The next morning, I woke up to bright sunlight hitting my eyelids. I threw my arm over my eyes to shield them, but the damage was done. With a grumble I rubbed at my face and sat up in bed.

Liam was sound asleep next to me, sheets and blankets tossed to the side. I let myself thoroughly enjoy the view of his broad back and naked ass before stretching and climbing out of bed.

I made my way downstairs to get some coffee. Once I had a large mug, I wandered around the house as I sipped at the life-saving liquid. Liam had never actually given me the tour.

It was a mostly normal house, with a living room, dining room and fully furnished basement den. The thing that struck me most were the guitars in almost every room. Not all of them were in stands. Some were just lying around, as if they'd been haphazardly set down and forgotten.

One acoustic guitar in particular called to me with its shiny-smooth dark wood finish. I set my mug down, took my place on a sofa in the den and pulled the guitar into my lap.

It felt like I hadn't written a new song in ages. I'd been so focused on recording old songs for our album and getting ready for the tour.

But now I felt a trickling of music notes and the stirrings of lyrics begging to be let out.

I began strumming and humming, not fully aware of what I was doing, just letting my subconscious take over.

"Was the sex that inspiring?"

I jumped, guitar strings screeching.

"Sorry," Liam said as he finished coming down the stairs and took a seat beside me. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You walk like a cat," I accused.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and kissed the side of my head. "I didn't realize you were so absorbed in the music. Do you usually get that way when you compose?"

"Sometimes. Depends on my mood, depends on the type of music."

"And what type of music are you writing now?"

"I'm not sure," I said. "It's sort of uplifting, but melancholy at the same time. I don't know. I can never really tell how my songs are going to come out until they're done. It's like my brain shuts off and my instincts take over."

"Makes sense," he said. "They say music comes from the heart, from the soul. Maybe we can write a song together sometime."

My chest twinged. Harper was the only one I'd ever written songs with. Ever since he'd died, I'd composed all my songs by myself. It had been too painful to do otherwise, even with Gael. Writing was too personal, too private, to do it with just anyone. I had to let down my barriers, had to open up and let all my thoughts and feelings rise to the surface. Harper had been the only one I'd ever felt comfortable enough to do that with.

"What do you think?" Liam asked expectantly.

"I don't know," I said, hesitating. "Writing is kind of a solitary thing for me."

"You don't co-write songs?"

"I used to." I looked down at the guitar in my lap. "It's been a while."

"Do you maybe want to try again?" Liam asked.

The thought of trying to write a song with Liam, with anyone really, sent a spike of panic shooting through me.

"I don't—" I swallowed hard. "I don't think so. Not yet." I set the guitar down and stood up in a hurry. "What are your plans for the day?" I asked. "If you're free I have an idea for our second date."

Liam studied me, disappointment almost palpable. He nodded once, as if to himself. "My day's open."

"There's this fun fair going on at that youth center I told you about. A fundraiser. It's mostly for kids and families, but after our science center date, I figure you won't have a problem with that." I flashed him a wavering smile, hoping he wouldn't press me.

"Sounds fun." He got up from the sofa, too. "When should we head over?"

I was glad he wasn't going to press me on the issue.

"Let's get showered and dressed, then go," I said.

He quirked a smile. "Care to join me?"

I returned the smile. Of course I did. In fact, I'd been planning on something like this for a while.

With a nod, I followed Liam down the hall and into the large bathroom to the left. It was huge and luxurious, but there was no bathtub. The big, wide shower was perfect for what I had in mind.

Liam turned on the water and tested the temperature until it was just right. He stepped in and shut his eyes, tipping his head back as thick drops streamed down his chest and his stomach. I rolled my panties down and off my feet and joined him in the shower.

I grabbed a bottle of bath foam. I popped the lid open and poured some over my hand, a wicked smile on my face. Liam moaned softly as I rubbed it over his chest, soaping him up. My hand slipped further down, finding his cock. I wrapped my fingers around it.

His eyes snapped closed as he hissed in pleasure. He snaked his arm around me and pulled me in. His cool lips met mine in a demanding kiss. I stroked his cock, feeling it pressed against me. The pleased hum he let out encouraged me on. The water drenched my hair, getting into my eyes, but I wasn’t going to let it change my plan.

I stepped forward, his cock throbbing in my grasp, stopping only when his back was firmly pressed against the wall. I gave his shaft a good squeeze, moving my lips down to his chest. I trailed my tongue down his body, bending my knees. For once, I didn’t want condoms to get in my way. I wanted to feel those inches in my mouth. I wanted to taste him, like he had tasted me, over and over again. I wanted to make him squirm, like I had the night before.

I looked up at him. His hungry eyes were locked on mine. I stroked. He moaned. I squeezed. He grunted.

“You're a fucking tease, aren't you?” he said with a whisper.

I let a wicked smile creep across my lips. "It's only a tease if I don't follow through."

Lowering myself to my knees, I shifted my gaze down to his cock. It extended beautifully from his body, brushing against my cheek. I put my free hand on his hip and swiped the tip of my tongue across the head. The shaft twitched as Liam let out a deep sound from the back of his throat.

I closed my eyes, snaking my tongue out. I swirled it around the head at first, twisting the base of his shaft. He reached down and grabbed a fistful of my hair, the taste of him warm in my mouth.

In a slow, careful move, I let him in. His long, delicious groans filled the bathroom, his body tensing. Liam’s fingertips glided into my hair, before he pressed them into my scalp.

