“I never said you were scaring me.”
His face crumpled. “Do you think I can’t see it all over your face? I terrify you because I want you so much. Don’t you understand what you do to me? I ache when I’m not inside you. My hands shake when I can’t touch you. And to hear you put yourself down makes my brain want to explode. You’re worth a hundred of those people out there.”
On his last, hushed sentence, her body tensed. Despite his frantic demeanor, he made her want him. Now. Her silky underpants felt as comfortable as a burlap thong. He moved his large hands over her shoulders and she bit her tongue, imagining his fingers parting her folds and diving deep.
His face rested so close to hers, his lips a hair’s breadth away. “Surrender to me. Right here, right now. Give yourself to me.”
Kate nodded, worried, but overcome by hunger. Liam picked her up and sat her on the boardroom table. He urged her to lie back and she did, watching as he unzipped his pants and found a condom. Once sheathed, his eyes glinted as he pushed up her skirt, pulled aside her underwear and slid two fingers into her. She cried out, arching her back at his less-than-gentle yet perfect touch. His fingers moved inside her with a unique grace, marking her, stretching her, getting her ready for him.
She wanted him like this—rough and demanding.
When he was satisfied with her almost-shameful level of lubrication, he removed his hand. Positioning his cock at her entrance, he waited until their eyes met, and drove into her. Maddening thrusts made her close her eyes and bite her tongue. With each forceful thrust, he grunted, clutching at her. He spread her legs apart. Through the slit of her closed eyes, she was barely aware of her stilettos up in the air. Just the thought of someone discovering them forced her to the edge, and his movements drove her over.
“Fuck. Kate. Fuck.” He spat his words in time with each pump.
Her pussy clenched, tightened and sighed its release. As he came, she barreled over the precipice again, lost in the churning waters below. She opened her eyes and took in his messy hair and sweaty brow. His fresh dishevelment only heightened his allure. He shuddered and pulled out of her, clearly bashful about having given her such a forceful fucking. He pulled her into his embrace, and she went, her legs still wrapped around him.
He buried his face in her neck and shuddered once more. “No more questions. Just be with me, okay?”
Kate bit her trembling lip. He needed her. She needed him. Like this. Hard. Often. Victims to an unnerving passion.
She could forget her apprehensions, couldn’t she?
Maybe just for a while.
Chapter Twelve
“I told you I’d get you in my bed.”
Kate smirked. “Don’t be so cocky, Doyle. I’m in your office, not your bed.”
They got off his private elevator and Liam pressed a button to take it off service. No sooner had he set her bags down on the floor, Liam backed her up against the nearest wall and kissed her, letting his tongue trace her lips. “Oh, you’ll be in my bed soon enough.”
He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. Kate gasped and giggled at his insane enthusiasm. She’d never known a man with such stamina. Or was it their particular chemistry? Because God only knew she felt it too.
Over the past few heady days, they’d barely spent a moment outside each other’s arms. Kate wasn’t the sort of person to sleep in a man’s embrace, but she’d spent her nights tangled with Liam. The first thing he’d done upon waking this morning was gaze into her eyes, as if he saw great mysteries there, then reached a hand between her legs, pleased by the answers he’d found.
He’d taken her before their room-service breakfast and again afterward. They hadn’t stopped. They didn’t seem to know how.
Sure, it still felt strange to be part of such emotional fire, but she asked no more questions, as he’d requested.
And now, as he’d gently threatened not long ago, he’d moved her to his office suite. She hadn’t argued, figuring he could now make some revenue from booking her suite.
He turned the corner and led her to a room she hadn’t seen before, his bedroom. Once inside, he set her down, patting her derriere. “Here we are.”
Kate took a moment to look around. This was where Liam slept when he stayed at the hotel, his home away from home. In many ways, the room was as luxurious as she would have expected, but it held a few surprises.
A tinted floor-to-ceiling window made up the wall on one side, with an ideal view of the Strip’s lights. A flat-screen TV ornamented the wall opposite the bed. The door to the large walk-in closet hung open in the corner, where she spied countless pressed shirts and a rack full of navy blue ties. She giggled, realizing now she’d never seen him wear any other color. “What’s with the navy ties?”
“A long time ago, my mentor in the building industry told me about the importance of a strong image. That was back before I had any kind of image. ‘Wear a navy tie’ he said. ‘Whenever you walk into a room, people will think you own it.’ When I put on those ties, I forget the scared kid I used to be.”
Kate sensed an opening and prodded for more info. “Tell me more about this mentor. Who was he?”
“It’s not important anymore.” With a determined set to his jaw, he’d shut her down once again.
She decided to forget about it for now. Instead, she took in the rest of the space. The room was decorated in shades of slate grey and black, modern and sleek. The bed itself was simple, king-sized with black sheets, but its setting made her gasp. Three built-in steps led to its raised platform, and the short wall adjacent to it housed a long gas fireplace. Liam walked over to the wall and pressed a button. Flames shot down the length of the fireplace. At a glance, it seemed as if the footboard was made of fire.
She shook her head, awed at this dream bedroom.
Liam blushed. “I know. It’s extravagant, but the architect insisted on the fireplace. I don’t use it much. It’s Vegas, after all. I can turn it off if you want.”
“No. It’s incredible.” She smiled at him. Somehow this room was the perfect symbol of his success in life, in spite of the odds.
Liam came over and took her in his embrace. They stood there, wrapped up in each other, when his desk phone rang. Liam groaned.
“I’d better get that.”
She moved over to the fireplace and stared at the gentle flames as he answered his call. Feeling its heat, she closed her eyes and dreamed.
Moments later, he stood behind her, brushing her hair aside and kissing her shoulder. He turned her around and then he kissed her forehead. “A few things need my attention, I’m afraid. I’ll have to ravish you later.”
Though she’d never admit it to him, she was glad for a breather. “I understand.”
“I can do my work from here. I have a spare laptop if you want to check emails or surf.”
“It’s okay. I should check my messages, but I can use my phone.”
“Help yourself to anything in the fridge. I’ll just be a couple of hours.” He smiled and went to a tidy workspace tucked into another corner of the massive bedroom.
Overwhelmed from seeing how he lived, how he worked, Kate meandered back to the front room. Letting out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, she sat on the couch where she and Liam had first talked.
It was so easy to forget his wealth when they were twisted in the sheets, just a man and a woman, but every time she was shown a new corner of his life, she felt winded. If her dad or that loan shark Vaughan ever got wind of her being here, the demands for money would never stop.
She touched the skin under her bruised eye, glad it felt better, but the memory of Vaughan touching her made her bristle with fear and shame. If he found her…
No. She was safe here with Liam. Not that she could stay forever, but for now she had sanctuary.