“What did he say?” Imurmured.
He squashed his lips hard. So hard I thought they would never open again. But they did. “He said that he’d hoped getting rid of her would make me more of aman.”
My hand froze against his. “Getting ridof—”
“Dad would beat Mom. Often. The night she died…” His voice juddered. I squeezed his hand to steady him. “They fought because of something I did.” His voice broke on a strangled sob. He pressed his lips tight again, but again, they reopened along with eyes blackened by tears. “I always suspected that he’d beaten my mother to death, but I’d never known it for certain. Not until he confessed to it. I lost my shit then. I told him I would kill him. And then I hungup.”
My heart shattered like Liam’s stance. He sagged against me, sobs rolling out of him. I wasn’t sure if they were for his father or for his mother. I led him to an Adirondack before the weight of his sorrow could knock us both over. He pulled me down with him and hugged me like a frightened child hugged their mother, clutching the fabric of my tank, crying against mycollarbone.
Liam’s sobs finally subsided, but he didn’t raise his face from where it pressed against me. “Lucas and August had been sitting next to me, so when my father was found floating in his pool mere hours later, they were convinced I’d killed him. They went so far as to discuss this with Frank. I went ape-shit crazy on them and carried out my own investigation. I hired a PI and had him look into you. I’d smelled you on my father’s couch. I didn’t think you’d killed him—at least notalone.”
I ran my fingers through his hair, hoping my touch could soothe him alittle.
“It took Everest leaving town for it to suddenly click into place. I’d learned about Becca by then and made the connection. And then, when Frank told me Everest had stolen the Boulderrelic—”
“Everest stoleit?”
Henodded.
“Why?”
“I’m not sure. For leverage?” He sighed, and his warm breath pulsed against my skin. “Tomorrow, I’ll start looking for him, but tonight… Tonight, I want to spend the night not thinking about my father. Not thinking about Everest. Not thinking about the heart attack you gave me when you asked me to end yourlife…”
He released the fabric of my tank top and gazed up at me, his hands finding purchase on the small of my back. His breaths slowed, evening out. The heat of them raised goose bumpseverywhere.
I was suddenly conscious that it wasn’t a child who was holding me, and my fingers faltered. His lips connected with the sharp bone in my shoulder and stayed there—not quite a kiss. I never thought a shoulder could be so sensitive, but every nerve ending in my body converged in that onespot.
He raised a hand to the base of my skull and tugged my face infinitesimallycloser.
“Frank wants me to join the pack,” I blurtedout.
“He’s not the onlyone.”
With the tip of his index finger, he traced a line down the center of my face, down the middle of my throat, stopping only once his finger reached the patch of skin underneath which my heart beat a fevered rhythm. He spread his fingers and pressed his palmthere.
“You really think Frank would have had us fight to the death?” I asked, my voice a littlehoarse.
“Probably not, but there was no way I was going to risk your life to findout.”
His eyes glimmered in the violet darkness, reflecting the sheet of stars suspended over ourheads.
He leaned toward me and fit his lips to mine. The fragrance of his skin tangled with that of the forest and of the moon and of the warm earth. His hold became crushing as his mouth parted mine, as his tongue twirled aroundmine.
Liam kissed the same way he did everything else in his life, with a deep, savage, territorialhunger.
In the distance, a wolf howled, and I swear my body responded, my skin bristled. Liam’s too. Soft, hot skin transformed beneath my fingers into softerfur.
He broke off the kiss tocurse.
“Full moon,” heexplained.
Ifrowned.
“It makes our bodies crave turning more than anythingelse.”
I was pretty sure I cravedhimmore thananything.
“Fuck it. I’d rather stay in skintonight.”
