“Where are you going?” I ask in a panic as Liam climbs off the bed. My eyes follow the lines of his back and down to his round arse as he starts walking away from me.

“To refill the bath. I think it’s probably cold by now.” He disappears into the en suite and I stretch out my tight muscles. I’ve never been tied up before. My experience prior to Liam was pretty much limited to missionary with the occasional doggystyle thrown in for a change. I’ve always been open to the idea of trying more, and it seems I just needed the right guy to show me the ropes—pun intended!

When he eventually comes back into the room, he makes a beeline for my empty wine glass before heading downstairs for a refill. After what just happened between us, it couldn’t be more welcome. My heart isn’t quite beating steady, and I can definitely still feel him deep inside me.

“Often walk around the house naked, do you?” I ask after watching him walk back into the room with two full glasses of wine before depositing them in the en suite.

“No, I’m pretty sure this is a first. Can’t say the same for BJ, though. I’ve seen his junk more times than I’m willing to admit. I should probably be thankful you moved in, because he’s been much better behaved.”

“Hang on, you’re only thankful I moved in because it means BJ spends more time with clothes on?” I ask, trying to keep a straight face.

“Yeah, that and one or two more things.”

“Oh yeah?”

Pulling me from the bed, his arms come around my waist and he pulls me up against his chest. Staring down at me, his eyes sparkle. “I get to see you naked instead,” he says before lowering his lips to mine and taking my breath away with his all-consuming kiss. It’s romantic and gentle, the complete opposite from the dominant lover he was not so long ago.

With our lips still connected, he walks us into the en suite. He unwraps my arms from him and looks down at my wrists. “I’m sorry,” he whispers. “Were they too tight?” he asks as he kisses the marks left behind from the rope again.

“No, they were fine.”

“Fine?” A cheeky smile spreads across his lips.

“Okay, they were frustrating as hell, because I couldn’t grab your head and force you to keep going.”

With a laugh, he climbs into the bath full of bubbles and I follow, sighing when the hot water surrounds me.

Resting back against Liam’s chest, I shut my eyes and allow myself to absorb the feeling of his fingers running up and down my arms as my muscles relax.

“Where have you been this week?”

“About.”

“Cryptic much?”

“Okay, I went to my parents’ after I left you with yours. I spent some time with them and a couple of friends. Then, I crashed at a friend’s here all week so I was close for work.”

“Why didn’t you just come home?”

“Because I was too angry. You’ve no idea how it felt, knowing you put yourself in danger like that. He could have fucking killed you, Liv.” I feel his body tense under me and I turn, straddling his lap so I can look at him.

“I’m fine and he’s now where he should be.”

“I know, but—”

“No buts. I’m free now to get on with my life, my future.”

“Our future?” he asks, hesitantly.

“I wasn’t planning one without you in it.” A wide smile spreads across his face and a thought pops into my head. “Did you play that song this morning after mine for a reason?”

“Hmmm…” he mumbles as he runs his finger over my collarbone and down towards my breast. “What was that?” he asks innocently, but I know he’s playing with me. “What song?”

“You know, the one that said something about being in love.”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.” His hand slides around the back of my neck and he pulls me down to kiss me. It doesn’t distract me from what I was really trying to ask him, but I also won’t push it either. He’ll tell me when he’s ready, if that is how he feels.

“I’m sorry for not telling you what I was planning, but I knew you’d never allow me to do it,” I say quietly as we lie wrapped in each other’s arms in the dark a while later.

“Damn fucking right I wouldn’t have let you. I love you, Liv. My job is to protect you, not allow you to put yourself in danger.” His words fade out as those three little words rattle around my head, and I still.

“Liv?” he asks when I don’t respond, and it’s not until I let out a giant breath that I realised I stopped breathing.

“Wh…what did you just say?”

Untangling his legs from mine, he pulls himself up so he’s on top of me. Our noses almost touch as his breath tickles across my face.

“I said…I love you.”

I stare deep into his dark eyes as I allow the tingles those words ignite to filter through me. I’ve been told them before, but I’ve never felt the power behind them that I do right now. The strength of his feelings for me is clear in his eyes every time he looks at me, but I don’t think I ever really accepted they were there until the words just left his mouth.

He’s silent as he continues to look down at me, waiting for what my response might be, but the giant lump in my throat stops me from saying the words I want to say. My heart feels like it’s about to burst, and I don’t want the feeling to stop, but I’m afraid I’ll do something to ruin it. Liam’s offering me everything I’ve ever wanted, but the thing about getting everything you’ve dreamed of means that you’re at risk of having it all ripped away from you.

