Chapter 22

" H ey you."

Jazz jumped as someone slid her headphones off, the familiar voice murmuring in her ear, lips grazing her cheek. She spun around in her chair, knocking her elbow on Cal's desk. She was working on her laptop with her headphones in while he was in a meeting downstairs, listening to another of Liam's audiobook recommendations. Cal's office was calm and comfortable. Her being there had absolutely nothing to do with the fact she was hiding from Sierra, who had become suspicious of Jazz's good moods and achey muscles and was pestering her to find out who she was hooking up with.

"Hey. This is a nice surprise. Are you here to see your dad?" she asked, looking up at him. Liam stepped closer, leaning down to plant a quick kiss on her lips.

"I'm here to see you. Want to grab lunch?"

Her brows knit together, and she frowned at him. Suspicious. "What's the occasion? Is something wrong?"

"The occasion is that I want to spend time with you. "

"Ah, of course. Because you never see me outside of working hours. You're so deprived of my company, I honestly don't know how you're still functioning. I would be curled up in a ball, crying in the corner, if I were you."

"Jasmine." His mustache twitched.

"Hmm?"

"Get your ass off that chair so I can kiss you properly."

She took her sweet time standing up, but as soon as she was out of the chair, Liam pulled her into his body, catching her lips with his and giving her a little bite for talking shit. Her toes curled in her shoes, her hands immediately finding purchase on his ass as his tongue danced along hers.

His hand crept up the back of her shirt, and, though his fingers were warm, the movement doused her in cold water.

She placed her hand on his chest, breaking their kiss and gently pushing Liam back a couple of steps. "We can't do this here. Your dad could walk in at any second."

"You know I'm thirty-seven, right? My dad knows I kiss people. I'm not going to get grounded or anything."

"But your dad doesn't know you kiss me," she reasoned, and Liam's lips turned down at the corners. "What?"

"Do we need to be so secretive about this? I know we hit our goal of making you come, but I don't want to stop doing this, and you don't seem to either."

"I don't. But do you really want your parents to know that we're sleeping together? "

Liam frowned. "This isn't just sex. I think we both know that."

Maybe, but it was the first time either of them had said it out loud. And it wasn't exactly a conversation she wanted to have in his dad's office—or ever, if she could help it. Not talking about it was easier. Not talking about it was safer.

"Okay, fine. Do you really want your parents to know we're casually seeing each other?"

"Uh, yeah. I do. Why are we keeping it so under wraps? Do you not want people to know you're with me?" His voice was small, insecurity creeping into his emerald eyes. Shit.

She crossed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around his middle. "Whoa, baby, it's nothing like that. You're perfect. But your parents… You're their pride and joy. Their only kid. And I love them so much. I love how they've accepted me into their family, but there's a big difference between me being in the family as Maggie's best friend, and me sleeping with their son."

The worry in Liam's eyes morphed into confusion. "Why would they have an issue with that?"

"I'm not exactly the kind of person parents dream about their kid being with."

"What the fuck? Jasmine, you're incredible. My parents love you."

"I know! And I don't want that to change."

Liam crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "You're not very nice to yourself. I don't like it."

Jazz opened her mouth and closed it. She loved herself. It wasn't her own perception of herself that was the problem; it was how everyone else perceived her. She thought she was great. And she didn't care what anyone else thought.

Except Liam's parents. And, she supposed, her own parents, deep down, but that was purely a biological urge and it wasn't her fault. There was also her newfound worry about Maggie outgrowing her, but everyone worried about that kind of shit when they turned thirty, right?

Sometimes she worried that the people she worked with didn't respect her as much as they had Maggie. She knew she was good at her job, but she wasn't Maggie. And she'd drifted away from all her old college friends when they went on to do amazing things with their degrees and she hadn't, but Maggie drifted with her, and Maggie… Well, Maggie had needed therapy to learn to love and value herself. Shit.

Panic was rising through her, her blood rushing faster through her veins, her lungs searching for air that just wasn't there.

"You still with me?" Liam asked, watching her with concern. She must have looked as panicked as she felt, because he swiped a gentle hand over her back and pressed his forehead to hers. "Hey, I've got you. Breathe, darling." His breath was warm against her face, and she copied him: in and out and in and out.

Her brain swirled. "I'm okay." She swallowed, sucking in a big breath. "Just unpacking some shit."

