CHAPTER 17

LIAM

I had never been a big drinker, but some nights just called for it.

Getting Danny out of debt was easy enough. Giving up a huge chunk of cash like that hurt, but I didn't care. I did it for Kate, and I would do it again.

Not that I would ever get the chance to help Kate out again. That was kind of why I was so deep in my current bottle of whiskey. After helping Danny out, the first thing I wanted to do was call Kate and tell her the good news. But I couldn't bring myself to do it.

I didn't want to sound like I had only done it so she would forgive me. It was so much more than that. I had done it so that Kate would have a chance to start fresh again. I needed to know that scummy assholes like Danny wouldn’t prey on her and try to take advantage of her.

After everything she’d been through, she deserved a real chance. So few people got that chance, and I wanted to be able to give her that. Even if I wasn't going to be a part of it.

I sat in my apartment, half a bottle of whiskey in front of me. The other half burned a hole in my stomach. I was sure that I wouldn't see Kate again. She had a new life to live, and my best guess was that she wouldn't want me to be a part of it.

Hell, it wasn’t like I deserved a second chance with Kate. She’d been mine a year ago, and I threw her away like an idiot. And then she comes hurtling back into my life, and I screw everything up again. It would have been so easy to be honest with her about everything, our past, both good and bad, and how much I regretted what I had done. Instead, I fucking lied to her.

It made me feel like a real piece of shit. And that’s probably why I was so quick to pay off Danny and get him out of Kate’s life. He was lying to her, too. Admittedly, for much worse reasons than me. But maybe it was a way to atone for my own sins against Kate.

Maybe she would never find out what I did for her, but that didn’t matter, so long as I knew she was safe and happy.

It was because I was so lost in my head that I didn't hear the knocking at the door at first. For all I knew, it had been going on for several minutes before I finally lifted my head and listened. It was soft yet persistent, and I got the sense that it wasn't going to stop until I answered.

Letting off a groan, I pushed myself to my feet and stumbled toward the door. I guessed it to be Clint. I had told what had happened before I left the hospital, and he said he was going to come around and cheer me up the moment that he could. Even though I would rather be alone, it was still a warming thought that at least I had one stable relationship in my life.

I threw open the door, and for a moment, I assumed that the alcohol had hit me harder than usual. In fact, for a moment, I was certain of it. Standing in the door with a smile on her face was Kate.

"Kate?" I asked stupidly, squinting my eyes as if it were Clint and doing so might bring him back into focus.

"Can I come in?" she asked. Her voice was soft, with zero anger behind it. It was in stark contrast to how she had spoken to me earlier that day.

"Yeah, of course," I said, stepping to the side and letting her enter.

She walked into the apartment, her eyes gazing around the place. She was clearly a little bit put off by the grand nature of the place, at least in comparison to her apartment. Although it wasn't anything luxurious, it did have walls to separate the bathroom, bedroom, kitchen, and living room. And I also had decorative hangings on the walls and rugs on the floor. Really, it was about as far from her place as an apartment could be.

"Nice," she said slowly as she made her way to the living room. "Ah, I see you started the party without me." She indicated the half-finished whiskey bottle.

"I wouldn't say party. Wake is probably more accurate."

"Did somebody die?" she asked, turning and looking at me as I made my way toward her. She looked stunning as always, too. She wore the same yoga pants she always did and even had on a sports bra and loose-fitting top like usual. Although she was dressed plainly, she looked anything but plain.

"Not somebody," I said solemnly as I picked the bottle up, pouring myself another glass. "But something."

To my surprise, she actually smiled at this. It was a warm smile, and as she did, she reached out, touching me on the arm. "Liam, I want you to know that I went and spoke to Danny again. I just came from there actually."

"Oh," I said, trying not to sound too excited. I hoped that he had told her the truth, but a guy like that, who knew?

"He told me what you did. I can't... I can't believe that you would do that? For me." She flashed me that same warm smile. Her eyes seemed to smile, too, as she looked at me. In fact, her whole body seemed to radiate a positive energy, directed at me. It was infectious.

"He told you? How much did he tell you?"

"Everything."

Her hand was still on my arm. I looked down at it, and as I did, she gave it a squeeze. "I didn't want you to be caught up with someone like that. With all those lies. You deserve better."

"I can't believe you did that for me."

"I told you. All I want is for you to be happy. If you are, then I am."

We didn't say anything else from there. Nothing else needed to be said. From the moment that she entered my apartment, I could feel the tension mounting, and by the time she revealed what she knew and I had my say, it was so thick that I could have cut it with a knife.

Wordlessly, she took the whiskey from my hand and placed it on the living room table. She then took my hand and led me from the living room toward my bedroom. She had never been there before, yet she didn't get lost or fumble her way. It was as if it were calling to her, letting her know where it was. A thought broke through everything.

How did she know where I lived? Were some of her memories coming back? I pushed the thought away. I could worry about that later. Right now, I had more important matters to attend to.

The moment that we entered the room, I turned, going in to kiss her. But she stopped me, putting a hand on my chest.

"I want to show you how grateful I am," she whispered in my ear. Her breath was warm, and it sent a shiver up my spine. "Not just for what you did today. But for the last few days and everything you have done for me. Everything."

Her hand still on my chest, she tilted her head and kissed me on the neck. If this wasn't enough, she followed it with a bite, pinching the skin. As she did, her hands found the bottom of my t-shirt, which she removed from me without hesitation.