“Are you going to say anything?” Liam asks with a playful smile and a nudge to my nose. He’s trying to play it cool, like he didn’t just open his heart for me to stomp all over, but I can see the concern lurking in the depths of his eyes that I’m not going to return the words.

“I…” I stutter, struggling to find the words, and I watch his face drop. “Wait.” Bringing my hands up to his face, I take a deep breath and try to calm the eruption of emotions within me. Running my thumbs over his cheeks I smile before I say the words I’ve been feeling for a long time. I think I fell for him long before I realised I had. From the moment I met him, he managed to lodge himself deep inside me. He was my light in a whole truckload of dark. My escape from reality when things got too much, and he’s been the one to pick up the pieces when I didn’t know what I needed. “I love you, too.”

His eyes darken as he continues to see into my soul before his face breaks into the most incredible smile I’ve ever seen.

“I’ve been waiting a fucking lifetime for you,” he whispers before settling himself between my thighs and dropping his lips to mine.

“Why are you up so early?” I complain when I hear movement. What I don’t expect to find when I open my eyes is Liam fully dressed and placing a tray of breakfast on the bed. “What’s this?”

“Breakfast.”

“I can see that. I meant, are you going somewhere?” I can’t help but pout. I kind of hoped we’d get to spend some time together now everything between us is sorted.

“Yeah, it’s my brother’s birthday, and I promised my parents I’d spend the weekend there.”

“You’re going to be away all weekend?” I sound like a whiney girlfriend, but I can’t help it.

“I’m sorry.” His shoulders sag in defeat as he looks down on me.

“Can’t I come?” His mouth opens like he wants to say something, but nothing comes out.

“Liv…”

“No, it’s okay. I get it. You go. I’ll be fine here.”

“No, you’re right. You should come. My parents would love to meet you. I just didn’t think you’d want to.” There’s something in his eyes telling me this isn’t entirely true, but my desire not to spend the weekend without him is too strong to question his original reasons for not wanting me to go.

“I don’t want to get in the way.” I cringe at my own backtracking after basically inviting myself along.

“You won’t be. But you’re going to need to be quick—I said I’d be there this morning, and it’s already nearly lunchtime. I just couldn’t drag myself out of bed with my sexy woman.”

“Are you sure? I understand if you don’t want me to come,” I say once again, feeling bad about inserting myself into his weekend plans.

“Yes, now get up before I change my mind.” Pulling back the duvet, his eyes immediately drop to my naked chest. “On second thoughts…” He goes to lower himself onto me but I press my palms to his chest.

“You’re already late.”

“What’s another hour?” All arguments I might have vanish the second his lips wrap around my nipple.

It’s late afternoon when we eventually pull up to Liam’s parents’ house in Bristol. “Lovely house. Did you grow up here?”

“Yeah, I was actually born in the bathroom.”

“Wow.”

“It wasn’t how it was meant to go,” he says with a laugh, but our conversation is cut short when the front door opens to reveal an older version of Liam standing with his arms folded over his chest. His eyes light up when he spots his son, but there’s obvious tension on his face.

“What time do you call this?” he shouts the second Liam opens the door.

“Sorry, time kind of ran away with us.”

“Us?” his dad asks as his eyes flick over to me. His mouth drops open in surprise. My stomach twists with nerves. Maybe this was a bad idea.

“Dad, this is Liv. Liv, this is my dad, Phil.”

“Hi, it’s lovely to meet you,” I say with a smile that I hope covers up my sudden bolt of nerves.

“You too. Sorry, this is just a bit of a surprise. Liam didn’t mention he was bringing anyone.”

“It was a bit of a last-minute decision. Where’s Mum?”

“Inside, getting ready.”

Liam grabs our bags from the boot and I follow his dad inside. “Your house is lovely,” I say, my nerves getting the better of me and stopping me from initiating a more interesting conversation.

“Liam, is that you at last?” a female voice shouts from upstairs.

“Yes, love, and he’s brought someone you’re going to want to meet.”

“Coming.”

We all stand in the hallway in silence as her footsteps get louder and louder, although I can only just about hear them over my pounding heart. Liam must sense my unease because he slides his hand into mine and tangles our fingers together. Glancing over at him, he mouths ‘relax’ and I lose myself in his eyes.

My surroundings vanish as I stare at him, but I’m soon pulled back when I hear, “Oh my goodness, Liam brought a girl home,” squealed not so far away.