"Care to share with the class? "

"Nah. I think I'll save it so I have something to earn my next orgasm with," she said, and Liam shook his head, smiling. He cupped her face with his hand, rubbing his thumb over her cheek.

"I think we need to have a talk about what this," he gestured between them, "is, and what we want. Soon."

Jazz nodded, her anxiety calmer but still fluttering in her stomach. He wouldn't be smiling as he said it if he was going to call things off—hell, not even five minutes had passed since he'd said exactly the opposite, but the little voice in the back of her head couldn't help but expect the worst.

"In the meantime," Liam continued, "no more being mean to yourself, please. I instinctively want to fight everyone who's mean to you and you being mean to yourself makes that complicated."

"Be honest with me: have you ever fought someone before?"

"No, but I would," Liam said, a shade defensively. "For you, I would."

He deserved a tighter hug for that. Jazz squeezed him, then rose on her tiptoes to kiss him. "I would fight someone for you too."

"Oh, I believe that," Liam said, smiling against her lips. "But I also believe you'd fight someone just for fun."

"Duh. I'm a Scorpio middle child through and through, baby: rebellious, domineering, hot-tempered…"

"Don't forget charming, sensual, and loyal. Coincidentally, all of my favorite things. "

She gaped at him.

"Oh, don't be too impressed. I know next to nothing about astrology, but I asked my dad for your birthday and looked it up when we first met. I've been waiting years for the right time to pull that info out."

She had never been more attracted to him. Jesus. Jazz wanted nothing more than to show him just how much that turned her on, but the elevator dinged, and though she hated herself for doing it, she jumped out of his arms. The flash of hurt on Liam's face lasted only a split second, but it lanced through her like a knife in the chest.

"Hey you two," Cal said with a wide smile as he walked into the office. "What are you up to?"

"We were going to grab some lunch. Ethel's?" he suggested, and Jazz nodded her agreement. Ethel's was the diner closest to their office building, and a favorite of the Michaelson and Hicks' team.

"Sounds perfect. You want to join us, Cal?" Asking was the polite thing to do. It had nothing to do with avoiding any kind of serious conversation with Liam over lunch. Of course, Liam raised a brow that told her he saw right through her flimsy invitation. That was fine by her—she was quite sure she'd enjoy paying for it later.

F rustration and pleasure built side by side within her as she clung to the headboard. Her wrists were cuffed, but she had enough leeway to wrap her fingers around the wooden posts and hold on for dear life as Liam fucked her mercilessly, her ankles on his shoulders.

The thrust of his cock inside her, deep and rough, was accented with soft kisses to her calves, and it felt incredible. Embers sizzled all over her body, but she just couldn't get her brain on board. She pinched her eyes closed, sucking in a watery breath, and Liam stilled immediately.

"Darling—"

"Fuck," she interrupted, turning her head to hide her face in her arm. Had she always cried this much? Jesus. "It's just… It's not going to happen. I'm sorry."

Liam made quick work of setting her legs down and unbuckling her cuffs. She immediately covered her face with her hands, trying desperately to suck her goddamn tears back into her eyeballs. What the fuck was wrong with her?

"Look at me," Liam pleaded, his voice soft. He laid his palm on her shoulder, warm and comforting, but not invasive, like he was trying to give her space. A few months ago, Jazz would have relished in the space to work through her feelings. But now, she needed to be close to him like she needed air.

She flung her arms around his shoulders and burrowed into his chest, breathing him in. Sweet, spicy, warm, safe. Liam wrapped her in his arms, pressing his face to the top of her head.

"I'm sorry," she repeated, the words muffled because she had no intention of moving away from his chest .

"Sorry for what? You haven't done anything wrong," he replied, running his hand down her back.

"I thought I could finish. I wanted to. I just couldn't focus."

"It's okay. You never have to be sorry for that. It won't happen every time. That's completely normal. If you're not feeling something, we can switch it up and try something else, take a breather, or stop, no questions asked."

Jazz pulled back, wiping at her tear-streaked cheeks. "But this is your thing. And you've made everyone else come so obviously I'm the problem."

"I said no one has ever faked it with me, not that I've never not made someone come," he said with a soft chuckle, cupping her cheek and nuzzling the edge of her nose. "Women only come during sex something like fifty to eighty percent of the time. And we literally just started unpacking everything. It's going to take a while for you to feel totally comfortable with it all."

