“Like you try not to think about how repressed you were for all those years you were with Sydney?”
“Don’t bring her into this.”
“The woman who tried to use me against your custody of Drew? Why do you defend that woman?”
“She’s a good woman. We just didn’t…”
“You came out to her, and she left. Despite you sharing her with other men for years, she left the moment you expressed that you were attracted to a lot of those men.” Liam repeatedly jammed his finger into the countertop. “I just want it on the record that I never left you after all of your confessions to me over the years. No,you’rethe one who left!”
Benson let them both stew in silence as Liam moved his fingers to his forehead.I’m getting a migraine.
“You’re right. Guess I learned it from her.”
“I loved you, Ben.” Liam was halfway off his stool, ready to leave. “But my God, you drove me crazy. You drive me crazy now. Thank God I’m a little older now, because, whew.”
“Where are you going?”
Liam was off his stool and heading toward the door. He hadn’t bothered to take off his shoes. “Home. Tired of your shit, dude.”
“Get back here and finish seducing me!”
Liam swung around, aghast. “You’re terrible!”
“Hey! Don’t let anyone say I didn’t give you the chance!”
Liam dropped his bag on the floor and marched up to Benson, who didn’t fight. In fact, wasn’t it something that he hooked his arm around Liam’s waist and kissed him just as hard?
Fuck me. This is stupid.Benson’s grip was a tether. An anchor.No. A cage. Liam didn't fight it. He surged forward, meeting force with force. This was war. A war of mouths, of teeth, of five years of goddamn silence finally breaching the surface.
Liam bit Benson's lower lip, reminding him who was in control here. Benson retaliated with a kiss that was all possession. His tongue invaded, claiming the space, tasting Liam.Go ahead and exorcise me, bro. They were trying to purge each other, to scour out the taste of loneliness and regret that had haunted them since they broke up. Liam’s fingers tangled in Benson's hair, yanking his head back, changing the angle. He wanted to hear him gasp. He wanted tobreak him.
Benson entrenched him between his thighs. The impact jarred Liam's teeth and rattled the breath from his lungs. But he never broke the kiss. He ground his thigh against Benson’s. Each thrust was an accusation.Why did you leave me? Why did you let me go?Hard denim scraped against the comfortable linen of Benson’s lounge pants, a friction that was almost too much.Benson’s hands were everywhere, tearing at Liam’s jacket, shoving it from his shoulders, fumbling with the buttons of his shirt. He was desperate. His palms were rough, scraping over Liam’s chest, pinching a nipple hard enough to make him cry out into the kiss.
It was pain, and it was poetry. The violence of it was a language they had both forgotten, a dialect of hurt and longing that only they could speak. Liam clawed at Benson’s back, feeling the solid muscle beneath the thin cotton of his shirt. He remembered this body. Every ridge, every scar, every shudder. He remembered how it felt to have it covering him, inside him.
Benson broke away, panting, his forehead pressed against Liam’s. His eyes were wild, dark, burning with something terrifyingly close to tears. "You goddamn bastard.”
"Look who's talking," Liam shot back.
Then Benson was kissing him again, softer this time. His lips were bruised, tender, but the kiss was slow, deep, and searching. This wasn't a fight anymore. He cradled Liam’s face in his hands, thumbs stroking his cheekbones, a gesture so tender, so intimate, it hurt worse than the impact with the wall. This was the apology he’d never given. This was the love he'd been too scared to name. Liam felt the fight drain out of him, replaced by a crushing, overwhelming ache. He kissed him back with everything he had, pouring all the sorrow, all the anger, all the desperate, stupid hope he’d tried to kill years ago into that one connection. This was the man he was going to marry. The man who had destroyed him. The man he still, impossibly, loved. And for a single, stolen moment, that was the only truth in the world.
The fight was over. The war was won. Liam knew it the second Benson's kiss turned soft. He'd broken him. Finally torn through all that bullshit, all that pride and fear, and found the man underneath. The man he still loved. The man who still lovedhim.
He didn't give himself a chance to think or second-guess. To remember all the reasons this was a terrible, catastrophic idea. Liam just dropped. His knees hit the cold, hard tile of the kitchen floor with a dull thud, the sound swallowed by the frantic rhythm of their breathing. He didn't hesitate. He reached for the waistband of Benson's loungewear. Benson stiffened but didn't stop him. He didn't say a damn word.
Liam tugged the fabric down, just enough, until he had Benson in his hand. The heat of him was a shock. He smelled likeBenson. A scent Liam had tried to scrub from his memory for five years. One that now flooded his senses and made him dizzy with want.
He leaned in. The first touch of his tongue was a question.Do you remember?The slow, deliberate circle around the head was a statement.I remember everything. Then Liam took him in, deep, all the way to the back of his throat. He'd always been good at this. Prideful, even. He loved the power of it, the control. Loved the way he could make Benson die with just his mouth.
Benson's hands flew to the edge of the island counter, knuckles white as he gripped the granite for support. He threw his head back, the cords in his neck standing out as he struggled to withstand the pleasure. A guttural moan escaped him. He was completely exposed. Vulnerable. And he was letting Liam do this. Letting him take him apart, piece by piece.
Liam worked him with a fierce, single-minded focus. This wasn't about finesse. It was about reclaiming what was lost, what was stolen. He could feel Benson's thighs trembling, the muscles in his stomach clenching. He was close. So close already. And that knowledge, that absolute, undeniable power, sent a surge of triumph through Liam.
He looked up. Benson was watching him, his face a mask of raw, agonized pleasure. Their gazes locked. And in that split second, the world narrowed to just the two of them. The yearsfell away. The hurt, the anger, the other woman – everything dissolved into nothing. There was only this. Only them.
Benson's hips jerked forward. A hoarse cry burst from his throat as he came. Liam took it.I did that.After five years, Liam still had this power. He still hadhim. And the smug, victorious thought that echoed in the sudden silence was the only thing that mattered.I still win.
It was over almost as soon as it began.Because I know him better than anybody.Better than Sydney had. Better than Eden did. No one on Earth knew Benson’s body like Liam did.And vice versa.Fuck them both.
