21. April

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

april

"Where are we going? And what's your name again? Sorry, I forgot."

"I'm George, Dr. Hadden, and that's Terry." George must be younger than me and has the kindest smile. "I know this is a lot, but you're in good hands. Don't worry. We're taking you to a hotel until your street is clear."

I nod and offer the closest thing to a smile I can pull off right now. They both sit in the front and I'm left by myself in the back seat.

"You're Mr. Gunn's driver?"

"Yes."

"And this is his car?"

"Yes."

"How about you, Terry?"

"I'm a… freelancer, Dr. Hadden. I work a lot for Mr. Gunn, his family, and friends."

I don't think I fit into any of those categories. Must be Terry's first time body guarding Liam's mistaken-hooker, actually-coworker, one-night-stand, not-for-his-lack-of-trying… Stop it, April. Terry is body guarding Max Sinclair's doctor. That's where you fit in.

Liam's car is pure opulence. A Cadillac Escalade so big it looks like a limo and an SUV had a baby. There are two rows of back seats facing each other and the smell of new leather still hangs in the air. The windows are tinted black, giving me a much needed sense of privacy and security.

My mood is so sour, it's probably safer for everyone else that I'm alone. Even I don't want to be in my company right now.

It's still too early back home for Callie or Jett to have heard the news. I was shocked that the PR people at HSS already had something to say.

I lay down and stare at the car ceiling, contemplating how this is not what my first days at work should look like. My pity party's still going strong when Terry opens the car door for me.

"We're clear. Please come with me."

Terry and I walk side by side, passing straight through two gates, and by the time I raise my head, I recognize the place. We're at the same hotel Liam brought me less than forty-eight hours ago.

George hands me the room keycard and I smirk when I see it's also the same room we stayed in.

Is Liam playing mind games or sending me a message? I'm so over this day I refuse to give it another thought.

"Thanks, George. And Terry?" I ask, defeated. "Will I attract more trouble if I have a drink at the bar or should I go hide away in my room?"

He gives me a solemn smile. "This hotel is one of Mr. Gunn's properties and it's heavily secured against paparazzi. That's why we brought you here. You should be fine. But I'd still like to stick around if you don't mind. You won't notice my presence."

I don't fight him, just nod, knowing that's his job.

"Of course," I tell him, and of course it's Liam's hotel, I tell myself.

I say my goodbyes to George and thank him for his help. Terry guides me to the bar and I take a seat at the back. Next to the one I was drinking tequila and having the time of my life just two nights ago. How quick the tables have turned.

I see George talking to who I assume is the bar manager and nodding my way. The man comes over and says he's been told to indulge my every whim. I laugh, not doubting George would have used those exact words and decide to do what I can to save this day.

"In that case, can I have a bottle of tequila and every dessert on the menu?"

My phone is off, my buzz is on and I've sampled about eight desserts.

No. No, I didn't. I ate them all and licked the plate clean of the chocolate one. I'm not even sorry. Alcohol and sugar are my best friends right now, giving me all I need.

Terry refuses to sit and keep me company, and I don't dare turn my phone on to talk to Callie, so I get bored and decide to go to my room for a nap. The waiter doesn't let me pay my bill, saying it's been taken care of already.

Well, if that's so, I'm taking the bottle with me. And into the bag it goes.

I focus on every step I take to the elevator, trying my best to pose as a sober person. I won't affirm or deny that Terry needs to help me a couple of times during this herculean task of walking a straight line.

Oh, crap. I must be drunker—and hornier—than I thought because the next time he helps steady me, his firm hands grasp my waist and I can feel every nerve tingling, my skin pebbling, every hair on it standing to applaud that grip.

Tequila is making me horny for the bodyguard. I giggle, singing a Whitney Houston song in my head. God, I hope it's only in my head.

His hands stay there while I push the elevator button and I turn around to tell him that I'm good and he can let go now.

All the air leaves my lungs when I see Liam on me.

I mean, behind me. Well, no. I mean on me because I must have lost balance again since I'm leaning on him. Damn, he's big. And strong. And a jerk, I try reminding myself. A big, strong jerk.

