His hair was damp, and I caught sight of a few stray water drops that made me itch to lick them off his skin.
Liam's grin was cocky. "Some of us don't have the luxury of lying in bed all day."
"Admit it, you're just not as cool as me."
In reality, we both knew I didn't have much choice. I could fight the pull of the sun and rise early, but it took a lot of effort. Liam, more powerful and older, did it as easily as breathing.
He slapped my sheet covered body. "Come on. Up. Shower."
I rolled onto my side, watching him as he sauntered to a dresser, pulling out a change of clothes and putting them on. It was a seductive sight. If I'd known spending the day with Liam came with views like this, I'd have come much sooner.
"You seem like you're in a hurry." I wrapped my arms around my pillow, content to lie there for a little while longer.
The grin he shot me was roguish. "Thomas needs me at the Gargoyle."
I snuggled deeper into my pillow. "Lame."
Half dressed, with only his pants partially buttoned, Liam advanced on me. He planted his fists in the bed on either side of me. "Come with me."
I cracked one eye, taking in his intent stare, the electric blue of his eyes. "Why?"
He crooked an eyebrow at me, asking if I really didn't know the answer to that.
Alright, I did. You couldn't tell someone like Liam, a protector down to the soles of his feet, that an uber-scary group of assassins might be after you and not expect him to do something about it.
At least this time he was asking instead of ordering. I counted that as progress.
"You can't visit clients if the Scattered are after you, anyway," he pointed out.
He was right. If the uber-scary assassins really were after me, I'd be placing any client I visited in danger. Not exactly the best business model.
Seeing he'd scored a point, Liam pressed further. "Come spend the night with us. That's all I'm asking."
I found myself contemplating his offer. Last night had proven there were worse things than time spent in the company of the enforcers. Truthfully, staying at the Gargoyle wasn't a bad idea. Surrounding myself with a bunch of powerful vampires would give me time to plan my next move.
A fact I was sure Liam was counting on me to recognize.
A compromise where he got me safe, but I kept my autonomy and control.
Who said old vampires couldn't learn new tricks?
Liam grinned, seeing he had me.
I fixed him with a hard look. "You won't always get your way."
His expression was innocent as he straightened. "Of course not."
"I need to call Connor and let him know the change in plans." I moved toward the end table where my phone was conveniently charging. Another thing Liam had made sure was taken care of while I was out.
"Already done. He and Nathan are bringing your car."
Liam disappeared into his walk-in closet while I froze in place. It seemed I'd spoken too soon about him learning from past experiences.
He walked out of the closet, this time wearing a long-sleeved shirt and holding a leather jacket. He grinned at my glare.
I huffed, not liking the fact he'd outmaneuvered me so neatly. Tricky, tricky vampire.
I grabbed my phone off the table, pausing when I noticed there were five missed calls, all from the same unknown number, and one message.
