by Maya Hughes
“Very true,” he said, pulling out one of the stools by the island. “It smells delicious.”
“It will taste even better.”
They had a leisurely breakfast out on the patio, overlooking the ocean. The crashing waves and seagulls in the distance had them both content and generally quiet throughout their meal. Rox rested her legs in his lap, as he massaged her legs and feet. She took to feeding him slices of fruit she’d prepared.
“You just can’t help but prep, can you?” She gave him a sheepish smile.
“You know me, once a prepper, always a prepper. Now hush and eat this,” she said, popping a small piece of pineapple into his mouth.
“Come here,” he said, taking her arm in his hand and pulling her from her seat. He settled her straddling his lap and she went back to feeding him pineapple. Then she started to grind on him gently. At first, he thought he might be imagining it in his oversexed mind, which was always in overdrive whenever Rox was near. It wasn’t until he saw her smirking when his shaft was sitting up at attention that he realized she was toying with him. Two could play at that game. Her sleep shorts were barely more than boy shorts.
He pulled himself out of his boxers and she pretended to be oblivious, reaching for another slice of fruit and pushing it into his mouth with a mischievous grin. Some of the juice from the peach slid down his chin and she leaned in to lick it off, nipping his lip as she licked her way back to his mouth. That was the final straw, and he lifted her and pulled the edge of her shorts to the side, impaling her on his shaft. She gasped and leaned into him, rocking her hips gently before she started grinding on him slowly. Not one to want to play by her rules anymore, he grabbed her ass and began to move her up and down on his shaft.
She cried out as he pulled her down even harder on top of him. Attacking his neck with kisses and nips, she started working with him to bring them both the release they so desperately craved. Wanting a bit more leverage, he grabbed her ass again, this time standing with her on his lap and laying her out on the table, never leaving her. He started to pound into her, shifting the table with each push. She wrapped her legs around his back and used that leverage to help push him even deeper into him. The blood left the rest of his body and raced toward his cock.
Reaching out, he pinched her nipples through her tank and Rox threw her head from side to side as she clenched around his cock so tightly he thought he might blackout as his climax raced hers. She cried out his name and he followed her immediately, collapsing on top of her. Both breathing heavily, she ran her fingers through his hair. Pushing himself off her, he held out his hand to help her off the table.
“Always the gentleman,” she said, going up on her tiptoes to kiss him on his nose.
“Not always,” he said, giving her butt a smack. She jumped and laughed throwing her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. Looking up at him, she gave him another kiss on the lips. She hadn’t said she loved him yet, but he knew she had to feel it. Someone couldn’t make you feel like this unless they loved you too.
Sweat rolling down his back, Liam wasn’t sure how this evening had gotten so out of hand. They’d had one bachelor and one bachelorette party roll in at eleven. They didn’t know each other, but he’d had to kick at least five people out for practically fucking in the booths and in the bathroom. Those groups on top of their normal Saturday crowd had everyone running ragged.
The singer up on the small stage was some up-and-comer, Liam couldn’t even remember her name. She had a growly, rocking voice and was showing the guitar who was boss with her black curls whipping around her head. The guys in the place were a bit rowdy thanks to her on-stage performance. She had a great voice, but the attention she drew had little to do with that. Her bass player and drummer were backing her up and keeping the driving force of the music pounding through the floor and had everyone rocking out. He’d have to hire someone to help with the music side of things. He hadn’t imagined that this place would be getting calls from music studios trying to get their artists on their stage, but they were. They were booked with musical acts for the next five months.
He’d been busing tables, getting drinks, and helping bring food out to tables. Charlie and his new protégé, who looked like he might pass out at any moment, were a flurry of activity behind the bar. Stealing into the kitchen to give Rox a kiss here and there had been the highlight of the evening.
The kitchen would be closing in one hour and he’d make sure she rested because he had an additional workout for her later that night. Their morning and afternoon of leisure had given him a reserve of energy that he would tap into once they got back home. Some of the wait staff were in the weeds on serving, so he checked to see who needed help and popped back into the kitchen to grab a few plates for the various tables.
If he thought it was hot out on the main floor, the kitchen was at least ten degrees hotter. “Hot behind!”, “Corner!” rang out in the kitchen as everyone was working together to get all the food out onto the floor. He spied Rox working furiously at the plating area, a look of determination on her face. There weren’t many people who were this serious when it came to bar food, but she was. He loved watching her in her element.
Four plates appeared on the pass with the tickets for the tables he needed. He grabbed them and pushed out of the kitchen doors, setting them down at the tables. Mark would be happy, this place seemed to have picked up even more than before he left. They would have a huge cash flow to finance the place in NYC. Liam knew it had been a good investment.
He’d have to see how the scouted locations were going and figure out if Mark needed any help. Things over here had been so crazy, he hadn’t exchanged more than a couple of emails in the past few weeks. When the kitchen closed an hour later, he finally had time to take a breath. The bar would close in another hour, but Liam snuck into the kitchen to steal away a certain determined chef.
“I’m stealing your chef,” he called out to no one in particular as he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the kitchen.
