by J. H. Croix
I hadn’t even thought about where we were going. When we stepped out into the soft darkness, Liam glanced to me. “Where are we going?” he asked.
“I hadn’t thought about it. Any preferences?” Habit alone got me through the niceties.
“Luv, I’ve only been in Seattle for a bit. A few of the other players from here have dragged me and my mates out and about, but I can’t say I have any suggestions. We could go to 13 Coins again.”
Most days, I’d agree to go to 13 Coins, yet it felt too close to home in more ways than one. I could barely get a grip on my body and entwining memories with Liam at a place that held so many other memories connected to my parents didn’t seem like the best idea. I thought quickly. “How about Thai food?”
Just as he nodded, the light rail came to a smooth stop at the cross street. I grabbed his hand. “Come on.”
A short ride later, we stepped off the railcar and Liam walked alongside me, his palm resting in the curve of my back. The heat of his touch sifted through my jacket and blouse. I’d brought him to the same place Daisy and I had eaten earlier in the week. Though Seattle was awash in restaurants, I hewed to the tried and true. The waitress grinned when she saw me, her eyes flicking an appreciative glance in Liam’s direction.
Once we were seated, Liam looked over at me. “Okay, luv. You order for me.”
I adjusted my glasses. “Are you sure?”
He nodded firmly. “Yup. I’ve only had Thai once before.”
Our waitress arrived and quickly took our order. After I asked her to give Liam some suggestions, he grinned as soon as she suggested drunken noodles. “Oh, that’s rich. Drunken noodles sound as if they were made for me.”
A bit later, our waitress had cleared out plates and was bringing an after dinner glass of wine. As I’d have expected, Liam was charming and funny throughout dinner. He regaled me with tales of practical jokes he and his teammates played on each other back with his team in Britain. I could tell he missed his old team and realized his time with the Seattle Stars had been brief before his injury. Given that he’d been a central acquisition for the team and held a leadership role, I could only imagine he was facing some challenges with the adjustment and having to sit on the sidelines right now.
Our wine arrived, and Liam glanced over after I’d taken a rather generous sip. “Well, was it so bad, luv?” he asked with a wink.
“Was what so bad?”
“Seeing me. You’ve been avoiding me like the plague.”
My spine straightened. “I have not!” A complete lie, but I wasn’t quite up to discussing aloud why I’d been avoiding him.
His blue eyes darkened and coasted over me, sending a hot shiver through me with my skin heating everywhere his eyes landed. “Oh yes you have. You haven’t figured out yet that only makes me want you more. I love a challenge,” he murmured.
Our table was in a corner and about as tiny as a table could get and leave room for two people to eat. His knees had been bumping against mine throughout dinner. I jumped a little when I felt his hand curl over my bare knee and slide up my thigh. I took a gulp of wine and wondered if I’d made a serious miscalculation. I’d been avoiding Liam because I had no idea how to handle any of this. Despite Daisy’s declaration that I should enjoy as much of him as I could, I didn’t know if that was a good idea. Because I liked him too much, and when I was with him, I couldn’t turn away. Being with him was like the sun parting the clouds after days of rain. The feel of it on one’s skin was so divine.
Liam made me want things I’d never even considered. Yet, my position was so precarious with him. There was the sticky issue of him being a quite recent patient, and then the fact of his near rock star sports status. I was nothing more than a small-town girl who’d ended up in his orbit because I was brainy enough to sail through med school and land the job of my dreams. I shouldn’t wonder the things I wondered about him. Such as, how it would feel for this to be more than a surreal connection? What did he really think about me? And did he want me the way I wanted him? Was he nearly out of his mind with need whenever we were close?
My breath came out in a hiss when he reached the juncture between my thighs. His palm stayed right where it was, curled over my thigh with his thumb softly stroking back and forth. My entire being narrowed to the small strip of flesh where his touch moved in a slow sweep. “Liam, what are you doing?” I asked in a fierce whisper.
My cheeks were hot, hell my whole body was hot, and it was a miracle I didn’t dissolve into a puddle my chair.
