Chapter Sixteen
His wife.
Vivien’s confession echoed in Liam’s mind. Not what he’d expected for damn sure. His thoughts flickered to his dad, to how he’d cheated on Diana before finally running away from all of his responsibilities. A hundred questions popped into his head, but he held back. He saw in her eyes that didn’t begin to cover the whole story, and he’d learned enough about Vivien to know not to judge the book before he heard more of the story.
“Not exactly what you want to find out about your new boyfriend.”
“Understatement if I ever heard one.” The bitterness in Viv’s voice made him want to wrap his arms around her and tell her none of this mattered, but he couldn’t. It did matter. Whoever this Christopher guy was, he’d done a lot more damage than she realized, and she needed to let it out before it drove her crazy.
“What’d he say when you called him out on it?”
“Christopher claimed it wasn’t a marriage; it was a business arrangement he made eight years ago when he was first starting out. She was much younger and wilder than him, and they’d never gotten along.”
Liam snorted. “Then why the hell did he stay with her?”
“My question exactly.” Vivien paused to drink some more wine, almost draining her glass. He grabbed the bottle and refilled it. “He said that he couldn’t do that without losing half of everything—not until they’d been married for a decade at least. Something to do with the prenup.”
Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes.
“God knows why, but I believed him. I folded like a cheap piece of paper and let myself believe that it wasn’t a big deal if we continued to see each other. I insisted on discretion, though. It was hard enough for me to build my career without being labeled the ‘other women.’ The men I work with are big enough pigs without adding fuel to the fire.”
He ate some more of his potpie, but it started to lose some of its comfort for him. This could only get worse. If you’d told him six weeks ago that he’d be here now, wanting to protect Vivien Monroe from the rest of the world, he would have laughed. He never let a woman get this close this fast. He hated change the way some people hated cilantro, but she’d wormed her way into his heart in spite of everything.
Now, he wanted to stop her, to sweep her into his arms and cuddle her on his lap to make her forget this dickhead ever existed. But he knew she needed to get this out, that her telling him was a sign that she trusted him, if only a little. “When did it go south on you?”
Vivien stared down at her bowl, nibbling a little, but not really eating. This wasn’t how he saw tonight going when he started cooking for her. “About three months ago. I overheard my bosses talking about some changes they were making to Christopher’s account to accommodate his wife’s pregnancy.”
“Was it his?”
“I don’t know. Maybe? All that mattered was a kid was part of the equation.” Her next breath was shaky, the first real sign that he’d seen of her losing the battle with her emotions. The warrior queen slowly started to fade into the background, and in her place the soft, dynamic woman finally started to show herself.
“It got me thinking, you know? About how crappy I felt being ignored by my dad. Jed never would have cheated on my mom with another woman, but MT got more of his attention than a lot of mistresses would have. I didn’t want to have any part in making another kid feel as lousy as I did.”
Liam felt a twist in his chest at the pain in her voice; for the first time, he saw the parallels between Jed and his own father. That underlying selfishness that drove them to prioritize other things over their own children. However great Jed was as a surrogate dad to Liam, he’d screwed up with Vivien. It was etched in every line on her face and in the dark shadows in her eyes. For a brief moment, he thought about meeting her honesty with honesty about the crash, but that would take the focus from her and back on Jed, which was the last thing she needed right now. “So you ended it?”
“Yes.” Vivien squeezed her eyes shut, a world of pain surrounding her. “Or at least I thought I had. He…Christopher doesn’t want it to be over. He thinks that if he’s persistent enough, if he sends me expensive gifts, I’ll give in. I got an email from him today. That’s what tipped the scales from kinda crappy mood to completely shitty.”
Climbing off his stool, Liam pulled Vivien to her feet and into his arms. Without her heels, she fit perfectly in the hollow of his shoulder. He expected her to shy away, to keep the stubborn steel in her spine no matter what. Instead, she wrapped her arms around him, burying her face in his shirt for a few minutes. “I’m just…so…tired.”
What was she tired of? Fighting to hide her emotions? Being so strong and so alone? Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he let her gather herself for a few minutes. He needed to hold her as much as she needed to be held. Any other questions he might have about her past didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was showing her that not every man she cared about was a complete bastard. Because—damn it—he was falling for her, and he didn’t know if he wanted to stop.
…
Vivien fought to grab the reins of her emotions. All of the pain and frustration of the last year swamped over her, mixing with the resentment and betrayal that laced its way through most of her life. She didn’t think she could talk about this anymore or she’d lose it. Being here in his arms like this, she was this close to spewing all of her guts to him, telling him stuff ten years of therapists’ visits could never get out of her.
To her eternal gratitude, Liam sensed her struggle and didn’t press her. Instead, he pulled her to the oversize sofa and into his lap. The strong arms around her did more to ease her tense muscles than the best massage she’d ever had. With Flynn curled up beside them, Liam slowly nudged her into talking about other things—less nuclear topics, but topics she rarely touched on with other men.
