24. Kate

When Liam went to answer the door, fatigue fell over me. It was likely pregnancy, but also the stress and emotional turmoil. I went to my room to lie down and was very nearly asleep when Liam bellowed out my name and came bursting through my door.

Fear gripped me, especially when I couldn”t decipher the expression on his face. It didn”t seem to be anger. Terror, maybe. I wasn”t sure what he was doing as he scooped me up off the bed and sat me on his lap, pulling me close.

But now as I sit here, my cheek resting against his chest, listening to his elevated yet steady heartbeat, and feel the warmth of his embrace, I determine we’re not in any immediate danger. With that thought, the logical part of me says to push away from him. I’m still angry at my situation and blaming him for it. But deep down, I want to burrow into him and feel his strength around me.

But that’s risky. I don”t know why he”s holding me like this, but I know it’s not out of love. Even knowing that, I don”t move. In fact, I sink deeper against him, closing my eyes and inhaling his scent.

We sit like that for several moments, and then finally, his grip loosens and he releases me. ”I”m sorry.”

I sense that he”s letting me go so I can move away from him. Again, my brain goes into logical mode, telling me I should. But I don”t.

Instead, I press my hand against his chest as I lean back a little to look up into his face. ”Did something happen?”

I see torment in his eyes as he looks down on me. His fingers gently caress my cheek, pushing my hair away from my face. It”s a sweet, gentle gesture that only moments ago, I didn”t think he was capable of.

”Your store was broken into.”

That gets my attention. “What did they take?” Liam promised me that I would go back to my normal life, and I believed that would mean I”d be in my home, running my store.

”As far as I know, nothing was taken. The police are involved, and Lucy is dealing with things.”

I stare up at him, feeling like there”s something he”s not telling me. ”The police will want to talk to me, won’t they?”

His jaw was tight. ”Probably.”

I tilt my head, wondering what he”s not saying. ”There”s something else?”

His eyes darken. ”I don”t want to tell you.”

Irritation shimmers through me. ”You don”t think I can take it?”

”It”s not that. None of this should”ve ever happened to you. I don’t want the ugliness of my world to taint yours. It changes you, and I don”t want that for you.”

”It’s a little late for that, don”t you think?” I cross my arms over my chest, but I don”t leave his lap.

”It doesn”t stop me from wanting to protect you from the horrors.”

I narrow my eyes at him. ”What horrors? What happened?”

We stare at each other, and I”m beginning to feel like it”s an impasse. I make the decision that if he doesn”t tell me what”s going on, I”m going to get off his lap and order him out of my room.

His eyes close, and I think he’s going to acquiesce. When he finally opens his eyes again, he says, ”Babichev left a message for me in your bookstore.”

I still don”t see the horror of that. ”What sort of message?”

Once again, he stares at me with the battle raging in his eyes.

”Tell me, Liam.”

”It was a sonogram. It had your name on it.”

My heart drops straight to my belly as dread fills me. Protectively, I put my hand over my stomach.

Liam puts his hand over mine. ”I won”t let him get to you or the baby. I promise you that I”m going to do whatever it takes to keep you two safe.”

I”ve heard these words before, and considering all that’s happened, I know that he can’t promise my safety. Although, that’s not what he did. He promised he’d do whatever it took.

”I know.” In those words, I hand over my full trust in him.

He drops his forehead against mine, and it occurs to me that his behavior is a reaction to learning about the sonogram. I don”t quite understand why it affected him so much because he was aware that Babichev knew I was pregnant.

”That”s the news that had you busting down my door?”

”I had a moment of panic when you weren”t in the living room.” He raises his head, and his palm presses on my cheek. ”The only good thing in this world, Kate, the only thing worth fighting for, is you and that baby.”

His words seep through the wall I’m working so hard to keep around my heart. I tilt my head up, settling my lips over his. At first, the kiss is soft, sweet, but it isn’t long before it picks up heat and intensity.

He groans. “Kate…”

I don’t want to stop, so I maneuver myself to straddle his thighs, pressing myself against him.

“What about the baby?” His voice is rough, needy and it sends a surge of fire through me.

“It’s okay.” An instant later, I’m on my back and Liam’s hands are everywhere as they remove my clothes and then caress my body. I’m just as eager, tugging at his clothes until I can feel his warm skin against mine.

I have no illusions that having sex will change anything, but for right now, all I want is him, to know every intimate detail about him.

I push him until he rolls back and I can straddle him again. I run my hands down his chest, over his strong six-pack of abs, and lower.

He starts to lever up, but I push him back. “I want a turn.”

His brow arches, but then he smiles and puts his hands behind his head. “Have at it.”

“Oh, I will.” I run a finger along the length of his dick, intrigued by how it twitches. Liam’s abs tighten, and he lets out a small moan.

I wrap my fingers around him, feeling the velvet softness of the skin over a rock-hard erection. I stroke him slowly, feeling each ridge and pulse of him.

He moans again, closing his eyes.

I lean over and swirl my tongue around the tip, lapping up the pearl of precum.

“You’re driving me mad,” he says with a growl.

“But you love it.” I suck the tip into my mouth, again swirling my tongue around it. His hips rock slightly. I slowly take him deeper and deeper into my mouth.

“Fuck… Kate.” His fingers thread through my hair. “So fucking hot to see my cock in your mouth.”

I respond by moving more steadily over him. My hand strokes him as my mouth takes him in and out, in and out.

