“Dad forced it on us. Said we had to keep up appearances.”
“That’s…horrible.”
Liam gave me a wry smile, hand on the small of my back as we resumed our path to the table. “That’s life as a Danvers.”
“Maybe you should take my last name when we get married,” I mumbled.
Liam pulled up short, jerking me to stop. “Absolutely not. You’ll take my last name, and you’ll like it.” He nodded at his grandpa. “Besides, Danvers is his last name too, and for him and him alone, I’m proud to have it.”
With a mock salute, I murmured, “Yes, daddy.”
Like the gentleman he was, Liam pulled out a chair for me at the small circular table, then took one of the two remaining seats, sandwiching me between him and Bill.
Once everyone had settled, an impressive gathering of waiters appeared, each carrying two dishes, moving around the room in a well-choreographed dance to pass them out to guests.
I barely paid attention to what I was eating as each course came and went, too intent on charming the pants off Liam’s grandfather. And it seemed, by the end of the meal, when dessert was cleared away and guests rose from the chairs to dance, mingle, or refill their cocktails, that I’d done my job perfectly.
With a wide grin, Bill looked at his grandson and said, “Don’t let this one go. You remind me so much of me and your grandma.”
My heart softened, and Liam gripped my hand. I knew he’d lost his grandma shortly before he’d left Portland, and that the loss had precipitated the downfall of him and Mellie. That he’d pulled away in those final few months as he struggled mentally with the hole his grandma had left in his life.
“Don’t worry,” Liam said to Bill, though his eyes remainedlocked on mine, “she’s stuck with me forever.”
I leaned in for a kiss, whispered, “Forever sounds good to me.”
Liam’s hands seemed to be everywhere at once as we pushed into the room after bidding his grandfather good night. He was downright greedy in the way he caressed and squeezed, pulling me against him, the thick ridge of his cock digging into my stomach. Sealing his mouth to mine and plunging his tongue inside. I met him with equal fervor, desperate for him, my clit throbbing, begging for attention, my core clenching around nothing, aching to be filled.
“Are you okay?” I asked when he peeled his mouth from mine in favor of sucking on the skin of my neck as he tugged on the tie of my dress. It released but caught on the tips of my breasts, and Liam eagerly pulled it free, rolling it over my hips until it fell to the floor.
He didn’t return to his feet, merely remained on his knees, staring at my exposed pussy like he was a man starved and only my taste would satisfy him.
“I’m fine, Wildflower,” he said, leaning in to nudge me with his nose, inhaling deeply. God, that shouldn’t be so sexy, the simple act of him sniffing my most intimate place. But I wanted him to do it again and again, then follow that inhale with a taste. “But…this is what I come from. You and your family…you’re lucky. That your enterprise is self-contained. That the small town is so good to you. That you haven’t ever had to experience a moment of the shit I’ve had to deal with my entire life. And notonly that…” He trailed off, glancing up at me. There was so much worry in his eyes, and before I could question it, he continued. “Your family genuinely loves and cares for each other. I never really had that. Just Gramps and Gram and mom.”
“They’re amazing people,” I reminded him. “And they were enough. They raised you right.”
“Dad is an only child,” he said, his hands coming up to cup my ass, face resting against my stomach. “And Gram and Gramps…they knew they went wrong somewhere with him.”
“I don’t necessarily think it was all their fault. They both had a hand in raising you, and you turned out wonderfully.”
“I don’t want you to think less of me,” he whispered against my skin. “Those people—my dad, my brother, Mellie’s family—they’re awful. But they aren’t me. I’m not sure I ever belonged here.”
Reaching down, I threaded my fingers through his hair, tugging until he looked at me. “You’re right,” I told him plainly. “Because you belong to me.”
Liam softened, his troubled expression clearing away as quickly as it appeared. “I love you.”
“I love you too, baby. Now be a good boy”—I brought my fingers to my pussy and spread it open for him—“and give it a taste.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, his tongue darting out and tracing the edges of my fingers, around and around my clit. My legs nearly gave out at that first drag. I’d never get over how fucking perfectly he ate me, lapping at me like he wanted to savor me, like I was the most exquisite thing he’d ever tasted.
Hand still gripping his hair, I stepped out of my dress andretreated to the bed, sitting on the end and hooking my heels on the edge. Baring myself completely, giving him full access to torment me with that beautiful mouth.
“Prettiest goddamn pussy I’ve ever seen,” he breathed, the air puffing against my slick, swollen flesh, raising goosebumps on my arms and legs.
I leaned back, unable to hold myself upright any longer, wanting to simply enjoy the sensations of this moment. Liam spread me open wider, hands high on my thighs, keeping me bared for his consumption.
And then he did something that had me yelping in surprise—though I didn’t entirely hate it.
“You like that?” he asked, chuckling.