A warm hand lands on my upper arm and I’m forced to look away from Liam’s amused face. His mum, Kate, has the same dark hair as him, but her eyes are almost as blue as mine. “It’s so good to meet you,” she says with a genuine smile before pulling me into a hug.

I’m stunned by her over-the-top reaction, and I stutter for something to say. “It’s…uh…good to meet you, too?” It comes out as a question and I wince.

“Do you have any idea how long we’ve waited for Liam to bring us a girl to meet?”

“Mum,” Liam groans next to me. “Do you have to?”

“Yes, yes I do. Between you and your brother, I was beginning to think I’d never get any grandbabies.”

“Kate, at least get them a drink before you start talking about kids,” Phil says with a laugh, gesturing for us to move into another room.

Thankfully, Kate calms down from her initial excitement relatively fast. It never occurred to me that I’d be the first girl Liam brought home to meet his parents, and that might be why he was reluctant, but now I think about it, I guess it should have been obvious. He hasn’t been with anyone in a long time, and he’s the first to admit that was because he was looking for his forever girl. Butterflies fill my stomach that that’s how he sees me.

“Are you okay, love?” Kate asks when she sees me smiling to myself while Phil and Liam chat away.

“Yeah, I’m good, thank you. This was all just a little overwhelming,” I admit.

“I’m sorry. I just really started to believe this day would never come. Liam’s always talked about wanting a wife and a family, but then he never seemed to find a girlfriend and I started to—”

“Mum, really?” Liam asks, also cutting his dad off mid-sentence.

“What?” she asks innocently as she gives me a wink. I can’t help but laugh at both of them.

“His brother’s the complete opposite,” she continues when Liam’s distracted once again. “He gets all the girls, but none of them ever stick. I think he’ll forever be single and sowing his wild oats.” I swear Kate shudders slightly at the thought of what her eldest son is up to.

Sitting back, I watch as Liam interacts with his parents. It reminds me of my own family. They’re so relaxed as they chat and laugh with each other. They’ve welcomed me in without any question, and I almost feel at home already—although that might be due to Liam’s fingers being intertwined with mine under the table.

“Liv, shall I show you to the guest room so you can get yourself ready to go out?”

“Oh, no, she can stay with—”

“You’re under our roof, Liam. Have some respect,” Phil interrupts, shocking me—and Liam, if his raised eyebrows are anything to go by.

“Seriously?”

“Yes,” Phil and Kate say in unison.

Liam casts a disappointed look over at me but I smile brightly. “Lead the way,” I say as happily as possible, rising from my chair. Liam squeezes my hand before he releases me. He looks seriously unimpressed by the situation.

“There are fresh towels in the en suite and a hair dryer in the drawer over there,” Kate says. It feels like she’s just shown me into a hotel room. I wouldn’t be surprised if she pulled the drawer out beside the bed and pointed to a bible any moment.

She eventually leaves me to sort myself out, and I waste no time in stripping out of my clothes and jumping in the shower.

“This is bullshit,” rumbles in my ear and I squeal in fright as Liam’s warm body presses up against mine. I pray that the sound of the running water is enough to cover my fright. “We’re not kids,” he mutters as his hands start wandering and my heart rate begins to pick up pace.

“It’s their house, and it’s only one night. I’m sure we can cope.” I refrain from pointing out that he’s managed to stay away from me for the past week.

“If I knew this would be the rule, I’d have asked Dean to stay at his place.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just enjo—” His fingers find my clit and my word ends on a gasp before he skilfully teases me to orgasm. His hand presses over my mouth when he feels me about to fall over the edge, and I cry out into his skin as pleasure washes through me.

“It’s kinda hot knowing we’re breaking the rules, don’t you think?” he asks, lifting me and pressing my back into the tiles.

“We’re not horny teenagers,” I gasp as he slides into me.

“No, we’re horny adults.” He laughs against the skin of my neck and it vibrates through my entire body.

“We need to get ready,” I say breathlessly once he drops me back to my feet. “And we need to not get caught. We’ve only been here two hours and we’ve already broken your parents’ rules.”

“There’s just something about being told you can’t do something.”

“You’re a nightmare.”

“I’m your nightmare.”

“Ugh, get out of here so I can get ready in peace, pest!”

He reluctantly leaves, but not until I physically pry his hands off me. But he’s right, I can’t deny that it’s a massive turn on, knowing we’re not allowed to be doing anything. I do feel awful about disrespecting his parents’ wishes, though.

