’t have to lay my trust in someone who can or will eventually screw me over.”
Whoa! Where did that come from?
I wiped my hand over my mouth, my eyes cast downward. My secret, the one I kept from everyone, was out. I didn’t depend on people because I couldn’t trust anyone but myself. Not that I was some jaded soul or anything. I wasn’t. I’d led a satisfying life. Love surrounded me through my family, as broken as it was. But I’d seen the underbellies of power. I knew how trust could be used as a form of currency. I wanted no part of it.
“You still don’t trust me,” his throaty timbre rumbled through me.
The hurt in his voice made my already sick stomach churn harder. “I personally vetted you, Liam. Doesn’t that tell you something?”
“It tells me you’re smart and good at your job.” He took a step forward. His index finger pressed beneath my chin as he lifted my face, yet I remained unable to look into his eyes.
“I’m the best,” I stated, my tone a little flat.
“You are, but you’ve also seen too much and trust no one because of it.”
“Thus is the life of politics.”
Liam traced his thumb along my jaw. “Trust me now. Let me help you.”
I dared a peek into those deep, dark eyes. That was my downfall. “How?”
His full lips pulled into a grin. “Sit back down and allow yourself to relax.” He stepped back and patted the bench, expressing his desire for me to return to my earlier station. Reluctant, I did as I was told and slunk down onto the bench. “Now close your eyes.”
My stubbornness nudged me, but I obeyed. Eyes closed, I felt him everywhere around me. The warmth of his touch, the twisting of my long, blonde locks around his hand, the way his thumbs pressed into the back of my neck. Just when I was almost relaxed, he leaned in and whispered close to my ear, “This is gonna hurt like hell for a second. Forgive me.”
No sooner had he uttered those words did earth-shattering pain explode inside my skull. A large hand moved around to cover my mouth as a scream detonated from my chest. Blinding light flashed behind my eyes. My tender stomach rolled, sending me into dry-heaves. “Breathe, Elizabeth,” Liam coached. “I promise if you breathe it’ll be okay.”
What he asked was almost impossible, but I managed to take air deep into my lungs. When I exhaled, I ripped his hand from my mouth and jerked around to him. “What the hell? You said you’d help. Not try to kill me.”
Liam stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. A jovial grin spread across his face. “Are you still in pain?”
I slid out from the bench. “Of course, I’m still…” That’s when it struck me. The headache was gone. I reached behind my head to rub the place Liam had assaulted. It was tender, but the intense ache was indeed gone. “How’d you do that?”
Liam turned to the cabinet beside the window and pulled down two glasses and a bottle of whiskey. “In college I had a lot of problems with stress. Between basketball and my class load, I stayed stressed out. The team physician used to do that to me weekly, along with a scolding about how I took on more than a kid my age should.” Liam chuckled as he poured two fingers into each glass and sat one down in front of me. “Needless to say, after college I learned my own pressure points. Finding yours was a cinch, since you carry your stress in the same places I do.” I glanced down at the amber liquid. It vibrated with the rumble of the bus. “To trust.”
I lifted my glass, but said nothing. We both downed our shots like pros.
“Now,” he muttered behind the lip of the tumbler, “you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”
I massaged the back of my neck, astonished at how much better I felt. “Work, I guess.”
That was as close to the truth as he would get. It was Liam who stressed me out. The way he looked at me. The way he stayed so close that I often smelled his cologne on my skin long after we parted ways. But most of all, I stressed over how I wanted him when I shouldn’t. I hated how one minute I wanted to rip off his clothes and the very next I wanted to scratch his eyes out.
Cool, mocking eyes zeroed in on mine. “Is it Harper?”
“Harper?” I squeaked, biting back a laugh. “Why would I be stressed over Harper?”
“I just thought…” He dropped his gaze down to the empty glass in his hand, his jaw jutted and his nose flared.
“Are you insinuating that Harper and me…” My voice trailed off.
“I shouldn’t have…it isn’t my place...” Liam took my empty glass from my hand and placed it in the sink next to his. With his back still turned to me, his hands gripped the small counter and his shoulders slumped forward.
