Liam~
Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best move I’ve ever made in my life. Hauling Mila’s ass off the floor and throwing her on the bed? What the fuck am I doing?
I just want to stop her from leaving.
I just want to calm her ass down and find out what the fuck is going on. Walking into this shithole she calls home and seeing her wrap herself all over Mickey? That shit’s just not on.
I’ve been home for a week, and Mickey said nothing about her, about them being best-fucking-friends.
Then this bomb with Hailey explodes? The weird as ass fucking phone calls? And no one will tell me shit.
I drop my forehead to Mila’s shoulder, and as I take a deep breath of her, I try to calm the swirl of hostile emotions threatening to drag me under. I take in a lung full of her sweet flowery scent. Fuck, she still smells the same.
She still feels the same. Three years have done nothing but shape her into a scorching hot woman. Her heaving breasts have filled out plenty, and I can feel her curves pressing into my body, soft and supple.
Her hair’s longer and still the same color as burned honey. Those huge eyes - fuck me eyes – still has the power to make me hard in an instant.
There’s no denying it. This woman still has me by the balls.
After all is said and done, I still love her.
And I hate her for it.
But there’s no time to dwell on it now. I have to find out what the hell is going on.
I push myself up and straddle her so she can’t move.
“I have to go. Get off me!” she shrieks angrily.
She tries to tilt her hips, but all she ends up doing is rubbing her pussy against my cock. She stills when she realizes what she’s done.
It takes a lot to keep the serious look on my face, but there’s nothing I can do about the hard-on. My body is addicted to hers. There’s nothing I can do about it.
She caves first and turns her face away, looking at the fucking dividers she’s got up. Some excuse for a room.
I lift myself and instead of us rubbing against each other, I hover over her. This is not a make out session.
Sounding as pissed off as I feel I say, “You guys mind giving us some privacy?”
They mumble in protest but they leave, and that’s all that matters. I wait for Hunter to clear a crying Hailey out of the room. The guys follow Harper, and then I finally have Mila to myself.
I take hold of her chin and at the mere touch of her skin, my abs tightens. I turn her face to me and then grind the words out, “Tell me everything now.”
She laughs bitterly. Not what I expected.
“Why do you even care?” Anger creeps into her eyes. She yanks her face out of my hand and tries to level me with a glare.
“Why won’t you let me help you?” I don’t get her. What happened to girls wanting guys to help them?
“Because I don’t need you,” she shrieks. “Get off me. You’re heavy.”
Slowly, I let my eyes take her in. Her fierce gaze doesn’t falter before mine.
She swallows hard and lifts her chin. I bring my hand to her neck and let my fingers brush softly down the length of her silky skin.
“Stop that!” She squirms under me and grabs hold of my hand.
I smirk. She’s not as tough as she’d like me to believe. I capture both her hands with one of mine and pin them above her head.
“Liam,” she hisses. “I don’t have time for this.”
She tries to flip me off of her by twisting her body, but it really helps to be twice her size. She’s totally at my mercy and just the thought of her thrashing under me is a fucking turn-on.
“Just tell me,” I say again.
“There’s nothing to tell,” she says breathlessly. Her eyes widen as I lean in real closer.
“You miss me, babe?” Cause I sure as fuck missed you.
I stop an inch from her mouth. She doesn’t try to turn away from me. Our breaths mingle, hot and fast.
She inches up, just barely, but not enough for us to touch. “You know what, Liam?” she whispers hoarsely.
The sound of her seductive voice is like a lightning bolt through my body and I tense above her. I’ve never wanted her more than I want her in this moment.
She tilts her head slightly, letting her breath fan across my jaw. I swear I hear her moan softly or it could just be my imagination wanting to hear it so badly.
“I did miss you,” she admits. “I missed you so damn much it ached all over.”
Her words soak into me. It’s as if I’ve been stuck in a desert the past three years and I’ve finally found my oasis.
I close the distance between us, brushing my lips along her jaw, tasting sweet skin. It’s everything I remember and so much more.
She arches into me, moaning. I let go of her hands and she brings hers to my shoulders. I let my hands slide down her sides. Digging under her, I grab hold of her ass.
