Gwen
The bar was packed. People flooded in wearing those ridiculous team t-shirts. Every table was taken and I busted my ass running between the bar and the kitchen.
Liam really needed to hire a second waitress, if only on a part time basis, and thanks to me, he needed to hire a second bartender as well.
I’d gotten myself into some shitty situations over the years, but Al trapping me like that had been scary. Who knew how far it would’ve gone if Liam hadn’t come in? I’d never seen him so angry. I hated to admit it, but it was sexy as hell watching him come to my rescue and pin Al to the wall like that, all muscle and fiercely protective.
He’d gone from wild and strong to soft and sweet as he comforted me while I ugly cried on his shoulder—and it was an ugly cry. I took one look in the mirror that night and cringed. I looked like the love child of Alice Cooper and the Joker. It was awful. Thankfully, I had make-up remover wipes in my bag. I scrubbed my face clean and tied up my hair before finally returning to him.
The way he looked at me that night was intense, as if he’d seen me for the first time, and from the heat in his eyes he liked what he saw. Then he said I was beautiful. Not hot or sexy, but beautiful. My heart felt so full in that moment, but it was short lived. As quickly as that look appeared in his eyes, it washed away and the same jackass Liam was back, only he refused to look at me. Something told me he’d felt it too.
“Hey, sweet cheeks!” someone called breaking me from the memory.
I rolled my eyes and headed toward the customer to see what he wanted.
After I took Mr. Sweet Cheeks’ order for another round, I pushed through the crowd to the service well at the end of the bar. I typed the drinks into the computer for Liam and set my tray down for him to fill.
“You know, if you keep answering to that, they’ll just keep calling you sweet cheeks,” he said as he popped the cap off a bottle and exchanged it for a wad of cash.
I shrugged. “Eh, I’m getting used to it. Besides, my ass is pretty sweet.” I shot Liam a wink and took off toward the kitchen as he shook his head.
Armed with eight baskets of fish and chips I hip checked the kitchen door and headed out to deliver the food. I heard her before I saw her.
“What the actual fuck!” Alex screeched. She stood just inside the door, her eyes wide with shock her long red waves seeming to grow brighter in her anger.
“Shit,” I muttered.
I steeled my nerves, stood up straight, and tried not to let her know how much her presence affected me. I went about my business and delivered the food to the once boisterous crowd that had gone silent, their stares volleying between Alex and I, eager for a cat fight.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Gwen?” she asked. Before I could answer, she turned on Liam. “What is she doing here?”
Liam shrugged. “What does it look like she’s doing? She’s working.”
“Here? She’s working here?”
“No at the Subway down the street. Of course, here.”
“Don’t be cute. Liam, this is no time to be cute.” She jabbed her finger at him.
The bell above the door sounded as an out of breath Drew came in, followed closely by a rather amused Sean.
Alex turned on them. “Did you know about this?”
Drew scratched the back of his head, a guilty look on his face.
“Are you kidding me? You knew and you didn’t tell me.”
Drew stepped forward and reached for her but she took a step back. His hands fell, his eyes full of hurt. “Come on, Red. You’ve been so crazy with the wedding stuff. I didn’t want to stress you out.”
Alex threw her hands up in the air. “Un-fucking-believable.”
“What’s the big deal?” I asked. “It’s just a job.”
“You tried to ruin my life!”
“Oh please, don’t be so dramatic.” I scoffed.
A low guttural sound rose from her throat and she lunged toward me, her eyes crazy and her hands curled, ready to claw my eyes out. Drew caught her before she even got close to me and ushered her toward the front door.
He looked over her shoulder at Liam. “Happy now?” Drew asked.
Liam shot me a look and pointed toward the back. I rolled my eyes and pushed through the kitchen doors, then stopped with my hands on my hips. Liam came in seconds later and waved me toward his office. I groaned and kept moving.
In his office, I dropped heavily into the chair behind his desk. Liam closed the door behind us, leaving him just enough room to lean against the edge of the desk with his arms folded.
“You’re more trouble than you’re worth, aren’t you?” he asked.
I leaned toward him. “I don’t know. I’m worth a whole lot of trouble.”
Liam scoffed. “Is there anyone in my life you haven’t pissed off?”
“Your sister likes me.”
“Yeah, well don’t get too excited. Madison is the patron saint of lost causes.” He looked up at the ceiling and ran a hand across his face in frustration. I dropped my head, trying to suppress the tears that threatened to fall. So that’s how he saw me, a lost cause.
Liam frowned. “Hey.” He took hold of my chin and turned my face up to meet his eyes. “I wasn’t talking about you.”
