Chapter Four

SOPHIE

A week slipped by. I began to feel like I had an effective system for getting Liam into fighting form after his injury.

Today at the gym, I pulled out the resistance bands. They were a far cry from the boulder-size free weights Liam favored.

"Seriously?" He eyed the bands as if they were hissing snakes. "I need real weight, Sophie."

"Trust me." I extended a band toward him. "These will help isolate and strengthen the muscles without straining your wrist."

He snatched the band from my hand with a scoff, his skepticism written in the tight lines of his face. After showing me his disapproval, he looped the band around his palm, flexing his shoulder with a controlled pull.

"Good." I stood close to him where I could see how he worked the band. "Now, smaller movements. Engage the right muscles."

My fingers traced the path along his arm, guiding the motion. His muscles tensed under my touch.

The session dragged on. I corrected his posture, adjusted his grip, and spoke of patience and precision, words that didn't sit well with a man used to applying force than reigning it in.

"Enough," Liam finally grumbled, dropping the bands to the floor. He rolled his shoulders, testing their freedom.

"Feel that?" I asked.

"More range," he admitted, rotating his wrist with a grimace that faded into surprise. "Less pain."

"Exactly." I concealed my triumphant smile. It was a small victory, but I'd take it.

As we wrapped up with some gentle stretching, I noticed the way his gaze lingered on me longer than necessary.

"Maybe you do know your stuff."

"Maybe I do," I echoed, allowing myself a moment to savor his concession.

"How about we grab a drink? There's this dive down the block." He toweled off his neck. “It’s not fancy, but the drinks are good.”

"Who says I need fancy?"

His eyes glinted with mischief. "You don't look like the type of girl who visits dive bars often."

I gave him a withering look. "You don't know what I like."

"Maybe I might want to find out." The flirtatious edge in his voice was like a physical touch. It sent a ripple through me, stirring between my thighs, an insistent throb that spelled trouble.

“I want to shower first. Meet you out here in about thirty minutes.” I headed to the women’s locker room.

By the time we reached the bar, the dim lighting didn't do much to hide its worn furniture or the years etched into its wooden counters. Even with the rough edges, I liked the nostalgia of the place. The low light made it cozy. Liam and I found two stools at the bar and settled in. I tugged at my simple t-shirt, stretching it over the waistband of my yoga pants. They were the only clean clothes I had in my gym bag. Not exactly date night attire, but this wasn’t a date.

Or was it?

Liam ordered us a round. The bartender slid two frosty glasses our way. "Cheers." Liam clinked his glass lightly against mine.

"Cheers," I echoed, before sipping the dark ale. Notes of coffee and chocolate bubbled on my tongue. “After the military, did you know you wanted to be an MMA fighter?”

He took a sip then set his glass down, his gaze fixed on a distant point. "It seemed like a good deal since I didn’t have anything else going on. My mom was my only family before she passed.”

“I’m so sorry.” I wanted to put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him, but I stalled, not sure if he wanted the contact or for me to acknowledge his grief. I kept my fingers on the cold glass of my beer. “I’m sure she’d be proud of the man you are today.”

“I don’t know. Before I joined the army, I used to be buddies with a professional criminal.” He paused, his jaw tightening. "I learned to steal. I picked up some bad habits from him before I decided to change.”

“What happened to him?”

“He went to jail. I went to the barracks.”

I listened, the weight of his words settling between us. He was letting me see more of the real Liam O’ Connor, the man who remade himself and earned the ring name Phoenix. “You both made choices. Yours gave you a new lease on life. His put him behind bars.”

He gave a single nod to my simplified way of seeing it. “It’d be easier not to have my kind of past.”

“Maybe, but you should be proud of turning it around for yourself, Liam.” This time, I was bold enough to pat him on the back. His muscles were warm steel beneath my palm. “And I’m not saying it because I used to be a cop.”

“Why are you saying it?” His dark eyebrows raised in humorous question. “Don’t tell me it’s because you like to root for the underdog.”