It took some time, but soon conversation flowed between them easily, bouncing from work to current events, from movies to favorite travel stories. Vivien was surprised to learn that he was almost as well-traveled as she was. Apparently, Jed was a proponent of on-site research for some of their games that went to real locations, whether for modern games or for their fantasy games with landscapes based on existing locations. They both had the same favorite restaurant in Rome, and they both agreed that Paris was overrated as a city.
“While I couldn’t stand Paris, I will say the French Riviera is pretty spectacular,” she said, taking a long drink of the surprisingly good red wine he’d brought with them to the couch. How had he known hearty comfort food and good wine was exactly what she needed? She hadn’t even known she needed it.
Liam reached up to play with a curl he’d pulled loose from the messy bun she’d unconsciously tucked it into at some point. “Hmm…I can see you there, on some beach, in a fancy bathing suit, one of those big floppy hats on so your lily-white skin doesn’t get burned.”
“Bathing suit?” She raised an eyebrow as she shifted her body in just the right way. His body stirred under her, the curve of her ass pressing firmly into his groin. God, she loved the feel of him getting hot for her. For such a mild-mannered guy, he sure knew what to do with a girl in bed. Teasing him made it even more…exciting. “Those are all well and good, I suppose. Personally, I always stay with friends who have private beaches where bathing suits are…optional.”
Three…two…one…on cue, Vivien watched desire flare fully to life in the blue depths that had been turning her insides to jelly all night. She hid her amused smile as he shifted uncomfortably, keeping her from feeling what she knew had to be the beginnings of an impressive erection. The smiled turned to a frown when, rather than sweeping her into a passionate kiss, he set her aside and took their empty glasses to the sink to rinse them out.
“Bathing suits optional,” he repeated, bracing his hands on the counter. “How do you keep from burning all that delicate skin of yours?”
Infusing an extra note of huskiness into her laugh, she stood and went to lean over the bar, letting him catch an extra glimpse of cleavage from the deep V-neck of her shirt, knowing that he’d get the money shot of the lace bra—his favorite piece of her clothing. “Well, it’s much, much easier when I have a willing man around who doesn’t mind rubbing sunscreen over every last inch of me. Once every hour.”
That did the trick. All it took was two, maybe three strides of his long legs, and she was in his arms being carried upstairs. Thoroughly pleased with herself, she kept occupied by trailing openmouthed kisses up his neck to his ear, nipping his earlobe to urge him on a little. He smelled so good; all citrus and male and a hot Liam scent that damn near set her panties on fire.
“God, woman. You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”
“Now why would I do that?” Her tongue darted out to soothe the area reddened by her teeth. “Killing you would be no fun for me and even less fun for you.”
Lucky for them, the door to the bedroom was partially open, otherwise his well-placed kick would have smashed it. Now sure of his way, Liam turned his attention to what Vivien loved most—driving her crazy with his wickedly talented tongue.
Every worry that bombarded her mind all day, every thought of anyone but Liam, flew out the window as he lowered her to the bed, his body covering hers, their feet dangling over the edge of the bed. Part of her screamed for him to hurry up, but another part of her reveled in the foreplay. She usually thought foreplay was a waste of time; it was just more time out of her day she had to spend with a guy she was only mildly interested in.
Foreplay with Liam hit a different level. The attention to detail that made him so successful as a game designer translated into the ability to know where to find even the smallest erogenous zone and use it to his full advantage. By the time he moved away from her lips, they were swollen and sensitive and craving more.
She tried to reach out for him, to pull him back, but he shook his head. “Uh-uh. Tonight is about fixing your bad day. Let me kiss it and make it better.”
“But—” The sound of her jeans’ zipper being loosened cut her off. With minimal effort, Liam tugged them off and tossed them to one side, but left her underwear in place. An impressive feat given how tight those jeans were. Vivien closed her eyes, waiting to feel him touch her through the thin silk of her thong, but he surprised her yet again. Shackling one of her ankles, he lifted her foot up and up until—
Her eyes flew open. “Are you kissing my feet?”
“I told you I’d make it better,” he said, nibbling the sensitive skin on the arch of her foot. Little thrills of delight went through her, growing stronger as his thumb rubbed in counterpoint to his lips, soothing away the slight ache brought on by her shoes. She thought about protesting, but her eyes rolled back in her head as she savored the moment. Several long moments later, he switched to the other foot. Biting the bottom of her lip, she enjoyed the gentle building of sensation that centered between her thighs.
As if sensing her growing need, he began to move up her legs, lingering to tease the backs of her knees before continuing on to the sensitized flesh of her inner thighs. “Please, Liam. I need you.”
“Not yet, baby. Sit back and enjoy.” Answering her plea, he began to kiss her through her underwear, the contrast of rough lace and warm, male mouth sending her careening over the edge.
When he didn’t stop, she buried her fingers in his hair, moving him away. A wave of guilt washed through her. She didn’t deserve this.
She just spilled her dirty secret to him.
He should hate her or at least think she was a heartless, whorish home-wrecker. Instead, he was worshipping her body in a way she’d never experienced before. Needing to regain some ground, to find a place she was comfortable, she gave her most seductive smile.
