“You’re delicious.” He stopped a moment to kiss the inside of her thigh, then suckled her clit.
“Oh, Jesus!” The shrieking voice, as unfamiliar as it seemed, was hers. She came, and Liam continued sucking until he’d wrung the last shudder from her body. Shock and fucking awe.
Even as her legs crumpled and her knees folded inward, he held her open and continued to lap. Her body flailed as new spasms shot through her. When they did subside, she wriggled under him, enjoying the warmth and wetness he’d created. He finally moved from between her legs and sat next to her, smiling wickedly at his handiwork.
“Oh my God. I can’t believe what you did to me,” she said on a breath. “You, of all people.”
The corners of his mouth began to droop. He wiped his wet lips with the back of his hand and looked away.
Shit. She sat up, blinking over burning eyes. “I’m sorry, Liam. That came out the wrong way.”
He tucked his still-hard dick back into his jeans and stared at her, his face suffused with a strange mix of hunger and disappointment. For a second, she glimpsed a frightening gleam in his eyes. The embodiment of Bridget’s words: a punisher. A man who held grudges and never forgot. His cold, blue eyes now held a feral glint, and made him appear capable of anything. All traces of congenial Liam disappeared, and only a hard shell seemed to remain.
This angry Liam scared her.
From this man, she expected some sort of retaliation. She could feel her muscles tense in anticipation.
However, as quickly as she spied the fury in his gaze, it disappeared. Those husky eyes softened, becoming more like that of a scorned puppy.
After the longest, most awkward moment of her life, he reached over and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. He let his fingers graze her in the gentlest of gestures, and considered her face. Under his quiet scrutiny, she sighed, her body wanting to relax into him.
He got up from the bed, reached for her shirt and placed it over her head, feeding her arms through the sleeves as if she were a doll. And she let him dress her. She fucking let him.
He took a step back. “Good-night, Kate.”
As he walked out of her bedroom, she finally rallied herself. “Wait.”
His back was to her, his shoulders rounded and tense. He looked over his shoulder, but not at her. “Make no mistake. I want you, but not like this. Not when you hate yourself for being with me.” He glanced at her. “I’m not a villain, Kate. Once you figure that out, maybe we can talk.”
She didn’t move, and listened as he walked out, closing the door behind him. She stayed frozen to her spot, listening to his fading footsteps on the metal staircase outside until she couldn’t hear them anymore.
And then she tried to devise a way to deliver a swift kick to her own ass.
One hour and a demolished pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream later, Kate stared at the TV, clothed in her favorite terrycloth robe. Normally, sliding into the fluffy garment would elicit a sigh of relief from her. Tonight, the fabric grated. After all, she’d felt Liam’s hands and tongue on her body. Nothing else would ever feel as good. Not silk or expensive lotions. Hell, not even a bath in chocolate sauce.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she muttered. “It was just an emotionless one-night stand that got all fucked up.”
Only her emotions were currently riding at an all-time low. Her emotions felt like dust that had been scattered in the wind.
She’d hurt him.
As if. He’d probably already forgotten her. In fact, he’d probably headed right back to one of his casinos and picked up one of the honeys that no doubt constantly batted their eyes at him. Touching her? That was skill, not passion. It likely meant nothing to him. Playing an instrument, nothing more. This was Liam Doyle, after all. What had she expected? Pledges of love and romance?
Perhaps not, but she’d been up for a good, solid hammering, something she hadn’t had in a while.
Someone on the TV spoke and she looked up. She grimaced at the eHarmony commercial, as if it had been put up just to taunt her.
“Shit.” She dropped her spoon in the empty tub. “Shit, shit, shit.”
She’d had Liam, a veritable sex god, disrobing her in her apartment and she’d messed it up. A jury of horny women would surely hang her for such an offense.
And she’d insulted him, all because of her stupid values. Last time she checked, values didn’t keep her warm at night. Values didn’t snuggle on the couch with her. Values didn’t want to fuck her into next week, but Liam had offered. She knew he would have delivered too. The miserable voice inside her head told her she’d lost out on the best night of her life.
The worst part was knowing she’d wounded him. All he’d wanted was a bit of solace at a bad moment in his life, and she’d managed to rub salt in his wounds and make him feel like a worm. She didn’t think she could hate herself more, and didn’t understand why it should bother her so much.
As soon as the eHarmony spokesman reaffirmed that he had the perfect match for her, she decided to call it a night. Dumping the remains of her gluttony in the sink, she made her way to the bathroom, then wandered back toward the kitchen to make sure her freezer door was closed tightly. Damn door had a tendency to pop open.
It was then she noticed the open living room window. But the A/C was on, and she wouldn’t have left the window open. As the sinking feeling hit her soul, she turned and saw a figure in the room.
He was no more than a dark shadow. But he was real, and he was big, and he was in her living room.
He moved in front of her, his body a wall of black clothing. Before she could scream, he pinned her to the kitchen wall and grabbed her jaw.
“Well, well.” His voice was like gravel and cigarettes. “Louis Callender’s kid. I can see the resemblance.”
“Who the hell are you?” Kate managed to say.
“Sorry, Red. I ask the questions here and you’d better answer. ” He looked her up and down, his iron grip locked on her face. “Now, be a good girl and hand over the money.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You are Louis’s kid?”
“His name is on my birth certificate, if that’s what you mean.”
The man eased his grip and caressed her cheek, making her want to vomit. “Well, Red, your daddy borrowed a lot of money from me. And it’s time to pay it back. With interest.”
She would not cry. She would not cry, as terrified as this shit made her. “So talk to my father. It’s his problem, not mine.”
The man angled his head. “Oh, I did talk to him, sweet cheeks. And he pointed me in your direction. I know old Louis doesn’t have a pot to piss in, but he said you’ve helped him before. So it’s your problem now, darlin’.”
“What makes you think I have that kind of money just lying around?”
The man’s measured movements made her think of a komodo dragon in a nature show. His beady eyes and thick limbs even resembled the predatory reptile. He slithered his hand from her cheek down to her neck, his touch light but ready to strike. “Well, you’ll just need to find it somewhere. Five grand. If you don’t come up with it, I might be forced to cash in another way.”
She wanted to scream but the sound stuck in her throat. “Please…”
He leaned in and breathed on her. “You know, you are very pretty.” He moved one large hand down her torso and loosened the tie on her robe, pulling until the two flaps opened. He gawked at her chest. “Very pretty. That’s why I won’t break anything tonight, but you might have a few bruises when I’m done. Something to remember me by.”
She tried again to scream, but only succeeded in squeaking. She threw up her hands to protect herself. It was no good. Within seconds, his hands were on her shoulders and he’d shoved her against the wall. Reeling from the impact, she barely had time to recover before he hauled back and let his fist fly toward her face. Hard bone cracked and shards of lightning flashed in front of her. She fell to the floor.