His eyes met mine, the blue gone dark as navy. “Touching you,” he said, the low timbre of his voice sending a ripple of need through me.
Right then, he slid his palm down the curve of my inner thigh where my skin was so sensitive. I didn’t even realize I was widening my thighs until I felt my skirt slide up further. He trailed a finger over the wet silk there. I was drenched with my own arousal as he commenced to tease me to madness right there in the restaurant where his hand was hidden under the table in the dark corner. All he did was drag his fingers back and forth, coasting over my swollen clit again and again and again. My breath came in short pants, and I almost forgot where we were. His eyes were on me the entire time, and I couldn’t tear my gaze free—locked in this sensuous, shimmering web of desire with him. He slipped a finger under the edge of my panties and sank it knuckle deep into my channel. I was dripping wet, and he slid home instantly. My hips were rolling into his touch, and I was on the verge of a climax, small ripples of pleasure building inside.
I was snapped out of the madness when the waitress came out of the kitchen entrance nearby, the swinging door banging shut behind her and nudging me into awareness. I clamped my knees together. “Oh my God! We have to stop.”
His hand was effectively trapped between my thighs now. He arched a brow and eased his finger in another slow stroke. “Must we now?” he asked, his tone hinted with that haughtiness.
The raw desire pounding through me combined with mortification made me hot all over. I glared at him. “Yes!”
Our waitress was making her way back across the restaurant from delivering a tray of food to a table on the far side of the room, and I could tell she was aiming right for us. “Ease up, luv,” Liam said softly.
I relaxed my knees, and he slipped his fingers out of me. He carefully put the silk back where it belonged and threw a grin at me just as the waitress reached our table. The heat of his touch disappearing sent a pang of longing through me. That’s how out of my mind I was. I might’ve been mortified at almost tumbling into an orgasm in a restaurant, yet that didn’t stop me from wanting his fingers shoved right back inside of me.
I managed to nod along and speak a few words while the waitress checked to see if we needed anything else, but my attention was focused elsewhere. Specifically on Liam and when we’d be alone. I had no idea how much time passed between then and when we found our way outside. I was only vaguely aware of my surroundings. It had started to rain softly since we’d entered the restaurant a few hours ago. The feel of his hand on my low back was searing. Liam hailed a cab, and I didn’t even think to question why. I almost never took cabs. Once we were in the backseat with the panel up between us and the driver up front, Liam yanked me onto his lap.
My knees fell apart as I caught my balance and instantly sank down against him, savoring the feel of his hard shaft through the layers of my panties and his jeans. He leaned back and lifted his hands, reaching to untie my hair. With a flick, the elastic snapped off and landed God-knows-where in the cab. My curls unwound and spilled over my shoulders. He ran his hands through them before sliding one hand to cup the back of my head and leaning in to kiss me. Our mouths collided in a hot, wet and overpowering kiss. I couldn’t get close enough fast enough and wound my arms around him, plastering my body against his.
I sighed into his mouth at the feel of him—all hard muscles with warmth emanating like a furnace. He groaned into my mouth when I rolled my hips against him, almost
crying out at the sweet streak of pleasure from the pressure of his hard cock against me. With a muttered swear, he tore his lips free. His eyes locked with mine in the dim light of the cab, his gaze so intense, my heart gave a hard kick. It felt as if we were alone in the world, protected in the quiet of the cab with cars rolling by and the soft patter of the rain on the roof. The air around us was heavy with the weight of desire, taut with need, and that intimacy I didn’t know how to comprehend hung around us. When I was with him like this, none of my worries about us mattered. All I knew was it felt so good, I felt held and protected in his embrace. It was so much more than just sex.
Liam swallowed, drawing my eyes down, and I could see the rapid beat of his pulse along the column of his throat. His hand sifted through my curls, and he subtly arched his hips, sending another sharp spike of pleasure scoring through me.
He freed his hand from my curls and traced it down over my shoulder, lingering along the curve of my breast before moving to unbutton my blouse, so swiftly it was hanging open and the cool rush of air sent goose bumps prickling over my skin.