“You deserve to have some fun, too, nerd boy. On your back. Now.”
For once, he decided to listen to her. Moving so he took her place on the bed, she made quick work of his low-riding jeans, letting her fingernails trail the pale band of skin between the hem of his Batman shirt and the top of his boxer briefs. Both joined the jeans.
Normally, she’d want to tease him like he had her, but she craved the taste of him more than she wanted to tease him. Connecting with him right now was the only thing in her world that made any sense.
Kneeling between his parted legs, she took him first in her hands, in long luxurious strokes, trailing her fingertips up his length—loving the catch in his throat, the way his hands clenched in the sheets—before taking him in her mouth.
Most men would kill for a woman to go down on him—Lord knows Christopher asked her enough times, but she hadn’t gone this far since college. There was something strikingly intimate about her mouth on his erection, a level of trust that would have scared her if she hadn’t been enjoying the hell out of this.
Her tongue circled the head of his dick while one hand cupped his balls. Hand and mouth working together, she tried to tease, torture, and please him as much as he had her only minutes earlier. Every little moan or grunt of enjoyment filled her with so much female power. His hand cupping the back of her head, urging her on, sent a fierce dose of lust through her, restoking the fires he’d coaxed to a blaze not long ago. She controlled every single aspect of his pleasure.
God, what a high.
Right when the noises he was making told her he was about to come, he jerked her to her feet and ripped her panties off. “Uh-uh, pretty girl. I want to be in you when that happens, feeling your body clench around me.”
With moves that were more efficient than smooth, he found a condom and slid it on with one hand, the other teasing her to make sure she was ready for him. As if that were in question. Her traitorous body was ready and raring to go simply from looking at him. Tasting him had her a hairbreadth away from going up in flames. The planes of his chest, the not-too-defined muscles of his arms and abs, all of it was icing on the cake. This man did things to her she never knew she needed, much less wanted.
Still wanting some control, she barely let him sheath himself before straddling his lap and taking him into her.
“Fine. But we’re doing this my way, nerd boy. Just watch”—she slowly rocked up to her knees before sliding back down, taking all of him in—“and learn.”
Face-to-face, they moved together, breath mingling, eyes never wavering from each other. With him, she felt full. And not just because his very erect, fairly substantial dick was inside her. The connection between them spread through every inch of her, binding her to him, drawing her closer. The thought terrified her, or it should have, but all it took was a well-placed twist of his hips and Liam sent her into oblivion before driving her up again, all thoughts leaving her.
Liam’s arms wrapped around her, holding her chest to his, their hearts beating out the same frantic tattoo. Here, in the silence of his bedroom, he managed to create a haven where nothing but the sensations he teased from her body could enter. Sagging into his hold, she gave herself over to the waves of emotion and pleasure overwhelming her senses. It soothed her soul to see that he was as lost as she was, gave her the sense of feminine power that she craved to equal the power she’d given to him.
Every other liaison she’d had was simply a mutual exchange of brief pleasure with none of the strings she felt slowly reaching out to wrap around her. This was more.
This man was more.
He knew her, how to touch her, how to talk to her, how to relax her in a way no one had been able to in years. Maybe since her mom died. He didn’t let her hide behind the walls she’d spent all her life constructing. With every stroke of his hand, with every patient look, he managed to scale the walls and see her at her core. It would be far too easy for her to give her heart to this man, and to hell with the fact that he was all wrong for her.
“Come with me,” he whispered, his lips coasting across her cheek. “Let go, pretty girl. Let it all go.”
“Yes.” She nipped at his lower lip. “God, yes.”
Sealing their mouths together, she let him have her cries as she broke apart, reveling in the fact that he lost himself as completely as she did. Vivien didn’t want to move. Ever.
Liam seemed to regain control of his faculties before she did, because the arms around her shifted so that his hands could rub circles along her back. Only then did she realize they hadn’t even managed to take off their shirts.
A small giggle bubbled up and out before she could hold it back. Luckily, it was answered by a deep chuckle from Liam. “What’s so funny?”
“Well”—she pulled back so she could look at him, not even bothering to hide her smile—“I think this may be the first time I’ve had sex only half-naked—in a bed at least. Half naked table sex was checked off my bucket list by this really sexy guy, but half naked in bed is a new one.”
“Really?” A grin brought out the dimples in his cheeks, emphasizing the mix of boyish charm and sexy mischievousness that was too attractive for her piece of mind. “We’ll just have to do something about that now, won’t we?”
Still laughing, she let him maneuver her onto the bed and out of the rest of her clothes before letting her reciprocate. One stray dig of her fingers into his side told her he was ticklish, just another new corner of this far too dynamic man.
As a tickle war—a tickle war for God’s sake—commenced, realization slowly settled into her bones.
He hadn’t judged her.
He only cared about her and how she was feeling. She’d told him one of her worst secrets, and he hadn’t judged her. Oh yes, she could love this man. Hell, she probably did already. And damn it, wasn’t that just going to make going back home to New York all the harder when that time finally came.