CHAPTER THREE 

HAZEL

I had no idea what got into me. 

The moment my lips touched his, shock and regret whipped through me. 

Holy shit, Hazel what are you doing? You left Johnny two days ago! Why the hell are you kissing a random stranger?

"I'm so sorry," I muttered, looking down at my feet as I pulled away. "That was so inappropriate of me."

Flushed with embarrassment, I hopped off my barstool and hurriedly dug to the bottom of my purse for some money to throw on the bar. The sooner I was out of here, the better. He was probably thinking he should call the cops on me. 

"Hazel." 

Liam's voice was calm. It made me pause just for a split second. And then his hand touched my face. 

His fingers, gentle but firm, lifted my chin slowly to look at him. When his eyes met mine, his fingers traced a path of heat along my jawline. 

He said nothing but cupped the back of my neck and looked at me curiously like he just wanted to observe me but wasn't sure what to do. Our breath mingled in mid-air between us. I wondered if he felt the same intense, crackling magnetism that I did.

And his lips fell to mine, completing the kiss that I wasn't bold enough to. 

My body responded like I didn't have control of it. I closed my eyes and savored his mouth, returning the pressure and adding the smallest flick of my tongue. 

This was what my body wanted, why it pulled me to him with magnetic force. 

I couldn't even remember the last time Johnny spontaneously kissed me. We had been living like roommates for months. My body starved to be desired, wanted, and lusted after. 

I pushed the thought of Johnny out of my mind as I kissed Liam with more passion, closing the distance between us. He groaned softly into my mouth as I parted my lips to give way for his tongue to explore. As his arms encircled my waist like two anacondas, I rested my hands on his massive biceps, not feeling an ounce of fat under his skin. 

He felt like a solid wall, rigid muscles dipping and rising, and strong enough to crush me if he wanted to. But the darkness I sensed from him wasn't dangerous. The way he held me was firm and protective. 

I felt safe. 

And so insanely turned on. 

It was like a switch had flipped in my body. My panties pooled with wetness and my nipples ached stiffly. His large, open palms slid across my ribcage as he kissed me and I had half a mind to put them right on my tits.

We could have kissed for hours or mere seconds before we came up for air. I had no sense of time. Only the sense of his touch and when it ended. 

"Do you want to go somewhere else?" I asked before I could think. This was completely out of character for me. But I couldn't stop myself. Liam was intoxicating me like a drug and I needed more. 

He lifted an eyebrow. "Somewhere more private, you mean?" 

I bit my lip and nodded. Then ran my hand along his firm waistline to emphasize what I wanted. 

He grabbed my hand, stopping my touch along his flat, hard abdomen. He seemed torn if even hesitant and I wondered if he was going to turn me down. 

"Sorry, I don't usually do this," I said, yanking my hand away and feeling overwhelmed with embarrassment again. 

"Don't be sorry, Hazel." He leaned in and surprised me with a gentle kiss and a wickedly charming smile. "My place or yours?" 

"Yours." 

I could barely hear myself over the sound of blood pounding in my ears. "I have roommates."  

*** 

I followed Liam’s car to a recently renovated neighborhood just on the outskirts of Cloverville. I felt grateful he didn’t suggest taking one car, in case I wanted to flip a U-turn and speed straight toward home rather than this strange man’s house.

A small part of me wanted to do just that. The risks of sleeping with a man within minutes of meeting him seemed to far outweigh the benefits. He was nice enough at the bar, hot as any GQ model, and an amazing kisser, but how did I really know I wouldn’t be carried out in a body bag tomorrow? 

Still, I kept my hands steady on the wheel and my eyes focused on his red brake lights. He was the hottest guy in that bar and likely the most respectful. I couldn’t help but put a spring in my step when we walked out together and I felt everyone’s eyes on us. 

The sheer thrill and excitement coursing through my veins overshadowed all doubts and precautions. I licked my lips as we turned down a street with cute, charming cottages. I could still taste his tongue in my mouth and thirsted for more. 

Liam’s car pulled into the driveway of a small craftsman-style house that didn’t look larger than two bedrooms. I pulled up alongside his curb and parked on the street. My heart returned to its nervous, hard thumping as I got out and walked up his driveway. 

“Here we are,” he said almost cheerily as he put his keys in the front door. 

I followed him inside to a simple, but neat and cozy space.

The house was indeed small but well renovated. A spacious kitchen and living room with an open floor plan sprawled out before us. 

“Nice place,” I said in an awkward attempt to keep the conversation flowing. 

“Thanks. I did most of the work myself.” Liam glanced at me as he opened the fridge. “Something to drink?” 

I nodded, eager to take the edge off and work up the courage to kiss him again. And then go beyond kissing. 

“So are you a contractor?” I asked, inspecting his perfect ass and powerful quads as he bent over in front of the fridge. The kind of muscles that only came from hard work.  

“No, not professionally anyway.” He straightened up and closed the fridge with two beer bottles in his hand. “I just like fixing things for fun.” 

He handed me a chilled glass bottle, which would have cooled me down if it weren’t for his warm, rough fingers brushing across mine. 

“What about you, Hazel?” 

I liked how he said my name. 

“I’m not a professional contractor, either,” I said, smiling into the lip of my beer bottle.

He chuckled and moved closer toward me, his manly scent filling my lungs and his presence overtaking my senses. 

“You’re a bit of a smartass, aren’t you?” His arm coiled around my waist again, pulling me against him. I’m not the smallest girl but I felt so tiny and delicate being wrapped up in him. 

“No, I just say stupid shit when I’m nervous.” I dropped my eyes away from him, intimidated. “Like that.” 

Just like in the bar, he raised my chin gently to look at him. My reflection looked back at me, nervous and unsure in the deep, blue pools of his eyes. 

“Do you still want this?” 

I nodded. He had me again the moment he touched me. I reached the point of no return and couldn’t go back now. 

“Yes, I want this. I want you.”