Once my chest was bare, she began to kiss down my neck and toward my chest. They were soft kisses. Each one with just a speck of moisture to it, leaving a mark as she made her way across my chest and toward my abdomen. The whole time, she remained standing, moving from left to right and up and down. Her hands ran themselves over my back, scratching it, and giving me goosebumps.

Her soft kisses felt amazing and sent a sensation through my body that made my knees literally shake. In fact, my entire body shook from pleasure. It was so simple, yet so effective. I would have been happy for her to spend the rest of the night just doing that. But of course, she wasn't going to.

Next, her hands found my belt. She unhitched it, unzipped my fly, and then dropped my pants to the floor. I was wearing a pair of plain white boxer briefs and they were already struggling to hold my very hard cock. She smiled as her eyes met it, her hand soon following. It cupped the outside of my hard cock, and she let off a small moan as she stroked it.

I was about to drop my briefs myself. My cock was begging to be set free, and I wanted nothing more than her hand to be wrapped around it. But before I got the chance, she pushed me backward with such force that I stumbled before falling on the bed.

With my legs still hanging over the bed, I sat up just in time to see her fall to her knees. Once on her knees, she crawled toward me, her eyes never leaving my package. The moment that she was face to face with it, her hands made their way up to my briefs, and I lifted myself off the bed, allowing her to slide them off me.

My cock, already so hard, popped out, pointing to the sky. Her eyes widened at the sight of it, and she licked her lips as her hand wrapped around it. I let off a small groan as she gripped it in her hand. And I let off an even louder one as she licked her other hand and wrapped it around the head of my pulsating dick.

With her two hands firmly gripping it, she proceeded to stroke my throbbing erection very slowly. Both hands, up and down, up and down. It was slow and gentle and felt unbelievable. But that was nothing compared to the moment that she buried her head into the base of my cock and took my balls in her mouth.

That time, I let off the biggest moan of all. She sucked them nice and slow to match the rhythm of the hand job. And again, I thought if that was all she did that night, I would have gone to bed a happy man. But it wasn't. Not even close.

I ran my hands through her hair as she sat up, just enough to open her mouth and take my entire cock down her throat. Like she was born to it, her throat opened up, and she somehow managed to swallow the entire thing. Her throat closed over my cock, gripping it as it slid inside of her. My hands gripped the side of the bed as she pulled her mouth from my dick, only to take it again.

Up and down, her head bobbed on my shaft. All the while, her tongue ran itself over my head and the tip of my cock. Even as she gagged, water dripped from her eyes and saliva from her mouth. Kate used her tongue to dish out little bits of pleasure. The sensation was unbelievable.

It was then that I knew a simple blow job wasn't going to be enough. Using all the self-control I could muster, I stopped her, grabbing her under the arms and lifting her to her feet.

Her crotch was right in my face, and I could see the lips of her pussy, already moist through her yoga pants. I buried my head into her pussy, biting her yoga pants as my hands cupped her butt. I then found the top of the pants and pulled them down, thong and all.

As she ravaged my hair, I ran my fingers over her lips, making sure that they were already wet. I wanted to taste them, but I also wanted them around my shaft. To my delight, she was already dripping so I turned her around and guided her toward the tip of my hard length.

From there, she took control again. Her ass to me, one of her hands wrapped itself around my cock, holding it steady while she planted herself on top of my member. She bounced on the head for a few moments, pressing it into her lips before pulling herself off. Again and again, she did this, never actually allowing me inside of her.

After a few more times, I had enough. I grabbed her by the hips and pushed her down so that my hard cock slid right up inside of her. She left off a moan to match my own as I filled her. I could feel her lips wrapping around and sucking onto my shaft as I slid all the way up to the hilt. And then, once I was totally inside of her, she straightened up, standing up so that my dick slid from out of her, before sitting back down again.

Then, the fun began. I remained seated as I watched her perfectly round booty bounce up and down, up and down, on my cock. Each time, she got to the point where I was about to pop out of her before falling back down. My dick never left the inside of her, and she relished in making it so.

To add to the amazing sensation of feeling myself inside of her, each time she came down, she also ground forward, really making sure that I was receiving ultimate pleasure. I didn't even think that she was trying to make herself come. That night was all about me.

It was because of that, it didn't take long before I felt myself on the verge. Each time she came down and ground forward, it brought me closer to release. I grabbed onto her ass, squeezing it and letting her know I was ready. I tried to slow her down, but this only made her go faster. I tried to reach around and find her clit to make her come, but she stopped me.

She just kept on going and going. Faster and faster. Each time she came down, she really pushed herself forward, and each time I groaned, she did the same thing. She wanted me to come inside of her. She was almost begging for it. My knees began to shake. My head began to spin. My balls began to ache.

And then I released.

I fell onto my back, groaning in pleasure as warm, sticky come erupted from the tip of my cock. And the whole time, she kept herself on me, firmly squeezing her thighs together so that none of it left her. Although she slowed down on her movements, she didn't stop, instead subtly moving up and down, milking me for all I had.

By the time she climbed off me, I was in another world. I didn't even notice that she had stripped off the rest of her clothes and crawled into bed with me. And I barely noticed the kisses she showered upon me. And try as I might, I couldn't remember scurrying back up the bed and falling in beside her.

But somehow, I had ended up beside Kate, with her wrapped in my arms. In that moment, as the two of us slowly drifted off to sleep, I couldn't remember a time I had been this happy.