I became vaguely aware of where we were. “Liam, maybe we shouldn’t…”
“Tell me everything we shouldn’t do, luv. I shall have to do all of it,” he said with a low chuckle.
I couldn’t help but smile. He was so naughty, and I secretly loved it. I leaned back and looked at him. He rolled a taut nipple between his thumb and forefinger, the thin silk of my bra sliding back and forth heightening his touch. “Shall I not do this?” he asked in a gruff whisper.
Wordless, I shook my head.
“I think…” He dragged his hand over the curve of my belly. I experienced a pang of self-consciousness. I’d never been one of those thin girls, and I loved good food too much to deprive myself. As such, I had the curves to show it. He glanced down and my eyes followed his gaze. My skirt had ridden up around my thighs and the silk of my black thong was visible against the obvious bulge in his jeans. He gave my generous hip a squeeze. “Have I mentioned I love every inch of you?” he asked in a murmured, instantly dissolving my pang of insecurity.
His eyes flicked up to catch mine, right as he dragged his fingers across the wet silk between my thighs. I was beyond shame at this point and couldn’t keep from rolling my hips into his touch. “I think we need to finish what we started before we get you home.”
Instead of worrying about where we were, I was worried he meant to finish this here when I couldn’t even bear the idea of him not coming home with me. “No! We can wait. I want to…”
“Oh luv. There will be plenty more. Think of this as an appetizer. I know just what I want to do when we get back to your flat, and it won’t work in here.”
He pushed my panties out of the way and sank two fingers inside of me. Between the long, slow tease he’d put me through in the restaurant and the last few minutes, I was so close to ready, I almost came instantly. He tangled his free hand in my curls again and fit his mouth over mine. With his tongue mimicking the stroking of his fingers in my channel, my climax burst through me, my cries caught in the heat of our kiss.
I tipped my forehead against his as he slowly eased away from our kiss. My breath came in rough gusts, and I tried to pull myself together, but I was nearly limp from the climax that had rocked me. When I finally managed to lift my head and open my eyes, I met his gaze and my heart set to pounding again. The need in his eyes was so raw and so intense, it hit me right in my chest.
Chapter 19
Liam
Somehow, bloody hell if I knew how, I managed to help Olivia button her blouse. She didn’t move from my lap until the cab rolled to a stop in front of her building. I was so wracked with need, I could barely think. All I knew was I needed to be inside of her and needed every inch of her bared to me. A distant voice in the far reaches of my mind tried to warn me I was in way over my head. I was so far gone over Olivia, I couldn’t even stop to think, much less listen to that part of me that thought I’d gone and lost my mind. Because I had, well and truly.
The driver slid the panel open and called out the fare. I was stumped for a moment, my brain so muddled I couldn’t comprehend, and then fumbled for my wallet to pay him. Somehow we stumbled out of the cab. Olivia smoothed her skirt down and held her jacket together, covering her crookedly buttoned blouse. The soft rain fell in cool spikes against my cheeks, just barely easing the hot lust pounding inside of me. I looked down at her with her curls a wild halo around her face and her gorgeous green eyes glowing under the streetlights. My need for her was so fierce I was almost shaking from it. I curled my hand around hers and cleared my throat.
“Shall we?” I asked, my voice almost croaking as I gestured to the entrance to her building.
She gave her head a little nod and turned, tugging me along behind her. She dropped her keys by the door, but then we made it through. I couldn’t keep my eyes off the sway of her hips as she climbed the stairs ahead of me. I called on every ounce of discipline I had not to take her right here in the stairwell. In a daze, I followed her into her flat. She hung her jacket on a coatrack by the door, gesturing for me to do the same. After she slipped her shoes off, I followed suit while she walked across her small flat to turn up the furnace. I met her halfway across the room, sliding my hands over the lush curves of her hips. Her breath caught, and her eyes slammed to mine.