"I can't believe you just had that statistic ready to go," she grumbled, even though she definitely believed it. "And yes, that makes logical sense, but still: I'm sorry."

Liam frowned. "Say sorry one more time and I'm going to edge the fuck out of you next time and not let you come."

"Rude." She flopped back against the pillows with a dramatic sigh.

Liam snuggled in beside her, offering his arm out so she could tuck herself into his side. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she murmured. "Frustrated, but I'll survive. "

"You better." He kissed her forehead, then reached over her to snag his phone from the nightstand. "I know something else we can do that's just as fun."

"We already did the daily crossword today. Eight across: Monet, remember?" She didn't know how he could forget. He'd been mad as hell when she'd figured out the art clue first, even if he had tried to hide it.

"Not that, and I didn't forget," he replied with a huff. "Help me pick a dog from the shelter website."

"Seriously?"

Liam held his phone up and Jazz squealed as she took in the thumbnails on the screen. "Oh my God, they're all so cute. How can you possibly pick just one?"

"This is why I need help. I've been looking, but I want them all."

They scrolled through the website, clicking into each dog's profile to learn more about them. Liam was open to any breed or age, though he was hoping for someone on the smaller side since his car wasn't huge.

"That one looks like he would try to eat you if you ever fell asleep on the floor," Jazz said, pointing out a small Chihuahua mix.

"That's a no from me. This one looks friendly. Lacey." He clicked into the profile of a black and white fluffy pup, with her tongue hanging out of her mouth in the picture. "Hmm, it says she's not good with kids."

"You don't have kids."

Liam eyed her. "Yet. We're having at least four, ideally six. We talked about it at my dad and Maggie's wedding, remember? "

Jazz rolled her eyes, smiling as she tried to remember the details of the conversation they'd had. They'd both been absolutely wasted. "Vaguely, but if we're having six kids, we should probably get a move on. I'm not getting any younger," she joked.

"I'm ready when you are," Liam added, sounding significantly less jokey than she had. Jazz wasn't willing to unpack how exactly her body and her heart responded to that. "But I guess Lacey's out." He swiped out of her profile and scrolled down.

They both saw the listing at the same minute, Liam sucking in a breath and Jazz grabbing for the phone. "Holy shit, that is the cutest dog I've ever seen. Look at his little face, and his floppy ear, and—oh my God, his fluffy little butt," she gushed, zooming in on the picture of the tiny puppy.

He looked like some kind of corgi mix, with dark gingery fur and a white nose and belly, and he couldn't have been older than twelve weeks old. She knew he was a little younger than Liam had been hoping for, but he was so fucking cute.

"He's adorable," Liam said, and she could already tell from his voice that he was in love. She swiped to the next picture, which showed the puppy's face more clearly, and gasped. "Is that what I think it is?" Liam asked.

Jazz zoomed in closer to the little V-shaped patch of dark brown fur right below his nose. "It is. He has a mustache. It's meant to be."

"He has a mustache like me, he's a redhead like you and look, his profile says he's cheeky and loves cuddles. He's basically us in puppy form."

"Damn, I'm about to get replaced by a puppy."

"Never." Liam grinned and tapped her on the end of her nose.

"It looks like he was only listed this afternoon. His profile isn't even complete yet. That probably means he's still available."

Liam was way ahead of her, clicking on the Adopt Me ! button and typing in his information. He sent off the form and a pop up promised that he'd hear back within forty-eight hours.

"You're going to be a dad," she said, squeezing his hand.

"I am. You're not allowed to call me daddy, though," Liam warned.

"Oh, because of your dad and Maggie? I'd never. You know about that?"

He narrowed his eyes. "Know about what?"

Oh . Oh no. There had to be nothing worse than finding out that your dad's wife, who was seven years younger than you, called him daddy . And as much as Jazz loved giving Liam shit, she didn't want to be the one to scar him with that.

"Nothing!" she said too quickly, as she watched the realization sink into Liam's eyes. He scrunched his face up in disgust.

"Oh my God. That's… Ugh. Is that where the hand painted World's Greatest Daddy mug he has came from? I knew I didn't paint that for him. "

"I painted that for him. As a joke, obviously," she admitted with a guilty smile.

"I'm never going to be able to look at them ag—what are you doing?" he asked, as Jazz lifted the covers and crawled beneath, kneeling between his legs.

"Apologizing for putting that thought in your head. Your turn to hold on to the headboard, baby."