“The thing about my mother…we both know that she’s been trying and failing for three years to get us together. We met on our own, and I am glad that we did. I will not let either of my parents try and dictate my life ever again. I am and always have been my own man, Rory. I don’t know how much my mother has told you about my family but the last person that tried to tell me how to live my life got knocked the fuck out and I haven’t spoken to him in ten years.
“And, lastly, I don’t think you are scary and damaged. I think to survive what you have been through makes you the toughest woman I know. What happened to you is truly sad, but to witness it firsthand is horrifying. I don’t know, I guess what I am getting at is…” I trailed off, suddenly getting nervous.
I hadn’t realized during my speech that she had grabbed my hand. “What is it? Liam?” she whispered, her eyes wide.
“I don’t just like you. I can see myself falling for you. Hard,” I admitted. I looked into her eyes, and they were wide with fear. “Oh, no. Great, I have officially fucking scared you off, haven’t I?” Shit!
She shook her head. “No you haven’t…but I am scared.” My heart sank. “I’m not going to run away, Liam. If anything, you’ll run from me in the end.”
“What? How could you even think that?”
Her face went white as a sheet. She looked like she was internally struggling with something. Finally, she sighed and stabbed her eggs with her fork. “Because there is more to the story after Mason died that I didn’t tell you. And, honestly, I don’t want to tell you because I am scared that you will think I’m damaged and unlovable if I do,” she said, her voice trailing off.
I scooted off my stool and walked to her. I lifted her face with my fingers, forcing her to look into my eyes. “Then don’t tell me, Rory, because I don’t care. Believe it or not, I’m not in ‘cop mode’ all the time. I’m not one of those guys that’s hell bent on finding out everything about a woman’s past. If you want to tell me, then I’m here and I will listen. If you don’t, then that’s okay too. I want to know you inside and out Rory, but if you aren’t ready for that then I will understand. I will take any part of you I can. You can decide on your own if you are willing to let me all the way in. I would love that, but I’m not going to push it. I just want you, Rory, any way I can have you.”
A single, fat tear slid down her cheek. “Where did you come from, Liam?” she whispered, her lips trembling.
I wiped her tear away with my hand. Before I could make a move, she made one first and jumped off the stool. She pulled my face to hers and kissed me hard, instantly sliding her tongue into my mouth. Her tongue ring clicked against my teeth while her lip rings bit into my skin, and I felt myself getting painfully hard again. I knew if I didn’t stop this kiss now just as it was beginning I wouldn’t be able to make my hard on go away, and I didn’t want her to feel pressured. The last thing I wanted to do was push her away. I was about to pull away from her when I felt her hand slide down and rub my dick through my pajamas. She let out a soft moan as she ran her hand along the length that she could feel, and I was surprised I didn’t come right then. I pulled her close with both hands and picked her up, setting her on the breakfast bar. I rested my torso between her legs, and pulled her hair back from her neck and began to lightly nibble and suck below her ear. She had one hand on my shoulder and the other one in my hair, gently pulling it in pleasure. I moved my free hand up her toned leg and around to her bare bottom, feeling what was exposed outside her tiny panties. I was so tempted to slide my fingers past the string of her thong and feel around her dampness, but I didn’t want to push too far. It was as if she could read my mind, because she panted, “Touch me, Liam, please.” I wanted to see her face as I did what she asked, but before I could, my cell phone rang. I was going to ignore it, but it was my mother’s ringtone. I knew that she would keep calling or, worse, show up here, and it was too early in the morning for her know about Rory and me yet. I groaned, and looked at Rory, my face full of apology. “It’s okay,” she breathed.
“I’ll be two seconds, I promise. It’s my mom. Let me get rid of her.” I walked to my phone and picked it up. “Hey mom,” I said.
“Hello, darling. How are you? I hope I didn’t wake you,” she said.
I looked at Rory, who was all hot and flushed. “Oh no, it’s okay. I was up,” I said, winking at her. Rory’s eyes roamed down to my hard on and she put her hand over her mouth to suppress her laughter. “What’s going on?”
“Well, I am actually calling you for a rather big favor.”
“Okay. What is it?”
“Well, it involves your father.”
And now I was officially flaccid.“No way, mom. As much as I love you, I am not doing anything that involves him.”
“Liam Grayson Tanner, I am your mother and you are going to at least hear me out. You know that my birthday is today, and all I want is to go to a nice dinner with my family. My whole family,” she said. Shit…I totally forgot my mother’s birthday was today. I had been too busy obsessing over Rory to remember. Now I really felt guilty, and I knew I would have to suffer through this dinner with my father that I haven’t seen in a decade for her.
“Mom…”
“Liam, I don’t ask you for much. Please do this for me.”
I sighed in defeat. Damn it! “All right. I’ll come. Where do you want to meet?”
“Can you come to Noir et Blanc at eight?”
“Sure. That’s fine. I’ll see you tonight.”
“Tonight. I can’t wait! Thank you, Liam,” she said.
“Sure thing. Goodbye,” I grumbled, and hung up the phone. “Shit!” I cursed aloud, setting the phone down a little rougher than I had intended.