“Your shirt,” she breathes, starting to pull at my shirt.
This was not what I had in mind but I’ve wanted this girl for so long.
I move off of her and grab hold of my shirt.
I don’t even see it coming. Mila shoves me back and makes a run for it. She darts out of the room and I hear a commotion in the living room before I realize what’s happening. She fucking played me.
I growl and for the first time in my life, I think about letting her go, but then I look at the bed and I see my old baseball shirt.
She’s kept it all this time.
It’s all the encouragement I need to go after my girl.
Mila~
I shriek with panic as I run into the living room. I don’t even look at the others. I just sprint for the door.
This is the first time I’m grateful that Hailey makes us keep our bags by the door. We got a coatrack shortly after we moved in just so we could hang our bags somewhere.
I grab my bag and dart out the door. I race towards the stairs while digging in the bag for my keys. I don’t want to waste time looking for it when I get to the car.
Halfway down the flight of stairs I hear the thundering footsteps of someone behind me.
“Leave me alone,” I squeal, knowing the person is catching up to me. I can hear his boots hitting the tiles, closing the distance between us.
I start to jump two steps at a time, and using the railing, I try not to fall on my ass.
When I can feel the person right behind me, a shriek erupts from me. My heart can’t take much more. With the next jump I take, I miss the step and my body gives way beneath me.
A pair of muscled legs ploughs into me and we both slam into the banister. The cold steel of the rail knocks hard against my ear. The pain is sharp and stuns me momentarily. I shake my head to clear the black dots spotting my vision but they keep creeping in on me.
“Get up,” Liam grabs hold of my elbow and yanks me up.
I blink rapidly, trying to bring his blurring face into focus, but the darkness keeps creeping in.
With numb fingers I reach for the wetness trickling from my ear.
“Liam,” I whisper just before the night drags me under.
Liam~
Fuck, I hurt her. She’s bleeding.
Those are my first thoughts as her fingers come away with blood from her ear.
“Liam,” she whispers weakly. I see the exact moment the lights go out and move into her, bracing her body with my own. Slipping my arms under her, I lift her to my chest.
I don’t even bother taking her back to the shithole she calls home.
“Go,” she murmurs into my chest. She’s not out cold so that’s a good sign.
“What did you do to her!” Harper screeches behind me.
“Guys, would you shut her up?” I glare behind me, scowling at Mickey and Hunter.
“No, I want to know what you’re going to do with her,” she demands.
Once outside, I head straight for my truck.
“Hunter,” I glare at him over my shoulder, “I’m taking her to my place. Find out what you can from Hailey.”
I hurry to my truck, wanting to get to my house before Mila regains her full consciousness. It will make things easier, seeing as she’s become a little wildcat.
It only takes me fifteen minutes to get to my place but my eyes keep darting to Mila.
I made a mistake leaving her without demanding she tell me more. I should have stood my ground back then, but I was too hurt to try harder.
Just as I park in the garage, Mila groans again. I hope I did the right thing bringing her here. It’s only a few drops of blood, but I’ve seen worse. If she doesn’t come to within the hour I’ll take her to the hospital.
Why did she have to run?
Frustration bubbles in my gut. I fucking hate that she trusts Hailey, the fucking snake, instead of me.
Shoving the door open, I get out and jog around to her side of the truck. She’s slumped against the door so I open it slowly and I let her slide into my arms, then pull her against me. With one quick lift I settle her nicely in my arms - right where she has always belonged.
Once I’ve laid her down in one of the guest bedrooms, I actually contemplate tying her ass down. The last thing I want is her making another run for it.
I quickly go to the kitchen to get her a glass of water.
When I get back to the room, I’m relieved to see that she hasn’t thrown a disappearing act on my ass. I settle for grabbing a chair and sitting my ass down next to the bed.
Only when the adrenaline fades do I feel the bite of cold. I get up to turn up the heat before covering Mila with a blanket.
She doesn’t groan or flutter her eyes. Her breathing stops, and that’s how I know she’s fully conscious. Then she tries to even it out, pretending to still be asleep.
