Chapter Fifteen
Paige
“We probably shouldn't –” I mutter.
I don't think Liam hears me, though. Either that, or he just doesn't care. He pushes me to a sitting position on the stool behind the counter. With a firm hand, Liam parts my thighs and steps between them. Leaning down, he kisses me as he presses himself against me, his long, hard erection rubbing against my stomach. I can tell he's ready, and God, I find myself going weak in the knees just thinking about fucking him.
Desire, need, and want, rise up within me like an erotic tide. As I revel in the feeling of his hands on my body, his kisses upon my flesh, I find myself growing hot. My pussy growing slicker and wetter with each passing second.
It's just sex, I tell myself. Skyler would tell me to relax and go for it. To enjoy it. To enjoy myself, to enjoy Liam's body, and live life a little. But I've never been the type who engages in casual sex. It's just never been my style. And even though I'm tempted beyond belief, I'm not sure now is the time to start.
But his mouth feels so good upon my skin. I can't recall the last time a man has kissed me like this, and my body aches with a need I've been denying it for so long. The fire between my thighs is burning white-hot and I know that my panties must be soaked through.
Still, we're in my shop, the door is open – anyone can walk in at any time. I need to put a stop to things because the last thing I need is for somebody to walk in and catch us in the act. I stare down at Liam just as he drops to his knees in front of me.
“Oh God, we're really going to do this, aren't we?” I whimper.
“Yes, Paige,” Liam says, his voice husky and low. “Yes, we are.”
I should put a stop to this. My mind is screaming at me to stop. But, my body isn't listening, and I feel powerless to do anything about it. It's like I'm not in control of my own body. I try to will myself to move, to make him stop, but my limbs don't obey my commands.
Biting my lip, I glance around the shop. I can't see the door from where I am, but at least I know I'll hear the bell if somebody comes in. Because I seem powerless to move. I am at the mercy of the man kneeling before me. I gasp as Liam's strong hands slide up my thighs and slip beneath my skirt. He touches the warm, wet center of me through my panties, and then in one powerful, swift motion, he pulls my panties down my legs.
He has a devilish grin on his face as he peers up at me and I can see the lust burning brightly in his eyes. The way he looks at me sends shockwaves of electricity pulsing through my body. He looks at me like I'm the most beautiful woman in the world. Like I'm the only woman in the world. I've never had a man look at me the way he is and it's driving me wild.
I need to stop this, I tell myself for the thousandth time. And for the thousandth time, my body flat-out ignores me. It refuses to move, to allow me to stop something I know I need to. What will people think if they walked in on us? The last thing I want to be is fodder for town gossip. The last thing I want is a reputation as the bookstore whore.
But before I can question myself too much further – or actually put a stop to this – Liam hikes my skirt up around my waist and his mouth finds my clit.
“Oh God,” I cry out as a powerful wave of pleasure washing over me.
I lean back against the counter as my vision wavers and the room around me feels like its spinning. I moan softly and pull his hair nice and hard as Liam continues going to town on my clit. His tongue is so gentle as he circles it as if he's testing the waters, experimenting, trying to see what I like. The sounds coming from my mouth apparently tells him what he needs to know because he sucks my clit into his mouth.
My entire lower body tightens up, spasms, and my pussy cries out for something, anything, to fill me. As he sucks on my clit, harder and faster, it feels like tendrils of fire are crawling along my skin. My body is screaming out, desperate to have him inside of me. But, I retain enough sense in my mind to know there's no way I'm going to let us fuck. I can't let things go that far. I can't let my guard down that much. Not here. Not now. Maybe not ever.
As much as I want to, as loud as my body is crying out for release, I can't let myself do it. I don't know yet, how I'm going to stop it, but I know I just can't.
As if Liam can read my mind, he slips a finger into my dripping wet opening, moving in and out of me as he continues sucking my clit. I stare down at him, my hands entangled in his hair. He's so sexy, I still can’t believe my eyes, and he glances up at me – those deep orbs of cornflower blue drinking me in. He's reacting to every movement of my body and watching every expression on my face – wanting to see the pleasure written on it. The pleasure he's bringing me.
Never before have I been with a man who has devoted so much care to oral sex. Who has spent so much energy simply trying to please me. Most of the men I've been with have been selfish lovers. They seem to view sex as a means to an end, not taking their time, not caring to satisfy me. Most of the men I've been with – the scant few, really – seemed to only care about getting themselves off. My pleasure was always an afterthought to them.
But Liam is genuinely enjoying it, I can tell. He takes his time and seems to love pleasuring me. He slips two fingers into my pussy, making me cry out. My voice echoes around the shop and I throw my head back, banging into the bookcase behind me.
There's a loud clatter and crash behind us as the books on the shelf I bumped tumble to the ground. Liam looks at me and we both pause for a moment, staring into one another's eyes. The silence ends when we both erupt in laughter.