Startled, Rory said, “Liam, what’s wrong?”
“I totally forgot it was my mom’s birthday today.”
She hopped off the breakfast bar and walked over to me. “And, you’re upset that you forgot to get her a present?” she said, trying to lighten the mood.
“No. I just got guilt tripped into going to dinner with her and my father.”
She wrapped her arms around my waist. “Oh no, Liam. I’m so sorry. Are you going to be okay?”
I kissed the top of her head. “Probably not.”
“I know how you feel. I don’t even talk to my parents anymore,” she admitted. Before I could ask her to elaborate, she looked up into my eyes as she ran her hand along the bottom of my shirt.
Suddenly, I had a thought. I knew I wouldn’t be able to get through this without someone there to help me through it. “Come with me tonight?”
Chapter 7
Rory
“What? Are you serious?” I asked him. We weren’t even technically dating yet. We’d only kissed two times and made out once, and he already wanted me to meet his father?
“Rory, I can’t get through this alone. If you aren’t there to keep me calm, I know I’ll end up knocking him out. Please?” he said.
“But your mother…she’ll find out about us for sure if we show up together. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”
“I don’t care if she knows about us, Rory. I am happy that I met you, and my mother happens to love you. That’s just a bonus. But, I can’t force you. If you don’t want to, I’ll understand,” he said.
I didn’t want our first night out together to be at a stuffy ass dinner with his parents, but somewhere deep inside me I was touched that he wanted me there. I felt happy knowing that I was the one he thought of to keep him calm. And, we’d had such a great night last night and he’d taken such good care of me…it was the least I could do. “Okay.”
“Really? You’ll come with me?”
“Of course I will.”
He wrapped his arms around my waist and rested his chin on top of my head. “Thank you, Rory,” he said. “I owe you one.”
“You do,” I teased. I ran my hand along his torso and was about to try and pull him into a full on make out session when he stopped me.
His words made shivers go down my spine and stopped me dead in my tracks. “Whoa.”
He held onto one of my hands, lacing our fingers together. With the other hand, he began to lightly trace a path up my arm and he stopped at my cheek. In my peripheral vision I saw him start to get hard, and that turned me on badly. I placed my hands on his waist, wanting to slide my fingers past the waistband of his pants and feel his length in my hand. He must have known my intent from the look on my face, because he took a hard swallow and stepped back, dropping his hands at his sides. “Maybe I should get you home.”
I ran my hands through my hair and took a step away from Liam. He was so damn sexy that it was becoming increasingly difficult to be near him and not drop to my knees and take him into my mouth. The thought of pleasuring him was making me wet, and I fanned myself with my hand to try and slow my racing blood. “What time is it? That dinner isn’t until eight, right?”
“Um, Rory, it’s after noon already.”
“Shit! It is? Crap, I didn’t even check my phone!” I pulled back from him and ran to find my clothes. Marissa and Brody must be freaking out wondering when I’ll be home.
“Relax, Rory. Just go get dressed and I’ll take you back to your apartment.”
“Okay. Thanks, Liam,” I called out as I ran to the bathroom to get dressed. I was anxious to get back anyway…I had to know what happened with Marissa and Brody. I got dressed as fast as I could, and I walked back out, holding his tee shirt. He was dressed in loose fitting jeans, a tight black tee shirt, and motorcycle boots. He looked orgasmic. I held out his tee shirt to him. “Here you go,” I offered, but he held up his hand.
“Keep it,” he said.
“Why?”
“So you can sleep in it again and think of me.”
I grinned and lightly kissed him on the lips. “Then I’ll sleep in it every night.”
He grinned at me, and we walked out of his apartment together. It was actually a short distance to my apartment from his, so we decided to walk since it was a nice day. When we got to my apartment building, I turned to him as I got my key out. “So, do you want to come up for a second?” I asked.
“Actually, I think I’ll let you go ahead. I bet you and Marissa have a lot to talk about.”
I smiled. “We do. See you tonight?”
“Definitely. Is seven o’clock too early to pick you up?”
“Seven sounds perfect. Thanks for a great night, and an even better morning.” I said.
Grinning, he pulled me into a quick kiss. “Any time,” he said, and I giggled. “See you tonight.”
I waved at him and unlocked my door. I raced up the stairs, not even bothering with taking the elevator. So much had happened since last night…I had to talk to my best friend. I unlocked my front door, and called out, “Marissa! Brody! I’m home!”
I heard Marissa running down the hall way from her room. “Oh my god, Rory! Where have you been?” she said, hugging me.
“I texted you early this morning. I was with Liam,” I said, and she grinned at me. “I didn’t want to come home and interrupt anything between you and my brother.”
She went from happy to sad in no time flat when her face fell. “Oh, you wouldn’t have interrupted anything.”
“What? Why the hell not?” I asked, leading her over to the couch. “Is Brody here? Because I’m going to kick his fucking ass!” I swear to God if he fucked this up…
She sighed. “He’s not here. He got called into surgery at about five this morning.”
“So, what happened?”