I’d had this idea we’d get back to her apartment, and I’d seduce her all over again slowly. But I was way too far gone for that. My cock was so hard, I was on the verge of losing control without laying another finger on her. We happened to be standing right beside the sofa. I’d like to say I planned it that way, but it was solely because her flat was rather small.
“Turn around,” I said gruffly.
Her dark green gaze held mine for a beat and then she turned. I stroked one hand through her hair, pushing it to the side so I could taste the sweet skin of her neck. A tremor ran through her. I flicked the button open on my jeans and shoved the zipper down. In a flash, I yanked the condom I’d tucked into my pocket out. I paused to glance up.
Olivia stood before me, her spine straight and her head bowed slightly. Her breath came in soft pants and bloody hell it turned me on. I dragged my palm over my cock. I was so hard, all I could think about was being inside of her.
“Bend over,” I said, my voice nothing more than a rough whisper.
With the sofa directly in front of her, she didn’t hesitate and leaned forward, curling her palms over the back of the sofa.
I shoved my jeans and briefs down just far enough to free my cock and rolled the condom on. I slid a palm down her spine, savoring when she arched, her bottom rising up. I finally gave into what I’d fantasized about so many times since I’d first seen her in her proper little skirt and pushed it up over her hips, almost groaning aloud at the sight of her luscious bottom with a scrap of black silk nestled in the center. I loved her curves and dragged my hands over them, savoring the silk of her skin and the soft give of her flesh. Her breath was coming in heaves, along with mine.
I leaned over and hooked my finger under her thong, pulling it out of the way. She was slicked in wetness, pink and glistening. I couldn’t wait anymore and stepped close behind her. Gripping her hips, I positioned my cock at her entrance and sank inside in a swift surge, seating myself deeply. I heard my own groan, a rough broken sound, mingling with hers. Her channel pulsed around me, its warm, silken pressure lashing the whip of lust sharply inside me. With one hand holding tightly to her hip, I slid the other up her spine and threaded my hand in her hair, lightly gripping her curls, as I begun to stroke into her. She arched deeply, her hips pressing back into me with each surge into her. The pressure inside built rapidly, and I felt my release coming. I eased my hand from her hip to reach between her thighs and stroke across her swollen clit. At her cry, I finally let go, my release crashing over me hard and fast.
I curled over her back and slipped my arms around her waist. I wasn’t holding onto her for phys
ical support, but it felt as if I was holding on for dear life. This, whatever this madness was with Olivia, made me feel raw and exposed, and only she could ease the fear the feeling elicited.
Several long moments passed before I felt her shiver and realized goose bumps were rising on her skin. I straightened and slowly pulled out of her. She straightened and turned to face me, her skirt still bunched around her hips. “You’re cold,” I said. Such a mundane comment given the emotions thundering through me, yet it was all I could think to say.
Chapter 20
Olivia
My car rolled to a stop in my aunt’s driveway. I turned the engine off with the click of a button. I loved my little hybrid hatchback and gave the dashboard a pat. I glanced around as I stepped out of the car. The sky was dotted with clouds with the sun peeking out between them. Yellowed birch leaves fell with a gust of wind. Cascade Falls, the small town where I’d grown up, was nestled in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. It was one of many towns within the broader radius of Seattle, but once you drove off the interstate and into the towering evergreen forests, it was hard to believe Seattle was nearby. After my parents died, my Aunt Lorraine had raised me. She was my mother’s fraternal twin sister and so similar to my mother, it was almost strange. Over the years, what I’d called her had morphed affectionately to Lorrie. She was largely responsible for my interest in medicine. She’d been in medical school when my parents died and had dropped out to raise me. She already had her nursing degree at the time and was still working as a nurse in a local pediatrics office to this day. She’d never pressured me, but I shared a natural affinity for every academic subject along the road to medicine, so becoming a doctor had been an easy choice for me.
Her home was a bungalow style, common in the Pacific Northwest, and tucked into the hillside amongst other similar homes. Her beloved garden was fading through the long, slow dance of autumn. I walked down the slate walkway to her front door and stepped inside, calling out as I did.
