“Forgetting something?”Maya smirked.
I glanced around, confused—until I spotted the kit on the floor where I’d left it.On the other side of the room.
Liam, you idiot.
In my nearly-naked-Maya induced stupor, I’d forgotten to grab the damn kit before I shuffled over.And being an idiot, I stayed on my knees and shuffled to get it before shuffling right back.I’d pay for that with sore knees that later.
“Got it,” I muttered, avoiding her stare.“Okay, where were we?Oh, right.First aid.”
I set the box at Maya’s feet and rummaged through the contents for the antiseptic wipes.“Ready?This might sting.”My hands shook so badly that it took three tries to open the packet.“So, uh … where are you hurt?”
Maya leaned back on the workstation and released a shaky breath—the sole sign she might not have been as calm about this as she’d initially appeared—then gestured to her side.“Harold used me like a ladder.If the stinging means anything, he broke skin in at least a few spots.”
Why was this so difficult?I’d been around plenty of women who’d been wearing less than Maya was now, and I’d never been this nervous.Clearly, I hadn’t thought this through.When I’d volunteered for first aid duty, I figured it would be a chance to talk to Maya some more.Somehow, it hadn’t crossed my mind that I would have to touch her.And now that I was about to do just that, I freaked out like a teenager seeing his first real-life pair of boobs.Which was completely humiliating.At least I was experienced enough now that I didn’t have to worry about coming in my pants from it like I had my actual first time.Probably.
“So … uh, I’m going to touch you now,” I warned, as much for her benefit as mine.My voice sounded steady, even as my heart pounded erratically in my chest.I rested my hand on her thigh, expecting her to pull back—but instead of moving away, for a brief moment, she tensed.
The air between us shifted.
“You good?”I murmured, my eyes flicking to hers.
She swallowed hard.“Get on with it, Bishop.”Her words said she wanted this over quickly, but her voice was a throaty whisper.Did she feel the electricity in the air like I did?Or was she really just impatient for this to be over?
The way her fingers clutched the counter behind her, the way her pupils dilated, the way her body swayed ever so slightly toward my touch, told me everything I needed to know.
I might be in over my head, but I didn’t think I was the only one.
three
she doth protest too much
Maya
Sierrawalkedinaboutten minutes after Liam and Greg left, and found me standing behind the counter muttering to myself about the events of the morning.
How had I let him affect me so much?He’d deserted Nana, probably because of her gradually failing memory, which made him a reprehensible worm.I shouldn’t have enjoyed his touch as much as I had.“Stupid body betraying me like that,” I grumbled.“Stupid Liam and his stupid hands.”
“Oh my god, he finally showed up?”Sierra shouted when Liam’s name fell from my lips.Vibrating with excitement, she asked, “Today?He was here this morning?”
“Shit!I totally forgot to bring your coffee.”The memories of Liam’s handsome face, and adorable smile, and warm hands on my skin had had me reeling since he left.He’d only been back for a few hours, and he’d already disrupted my life.
She waved me off.“I don’t need you to make a special trip for me.”
I smiled at the familiar argument.“I enjoy bringing you coffee in the morning.”
“And I thank you, but it’s unnecessary.I’m perfectly capable of walking across the street.”She slapped me gently on the arm.“Now, stop changing the subject.Is he as hot in person as he is in his pictures?”
I huffed, rolling my eyes at the unfairness of Liam’s sex appeal.“Even hotter, if you can believe it.”Unreasonablyhot.Unnaturallyhot.With his bluer-than-blue eyes, square jaw, pouty-lipped smile, and perfect physique, Liam Bishop wasotherworldly.“As much as I hate to admit it, the man has aged well in the last few years.”
Sierra gasped, clutching her chest as though I’d said something scandalous.“I knew it.And those ridiculous blue eyes?They’re fake, right?Contacts?Photoshop?Witchcraft?”
A memory of him looking up at me with those electric-blue eyes like I was the tastiest treat he’d ever seen had the butterflies in my stomach flying back with a vengeance.
“He’s still not a good guy,” I said, ignoring the sudden rush of warmth I felt at the mere thought of him.“What sort of man leaves his grandmother alone—without a single visit—for three years?Attractiveness doesn’t cancel out being selfish and inconsiderate, Sierra.”
“You don’t know for sure that he’s selfish, though.He might be busy.Plus, he’s here now, isn’t he?That has to count for something.”
“Maybe,” I muttered, swirling my coffee.“I would still like to know what his excuse is for abandoning his grandmother.”And if I found out it was because of her memory, he and I would have words.Words like “violence” and “ass-kicking” and “teach him a lesson with a baseball bat”.