“That’s not something you normally see in the movies,” he says.
I bite my bottom lip and shake my head, unable to speak, as the deep timbre of his voice vibrates my clit, sending short, sharp, shocks of pleasure through my body. The absurdity of the moment passes and our laughter fades quickly. All I care about is having Liam's mouth on the most sensitive parts of me again. All I want is to feel his tongue and fingers deep within me.
As if reading my thoughts once again, three of his fingers suddenly find their way inside of me, and that sends me over the edge. If I ever wanted to stop things – and the rational part of my mind argues that I should – it's too late now. There's no going back now. That train, as they say, has left the station.
The muscles inside of me clench tight, spasming around his fingers. Liam can obviously feel it too, seems to know he's bringing me closer to the brink, and picks up his rhythm, pounding his fingers into my hot, wet opening.
“Yes, yes, yes...” I moan.
My head is spinning, and I feel a little unsteady. My legs slip off the stool a bit and for a moment, I fear that I'm going to come crashing down to the floor. But, with his free hand, Liam steadies me, keeping me in place on the stool, never breaking the rhythm of his tongue and mouth as he licks and sucks on my clit, as he drives his fingers deeper inside me.
Liam's free hand rests on my side, keeping me steady. I reach for it. As if without any thought, he takes my hand in his, and I grip it tightly as my body is inundated with feelings of pleasure. Intense pleasure I've never felt before in my life.
As I'm hit by a wave of sheer ecstasy, I call out his name, accidentally pulling on his hair hard. If it bothers him at all, he gives no indication, never breaking his stride. My fingers intertwine with his and he holds onto me, bringing a sense of intimacy that I didn't expect. Yet, a sense of intimacy that I want. That I need.
“Liam, yes!” I cry out as he pushes me over the edge with his tongue.
I can no longer control my body, or the sounds coming from my mouth. My vision wavers and goes black as I succumb to the pleasure tearing through my body. Liam continues fingering me and licking my clit, never hesitating and never stopping. It's as if he's making sure I experience every bit of pleasure possible. Squeeze out every ounce of bliss.
My climax hits me hard. I'm gripping his hair and calling out his name as I rock backward against the bookshelf. More books fall from the shelves, clattering to the ground, some of them falling around us. The intensity of the pleasure grips me hard, hitting me like a ton of proverbial bricks, and I can't stop shaking and writhing and crying out.
I'm still holding tightly to his hand, squeezing it for all I'm worth, with my other hand gripping tight to the back of his head. And in that last glorious moment of my orgasm, I push him down harder into me – wanting to feel him deeper inside of me. He drives his fingers and tongue hard into me one last time and it draws the ecstasy out a moment longer.
But then, my orgasm loosens its grip on me and I come crashing down. As if I'd expelled every last ounce of energy inside of me, or my skeleton has somehow just liquefied, my entire body goes limp. I'm utterly spent. Thankfully, Liam catches me and keeps me from falling to the ground and turning into a puddle of jelly.
He stands up, holding me in his arms with a satisfied grin on his ruggedly handsome face. Even with the cuts and bruises that mark him, he's still a beautiful man. His lips are soaking wet from my juices, glistening in the light, and he licks them away like he's savoring the last bit of his favorite dessert. With my hands in his hair, I kiss him, tasting myself upon his lips.
Suddenly exhausted, but with a fire still burning within me, I reach down and stroke his cock through his pants. It's so thick and so hard, and after what he'd just done to me with his tongue, my body is desperately wanting to find out what he can do to me with that. All my fears and uncertainties, all my doubts and reservations from earlier, fly straight out the window.
The voice in my head, cautioning me against letting things go too far, is suddenly silent. Gone. As if it had never been there to begin with. I stare into his crystalline eyes and feel the heat in my pussy growing more intense. More desperate.
I want him. I want to fuck him.
And judging by the look in his eye and the stiff cock I'm stroking through his pants, it's clear that he wants me too. I fumble clumsily with his zipper and slide my hand down into his pants, eager to feel it. Impatient to have it inside of me.
Before I can touch him though, the bells above the door tinkle and chime, signaling that someone has stepped inside the bookstore.
“Shit,” I whisper.
I hurry and try to straighten my skirt as Liam zips up his pants. I'm quickly running my hands through my hair, doing my best to make it look like I wasn't just in the process of having sex. Liam stifles a laugh and he's smiling wide though, and I can feel my own smile stretching across my face.
I can't help it. Not after a mind-blowing orgasm like that.
“I'll be right there,” I call out.
I pick up a few books off the floor, trying to tidy up, but quickly see that it's pointless. The whole aisle looks like a hurricane went through it. Liam bends down starts picking up books, motioning for me to go see to my customer, and I excuse myself to step over to the counter at the front of the shop.
“Mrs. James, wonderful to see you,” I exclaim.