I chuckled. “I can tell when someone cares about their loved ones and wants to protect them. You speak about your mom the same way I talk about my dad and little sister.” Liam nodded, but his face showed that he was trying to put together everything I was saying. I tried to shrug off my awkwardness. “Anyway, that was just my way of expressing that I think you’re alright.”

“You saying you like me, Coach?”

The frosty cold beer had to work hard to cool me off. “Don’t push your luck.” I gave him a playful nudge, noticing how I was now finding harmless little ways to touch him. “Unless you want to do burpees first thing tomorrow morning in the gym.”

“I’ll take my chances.” He pushed a strand of my hair away from my face, his fingers touching my cheek. “You’d probably make me do them anyway.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

We laughed it off. Then Liam told me funny stories about his time in the army, the matches he got into with a cook in one of the fobs overseas. Then he told me about his very first unofficial MMA match that had him fighting a guy in a chicken suit with leg warmers. By the time we finished our beer, my sides were sore and I was out of breath from laughing so hard. I was also turned on so high I wanted him to straddle me like he did the barstool.

The distance between us felt smaller somehow, as if our confessions made us closer. For a heartbeat, I allowed myself to forget about vengeance and danger, to simply be there with Liam. We were connected by honesty. I had the unexpected comfort of being seen as a friend. And as a woman.

Liam got the tab. We left the bar close to ten o’ clock. As we walked outside, the brisk night air did little to cool the heat that Liam's presence had on me. "You don't need to walk me home." My voice was laced with a teasing edge. "I'm a former cop, remember? I can take care of myself."

His white smile glinted under the streetlights. "Believe it or not, I can be chivalrous with a lady. Especially ladies not used to going to dive bars."

I laughed, the sound mingling with the distant hum of traffic. "Okay but stop it already.” I accepted his invitation to walk me home, feeling both protected and a little giddy about extending a few more minutes of our time together. “I told you, you don't know where I go or what I like to do."

As we reached my doorway, the world seemed to shrink until it was just Liam and me, caught in a bubble of anticipation. He leaned in close, his breath warm on my cheek. "I’d like to find out what you like to do. I might have detective skills of my own."

"Right now, you're giving all of your intentions away." My words were just above a whisper.

His hand came up to cup my chin gently. "What intentions are those?"

“I think you want to kiss me.” I swallowed hard, feeling my stomach flutter. He leaned in, his lips hovering inches from mine, yet he held back, as if waiting for permission. My breath hitched, and I opened my eyes to meet his gaze. A look of amusement danced in his eyes, but beneath it, desire mirrored my own.

"It looks like you're showing what you want to do, too," he murmured.

The space between our lips disappeared in an instant as I allowed him to close the gap. His mouth met mine in a kiss that was both tender and demanding.

I turned, my hand shaky as I inserted the key into the lock, all while Liam's lips traced a path down the sensitive skin at the back of my neck. Each brush of his mouth sent a shiver down my spine, awakening a hunger that pooled low in my belly. The door swung open, and the warmth of my condo drew us inside.

With every gentle kiss, he peeled away the layers of strength and professionalism I'd built around my heart. As his hands found their way to my waist, pulling me closer, I knew I was stepping into dangerous territory. For the first time in a long time, I was allowing myself to feel, to want, to hope.

Liam's hand moved to the small of my back. He used his foot to make the front door swing shut with a soft click. I could feel his body heat through the thin fabric of my clothes. My heart beat faster as he pulled away just enough to look at me. His fingers traced my cheek before trailing down my neck.

The motion sensor of my floor lamp flickered on, casting soft shadows on the walls. Liam moved in once more, his lips meeting mine in a lingering kiss. Our breath mingled, hot and hurried, as he explored every corner of my mouth. My fingers twitched with need for him. His other hand drifted down to curl around my hip.

Liam's grasp was firm but gentle. I could feel each calloused knuckle against my skin. His tongue danced with mine as if testing boundaries that were quickly dissolving like ice under sunlight. I ran my fingers through his hair, feeling its silkiness against my palm as he pulled away just enough to murmur against my parted lips. "You taste so good. I want to taste you everywhere.”