"I thought you were Terry." I look many miles above me to find his eyes. His fingers dig into my waist with too much strength, but instead of grunting in pain, a moan slips out. Oops.

I try telling my vagina we're mad at him, but she's an awful listener.

I try listing the reasons I'm mad at him, but I lose count while I get lost in those whiskey eyes and let his strong arms carry my weight. Why was it again?

Amnesia by tequila and lust would be an accurate diagnosis for my current condition.

"Did you let Terry touch you like this, April?"

His eyes are dark and hooded. He spreads his fingers, some finding a path between my top and pants to my skin. His touch gets rougher. His hand is punishing and his stare menacing.

My throat goes hoarse, and I have to cough before I find my voice to answer him. "It's Doctor Hadden to you, Mr. Gunn."

"No, it's not." He erases what little distance there was between our bodies and my back molds to his front. "There'll be no Mr. Gunn or Dr. Hadden in this hotel. It's just Liam, hard and ready to fuck you, April, until you forget both of those last names."

That sounds tempting, not gonna lie.

The elevator arrives and I try to walk in to get rid of him, but Liam holds me in place, showing me who's in charge. He guides me in, his body pushing mine from behind.

We walk into the empty elevator and I see that he's carrying a suitcase he must have gotten from my apartment. Oh, no. It's Callie's suitcase . Guess the big tag with "London Essentials" cued him in.

He turns us around, ready to exit as soon as the doors open. We're alone in the car, but he still whispers for my ears only, "If you trip again, I'm going to carry you over my shoulder."

"Caveman." I'm happy I'm not facing the mirror right now, so he can't see how much I like the sound of that threat.

"I can smell the tequila coming out of your skin," he accuses, like that'll offend me. Ha!

"Oh, you like my perfume? Thank you, Mr. Gunn." He grabs my hair and pulls my head back.

"I said…" and then he pulls harder, "you will call me Liam when we're here. Haven't I told you I don't appreciate repeating myself, April?"

He trails the flat of his tongue from behind my ear to where my neck meets my shoulder, bites me hard right there and my legs turn into overcooked spaghetti.

I moan in surprise, desperate to remember why I should stop him when it feels this good. I can do that, right?

Keeping April and Dr. Hadden apart should be easy. The arduous, grueling task is to separate Liam from Mr. Gunn. The delicious, intense, sex-on-legs Liam from the asshole, patronizing, rude as hell Mr. Gunn.

He caresses the place he was pulling my hair a mere second ago and kisses where he for absolute sure left a mark on my neck. Punishment and reward, yes, that's Liam alright.

His hand moves to the tequila bottle poking out of my handbag.

"Were you planning on drinking this up straight from the bottle? All by yourself?"

I push my ass back at his hard-everywhere-body.

"Are you offering me a shot glass or your company?"

Liam turns me around like I've been his dance partner for the last decade and pushes me against the door. "I'm not offering, April. I'm taking." And with that, he brings his head down and crushes my lips with his.

His kiss is rough and just what I need right now, because I may be horny, but I'm mad as hell too. He bites and sucks on my lips and tongue. I kiss him back with the same fight, taking more than giving. Then I smile into his mouth, loving it.

"How drunk are you?" he stops to ask, his control seemingly hanging by a thread, and fuck if consent isn't hot as hell.

"I'm sober enough to know what I want right now, Liam. And what I want is for you to fuck my brains out until I forget about this day." I nip and lick his bottom lip, dragging my wet tongue all the way to his ear, feeling his hard dick throb against my stomach. "And drunk enough to let you do whatever you want with my body to make that happen."

Liam draws back, still pinning me in place, his wide chest rising and falling. He looks torn, unsure. It's cute that he cares if I'm too drunk. That it matters. As it should.

But I'm not. I'm surfing that sweet spot where you lose your inhibitions, but still can be trusted to make decisions. Yeah, I'm drunk, but I don't want to drive a car. I just wanna fuck. The raise of his eyebrows lets me know I for sure said that one out loud.

"Keep up that dirty talk and I might need to wash that mouth with more tequila." I smile at the sound of his promise.

