Rox finished up in the shower, running a towel over her hair. She stared at herself in the mirror and it was like looking at a different person. This person looked scared and vulnerable, but she guessed that was what happened when you loved someone. It gave them the power to completely rip you apart at a moment’s notice. Yet, they could also restore and repair parts of yourself that you didn’t even know were damaged.

That folder was like a bucket of ice water being dumped on her head. So many things she hadn’t ever wanted to talk about. So many things she’d hoped she would be able to forget, but she couldn’t erase her past. It was always there lurking beneath the surface. And sometimes it reared its ugly head and wrapped its hands around your neck and tried to kill you.

She dried herself off and went back into the bedroom. He had the low bedside lights on and she could see her pajamas laid out on the end of the bed. Sitting up, he sat on the end of the bed with his head down.

“I’m sorry I sprung that file on you. I had breakfast with Luc this morning and he really got inside of my head with a whole bunch of crap I had going on well before you. I let my insecurities about all of that turn what should have been a conversation we had when you were ready to talk into this big blow up.”

“If you had just come to me and talked to me first, I would have told you. Maybe not right then, but in time.” He’d been so quick to jump to ugly conclusions. That hurt her most. Without meaning to, he’d filled a part of her heart she hadn’t even realized was empty. When he sat there and called her a felon, doubted her feelings for him, he might as well have taken a knife and cut it out again.

“I know. It was a shitty thing to do. I think all this scared me.” He gestured at her side of the bed.

“All what?” Her moving in with him? He’d offered. Maybe she should go. Maybe it was time for her to stop being so scared to go back out there on her own.

“How happy having you here makes me. How the thought of you leaving and not being here with me makes my chest seize up like I can’t breathe.” He stood and walked over to her, cupping her face between his hands, lowering his mouth to hers in a tender kiss.

“You belong here with me, Rox and it scared me how easily and naturally it all happened. One day you were slamming down a plate full of the most delicious chocolate lava cake in front of me and the next you’re sleeping in my bed. When I have my arms around you, there’s no place I’d rather be.” The light she’d always been afraid to let shine too brightly on what they had couldn’t be contained as she smiled wide at him. He didn’t want her to leave, he was just as scared as she was. They were both trying to figure this thing out.

“It freaks me out too. You’re a wildcard in my life, Liam. I don’t get attached to things and people out of habit. The Bramble and Mark are the closest things I have to family, but I don’t like to get too close because I’m afraid of what might happen, but with you I didn’t have a choice. You were in there before I even knew what happened. And I’ve never been happier.”

“I didn’t have a choice either and I didn’t have a choice when it came to loving you. I love you, Rox,” he said, giving her a searing kiss. She looked up at him, bewildered.

“You do?” He loved her? He loved her. When he said it her stomach didn’t turn. It filled with butterflies and she couldn’t hold back her grin. Liam loved her and she loved him, but could she get the words out?

“Of course, I do. How could I not? How could anyone not? And I’ll show you how much I love you right now.” He turned her around and backed her up until the backs of her knees hit the bed. He gently lowered her onto the bed and laid next to her. He caressed her cheek and ran his fingers through her hair.

Kissing the tip of her nose, he undid the towel around her and threw it off the bed. He peppered her neck and shoulders with kisses and worked his way back up to her mouth.

“Will you let me show you how much I love you?” He said, staring into her eyes. She couldn’t do anything except nod thanks to the ball of emotion sitting in her throat.

He cupped her breasts and placed a reverent kiss on each dusky peak before taking them into his mouth. The wetness from his mouth tightened her nipples even more. He ran his hands over her stomach and around to her waist, holding her still as she began to squirm. Once he finished his attention to her nipples, he pulled back to try to roll her over.

Rox resisted rolling to her back—she’d always been self-conscious about it.

“Let me love all of you,” he whispered, looking up at her. She let out the breath she’d been holding and closed her eyes. He rolled her over onto her stomach and the first touch of his mouth on her shoulder sent shivers down her spine.

“Every mark, every scar, every blemish is a testament to what you’ve survived. You’re one of the strongest people I know, Rox.” He ran his mouth across her shoulders before moving further down her back. He peppered his words with kisses. “You might hate these scars, but I see them as badges of what you’ve overcome. I wish my kisses could take them away from you, but I know that these have shaped you into the woman I love today. So, I cherish them. Never be embarrassed by them.”