“I know you’re awake,” I whisper.
Her eyes flutter open. They still look hazy from being knocked out.
“You slammed into me?”
“It was an accident.”
“You weigh a ton,” she groans.
“Can’t help you’re so tiny. Why did you go down in the first place? Why did you run?” I bite the questions out. I sit down on the bed, determined to get answers from her.
She groans as she scoots up to lean against the headboard. The fact that she’s moving is a good sign. There’s color in her cheeks. I reach for the water next to the bed.
“Drink it.”
“Thanks,” she murmurs. There’s no trembling when she takes the glass and I feel my gut settling. At least she’s okay, and safe here with me.
“Talk, Mila,” I demand. Fuck, I sound like a control freak. This is my Mila, I remind myself, not some convict I’m about to interrogate. I’ve got to keep this in mind when dealing with her.
“Why can’t you just stay out of it?” The fire is back in her words. She slams the half full glass on the stand next to the bed, and some of it spills over her hand. I watch her wipe it off on her top.
“Why can’t you just tell me?” I counter.
She finally looks at me and tries to level me with a dark glare. After about thirty seconds she huffs a frustrated sigh.
“You’ve changed.”
“You too,” I throw back at her.
“You’re frustrating the hell out of me,” she snaps.
“You’re doing the same thing to me.”
“Shut up.”
I scowl at her and shake my head. I won’t have her talking to me that way.
“Where am I?” she asks after another thirty seconds of silence.
I keep scowling. No one tells me to shut up. No one. Mila’s about to learn a few lessons in manners.
“Liam!” she shrieks. “Where am I?”
I get up, real slow, and stretching to my full length I tower over her. Grim-faced, I know I look like a menacing bastard. I let the seconds tick over.
I wait for the uncomfortable silence to settle between us.
Mila swallows. Her tongue darts out nervously, wetting her lips. She starts to fidget with her watch. Still the same tell-tale signs that she’s nervous.
“Liam?” she asks, not so heated anymore.
“You’re exactly where I want you to be.” My voice is low and threatening. Not that I would ever hurt her, but she needs to know I’m being serious. I’m done playing games.
Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open. Good, we’re on the same page. About-fucking-time.
I move closer and placing my hands on either side of her head, I bring my face inches from hers.
“Here’s how things are going to work from now on. I’m going to help you get out of whatever mess you’re in for one reason only.” I wait for my words to sink in. “Are you listening, Mila?”
She’s just staring at me. I hate being ignored. Communication is a two-way street
“Say yes!” She jumps at the volume of my voice and I immediately regret it. She’s making things unnecessarily hard here.
“Yes,” she snaps. Good, the fire is still there.
“I’m only helping you because I protect what’s mine.”
“What the hell?” She looks at me all confused. “I have nothing that’s yours.”
I bring my hand to her cheek and I notice she doesn’t pull away. She lets me brush my fingers down her silky cheek, all the way to her neck. I keep going to the edge of her shirt and I follow it to where the buttons are splayed open, revealing some of her cleavage.
The swells of her breasts start to rise and fall faster under my fingertips. I lean down and trail soft breaths along her neck, following the path my fingers just took, all the way down to her breasts.
I make sure my mouth doesn’t touch her. I hear her breathing harder and it’s such a turn-on. When I reach her breasts, I let out a deep breath, letting the hot air fan over her.
Faster than she can blink, I grab hold of her face with both my hands. Her eyes are filled with lust. She has no time to cover her feelings up. She still wants me. I don’t know what her deal is, but I’m going figure it out.
“Just a touch of lust, that’s all it takes to prove to you that you belong to me.”
Shock registers deep in her eyes. I let go of her and stalk to the door.
Before I leave, I turn back to give her my final blow.
“You’re not leaving here until you start telling me what shit you’re in. The sooner you start talking the sooner we can move on with our lives. We’ve already lost three years. It’s time to stop this shit, Mila.”
Then I leave the room. I settle my back against the closed door and wait. Knowing Mila, it shouldn’t take too long for her to start talking. She hates not being in control.