26. Liam

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

liam

April snores. And she did it loudly for pretty much half of the night. Is that why she said she doesn't share a bed? It should be me that can't sleep next to her. Her snoring has turned into a cute purring now.

I've managed to get some work done on my phone with my free arm. April has yet to let go of me. Her head rests on my chest and it's been hours since the arm that she's on top of has gone numb. She has a leg tangled with mine, securing me in place. Like I had anywhere else I'd rather be.

Cuddler is not, in any circumstance, a word I'd use to describe myself. But I wasn't a bit bothered to sleep the whole night with her head nestled in the crook of my shoulder, her arms and legs curled up on top of me. I can't remember a time this has happened before. Even in her sleep, April finds rules of mine to break, a first time to claim.

I'm reading a contract when she yawns and pets my chest, then raises herself in surprise, holding on to the bed linen for dear life.

"How did you get back in here?"

Is she serious? I smirk at her nonsense. "Good morning to you, too." I check the time to confirm my suspicions and correct myself. "Well, good afternoon, in fact."

She's still staring at me like I sneaked my way under her body. "April, don't be ludicrous. I never left. You slept, snored and drooled on top of me the whole night."

The weird woman seems genuinely shocked at that.

"I did?" She tries in vain to contain the mess that is her hair right now. I love her like this. Wild chocolate hair standing high, the very little that's left from her makeup smudged around her eyes, cheeks flushed.

"I don't drool." I stare pointedly at the corner of her clean mouth and she wipes it with the back of her hand to be sure. "Asshole," she grunts.

"Glad you're not arguing about the fact that you snore like a motherfucking truck driver." She sits up and I do the same, mirroring her movement in pure mockery, enjoying that her feisty behavior is on from the get go.

April pulls her shoulders back, pushing her tits into the sheet that is doing a poor job of covering those hard buds.

She sounds almighty when she opens that little mouth to say, "I remember telling you to go and let me sleep alone."

Oh, ho-ho . The little doctor woke up feeling cocky, didn't she? Well, two can play that game. "I remember you begging me to fuck you in the ass."

Her chin drops to her lap, and her cheeks must be burning, judging by their color. "Jesus, Liam, shut the hell up! I knew I would regret last night."

She tries to leave the bed, but I pull her legs back in one swift move and have her arms secured above her head before she can even comprehend what's happening. I'm on top of her, pinning her down.

"The fuck you do." The menacing voice that comes out of my rumbling chest catches both of us by surprise.

Her gulp brings my attention down to her throat and then to her heaving chest. God, it's hard to concentrate near this woman. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. "Let's start over, shall we?"

I lean down and start trailing wet kisses on her shoulder, up her neck until I raise my lips far enough just to say, "Good morning, April" again. The spot where I bit her last night stares back at me, turning purple. I feel an irresistible and childish urge to brand her. And yes, punish her too.

So I bite it again, then suck and kiss it better. She tries to suppress a moan, but it escapes her anyway and I smile at the small victory.

"Now it's your turn to say ‘Good morning, Liam' before I get your mouth busy with something else." I press my already hard cock between her legs to illustrate exactly what I mean.

"I'm not even fully awake yet. Get off of me." She smiles and wiggles without putting any real strength into it. I indulge the small, sassy creature, and climb off the bed.

"Come." I stretch my hand as an invitation and wait for her to take it.

I'm stark naked, just like I went to bed last night, and April stares at my cock instead of taking my hand. "Does it ever go down?"

I put my hands on my waist and wait in vain for her to stop ogling my dick.

"I thought old men couldn't last like that."

I laugh out loud at her audacity. " Old man? Now you're just begging for a spanking."

She squeals when I drag her out of bed and give her a quick pat in the ass before pulling her body to mine. Then I kiss her stupid. It's a punishing, demanding kiss at first, but with every stroke of my tongue on hers it turns softer, unhurried.

After God knows how long, I break away and wait a moment for her to open her eyes. It's inebriating that she needs time to recover from kissing me and that it takes a little while to come back from wherever my body has taken her.

When she finally does, I'm already staring into those big green—no, emerald—eyes, ready to tell her what should be obvious and well-known to her. "You don't get to deny me your kisses now that I know what they feel like."

She astonishes me with quietness instead of a snarky comeback, so I just take her hand and lead us to the bathroom.

The silence between us lingers, but it doesn't feel uncomfortable. Feelings I don't recognize hang in the air, occupying every inch of the space around us.

She's got me captive and captivated. The sheer strength of the attraction I feel for her scares me. This is alien to me. I'd be stupid to deny it to myself, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to admit it to anyone else, least of all, her.