With tears in her eyes, she nodded into the sheets. For so long she’d seen the scars as proof of how screwed up she was, like an outward manifestation of all the shit that was happening inside her head. Each one of Liam’s kisses unlocked something in her, making her less ashamed of her past and less afraid of her future. He stopped when he reached the small of her back, his chest resting on her ass. Running his hands up and over her back, he encouraged her back onto her back.

Moving back up her body, he cupped her face and turned it toward him. Wiping the tears away from her eyes, he kissed each eyelid.

“What type of tears are these?”

“A mixture, but mainly happy tears I’m here with you. That you’re choosing to be here with me.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” he said, placing an almost chaste kiss on her lips. With all her emotions bubbling, Rox was happy with slow and gentle, but right now she needed something more.

“Now it’s my turn to show you how happy I am to be here with you,” she said with a mischievous glint in her eye. She pushed his shoulder back so he was lying flat. Keeping her eyes on him, she pushed his boxers down, and he was more than happy to help, lifting his butt up off the bed. She pulled them off completely, swinging them over her head and giving him a small chuckle. His smile beamed up at her as he laughed and shook his head.

“I was trying to be serious there.”

“I know, but now it’s time for some fun. I think you deserve it,” she said, slinging her leg over his and straddling his cock. The smile dropped off his face and the hunger was back in his eyes. She moved up until his cock was resting against her mound. He sucked in his breath as she began to rub him back and forth across her entrance. Taking him into her hand, she tapped his head on her clit, the wetness increasing by the second.

She placed him at her entrance and slowly lowered herself to take him inside. They both let out a moan as she moved up and down to take more of him inside of her. He placed his hands on both of her hips and slammed her down the final inches. A gasp escaped her mouth at the unexpected movement.

“Hey, I was taking my time.”

“And I couldn’t handle it anymore. Tease,” he said, while pumping his hips up, pushing himself even further into her. His hands gripped her hips even tighter as he continued to pump up into her, working against the bouncing Rox was doing on his cock. She leaned forward with her hands on his chest, giving each of his nipples a playful pinch. That had him bucking his hips up even higher and she held on as he pounded into her from below, while she ground on him from above. She was grinding her hips against him, hitting her clit with every move. She could feel the telltale tingle beginning in her toes as her entire body was electrified with the incoming sexual onslaught.

Perhaps sensing her imminent climax, Liam took one of his hands from her hip and moved it up to the breast. He pinched her nipple and gave it a small tug, a tug that traveled straight to her pussy, which was clenching his cock as she approached her orgasm. His hand wandered from her breasts down to her clit as he used his thumb to rub it until she squeezed her thighs on either side of his, heart racing and muscles tight as her orgasm rocketed through her. Everything went dark as the blood rushed from her head and her breathing stopped as the muscles all over tightened to where she thought she would shatter. Her jerky bounces continued until she could finally see and hear again.

He put his hands back on her hips and pumped into her two final times before following her into orgasmic bliss. He roared out his release, gripping her hips and holding here on top of him. His eyes snapped open, a lopsided grin spread across his face and he pulled her down to take possession of her mouth again.

“Do you believe me now?”

“Yes, I believe you,” she said breathlessly, resting her head against his chest.

“Good.” He shifted her over and pulled the covers over the two of them. He wrapped his arms around her and she snuggled into him, fingers playing on his chest as she sank into a contented half-sleep. Her mind was sluggish as she thought about everything that happened tonight. Liam had said he loved her. It didn’t send those coursing waves of revulsion through her like it had whenever Jon said them. She hadn’t said it back. She was sure that it hadn’t escaped his attention, but he hadn’t pushed her.

She did love him, but saying the words was hard. Saying those words was something that Jon had made her do over and over again to try to prove her fidelity to him, whereas Liam saying it to her hadn’t made her want to puke like it usually did. It was the opposite, a brightness and lightness filled her chest when he said them to her. She didn’t know if she could say them back to him. In her heart, she knew how she felt, but saying those words out loud, words she’d had to say repeatedly until they melted into a mantra of mental pain…she didn’t know if she could do that.

Glancing up, she saw that he was asleep. His long, thick eyelashes curled up so perfectly and full. A five o’clock shadow was getting darker by the minute and his lips, those lips were magic. Even in sleep, he kept a strong grip on her, making her feel safe. Maybe she could work her way up to it. She reached up and ran her fingers along the scruff on his cheeks. Scooching up a little, she placed her lips on his.

“I love you, Liam,” she said, taking a deep breath and resting her head on his shoulder.