“Liam, I’ve got work to do. We need to clean things up and set up for the morning.”
“Do you guys mind if I take her off your hands?”
“Get her out of here, We got this chef, you need a break!” Came a chorus of voices as he pulled her out of the kitchen. He hustled her upstairs to the office to rest for a little bit and get some alone time with his girl. Closing the office door, he turned her and pressed her back up against the door.
“What the hell? I had work to do down there.” Her eyebrows were furrowed, delicious lips turned down in a frown, and arms crossed over her chest.
“I missed you,” he said, peppering her sweaty neck with kisses, tasting the salt off her skin. She pushed him away and swatted him with her hand towel.
“We have spent all day together. All this morning, afternoon, and evening.”
“Maybe seeing you in your chef’s whites just gets me going,” he said, pulling her back to him and continuing to kiss his way across her neck.
“I think you have an imbalance,” she said, moaning as he hit the spot just below her ear that seemed to turn her knees weak.
“You’re not playing fair.”
“I never said I would,” he said, nipping her neck. She shivered in his arms. He smiled against her neck. That was the spot that drove her wild. He’d be getting his way very soon.
“Just let me go down and help clean up,” she said in a rush. “I’ll be ready in twenty minutes and then you can take me home and show me how much you really missed me. I’ll even leave the chef’s whites on.” She sniffed herself, turning her nose up and pushing him away. “Maybe I’ll change into fresh ones. These are ripe.”
“I think you smell delicious,” he said, moving in again. She held him at arm’s length, pushing him back as she reached for the door handle. She opened it and kept her hand against his chest. “Twenty minutes, I swear. If I’m not done by then, you can carry me out.” She smiled mischievously.
; “Promise?” he said, cocking his head to the side as a hungry grin spread across his face.
“Promise! I see that look in your eye, I’m setting a timer, so you don’t get a chance to try.”
She dashed out of the office like she was afraid he would follow. She was smart to worry, but the idea of throwing her over his shoulder, hands on her ass as he marched them out to his car, held him back. He wouldn’t actually do that in front of her kitchen crew, but the thought replayed in his mind as he headed back downstairs to help the guys behind the bar. Twenty minutes would be up before he knew it and once he got Rox home all bets were off.
19
Chapter
Liam’s hand rubbing up and down her leg drove her to distraction on the drive back to the house. His hand tightened on her leg, gripping it almost to the point of pain when they pulled up to the gate.
“Ouch, Liam,” she swatted him on his shoulder. His grip didn’t let up. Staring out the window she saw what stalled him. Her stomach sank and her hand trembled as she reached out for his shoulder. From the looks of the bent and broken keypad and damaged gate, tonight was not going to go as they’d both planned. He called his security company to see what happened. They sent over the video clips to his phone as they remotely unlocked the gate for them to enter. He pulled into the garage and checked out the video clips.
“Let me see,” she said, leaning over the center console.
“It’s okay,” he said, clutching the phone tight in his grip.
“Well if it’s okay, then let me see.” She pulled on his arm to try to get a look at the phone. She caught a glimpse and gasped. It was Jon. Of course, it was Jon. She’d allowed her guard to drop, but she wouldn’t still be living with Liam if Jon weren’t still out there and a threat. For a while, she’d allowed herself to think all this was just the natural course of things, living in a big house, waking up in Liam’s arms every morning, flirting at work, and making her food.
“How did he find me here?”
“How did he find you anywhere? Obviously, he’s been following you,” Liam barked, typing on his phone. Duh, she felt so stupid. He’d been following her. It wasn’t like they’d been stealthy coming and going from the bar and now he was screwing with Liam’s house. She shouldn’t have come here, shouldn’t go anywhere where someone else might have to bear the brunt of her problems.
“Why can’t they catch him?” she said, slamming her hand against the dashboard.
“The security company called my number at Doppel instead of my cell when he started attacking the gate. They called the cops, but he was gone before they got there.”
“Just great,” she said, slamming back against her seat.
“Rox, I think you should have security,” he said, staring down at the phone.
“Security? Liam, don’t be ridiculous.” She was not going to be followed around by some goon. One stalker was more than enough.
“I’m not being ridiculous,” he growled. “This guy was here at the house. Trying to get in, trying to do who knows what. I’m getting a security guard for the house, but I want to put someone on you, too.” The hairs on the back of her neck rose at the familiar feeling of this conversation. Someone tracking her comings and goings, following her. She knew that his concerns came from a different place than Jon’s, but she couldn’t shake the irrational fear of following the same path. Her heart raced and she had the urge to run.
“I will not be followed around like a prisoner,” she said, jumping out of the car. He got out of the driver’s side. “I’m not going to be babysat by some big security guard. I’m with you all the time anyway.”
“There are times I’m not around or you’re at the bar on your own. I’m thinking of your safety.”
“I’m thinking of my life and the fact that I don’t want to live it under lock and key. I can’t have someone shadowing me all the time.” She needed space. She needed to get away right now.
“Only until Jon isn’t in the equation.”
