“Oh, god,” she whimpers, her head falling back against the sofa cushions. “Liam…”
“That’s it, baby,” I murmur against her neck, pressing open-mouthed kisses to her damp skin. “Come for me again. Let me feel you.”
I increase the pressure on her clit, my hips moving with a little more force. The dual sensations are too much. Her entire body tenses, a high, thin cry escaping her lips as her orgasm crashes through her. It’s a long, rolling wave of pleasure, and I feel it everywhere—in the way her inner muscles clamp down on my knot, in the way her body trembles beneath me, in the way she cries out my name.
When she finally stills, her breathing is ragged, her body limp and pliant. I press a soft kiss to her forehead, my heart feeling so full it might burst. I reach over, fumbling for my phone on the coffee table. The screen is cracked, but it works.
“I should text Maddox,” I say, my voice a low rumble. “Let him know I found you, that you’re okay.”
She nods against my chest, her fingers tracing lazy patterns on my skin. “Okay.”
I quickly type out a message:Found her. She’s safe. We’ll talk tomorrow.I hit send and toss the phone back onto the table. My attention is all hers again.
I smooth her hair back from her face, my fingers lingering on her cheek. “Did something happen between you and Maddox today?” I ask her. I have to know.
“No,” she says, muffled against my skin. “It was… nothing. Just me being stupid.”
I don’t press. I can hear the pain in her voice, the reluctance to talk about it. Instead, I shift gears, pulling a memory from the past.
“Do you remember,” I begin, “the night we lost our virginities to each other?”
A small smile touches her lips. “I remember,” she whispers. “We were so naive. So lost.”
“We had no idea what we were doing,” I say with a low chuckle. “I think I lasted about thirty seconds.”
She laughs, a real, genuine sound that vibrates through my chest. “It was the best thirty seconds of my life up to that point.”
The memory is a warm, comforting blanket. It was a simpler time, a time when our love was a straightforward, uncomplicated thing.
“I’ll always be here for you, Mills,” I say, my voice thick with emotion. “Whatever it takes. Whatever you need. Even if it’s just to be your friend. Even if it kills me. I’ll always be here.”
Tears well in her eyes again, but these are different. These are soft, happy tears. She lifts her head, her green eyes locking onto mine.
“I love you,” she whispers, the words a sacred vow.
I lean down and kiss her, a soft, tender press of my lips against hers. “I love you, too,” I murmur against her mouth. “More than you’ll ever know.”
Millie
The first thing I’m aware of is the warmth. A solid, heavy weight pressed against my back, an arm thrown possessively over my waist. Then the insistent, prodding heat of his cock, nestled against the curve of my ass. Liam. A slow, sleepy smile spreads across my face. I shift slightly, turning in his embrace so I can see him.
In sleep, he looks different. The hard lines of responsibility and worry that usually carve his face are softened, smoothed away into something almost boyish. His dark lashes are long against his cheeks, his lips slightly parted. He’s beautiful. And he’s mine. For now, at least, he’s mine.
But the thought is immediately followed by a cold, slick wave of guilt. I can never tell him about Knox. I can never tell him that I slept with a sheriff, the one person Liam would never forgive me for.
The knowledge sits in my stomach like a stone, a festering secret that taints this perfect, quiet moment. It’s so fucked up of me. So incredibly selfish. And Maddox… He said he wouldn’t tell, but he was so angry. So disappointed. I have to talk to him, make sure he’ll keep my secret.
“You awake,” Liam murmurs, his voice a low, gravelly rumble that vibrates through my chest. His eyes flutter open, still heavy with sleep, but they focus on me instantly. A slow, lazy smile spreads across his face.
“Morning,” I whisper.
He leans in, capturing my lips in a kiss that’s soft and tastes of sleep and him. It’s a gentle exploration that quickly deepens into something more. His hand moves from my waist, sliding down to cup my ass, pulling me flush against him. The hard length of his cock presses against my stomach, a blatant, delicious promise.
“How are you feeling today?” he asks into my neck as he trails kisses down my throat. “Whatever was bothering you yesterday… is it better?”
“I’m fine,” I lie, my breath hitching as his teeth scrape against my pulse point. The guilt, the worry about Maddox, it all fades away, pushed into a distant corner by the overwhelming sensations he’s creating. “I’m fine now.”
“Good,” he growls, a possessive sound that makes my toes curl. “How about this? I fuck you. Then I feed Nimbus. Then we fuck a little more before we have to go to work. Sound like a plan?”
