“My worst one yet.”
Did he not realize that,technically, casual and exclusive sexwasa relationship? Maybe it was the label that scared him. “What ifyouend us first?”
His caresses stopped. “I won’t.”
I pressed him away. “How can you know that?”
Shadows abraded the shine of his eyes. “Because I don’t want a mate, and I already know I’ll get everything I need from you.” His hand slid to my cheek, tipped my face up. He aligned his mouth with mine but didn’t erase the thin divide of air remaining.
He’d pushed himself into my home, into my bones, into my heart, but for some reason, he was holding himself back now? Was he trying to give me the illusion that the ball was in my court? Because it was an illusion.
There was no resisting Liam Kolane’s pull, however dismal the consequences of conceding and accepting a body devoid of a heart.
If the man came with a warning label, it would read:Ticking organ not included.
If I came with a warning label, it would read:Caution. Breakable.
“Damn you, Liam.” I felt his forehead furrow as I closed the distance between our lips.
This was going to hurt. This was going to break me. Why did I kiss him then? Because I’d already put myself back together once and was confident I’d be capable of doing it again.
I was a phoenix in wolf’s clothing.
Or just a really silly girl, but I liked picturing myself as a phoenix better.
His hands slid to my ass and scooped me up. Without breaking our kiss, I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist, and he carried me toward the hallway of bedrooms. I didn’t have to tell him which one was mine; he tracked my scent right to it.
He strode over to the bed and laid me on top, our lips breaking apart from the momentum. Panting against me, he asked, “Who’s Simon?”
It took my fizzing mind a moment to make sense of his question. When it hit me, my flushed lips pulled into a wide smile. “A character on a TV show.”
Liam straightened, then pulled off his T-shirt and tossed it aside. “You were going to turn me down for a fictional man?”
“I was going to turn you down because you were an ass.” The wall of carved muscle before me made saliva pool in my mouth. Thankfully, Liam hadn’t arrived shirtless, because there would’ve been zero resistance on my part.
His gaze stuck to my garland of lit stars, and he raised his nose and took a pull of the air. “Here I thought I’d be the first Kolane to visit your bedroom, but my son beat me to it.” He stared at the edges of the paper stars and swiped his damaged palm down his face. “I’m exploiting your parents’ kindness.”
I propped myself onto my elbows. “Didn’t you hear Mom say how much she’s enjoying Storm’s company? Besides, it’s distracting her, and she needs a distraction. Both my parents do.”
“Maybe, but he remains my responsibility.” He plunged a hand through his hair, mussing it some more.
I sat up completely, and even though my revved-up body hated the very thought of him leaving, I said, “If you need to go get him, we can reschedule.”
His gaze rammed back onto mine.
“Oryou can let my parents revel in your son’s company while you revel in their daughter’s. When you think about it, it’s a pretty solid trade-off.”
His guilt vanished like starlight at dawn. “I’d rather not think about your parents or my son at the present moment, but I’m a fan of your logic.” He ran his hands down my snug top, and I swear I could feel his calluses through the stretchy material. “This needs to come off.”
“Does it?”
The slowest smile bent his lips as his fingers dipped beneath the hem and traveled up my ribs, towing up the material. I lifted my arms, and he eased it over my head before tossing it aside. I thought he’d unhook my bra next, but his fingers worked my hair tie loose, freeing my long tresses, which he combed out with such care it sent shivers through my scalp. He rolled the heavy mass up into a loose rope, then tugged on it until my head dipped backward. He leaned over me, bringing his face toward the slope of skin connecting my neck to my shoulder and pressed a kiss to my pulse point.
“Your hair is a thing of rare beauty.”
I shivered, from the pulse of warm air and the compliment.
“Just like the whole of you,” he added.
