“Thank you,” she said.
“You don’t need to thank me, Scarlett. I love you. You know that.”
“You want a future with a man and a woman.”
“I’ve got the woman I want. I just, at the time of making this agreement with you, I didn’t realize it.”
“I’m confused.”
“So am I,” he said. “Believe me. My feelings for you have been growing.” He put the cup on the counter and moved toward her. “They didn’t happen overnight, and I know, deep down, you’ve got feelings for me too.” He cupped her hip, pulling her in close. “You can pretend all you want.”
“I’m not going to do that. I can’t give you what you want.” She couldn’t resist looking at his lips. They’d been on her body last night, and he’d felt so good. “I don’t have a penis.”
He laughed.
“I don’t know if I want to share you,” she said. Tears suddenly filled her eyes and she tried to take a step back, but Liam wouldn’t let her.
“Nothing between us has changed. You’re still my wife. We’re still the best of friends. None of it has changed. I won’t let you run from this, from us.” He wrapped his arms around her. His lips went to her neck, grazing over the pulse.
“I don’t think I can do this,” she said.
“Let me worry about everything else. I’ve never steered you wrong. I will never cheat on you. Never.”
She pulled away, and he wiped away her tears with the back of his fingers. “You won’t be with someone else?”
“No.”
“Promise.”
“I’ve never lied to you.” He dropped a kiss to her lips. “Ever.”
“Where did you go this morning? You were gone a long time.”
“I went to see Easton.”
She tensed up. “Why?”
“I’m waiting for him to make a decision on joining us on the weekends. It’s only fair he gets to share in Junior. What do you think?” he asked.
“You’ve already asked him without consulting me.”
“Because I know you think it’ll be a good idea. You always told me you felt a little guilty for not telling Easton at any point during your pregnancy.”
That was true.
When she held her baby in her arms after giving birth, she knew Easton should have been there. As the dad, he had a right to witness the birth of his child, but she still didn’t reach out. This was on her, and she didn’t want to tear father and son apart. She’d made a mistake, and she had to deal with that.
“What about you?” she asked.
“I’m not going to be replaced by anyone.” He dropped another kiss to her lips. He pressed her up against the counter. The jeans she wore were in the way of feeling him. The hard press of his cock was almost too good to be true.
Liam lifted her up, placing her on the counter. “Do you realize, Mrs. Knight, we’ve been married five years and of those five years, we’ve never once consummated our marriage?”
“Yes.”
His fingers went to the button of her shirt.
One by one, he slid them open.
She didn’t say a word, feeling her whole body want his touch, want his hands on her.
He pushed the shirt down her arms, but rather than let it all the way off, Liam tied the shirt up, keeping her arms locked behind her back.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m going to have some fun, and I want you completely at my mercy. Do you trust me?”
“You know I do.”
“Then know I’m going to be making up for five years of lost time. Five years of not touching this body because you’ve not truly been mine. You’re mine now, aren’t you?”
She thought about Easton. He’d taken a part of her many years ago, only to stamp on it. She’d never given another man a real chance with her. Even the boyfriend who hurt her, he’d known from the start he was second best.
“Yes, I’m yours, Liam. I’m all yours.” She spoke the words with conviction. There wasn’t anywhere else she wanted to be.
Easton was a distant memory. She had no intention of being with him for a lifetime or for any length of time.
Liam grabbed a knife from the drawer.
She held her breath as he slid the sharp blade beneath the fabric and cut.
The bra fell away from her body, and she heard him groan.
“Do you have any idea how much torture it was to see you getting naked? To know you were going to be all mine one day. You’d strip down, and I’d see how curvy and sexy you were, and I’ve spent many times in the shower, imagining all the things I want to do to you and these sexy tits.”
She gasped as his tongue stroked across one hard bud. She watched him as he flicked back and forth before sucking the bud into his mouth, and moaning.
The pleasure was instant, and she closed her eyes. There was nothing for her to hold onto. She was completely at his mercy.