by Dale Mayer
She wrapped her arms around him tightly and held him close. Still connected as they were, she whispered against his shoulder, “If we stay like this, we could begin again in the morning.”
He wanted to laugh, but the effort was more than he could handle. He didn’t even get a chance to answer. She took a deep breath, let it out on a heavy sigh and fell sweetly asleep in his arms. He closed his eyes, held her close and thought about what a joy and a blessing she was in his life.
“My Lily,” he muttered. Then he followed her into sleep.
Chapter 14
Lilianna woke the next morning to find Liam already hard against her. As soon as she opened her eyes, he whispered, “Thank God,” and he plunged.
She went from zero to sixty instantly, almost shrieking with joy as her climax ripped through her moments later. She lay gasping on the bed. “What a hell of a way to wake up.”
He kissed her hard. “And it’s time to wake up. Your father will be here soon.”
Her eyes opened wide, and she struggled to get out of the bed. She raced to the bathroom and hopped into the shower. He wished he could join her, but he could hear vehicles on the driveway. He dressed with a sigh and one last look at the bathroom and walked downstairs.
Logan was in the kitchen, pouring coffee. He looked up, a grin on his face. “You will treat her right, right?”
“Maybe the question is, will she treat me right?” Liam said with a wicked grin.
Logan laughed out loud and warned, “She’s the marrying kind.”
“I know. I’ve never met anyone like her,” Liam said, a serious look on his face.
Harrison joined them in the kitchen, took one look at Liam’s face and said, “Levi’s luck holds. Who would have thought?”
Just then the front door opened, and they could hear Gunner and Jim walking in. Logan stepped into the hall and said, “There you two are. Took your sweet time, didn’t you?”
Gunner walked into the kitchen. “Had to stop at the police station.”
Lilianna joined them and poured coffee for her father and Gunner. She carried the coffee cups over. “And? What did you find?”
“Your mother is spitting mad,” Jim said. “Apparently she and Carlos hatched the deal. Brianna went along with it because she was after the lifestyle and wanted to get away from the sanctuary.”
“And yet Brianna always pretended to be so happy to be here,” Lilianna said drily. “I wanted to look after the sanctuary, but Brianna made it very clear she didn’t want me here.”
“She had to be the one who handled the accounts so she could move money.”
“Did she steal money from the sanctuary for her lifestyle? The penthouse?” Lilianna asked, her eyes narrowed on Gunner’s face.
He nodded. “One hundred fifty thousand dollars’ worth.”
Her jaw dropped. “What? I didn’t even know there was that kind of money here.” She turned to look at her father.
He nodded. “I always kept more than $100,000 in a fund to make sure the animals had a couple years before we ended up in trouble.”
Lilianna shook her head. “Oh, my God! I didn’t even know.”
“It’s all right,” Liam added. “A hell of a pile of money was in that safe. We counted over $100,000 last night. That will go a long way to returning most of the embezzled sanctuary money.”
“Well, that’s something at least.”
“It is now,” Jim said.
The men nodded.
Gunner added, “As far as we’re concerned, it belongs to the property because this is all sanctuary land.”
“And my sister? What are the charges?”
“Fraud, for one. We’ll have to wait and see.”
Gunner nodded. “The lawyers are going through the accounting documentation right now, seeing how vast the damage is. But your father is back.” Gunner looked at Jim who was leaning against the counter, his arms across his chest as he surveyed the land outside the window. “He might need you to stay with him for a while.”
Lilianna’s face lit up with love. “I really would like to. I need to reconnect with my father too.” She put her coffee cup down and walked to him, wrapping her arms around him, and his arms opened up for a hug.
“I’ll be fine,” he said, “but, missing two years of my life, I could use some help to fill in a few gaps.”
“Not a problem.”
He looked over at Liam leaning against the counter on the other side of his daughter. “You’re standing mighty close to my Lily.”
Liam smiled at the “my Lily” reference, his arms crossed over his chest and nodded. “I am.”
Lilianna tapped her father on the nose and said, “He’s a good man, Dad.”
He looked at her and narrowed his gaze. “He better be. No more men like Carlos will be allowed anywhere near you.”