I cringe when I hear my own voice speaking, perhaps, a bit too loudly and a bit too brightly. While I'm always friendly, I know I'm never this effusive. Which is probably a sure sign of guilt. At least in my own mind.
“Nice to see you too, dear,” Mrs. James replies.
I'm still trying to subtly smooth out my skirt, hoping the woman – an old friend of my mom's – doesn't notice my flushed cheeks and messy hair. I'm suddenly self-conscious, terrified that the shop smells like sex. I'm deathly afraid that Mrs. James is going to put two and two together and realize why I'm looking so disheveled and acting so out of sorts.
“What brings you in today?” I ask, trying to take my chipperness down a notch or two. “What can I do for you?
“I need a gift for my granddaughter,” she says, looking at the small section of Young Adult books near the front.
“I can absolutely help you with that,” I say. “What kind of books does she like?”
I look over and feel my stomach drop straight into my shoes when I spot my panties lying on top of a pile of books stacked at the end of the counter. My heart races as I reach out to grab them as unobtrusively as I can. Instead, I manage to knock the stack of books over. They all clatter to the floor, taking my panties with them, the whole stack landing on Liam's foot.
“Oh, dear,” Mrs. James says, “Let me help you with those.”
I step in front of her quickly and put my trembling hand on her arm. “Oh, don't you worry yourself with those,” I say. “We'll take care of this mess. Don't trouble yourself with it, Mrs. James.”
She looks at Liam for a moment, not recognizing him. “And who might you be?”
Liam holds his hand out. “Liam Anderson,” he says. “I'm new in town. Hello.”
“Oh, well isn't that lovely?” Mrs. James says. “And such a strapping young man too. Why I'll bet you have the ladies in Port Safira fighting over you in a matter of days.”
“You flatter me,” he says, a low, rumbling chuckle escaping his mouth.
There's a hint of amusement in his voice as if he's enjoying this damn freak show. I glare at him and then cut my eyes to the pair of wet panties on the floor near his foot. Mrs. James looks back at me and smiles wide.
“Why you're single, aren't you, dear?” she asks. “You two would make a beautiful couple.”
I feel my cheeks heat up and know that my face must be a bright shade of red not normally found in nature. Liam just stands there, smiling wide, like he's having the time of his life. I clear my throat and shoot him another glare, trying to get him to look at the floor.
“About those books, Mrs. James,” I say, eager to divert the conversation. “What is it that your granddaughter enjoys reading again?”
She gives me a smile and nods, turning back to the shelving. I stare at Liam wide-eyed, trying to convey the message to him – pick up my panties! He looks at me blankly for a moment, but when I cut my eyes to the floor again, he finally looks down at the ground at his feet.
His eyes widen, and he stifles a laugh once he sees my panties lying there in a crumpled heap. I'm half-afraid that because he seems to be enjoying the spectacle, he's going to point them out to Mrs. James. Thankfully though, he quickly leans down and subtly picks them up – tucking them away in his pocket.
“She likes those Twilight books,” Mrs. James says, distaste dripping from her tongue. “I wish she'd read something with a little more substance, you know?”
“Personally, I think as long as she's reading, that's a good thing,” I say. “Tastes are developed and refined over time. She may be reading Twilight today, but I'd be willing to bet that eventually, she's going to be reading the classics.”
“I certainly hope so,” Mrs. James replies.
My legs are still shaky, but I manage to walk her over to the YA section. Once there, I reach out and pick up a copy of a new release. Mrs. James looks at the cover of the book and sneers.
“If she likes vampires, this has a strong female lead,” I say. “And while there's a love story, it's not the focus of the book. She's a lesser known author, but I think your granddaughter would really enjoy it if she liked Twilight.”
I look over at Liam who finishes shelving the books. Mrs. James looks over at him and smiles again.
“And what is it you do, Mr. Anderson?” she asks.
“Oh, I was just helping Ms. Samuels around the bookstore,” he says casually. “But, if everything looks good, I think I'm going to –”
“Oh yeah, totally. Everything's good,” I say quickly, waving him off. “All good.”
I can't bring myself to meet his gaze and I suddenly feel incredibly foolish for almost fucking him right here in my bookstore. A man I hardly know. I quietly thank God that we were stopped before we went any further.
“Thank you, Liam. For everything.”
“Anytime,” he says, licking his lips as he shoots me a knowing glance.
My heart races as he turns to leave the bookstore, and I can't help but stare at his ass as he walks away. Damn. What has gotten into me? Letting a man go down on me, in my bookstore? And nearly fucking him here too? If Mrs. James hadn't come in when she did, I probably would have.
Thank God, she did, I think to myself.
Even though part of me is disappointed, I tell myself that it is for the best, as the door jingles, signaling Liam's departure.
After all, I'm not that type of girl, and even though there's something about him I find incredibly alluring, Liam is not the type of man that I want to date.