“You look beautiful, Liv,” Kate says when I walk into their living room a little later. I’m wearing a simple magenta wrap dress and I pulled my hair into a messy fishtail once I discovered I had no way of straightening it.

I glance over to Liam just as he turns his head. His eyes start at mine but they soon drop to take in the little bit of cleavage I’m showing, and then down to my legs. I watch his eyes almost bug out of his head when he sees what I have on my feet. Our favourite shoes. I know it’s mean to tease him, especially now we have to spend the night apart, but I can’t help a little laugh falling from my lips at the look on his face.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he whispers when he comes over and kisses me on the cheek. “You look beautiful, too beautiful to share you with others.” The dark promise in his eyes has my insides clenching with lust. He looks gorgeous with his messy hair still damp around the edges, the scruff on his face, and the white shirt and dark jeans that fit him like a second skin. I could think of much better things to be doing than going out with his family right now, that’s for sure.

Liam’s brother’s house is only a short drive from his parents’, so we’re welcomed inside in no time. I never would have guessed that Liam and Dean are brothers if his parents didn’t tell me, because they are opposites in every way. Where Liam’s dark, quiet and brooding, Dean is fair, brash and loud. He’s not unlike BJ, and it makes me wonder if that’s what drew Liam to his boisterous best friend all those years ago.

“Come in, come in,” Dean says, making a show of waving his family inside—that is, until his eyes land on me. “Whoa, wait a goddamn minute,” he announces, much to his mum’s annoyance. “Liam, have you been holding out on me, bro? Who is this beauty?”

Glancing at Liam, who’s a little ahead of me, I don’t miss the slight redness to his cheeks. “Dean, this is Liv, my girlfriend. Liv, this is Dean, my highly irritating and obnoxious big brother.”

“Now, now,” Dean complains, but I don’t hear most of his argument because my reaction to Liam calling me his girlfriend distracts me. My heart races and butterflies flutter in my belly. I hadn’t really thought about what we were, but hearing that word fall from his lips makes me realise how badly I actually needed the reassurance. I know he told me he loved me last night, and that means more, but knowing I’m someone to him, not just a friend, kind of blows me away.

“Well, Liv, come on in, mi casa es su casa.”

Liam allows me to pass him to make my way into the house, but Dean intercepts him, placing his hand on my lower back and leaning in. “I think you’re with the wrong brother, darlin’. When you’re ready to upgrade, you let me know.”

Liam growls behind us before Dean is forcefully shoved away from me.

“Hey, that’s no way to treat your brother,” Dean sulks. His bottom lip sticks out and his eyes lower, I can’t help but think he looks like a sad puppy.

“And that’s no way to talk to my girl.” There are those tingles again.

“Sorry, I didn’t realise you were in love and shit,” Dean says, his hands up in surrender while Kate once again chastises him for his language.

“Yeah, we’re in love and shit, so back the fuck off, bro,” Liam spits, getting in Dean’s face.

“Sorry…I’m sorry,” he stutters, looking to their parents for support, but both Phil and Kate just roll their eyes at him and walk farther into the house.

“It smells good, son, but please tell me you haven’t cooked,” Phil says from the kitchen, making Liam laugh and the tension between him and Dean to dissipate.

“Oh yeah, I cooked totally from scratch.”

“Oh Christ,” Liam mutters next to me, confirming my suspicion that Dean can’t cook like Liam and his dad can. It makes me wonder why we’re here and not in a restaurant.

“All by myself, I opened the webpage, chose the dishes and picked up the phone to order. I even answered the door and paid when some guy came to deliver it.”

Everyone seems to breathe a sigh of relief at his announcement before Dean pulls the takeaway bags from the oven and Kate starts faffing around getting plates.

Turns out he’s ordered enough Indian food to feed half the street. The table is full, and my stomach grumbles as we all start to fill our plates.

I’m just about to have my first mouthful when there’s a loud bang from the front door and the sound of heels clicks against the wooden floor.

“Where’s the birthday boy?” a female voice sings. “I’ve got a special present for you.”

Everyone around the table stops moving. Shit, I’m pretty sure Dean and his parents stop breathing. The next few seconds happen so fast that I almost think I’m dreaming. A stunning blonde strolls into the room, her eyes immediately land on Dean and she opens the coat she’s wearing and flashes everyone in the room with her fire engine red, lace baby doll. “Happy birthday, big boy,” she announces, but it’s not until Phil drops his fork that she realises the birthday boy has company. “Oh fuck!”

“Everyone this is Frankie. Frankie, this is…everyone.”