“Yes…” His hips rock in rhythm to my ministrations. “Fuck my cock with your mouth… more…”

I can’t remember his talking during sex before. This is a nice, erotic change. I withdraw my mouth to his growl, but I stroke him with my hand as I lick the sacks between his thighs.

“Fuck yeah… Kate…”

I continue to lap and lick and then return my mouth to his dick to suck.

“Jesus… I’m close…”

For the first time, I’m feeling feminine and powerful. His pleasure is in my hands. But in an instant, I’m on my back and he’s over me.

“Hey, I?—”

“I want to be inside you. I want to watch you as I slide in and out.”

It’s hard to argue with that. I open for him, guide him to me.

“Are you sure I won’t hurt the baby?”

“I’m sure.” I wrap my legs around his hips and pull him to me. He sinks in, filling me. Wondrous, sensual pleasure shimmers through me at the feel of him inside me, a part of me.

“Kate.” He leans over, his mouth covering mine in a devouring kiss that steals my breath. His body moves powerfully, in and out, in and out. Each thrust feels fuller than the last. I can feel every bit of him pulsing inside me.

“Fuck… tell me you’re close.”

I can only respond with a moan. My fingers grip his back as I arch into him, reaching, reaching for the pinnacle of pleasure.

His hand slides between us, his finger rubbing over my clit. In an instant, I’m rocketing to the stars.

“Liam!” Sensation after sensation blasts through me, rippling out until I feel it in every cell of my body.

“Yes, baby, yes, come on my cock.” He drives into me harder, faster, drawing out my orgasm as his explodes through him.

We move together, our bodies in tune, sliding, rocking as if we were made for one another. When the last shimmers of orgasm dissipate, he rolls off me. I expect him to quickly get dressed and leave me as he’s done the previous times. Instead, he draws me into his body, holding me there. Emotion sweeps through me even as I tell myself that this doesn’t change anything. I know Liam well enough to know that his plans won’t change. He’ll kill Babichev and send me off to live a life outside the criminal one he lives in. And that’s what I want. I’m not suited to all this running and fear. I just wish he could come with me. I know he can’t. The Bratva is his life. In his DNA.

I snuggle against him, soaking up his warmth while I can. I relax and let go of the outside world. Soon, I’m asleep.

When I first awaken, my body feels warm and lax, like warm wax. Memories of Liam touching me filter through my brain, and I feel like happiness is finally upon me, that the man I had first fallen in love with is back with me.

But as I roll back and reach my hand out, the bed is empty. Of course it is. These few close moments didn”t change anything. I”ve come to understand that Liam cares for me. I”ve become the source of a mission in his life. When that mission is complete, he’ll send me back into my old life and he will disappear.

The grumbling in my stomach makes me realize I haven”t. So, I reluctantly get out of bed expecting that when I see Liam again, he’ll be back to Liam the Dark.

I tentatively make my way to the main living area where I find him sitting at a table hunched over his phone.

He drops it on the table in a fit of frustration. ”Motherfucker.” He grinds the heels of his hands in his eyes.

I take a breath to steel myself for his anger or annoyance or bossiness, or however he”s going to be.

Not wanting to bother him, I make my way toward the kitchen. He turns to me and immediately, his expression softens. He stands and comes to me.

His hands rub up and down my arms. ”Did you have a good rest?”

I nod, studying him. He doesn’t seem dark right now.

”You must be hungry. I”ve got some food. It”s nearly lunchtime. Would you like a sandwich? Or how about an omelet? I”ve got some vegetables we can mix with it. That”ll be good for the baby, right?”

I”m a little worried that I”m dreaming. He’s being the man I long for.

His finger hooks under my chin, tilting my head up to him. ”Are you okay?”

I give them a smile and nod. ”Yes.” There are a million questions running through my head like does this mean he”s not going to be the dark Liam? Does he want to keep me and the baby with him, not just for now, but forever? But I don”t have the courage to ask. I”m not even brave enough to hope because I know deep down, it wouldn’t work.

”Sounds like something was going on with you, though. Are you all right?” I ask.

His face darkens. ”Just taking care of business.” The darkness fades. ”About that omelet?”

”The baby and I are starving.”

He ushers me to the kitchen, sitting me at the little dining table as he begins to pull out eggs and vegetables that he starts to dice. I watch him, partly fascinated at seeing him do something so mundane as to cook.

”Does that issue at work mean that we”re going to have to move again?”

He stills for a moment and then goes back to cracking eggs. ”For now, we stay put. A plan is being worked out.”

I’m happy to hear this. Maybe he’ll continue to be this sweet, sexy Liam I’ve come to love. Knowing we’ll be apart soon, having some time together, even if it’s just a fantasy, is something I want to experience.

A few moments later, he sets an omelet in front of me and puts another plate down and sits with me at the table.

I inhale. ”Smells delicious. Are you as good in the kitchen as you are in the bedroom?”

His brows shoot up as if he’s surprised by the question. But then his mouth slides into a wolfish grin. ”Well, I can take these plates off the table, and you can find out right now.”

I laugh. ”I meant cooking.”

”I knew what you meant. But I think it”s safe to say my bedroom skills are not limited to just the bedroom. If you”d ever like to find out.”

Here I am on the run from mobsters, having an omelet cooked by the head of the Bratva, but instead of thinking about the danger, the only thing in my mind is eating breakfast and experiencing more of Liam”s skills.