Liam’s always had an intensity about him. I knew when the time came that he was going to utterly consume me, but I never could have imagined this.

I feel him slide into me painfully slowly until he’s as deep as he’ll go. It’s uncomfortable for a couple of seconds. Having a man inside me is an alien feeling after so long. But after a couple of slow thrusts, I start wanting to beg for more.

His dark eyes stare down at me in complete awe. It amazes me because I’m not the one doing anything right now, yet he’s looking at me like I’m the most precious thing in the world. Thankfully, he’s lost the sympathetic look from earlier. I couldn’t bare that.

“Fuck, Liv. So fucking good,” he grunts as every muscle in his body pulls tight. It’s really quite a sight to behold. The sweet and quiet one of the group, it turns out, really isn’t that at all.

His hair’s sticking up in all directions as sweat begins to bead his brow, and as desperate as I am to close my eyes as my release draws closer, I don’t want to miss a second of it. I want to see the moment he falls over the edge. I want the image of it imprinted in the back of my mind because I already know it’s going to be incredible.

He lifts my legs on to his shoulders and I watch as he runs his fingertips over the straps that wrap around my ankles, the only things stopping me from being totally naked. His touch burns a trail on my skin as his movement inside me almost slows to a stop. It’s like he’s in a trance as he stares at the straps.

But before long, his eyes find mine once again. Part of me wants to ask about his fascination, but the second he slides his palms under my arse and his cock hits the most blissful place inside of me, all my thoughts fall away in favour of just feeling.

His hands trail over my body, teasing and building me higher with every touch, but when his thumb connects with my clit, I know it’s the beginning of the end. My toes curl as my release starts to claim me and he grinds his hips into me at the perfect time.

“You’re going to scream my name,” he demands, but his words sound a million miles away as I begin to fall into a mind-numbing, Liam-induced bliss. Every muscle in my body tenses before my orgasm crashes into me. Light flashes behind my eyes and my body takes on a life of its own. I’ve no clue if I deliver on his demand or not, but I’m vaguely aware of Liam as he pistons in and out of me. Mostly, I’m flying.

I’m just coming down when the most incredible sound fills my ears. My eyes spring open just in time to watch as Liam falls over the edge. His neck strains as he pounds into me. The first twitch of his cock reawakens my own release before his mouth drops open and his eyelids flicker with pleasure, but they stay locked on mine the entire time.

Falling down beside me, he pulls me into his side as his chest heaves with exertion. After allowing himself a second or two to catch his breath, he props himself up on his elbow and looks down at me. An emotion pours from his eyes, one that I’m not comfortable trying to identify this early on. His hot palm lands on my cheek before the heat of this thumb runs along my bottom lip.

“Thank you,” he whispers, his voice deep and rough.

I can’t help but laugh. “You’re welcome?” I say, but it comes out as a question.

“Thank you for not running,” he clarifies.

“Why would I run?” My brows crease with confusion.

“Nothing…it’s nothing.” His lips come down on mine and they cut off any questions I might have.

It’s not long before I feel him hardening once again against my hip. “Already?” I ask when he releases my lips in favour of my neck.

“You have no fucking idea, baby. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”

Millions of questions barrel into me, but I swallow them down for a more appropriate time, a time when his fingers aren’t slowly circling my entrance.

I moan and arch my back off the bed. Liam’s eyes flash with delight as I practically thrust my tits in his face. He gives me a wicked smile before sucking one deep into his mouth. It’s so hard, I almost pull away, but the second he curls his fingers inside me, I detonate like a fucking rocket.

“I didn’t think I was ever going to be allowed to take them off,” I say when Liam sits up and starts undoing the knots keeping my shoes on.

“Believe me, I considered it.”

“You like them, huh?”

His fingers stop and he looks me up and down from under his lashes. He may have just rocked my world—twice—but my stomach twists with desire from that one heated look alone.

“I’ve…uh…got a thing for straps.”

“Oh, really.” He drags his eyes away from mine and I get the impression he doesn’t want to talk about it, which is a shame. “Well, maybe you can tell me about it one day.”

“Really?” he asks, his eyes finding mine once again.

Sitting, I take his cheeks in my hands. “Really.” The smile he flashes me makes me want to drag his hands away from my feet and pull him back on top of me. Sadly, my need for the toilet stops me doing just that.

“Do you want a drink?” Liam asks after gently placing my shoes on the floor like they’re made of glass.

“Yeah, water would be great.”

I watch as he pulls his boxer briefs on before turning and heading towards the door. My eyes stay focused on his arse as he moves.

“I know you’re staring,” he announces when he pauses to open it.

“Good. You’ve got a great arse.”

“Not as good as yours,” are his parting words before the door closes softly behind him.

I want to fall back on the bed and relive the last few hours, but I don’t have time for that. Instead, I jump from the bed and make my way to the en suite. My muscles pull like I’ve just had a serious session at the gym, and I’m reminded of my lack of…exercise lately. I can’t even pinpoint when the last time I had sex was. For someone who supposedly had a boyfriend, that’s horrendous.

After doing what I need to do, I stand and stare at myself in the mirror. I’ve got black makeup smears under my eyes but it does little to distract from the bright shining blue beneath. I thought I looked alive and more like myself than ever before going out, but right now, the woman staring back at me is someone I’d almost forgotten. She’s got things to look forward to, a future full of promise and surprise.

After freshening up, I swipe Liam’s discarded shirt from the floor and wrap it around my shoulders. Bringing the fabric up to my nose, I take a deep breath of him and I smile. This evening was everything I didn’t know I needed.