She looked down at her hands. “I just don’t know. I mean, all this time it seemed like he didn’t even know I was alive, and treats me like one of his buddies, and then last night…last night when he kissed me had to be the single most amazing moment of my life,” she said. “It was everything I ever imagined. I thought that it was just for show to get those girls to go away and that he’d stop, but he didn’t. He kissed me like he’d been holding back for a while. When we finally stopped, he asked me if I wanted to go back to the apartment and talk. I went to find you and tell you, but I saw you kissing Liam and didn’t want to interrupt,” she said, a weak smile on her face.
“Okay, so, what happened when you got back here? Come on, I’m dying here!”
She sighed. “He told me that he’d actually been thinking of asking me out for a while, especially since he got to New York, but he’s afraid he’s going to ruin our friendship if it doesn’t work out. He told me that kissing me last night was amazing, and that he loved it, but that he wouldn’t let it happen again.” She had tears forming in her eyes.
“Oh, Marissa, I’m so sorry.” I pulled her into a hug. “I love my brother very much, but sometimes, he can be a fucking idiot. I’m going to talk to him,” I said.
She pulled away. “Rory, don’t bother. I love Brody so much, but I have been thinking a lot since he left. I am a good girl, and if he doesn’t want me, then I’m done pining for him. I want to find someone that wants me and isn’t afraid. There is risk in any relationship, and if he’s not willing to jump, I’m not willing to wait for him to.”
“Marissa, you can’t give up on him,” I pleaded.
She looked at me, and a sad smile spread on her lips. “I just have to.” Before I could object, she changed the subject. “Okay, now on to you. You spent the night with Liam. Girl, this is huge!” she said. “Did you sleep with him?”
“No, I didn’t. But, after this morning, I would have if he’d offered,” I said.
Her eyes got wide. “Oh my God! Tell me everything! What happened after we left last night?”
“Well, after he kissed me, we went back inside and played pool for a while. We had a bet going that if I won, he picked up my tab, and if he won, he got to take me out on a date tonight,” I said, realizing that he actually got what he wanted, in a roundabout way. “I of course kicked his ass.”
Marissa nodded, slightly smiling. “Sure.”
“When we were ready to leave, he was going to bring me back here but I thought I might walk in on something between you and Brody, so I asked him to take me to a hotel. He said no, and brought me back to his place instead.”
“And? Then what happened?” she asked.
“Well, he helped me out of my clothes. Not dirty, I swear,” I said when she smiled. “He let me borrow one of his tee shirts to sleep in and the next thing I knew, I woke up alone in his bed. When I got up I went out to find him, and he was still sleeping on the couch. He looked so cute, and he was so sweet to let me have his bed, so I decided to make him breakfast. We ate, which led to a little talking, which led to us making out on his breakfast bar. It would have gone further but his mother called.”
“Does she know about you two yet?”
“No. I haven’t seen her in three weeks, and he apparently hasn’t told her anything either. But, she’s about to find out tonight.”
“She is? Why?”
“Because Liam asked me to go with him when he has dinner with his parents tonight.”
Her face lit up. “You’re meeting the parents?”
“Well, technically, just the father. I already know his mother and I love her.”
“So, does this mean you two might get together? Like for real?”
“I don’t know, Marissa. It’s still so new, but I like him a lot. He said he wants me there with him tonight because he needs me to keep him calm. He and his dad don’t get along at all.”
She put her hand on mine. “You can relate to that,” she said. I hadn’t spoken to either of my parents since after Mason’s funeral, and after the things my mother said to me, I didn’t plan to ever again. “So, what are you going to wear?” she asked.
&nb
sp; “Something fancy, I think. It’s his mom’s birthday today, and they are rich as hell, so we are probably going somewhere expensive.”
“Well, all you own are rocker tees, jeans, and skimpy dresses you’d wear in a club. Let’s go see what I have in my closet,” she said, dragging me off the couch and into her room.
“Marissa, I’m a hair stylist, for Christ’s sake! Why couldn’t I do my own hair?” I whined, while she ran the flat iron through my hair.
“Because as beautiful as your hair is, you always wear it either up or down with curls, and I think if you want to make an impression, you should wear it sleek and straight. Step out of your comfort zone for one night,” she said. Marissa played dress up with me all afternoon. She’d painted my fingernails and toenails, did my makeup, picked out my clothes and shoes, and now was doing my hair. Since I was going to a swanky rich restaurant, she wanted to class me up.
“Well, you’d better hurry up. Liam’s going to be here in five minutes!”
“Relax, girl. I’m almost done,” she said, setting the flat iron down. She picked up a beautiful black flower clip and slid it into the side of my hair, and stepped back, smiling. “Now I’m done. Go look.”
I stood up and walked over to the full length mirror and gasped when I saw myself. I looked so pretty! Marissa was right about my hair, it looked awesome straight. The black flower set it off beautifully. She picked a black, one shoulder dress that was cut asymmetrically at the length and paired it with black strappy rhinestone heels. Even my makeup looked awesome. I wore a tinted lip gloss, and she had made my eyes all smoky using white, gray, and black eye shadow. I turned to Marissa and smiled. “Marissa, I look amazing, thank you!” I said, walking over to her and hugged her.
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