“That’s fine with me,” she said. “But no more Riannas either, right?”
Her father gave a mock shudder, hugged her hard and then released her. He poured himself another a cup of coffee, and said, “Damn, it feels good to be home.”
She leaned over to Liam. He put an arm across her shoulders and tucked her up close, whispering in her ear, “Damn, it feels good to be home.”
She wrapped her arms around him, letting her head rest against his heart. She knew exactly what he meant.
For the first time—maybe since forever—she felt at home.
Epilogue
North Dockter was a sucker for a happy ending, which was good because Levi’s compound was a bloody mess of sappy stories. With Liam having his very own Lily, he traveled back and forth to visit her at the elephant sanctuary when he had days off. Liam kept a room at Levi’s compound, where Lilianna was a regular visitor here too.
Her father had stepped into his world as if he’d never stepped out. And it appeared the sanctuary was thriving under his leadership once again. Press releases picked up his miraculous return to good health, and the funds poured back in again. North was proud of everybody’s contribution to that.
He was also particularly attached to one of the elephants: Billie. North spent more than a few hours a week visiting with her. Once Jim had roped North into giving Billie a bath—one of the best days of his life—he was hooked. He’d never been much of an animal person before, but Billie had changed that.
Now all North needed to do was find a life for himself. He wasn’t sure how everyone kept coming up with partners. But they did.
Ice walked past just then. She stopped and looked at him. “You okay?”
He nodded. “How about you find me a partner too?”
She looked at him in surprise. “Of course. You’re next. But I have to admit, most of the time the guys shy away from any involvement.” Her smile widened. “They go into these kinds of jobs determined to not fall prey to the magic of love.”
He shook his head. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean a whole lot. They end up completely in love by the end of one of their assignments. I’d like to believe in love at first sight, but it’s something I’ve never experienced. Yet I did see it happening between Liam and Lily.”
“Given the relationships that have sprung up around you, there’s definitely enough evidence for you to believe in it. But I can’t promise anything.”
That made him chuckle. “Not expecting any promises.”
“Good,” she said gently. “Matter of fact, you’re heading to England in two days.”
He looked at her in surprise. “Why’s that?”
“Charles Beckwith, a good friend and supporter in England, has a granddaughter in trouble. Her name is Nikki, and she’s en route to his place. He couldn’t get the full story out of her but said she was in tears on the phone. It’s not minor, but he doesn’t know how major it is. He’s asked for our delicate touch to help her out.”
North frowned. “What kind of problem?”
“No idea, but …” Ice said sadly, “you’ll be perfect for the job.”
This concludes Book 14 of
Heroes for Hire: Liam’s Lily.
Read about North’s Nikki: Heroes for Hire, Book 15
Heroes for Hire: North’s Nikki (Book #15)
In what circumstance wouldn’t a knight want to rescue a damsel in distress? A former SEAL working for Legendary Securities, North Dockter has found the very circumstance that challenges even his stalwart, chivalrous ways. Nikki Beckwith is a firecracker who butts heads with him at every turn, refusing to follow orders or listen to his experience unless doing so suits her.
When she discovers someone is smuggling drugs through her company’s warehouse and her life is threatened, Nikki flees to her aging grandfather’s home in England to lay low and regroup. He’s always been there for her, and, if ever she needed a bolthole to make changes in her life, it’s now. Maybe it’s time to return to the States…particularly after meeting North and realizing the attraction between them is more than she believed possible.
But Nikki soon realizes that no place is safe after her grandfather is attacked in his home. Even with her gorgeous guardian angel hovering close by, will she be too late to make all the changes she’s envisioned?
Book 15 is available now!
To find out more visit Dale Mayer’s website.
Author’s Note
Thank you for reading Liam’s Lily: Heroes for Hire, Book 14! If you enjoyed the book, please take a moment and leave a short review here.
Dear reader,
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Dale Mayer
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About the Author
Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).
She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!
To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.
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LIAM’S LILY: HEROES FOR HIRE, BOOK 14
Dale Mayer
Valley Publishing Ltd.
Copyright © 2018
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ISBN-13: 978-1-773360-70-6
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