Sitting down on the edge of the bed, I allow myself to smile and relax. Right here, right now is exactly where I’m meant to be, and I can’t help thinking that if all that bullshit in Cardiff meant I got to have this, then it was almost worth it…almost.

Dragging my bag from the floor where it fell some time ago, I dig inside for my phone. I’m convinced I’ll have messages from Nicole asking how tonight went. Conniving bitch—I can’t believe she set me up. Not that I’m ever going to hold it against her.

My phone lights up and my stomach drops. Staring back at me is a number that I never thought I’d see again. Maybe it was naïve of me not to change my number when I got here, but I really believed running would be enough.

My hands tremble as I swipe across the phone and then open the message. What comes up has tears stinging my eyes and bile burning my throat.

“Here you go, one glass of water,” I sing as I let myself back into the room, my wide smile still firmly in place. BJ found me in the kitchen as I filled glasses for both of us. One look at me stood in only my boxers with a goofy smile on my face and he knew exactly how my night had gone.

“That’s what I’m talking about, dude!” he exclaimed as he slapped my shoulder. “Was she worth the wait?”

“Too fucking right.” There was no way I was giving that fucker any details, but I knew he could read my joy all too well so there was no point trying to cover it up.

“I’m so fucking glad. You know Dec and I were worried it might have fallen off.”

“Fuck off, prick.” This wasn’t news to me. Both of them have mentioned it a time or two before when I showed no interest in pulling random women while we were out.

“I need to call him,” he said, making a show of pulling his phone from his pocket. “He needs to hear that our boy doesn’t have a pussy, after all.”

Shaking my head at his weirdness, I grabbed both glasses and headed back up to where my girl was waiting for me.

One look at her and my heart drops. Fuck, I shouldn’t have left. I knew I shouldn’t have allowed her time to think. She’s regretting it, and my side of her bed’s still fucking warm.

“Liv?” I ask, halfway to the bed.

She’s sat on the end, staring down at her hands, hiding behind her hair. I don’t need to see more to know. She’s about to turn me away.

It’s another two seconds before her head moves and she looks up at me, but although her eyes look haunted, like I was expecting, she has a wide smile on her face.

“Hey, what took you so long?”

I stare at her for a beat, feeling like I’ve just been whiplashed. What the fuck’s going on? I know it’s been quite a while since I last had sex, but I’m pretty sure this insecurity on my part is a new thing.

“Sorry, I…uh…got collared by BJ.”

“Ah,” she says, dropping her eyes down my almost naked body. “Bet that was enlightening. Is there a reason why you’re still all the way over there?”

“Uh…I guess not.” Handing her one of the glasses still in my hand, I place the other one down beside the bed and drop down next to her. “Are you okay?” I ask. Something seems really off, but I can’t quite put my finger on it.

“Couldn’t be better.” Her voice is a little empty, but when she places the glass on the floor and proceeds to throw one of her legs over me until she’s straddling my lap, I shamelessly put it to one side.

“This definitely looks better on you than it does me.” I run my finger down the front of my shirt, popping the buttons to expose more of her body.

“You think?”

“Yeah, it’s not good enough to stay, though,” I announce as I undo the last one and push it from her shoulders. Resting back on my palms, I allow myself time to take in her naked perfection. The sight, along with the scorching heat from her pussy, has me hard in seconds. I’m never going to get enough of her.

“Lift up a little.” She does as she’s told and it gives me just enough space to push my boxers down my thighs. My cock springs forward and she hungrily stares down at it, a wicked smile twitching at her lips.

The thought of how incredible her mouth would feel has my hips thrusting up to find some friction.

“You’re a little insatiable, aren’t you?”

“It’s you.” A blush creeps onto her cheeks as she smiles down at me. My heart races as feelings that have been there since the first moment I laid eyes on her slam into me once again.

“Lie back,” she instructs, giving my chest a gentle shove.

I allow her to take charge, even though it goes against everything I thought I ever wanted. The view from down here makes it entirely worth it as she shimmies up my body a little before lifting and taking my cock in her tiny hand. Her grip is gentle but the heat of her fingers burns into me, making me thrust up.

“Relax. Let me…” she trails off as she slowly sinks down on me.

I growl as her heat surrounds me once again. Lying still, I allow her to do her thing. Her hands land on my chest and her nails dig into my skin as she finds her rhythm.

Watching her fuck me is more than I could have imagined, but I can only allow her control for so long. Her head rolls back as she chases her release and I grab her hips, pulling her down as far onto me as physically possible.

She clenches around me as I pull out and thrust back up. Her screams and demands for more fill the room until she collapses and becomes a beautiful, panting mess on my chest after we find our releases.

“Couldn’t resist, could you?” she asks with a laugh once she’s caught her breath.

“I don’t give up control easily, no.”

“I sense a challenge in there.”

“Good luck.” Wrapping my arms around her, I scoot us both up the bed and cover us with the duvet. She lies completely on top of me with her head on my chest while I run my fingertips up and down her back. She mewls softly, taking everything I’m offering.

“Are you sure everything’s okay?” I whisper, unsure if she’s fallen asleep or not.

“Perfect,” she whispers back before her breathing gets even shallower and her body relaxes into sleep.

I lay for hours, just holding her and listening to her soft breathing. I feel like a bit of a pussy but shit, I’ve been waiting for this forever, so I’ll be fucked if I’m going to allow it to pass me by. I’m confident that something happened in the time it took me to get us a drink and get BJ off my case, but just like with everything that happened in Cardiff, I’m happy to allow her space to deal with whatever it is. I know she’ll open up when she’s ready—or I hope so, at least.