“Fuck, feels so good,” he groaned, easing the pressure. I wanted to say something to him, maybe tease him some more, but I didn’t. I’d have to pull him out, and that was the last thing I wanted.

I was enjoying having him inside me, edging him with my tongue. The wetness that had been gathering between my legs was proof of that. For once, I decided to keep my hands off myself. This was about him, and him alone. This was about giving him as much pleasure as he'd been giving me. I wanted him to fall apart under my hands the way I always did under his.

I started a steady rhythm, taking more than half of his cock and letting it slide out. I kept the head in my mouth, knowing how sensitive it was. My tongue ran circles around it, I sucked on it with vigor, loving his growls.

Liam rocked into me slowly, making sure he never went too deep. He let go of my head and pushed my hair back from my face. He kept his hand there, trailing his fingers down my cheek and then back up. His knees shook as he cupped my face. I could tell he was close.

I stroked him faster, my muffled moans much lower than his grunts. I stole a glance up at him. His eyes were trained on me. His chest was heaving. In my eagerness, I sucked him down even further, going deep, until he touched the back of my throat.

“Fuck!” Liam groaned, banging his palm against the wall. I retreated, holding on to his hip tighter. I grazed my fingers up his side, bobbing my head up and down on his cock.

His hand slipped up and back into my hair. He tugged on it as I sucked harder and faster. I let go of his hip, and grabbed his length.

His taste was growing stronger by the second. The pulsating of his cock screamed to me that his orgasm was just moments away. His loud cries echoed back at the walls of his bathroom as he exploded deep in my mouth. I didn’t even think of pulling him out. I stayed where I was, feeling his warmth streaming along my tongue.

I whimpered my satisfaction, his gasps still lingering in the air. My throat muscles relaxed as I ran my tongue up his shaft one last time. Liam tilted his head back, giving a short laugh. I eased him out.

He pulled me up from my knees and kissed me desperately. His hands trailed down my stomach, looking for the wetness between my legs. I shook my head and pushed him away. He made a sound of disappointment.

"As much as I'd love to, we've got somewhere to be, remember?" I told him.

He almost pouted. It was adorable. I chuckled and soaped him up, washing him for real this time.

"You can make it up to me later," I promised him.

Liam always knew exactly what to do, exactly what to say, to drive me crazy, to knock me off balance. I loved that for once, I had been able to do the same for him.

We finished our shower quickly. When I stepped out and grabbed a towel to dry off, I realized I didn't have a change of clothes.

"Don't suppose you've got any girl's clothes around here?" I asked him.

"My sister probably left a few things lying around after her visits."

Liam managed to scrounge up a few sets of clothes. I had my choice between a hot pink bodycon dress, a pair of tiny running shorts and tight tank top, and a pair of black yoga pants with a loose black shirt cut off at the midriff.

I decided to pair the hot pink dress with the shirt. I could totally rock a bodycon dress with a black crop top.

While Liam got ready, I examined more of his house. The kitchen was still a bit of a mess. We'd gotten distracted before we'd finished cleaning up. I decided to be a good houseguest and put some things away.

After loading the dishwasher and wiping down the counter, I looked around for anything else that needed taking care of. There were some papers lying around, so I decided to sort them, seeing what was important mail and what was just junk to be recycled.

I had just picked up the papers when I noticed one of them was a crumpled piece of heavy folded card stock. It looked like it had been crushed, and then smoothed out again.

Curious, I unfolded it. It was a wedding invitation. Paula and Chad. I didn't recognize the girl's last name, so she probably wasn't anybody in the industry. But I did recognize the guy's name.

Chad Emmerson, the guitarist of Liam's old band.

I frowned. They'd had a falling out, hadn't they? Why would he have sent Liam an invitation to his wedding? Unless he was just being polite and inviting everyone. Maybe there weren't any hard feelings on Chad's part. Maybe it was just Liam who was still affected by it.

Maybe that was why he'd crumpled the invitation. But if that was the case, why hadn't he thrown it out? Why had he smoothed it out and kept it? It was odd. I wanted to ask Liam about it, but it was probably still a sore spot. Best to just pretend I hadn't seen it. I slid the invitation back among the pile of papers and left them sitting on the counter.

I went back up to Liam's room, waiting for him to finish getting ready.

When he came out of the bathroom washed and fully dressed, I had to suppress the urge to push him onto the bed and get him dirty all over again. Damp hair, tight t-shirt showing off inked arms, dark denim skinny jeans…

I squinted at his shirt.

"You're going to wear that?" I asked.

He looked down at himself. "What's wrong with it?"

"Do you know how much a shirt like that costs?"

He shrugged. "I don't really remember."

"You do know where we're going today, right?"

"That youth center you talked about…?" he trailed off with a questioning tone.

"Think about how it's going to look when you walk in wearing a brand name shirt like that one."

He continued to look befuddled. "Do you not like the shirt?"

I gave up. Let the rich bastard learn the lesson on his own.

Liam drove us through town under my directions. The buildings became steadily more run down and graffiti became more prominent the closer we got.

"You grew up here?" he muttered under his breath as we drove by a block of abandoned storefronts full of broken windows.

"This place has actually been cleaned up since I last lived here."

He grunted and hit the switch to lock the car doors from the inside. I suppressed a snort.

This was going to be an interesting afternoon.