Chapter Five
Without a word,Liampicked Cora up in his arms and carried her towards the stairs. He knew she kept a first aid kit in her bathroom. As soon as he picked her up, Cora started fighting him.
"Liam put me down. I can walk."
"So, you can bleed all over your floor? It's fine. You need to keep pressure off your foot right now."
Doc, another of Liam’s teammates, wasmore equipped for field dressing, but he was here, and there wasn't a force on earth that could keep him from her anymore. Cora needed him.Liamtried to ignore how perfect Cora felt in his arms or how great she smelled, but it was impossible. She called to him like she always had. He wanted to claim her, though he no longer had a right to. Thoughts of asking her about Alejandro would have towait. He had no doubt Alejandro’s men broke her window. Why, he didn’t know yet but he would soon enough.
Cora stayed quiet asLiamcarried her into her bathroom. He sat her down on the counter between her double vanity and smiled when he saw only her things on the sink. It meant she didn’t have another man. This boded well for him. What was he thinking? He couldn't get back together with Corano matter how badly he wanted to. She would insist on knowing where he was going when he had to sneak out. He hated lying to her in the past, and she wouldn't contemplate getting back together with him unless he told her. They were at an impasse.
Liamshook off his thoughts and focused on the task at hand. He dug around under her sink and pulled out her first aid kit.
"How did you know thatwas there?" Cora asked confused.
"I had to patch myself up once or twice when we...were together. I just assumed it was in the same place."
Cora seemed to accept his answer and remained silent as he pulled out gauze, bandages, and tweezers.
"This is going to hurt. I'm sorry."Liamblocked her out and the rest of the world as he placed a hand on her foot and set to work.
~
Cora watchedLiam silently as he gently cleaned the excess blood away and gently probed her foot trying to pull the piece ofplate out. It hurt like the devil, but she remained silent. She didn't want Liam to know how much it hurt and not just the shard in her foot. Seeing him again reopened old wounds she had hoped healed. This was the man she had once loved and thought one day might marry. She knew militarymarriages weren’t always successful, but she already knew the lifestyle and what to expect after being raised by two Marines.She had been blindsided when Liam told her he was a Delta Force operative. To be an Army wife was one thing. To be the wife of one of the most secretive groups was another. She knew what he did was dangerous, and he already explained he couldn't tell her much about whathe did. It didn't, however, explain his other secrets. They were personal secrets. She didn't think he was cheating. It was something else. Something apparently, he didn’t think she could handle or was embarrassed by.
Either way, she was done with the secrets and left him. She made it a point to avoid him. She knew if he ever turned those baby blue eyes on her and gave her one of those pantymelting smiles she would be a goner and run right back to him. Cora thought she had finally moved on and was over him until she saw him again when his commander attacked her. It was like a dam broke and all her old feelings came rushing back. Cora couldn't get away from him fast enough. Then he had to show up and ask her out as if the past few months’ separation had never happened.
While Liamwas busy working on her foot, Cora took the distraction to study him. His hair had grown out. He normally kept it short and close to his scalp. Now it was several inches long, and curls had begun to form. Her fingers itched to touch them and see if they were as soft as they looked. His face looked harder like he hadn’t smiled in a long time. Or was that just wishful thinking on her part? She hadn’thad much to smile about since they broke up. She just buried herself in her work and let life go by around her. Maybe sheneeded to go out on a date. Cora cringed at the thought of going out with a stranger. She had no intention of starting over. She was thirty-three. Just a year older than Liam. They used to joke that she was a cougar for dating someone younger thanher.
"What is going onin that beautiful mind of yours?"Liamasked her without looking up. Cora had been so caught up in her thoughts his voice startled her, and she jerked in surprise which caused the tweezer to scrape her wound. Cora hissed in pain and tried to pull her foot back.
"Easy,"Liamsaid keeping a gentle but firm grip on her foot.
"Sorry," Cora relaxed her foot and let him continue.
"So, are yougoing to tell me?"Liamprompted.
"Tell you what?"
"What you were thinking about?"Liamasked while still working on her foot.
"What makes you think I was thinking anything?" Cora asked instead.
"Because your face went from happy to sad, then a grimace."
He had been working on her foot. How had he seen all that? "You saw all that while working on my foot?"
Liamstopped what he wasdoing and looked pointedly at her. "I notice everything about you, Cora. I always have. Always will. When you’re happy or sad. Frustrated. Or when you just need a shoulder to lean on."
Cora could only stare at him with her mouth hanging open. She didn't know what to say. Whenthey had been together, he had always seemed to read her moods.
~
Liamshook his head and went back to digging inher foot when Cora stayed silent. He cursed himself for opening his mouth and revealing too much. Cora had made it painfully clear she wanted nothing to do with him. So why reveal so much to her? She already hated him. Telling her how much he cared and noticed about her wasn’t going to suddenly change her opinion about him.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” He asked fishing for information from her.
“I know what you’re doing, and it won’t work.”