“What happens if you think there is some other threat to me after that? Are you going to keep this guard on? Maybe start checking to see where I’m going? Who I’m talking with?” she shouted, racing through the house. Walking right back to the bedroom, she whipped her clothes off. She needed a shower. She could clear her head in the shower, stop the pounding in her head and calm down.
“Rox, be reasonable! He’s someone who has tried to kill you! On more than one occasion!”
“But I’m still here. I don’t put myself into risky situations. I’m not out running on the streets or anything. I haven’t gone anywhere except for the bar, your house, and the grocery store in weeks!” She threw her clothes in the hamper and stormed into the bathroom, turning the shower on. He followed her in and put his hand on the shower door as she tried to close it.
“I don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said, running a finger down her cheek. She jerked back from him. He was trying to control her, control her movements, and her breath was coming out frantic and shallow. She shook his hand off and closed the shower door. She could see him outside of the shower for a while and she cursed herself for shutting herself up in the shower stall, until he went back into the bedroom. Once his figure no longer loomed over her in the shower door her shoulders relaxed.
Finally, able to exhale, Rox realized she was shaking. This was different, but it felt the same. It felt like he was trying to keep her there. Trap her. First saying ‘I love you,’ which she had been able to handle, but then wanting to put a security guard on her. It brought back dangerous memories, especially knowing that Jon was out there, lurking. All those old fears, insecurities, and knee-jerk reactions rose to the surface when she was stressed. And she didn’t know how to push them down. But she knew having a guard following her around wasn’t going to quell the rising anxiety she’d been feeling ever since that night out by the dumpster.
She finished in the bathroom and walked into the bedroom. Liam sat up in bed. He jumped up and brushed past her, storming into the bathroom and slamming the door. Getting dressed, she sat on the edge of the bed waiting for him to finish. The shower turned off and she waited. He opened the door and looked right past her, grabbing a pair of boxers from his drawer and climbing into bed, punching his pillows.
“I can’t do it, Liam. I can’t give you that much control.” Why couldn’t he understand this? Why didn’t he get it?
“It’s not about control, Rox. I don’t give a shit where you go and what you do, what I care about is that you’re safe.”
“I get that, but it still feels like surveillance to me. It feels like I’ll be under your thumb and constant supervision.” She stared out the windows of their bedroom at the darkness beyond it and her own reflection. The reflection of a woman who was more screwed up than either one of them knew. It was fun while it lasted, when she could pretend she was just like everyone else. But she wasn’t and he deserved someone who was.
“I don’t want to control you, or track you,” he said, facing her. “I just want to make sure your psycho ex doesn’t attack you again. He knows where you work, he knows you’re here with me. He’s obviously tracking you, following you. I don’t know how you can be so casual with your safety.” The sincerity and concern shone in his eyes, but her own stupid hang ups wouldn’t let her be. If someone was following her, she’d run. Even if they were there for her own good, it would boost her anxiety to the point that she couldn’t stand it anymore and she’d leave. She’d run as fast as she could. And she didn’t want to run, not from Liam.
“I’m not. I know it seems that way, but I’m not. I don’t want him to hurt me,” she said, turning to face him. He was staring back at her, sitting up in the bed. “I don’t want him following me, but who knows how long he’ll be out there, especially if his parents are helping him. Would you have someone on me forever? Are they going to ride on the back of my bike with me? Am I even allowed to ride my bike anymore?” Her breathing increased and he rested his hand on both of he
rs, which were fisted around the sheets.
“Rox, you’re turning this into something it isn’t,” he said, rubbing her closed fists, trying to get her to relax.
“But it is to me. It’s how I feel, and as stupid as it might be, I can’t change it. I can’t change how the idea of you having someone follow me around makes me feel. It makes me feel like I’m being thrown right back to where I was five years ago. It makes me feel like I’m going to be a prisoner. I don’t know how to stop feeling that way.”
“All I can do is tell you why I want you to be safe, but I won’t force this on you. As much as it would break my heart if something happened to you, I don’t ever want to make you feel like you felt with him, like you’re a prisoner. But that doesn’t mean that your safety is off the table. We’re going to have to make some changes.”
“I know you didn’t ask for any of this. I’m sorry I’m so screwed up and I’m dumping all of this crap onto you.” She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on them. Tears pooled in her eyes and made dark splotches on the sheets as they fell off the tip of her nose. “I…I thought I’d put it all behind me. I thought I’d finally gotten away from it all. If I’d known all of this would be happening, I would have just left. I wouldn’t have put anyone else in danger.”
He wrapped his arm around her and shook her. “Don’t say things like that. Don’t say you would rather just disappear, instead of let people help you. The people who care about you, depend on you and love you. Leaving is not the answer when it comes to this, Rox. Doing everything in your power to keep you safe is what’s important. And doing whatever we can to keep that psycho away from you. That’s our number one priority now.”
She rested her head on his shoulder as he wrapped his other arm around her. Getting under the covers, she snuggled in close, absorbing his warmth as he ran his fingers across her scalp. She shivered as a tingle traveled down her spine. He was more than she could have ever dreamed of and he was hers, but would she be able to keep him?