Her smile doesn’t falter as she looks at each of us and says hello. I’m seriously envious of her confidence, because if I made an entrance like that, I’d want the ground to swallow me up.

“You didn’t say you were coming,” Dean says, his voice a little tight.

“It was meant to be a surprise. Telling you would have kind of ruined it, don’t you think?”

Liam’s shoulders shake as he tries to hold his amusement in, but the moment his eyes meet mine he can’t hold it anymore and barks out a laugh. “And you lot thought me having a girlfriend was the shock of the day.”

“Would you like some dinner, love?” Kate asks politely, although she still looks a little shell-shocked.

“Sure, I’d love to,” Frankie says, a sweet smile plastered on her face. Dean, on the other hand, looks about ready to puke.

“Did you want to…change first?” he asks.

“I didn’t bring anything. I was planning on going home before we all went out later.”

“Come with me,” he says, grabbing her forearm and dragging her out of the room.

The four of us are silent as we listen to the two of them climb the stairs. “Well, that was unexpected,” Phil says, and we all burst out laughing.

Thankfully, the rest of the meal is much less eventful, even with Dean sitting at the end of the table looking very uncomfortable.

“Thank you for the meal, son. We’re going to head off so you can enjoy your night,” Phil announces once we’ve cleared the table. “It’s obvious you have plans. You guys ready?” he asks, turning to Liam and me.

“Oh, are you not coming out with us? We’re meeting Bax and Erin in town in about an hour.” Dean says turning to Liam.

“Uh…not sure. What do you want to do?” He looks at me, expecting me to make a decision.

“It’s up to you. But don’t you two need some alone time?” I ask, flicking a look to Frankie, who’s now wearing one of Dean’s hoodies with her stockings sticking out the bottom.

“Nah, she can wait until later. She’s always more fun when she’s worked up.”

“I’ll be in the car,” Kate announces. She gives Dean a kiss on the cheek and tells him to behave, which only makes him laugh before she walks out of the house.

“You go, we’ll sort ourselves out,” Liam says to his dad, and we all watch as he follows his wife.

The second the front door shuts, Dean turns to Frankie. “Get upstairs, right now.”

“Uh, Dean you can’t—” Liam starts but he gets cut off.

“We’ll literally be ten minutes. Call a cab, yeah?”

He drags Frankie from the room before Liam has a chance to answer and we’re forced to listen to whatever he does to her that makes her chant his name over and over.

“My ears,” Liam complains, covering them with his hands.

Leaning into him, I find his lips and set about distracting him.

An hour later, we’ve had a pit stop at Frankie’s place so she could change into something a little more suitable, although when she reappeared in a black micro dress that wasn’t much bigger than her baby doll, I did wonder why she bothered.

“Liv, this is Bax, Dean’s best mate, and his fiancée, Erin,” Liam says as we join them in a pub in the city.

“Hey, man. Long time, no see,” Bax says to Liam with a wink.

“I know right! Hey Erin, how’s it going?” The two of them have a whispered conversation and I feel like I’m missing something, but Dean soon appears with a tray of shots and an orange juice for pregnant Erin. All previous conversations stop in favour of getting the night started.

It’s not long before I feel like I’m part of the group, mostly thanks to Erin who starts chatting to me when the guys find themselves heading down memory lane.

“Come on, let’s dance.” Frankie says, pulling at Dean’s arm.

Liam’s hand slides into mine and he pulls me along with the others towards the dance floor. The second he comes to a stop, he gives my hand a tug and I crash against his chest.

“You having fun?”

“Yeah, I really am. Your friends are great.”

“They’re Dean’s, really, but they’re good guys. You and Erin seemed to be getting on well.”

“Yeah, she’s—” My words are cut off when Liam pulls me tighter against him and I feel his hardness pressing into my stomach. While he might have got me off while we were fooling around on his brother’s sofa earlier, he wasn’t so lucky, and it seems he’s still suffering.

“I can’t fucking believe we’re meant to be sleeping in separate beds tonight,” he groans in my ear. The roughness of his voice has my core throbbing.

“I’m sure you could sneak in.” My hands slide up his chest and tangle in his hair as his lips press against mine.

I vaguely hear Dean shout, “Wahoo, little brother’s getting lucky tonight.” Liam’s hand leaves me for a second and I open my eyes just in time to see him flip Dean off, much to his amusement. “You need any advice, you can always ask the master.”

Liam deepens the kiss and his brother and everyone else around us fade away until it’s just the two of us on this dance floor. Just us, the music, and his hands and mouth on me.