If I can't practice self restraint around Liam when I'm a hundred percent sober, I won't waste my time attempting that with the amount of tequila pumping in my veins right now. This day was too much and I want to shut everything off, shove everything out of my mind.

"Keep me busy, Liam. Just for today. Make me forget." Giving Liam full reign over my body seems like the perfect way to do that. "I wanna forget you, forget this day, forget all about this mess."

He pulls me into him and the doors from the elevator open. Me? I didn't even notice the elevator stopping.

Liam stands in the way to keep the doors from closing and checks if the corridor is clear. He kisses me stupid again and reaches for my ass, raising me to his waist, where I wrap my legs around him. "Good reflexes. Not that drunk then."

The show-off carries me with only one arm, hand on my ass, and pulls my luggage with the other.

I start undoing his tie and shirt buttons before he reaches our room.

"I'll make you forget about today, baby girl. But about me? Not a chance. Why the fuck would I make you forget about me, when you're all I thought about since the moment I woke up?" He throws me on the bed, and my brain bounces in my skull longer than my body on the mattress, trying to recover from the blow of his words.

"Me? You thought I was a hooker!"

"A very talented one at that." He finishes what I started, taking off his jacket, tie and shirt.

I laugh out loud, loving when he catches me off guard with a good comeback. Liam is too intense to be labeled as funny, but when I'm not mad or wanting to kill him, I'm usually smiling or laughing with him. Oh, and moaning too.

"I was about to book your services again, that was, before you blew my brains all over the conference table. And I don't do seconds, April."

"Escorts or dates?" I ask with sass.

"Neither."

"And yet, here you are."

"Yes, you're making me break my own rules. So how about you let me break one of yours? It's only fair, don't you think?"

Liam grabs the tequila bottle from my purse and walks back to the bed, unscrewing the cap and taking a few gulps. My mouth goes dry at that image: he's shirtless, all muscle and golden skin.

His eyes roam all over me like he's deciding where to start. I'm no longer laughing. I'm panting, waiting to be pounced on by this beast of a man.

He puts the bottle on the side table and leans one knee on the bed as he reaches for my legs. His strong hands wrap around my ankles, massaging my calves up and down.

I'm relaxing, about to turn into a puddle, when all of a sudden he pulls both of my legs, bringing my ass to the edge of the bed and making me yelp. He's rough with me and I. Love. It.

Men tend to be careful with me just because I'm little. Like I'll break in half or something. Not Liam, he likes to test me, to see how far he can take it. How deep. How loud he can make me scream his name. I'm more than willing to rise up to his challenges, begging for the next one, like a thirsty little…

I blush before I finish the thought. He's turning me into someone else, and I'm having the time of my life with it.

His knee is between my thighs now, and I start dry humping it. My skirt rides up and I can feel my cheeks burning. I must look like a bitch in heat. I lean up onto my elbows to get a better look at him.

He raises his eyebrows, encouraging me to say something. He looks like he's trying to pry into my mind. I make an effort to clear the fog of lust and tequila from my brain and try to remember what he said last.

Rules? Something about rules? "I can't think of any rules for you to break." To be honest, I can't think, period. When Liam's this close to me, my pussy takes over and my brain is happy to take the back seat.

"I can. You're going to fuck your boss."

"Don't remind me. I don't think that bottle has enough tequila to make me forget that."

He leans in to kiss me again and I put one arm, then the other, around his neck. He's not afraid I'll break and I'm not afraid to use his size and strength to my advantage.

I'm hanging from his neck and he doesn't even budge. I can't walk a straight line at the moment, but I bet good money I can climb this man blindfolded.

He moves his thigh backward and his hand moves up my leg, all the way up until he's caressing me through my panties. I'm soaked and he can feel it. He breaks the kiss and holds his forehead to mine, making a sound from the back of his throat that makes me clench. "So fucking wet for your boss and I haven't even taken off your clothes yet."

He presses his thumb to my clit, applying pressure and making me squirm. "So responsive. Are you aiming for employee of the week?" I'd laugh if he wasn't moving my panties to the side and inserting a single digit in me. He pumps in and out slowly, before he brings that finger to his mouth, sucking my arousal from it. "So fucking delicious."