“It’s all right. To answer your question, no it’s not Harper.” I popped the knuckles in my thumbs. “And to clarify your assumption, Harper and I are not together in any capacity other than friendship.” I shrugged. “Well, that and campaign funding.”
Liam turned around, leaning back against the counter. His long legs crossed in front of him. “So you and Harper never...you know...” Liam’s nose wrinkled.
“Slept together? God, no. Harper’s like a brother to me.” Liam’s shoulders sagged at my response. “What about you and Kristin? Have you two ever...you know…” I teased, using his same vernacular.
Liam shook his head. “Never. We kissed once back in middle school, but that was as far as it ever went.” He paused for a moment, then lifted his chin and blurted out, “Are you seeing anyone?”
Taken aback, I slid further into the bench seat, resting my elbow on the table. My feet kicked out in front of me, crossed at the ankles, only inches from Liam’s. It felt weird to talk about myself to someone, but also nice. A wry smile tugged my lips as I brushed my bangs from my face. “I haven’t been on a date-date since the night I took on your campaign, and even that date had been a farce.”
“Yeah, I remember you telling me about him.” Liam’s face burned hot in the dim cabin light. “Assholes like him are one of the many reasons why I don’t mess around. Women deserve to be treasured and adored. A real man knows how to please his woman, not belittle her.”
“Not all men think that way, Liam. Especially when dating in your forties.”
“That’s bullshit. I swear, I would’ve punched him for simply being an idiot. You’re absolutely stunning.”
Heat began to rise up my face. I covered my cheeks with my hands to hide my embarrassment. Liam had called me stunning. “It’s not that big of a deal. I handled him. Quite well, I might add.”
“I’m sure you did, but I still would’ve pummeled him on merit alone.”
A sprinkle of desire fluttered down my spine. I wanted nothing more than to kiss the anger off his face. He’d come to my rescue if given the chance. He wanted to protect me, and if I cared to admit it, I wanted him to.
I lifted from my seat, and just like at the television studio, I reached up and brushed his hair back from his face. This time, all alone, I allowed my hand to linger, drifting down from his forehead to his cheek. Coarse hair scratched against my skin as I slowly drew the angle of his jaw with my fingertips. Liam closed his eyes, his breathing growing heavier as my fingers floated along the contours of his face. My touch became softer with each stroke until I went to remove my hand from his jaw. Liam’s eyes popped open and he grabbed my wrist. His long fingers coiled around my arm, holding my hand to his cheek. I couldn’t even begin to penetrat
e the hazy bubble surrounding my thoughts. The savage look in his eyes burned red hot through my veins.
Inch by inch our mouths moved closer. Already I could taste him on my lips. Sweet but spicy, and full of passion. He was decadent; a temptation.
My temptation.
When he captured my lips, I floated to heaven.
At first the kiss was gentle, almost hesitant, but then he became bolder, more confident. He pressed his mouth hard against mine, his tongue circling my lips for permission. There was no thought, no contemplation, no planning. Pure primal instinct controlled my every move, as I parted my lips.
His tongue darted inside my mouth, exploring and taking what he wanted. My hands moved to his hair, and I was suddenly thankful I’d made him grow it out. Our heart beats, hard and pounding, gave rhythm to the need that burned between us. His tongue, hot and wet, tangled with mine, but there was too much distance still between us.
A soft moan rumbled in my chest, as he pulled back, tugging my bottom lip between his teeth. He reached out and wrapped his hands around my waist, pulling me flush against him. His body felt hard and lean to my feminine and soft. I was powerless in his embrace. Even if I wanted to escape, which I didn’t, I couldn’t have. His arms encircled me and his tongue lunged back into my mouth, exploring every inch.
Nothing about the kiss was gentle. All my virginal beliefs about him flew right out the window by the way his fingers toyed with the hem of my t-shirt, and the carnal way he brushed the tips of his fingers along my hypersensitive skin. Liam was all man, and that man knew how to kiss.
When he broke away, we both stared into each other's eyes, breathless. Never had anyone looked at me as he did. His expression melted my heart and consumed my soul. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to kiss you like that,” he murmured.
That’s when my stupid brain kicked in, knocking my overactive libido out of the way. I caught my kiss-swollen lip between my teeth, unable to speak.
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