I turned my head sharply and forced his fingers to drop from my face. “Yeah, I’m sure.” My tone was flat and sarcastic. Of course, the asshole was talking about me. His sister took pity on me. She hired me when no one else would, and how did I repay her? By causing trouble for her brother and their bar. If that wasn’t a lost cause I didn’t know what was.
Liam sighed. “Jesus Christ, Gwen, I was talking about me.”
“You? How are you a lost cause?”
“It’s a long story. She was there for me when I needed someone to straighten me out.” My eyebrows shot up. Liam got to his feet, stepped toward me, and rested his hands on the arms of the chair. He leaned forward his face mere inches from mine as he added, “But I’m not as nice as my sister, which is why I’m going to tell you enough is enough.”
“What?”
“The attitude. It’s time you quit the bitchy bullshit, Princess. It’s getting old.”
“What can I say? I’m a bitch. Take it or leave it.”
Liam shook his head. “Not buying it, Princess. It’s a front. You push people away and hurt them before they have a chance to hurt you,” he said, his tone clipped and frustrated.
My body shivered as his warm masculine scent invaded my space. I narrowed my eyes and squeezed my thighs together tight. I hated the way I reacted to his closeness. I steeled myself and tried my best to get a grip.
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said as I shot to my feet and attempted to move past him in the tiny space.
Liam braced a hand on the wall beside my head to stop me. He looked down at me, his eyes a strange mix of emotions I couldn’t name. There was almost no space between the desk and the wall. Liam’s large frame blocked my exit, but I wasn’t panicked or afraid. For the first time in a long time I felt safe.
“Whether you believe it or not, you have an opportunity to redefine yourself. To get rid of all the make-up, the fake hair, the bullshit, and just be you.”
“No one gives two shits about the real me.”
“You’re wrong,” he said as his eyes locked with mine. “I do.”
My eyes went wide. I’d been nothing but a thorn in his side since I walked through the front door. He was full of shit. I was sure of it, but when I searched his eyes, I saw nothing but sincerity. Hope bloomed in my chest. Liam cared about me?
We were still mere inches apart. I felt a tug in my chest and my body moved forward on its own. I pressed myself against him and touched my lips to his. He didn’t move. His body was stone still as I continued to brush my lips softly against his.
He tasted like mint with just a hint of sugar. His lips were soft and full against mine. My head clouded, lost in the sensation of his hard muscular chest beneath my fingers and the warmth of his lips.
He didn’t move, but he didn’t push me away either. I parted my lips and sucked his bottom lip into my mouth, and his control snapped. Liam pushed me hard into the wall behind me and covered my body with his.
I gasped when my back made contact with the hard surface of the wall. Liam thrust his tongue past my lips and kissed me deep. His fingers dug into the flesh of my hips. He nipped and sucked at my lips and kissed down my jaw to taste the sensitive skin of my neck. A soft moan fell from my lips as he continued his exploration of my skin.
Liam’s hands traveled down my thigh, gripped the back of my knee as he hiked my leg up high on his hip, and pressed his already hard cock against me.
It was a kiss of legends, hot and intense. I was so lost in him in that moment I doubt I could’ve remembered my own name.
I’d never been kissed like that in my life. The tension that had built up between us seemed to sharpen, making us both lose complete control.
He kissed me harder as his hips pinned me to the wall. I ran a hand down his chest to his belt, tugging at the leather to undo it. I didn’t care if Sam was on the other side of the wall or if the bar was still packed with customers. I wanted him.
I managed to undo his belt and started on the front button of his jeans when he suddenly pulled away.
He backed away as far as he could, until he crashed into the desk behind him. “Shit,” he muttered.
I sagged against the wall, breathing heavily, my lips still warm and swollen from his kiss.
“This was a really bad idea,” he said, his hand on his hips. His belt hung open at his sides.
My body went cold. I was desperate to feel his warmth, to get things back on track. I took a step toward him, my hand going straight for the hard outline of his cock. “Your body seems to disagree,” I said, rubbing my hand against his length through the rough denim of his jeans.
Liam’s eyes went dark and anger flashed across his face. He grabbed my wrist and pulled my hands away from him. “I’m not going to fuck you, Gwen.” He sneered.
My eyes widened. I was half shocked, half turned on. Liam’s caveman thing did something to me. When he got like this, it wasn’t about control, it was about protection, but I wasn’t completely sure who he was trying to protect—him or me.
I slumped back against the wall and Liam released my hands. I dropped my head unable to meet his eyes as the rejection settled deep in my stomach. It hurt bad, and the added humiliation of being rejected by my boss just made things worse.
Liam took a deep breath and ran a hand down his face. “We need to get back out there,” he said. I nodded, pulled open the door, and quickly made my way through the kitchen.
I paused at the door, took a deep breath, and wiped a tear from my eye. No way was I going out there upset. I could do this. Fuck Liam—the asshole didn’t know what he was missing.