“Is that what you did, Ellie? Did you replace me quickly? Did you let someone else between those sexy, long as fuck legs of yours?”
“We’ve been apart for almost two years, Liam. Did you think I’d never find someone to give me what you used to?” I taunt, feeling the anger inside of me begin to fester again. I probably chose the wrong words, though. Because I see his face fill with anger, his entire body tense, his muscles stretch against his tight skin. There’s a reason the men nicknamed Liam, Fury. He’s intimidating as hell when you push him to the edge and his anger takes over. I’ve never been afraid of him, but when he’s like this, it’s only smart to get cautious.
I move away from him, the backs of my legs hitting my desk, as I watch him closely. I’ve always said that Liam had a grizzly bear inside of him. It would seem that I’ve just poked the bear out of hibernation.
“Who was it, Ellie? Was it that fucker outside? Did you let him crawl between your—”
“Stop it, Liam. You don’t have a right to ask me any of this,” I snap. I’ve never been one to back down from Liam’s rage and that hasn’t changed.
“The fuck I don’t.” His voice is quiet but deadly. He walks until he’s pressed against me, his hand at my neck. His thumb pushing against my pulse. “I don’t care how long it has been Ellie, I was your first and you will always belong to me.”
“That’s bullshit and we both know it. Do you expect me to believe you haven’t had one woman since we’ve been apart? What was that whore between your legs the other night? A figment of my imagination?”
“My dick hasn’t been inside another woman since you left, Ice.”
“You never lied to me when we were together, Liam. Don’t start now,” I snarl, his words are painful, because one of the biggest hurts I’ve had to deal with was knowing that by leaving, Liam would be free to give another woman everything that was once mine.
“You know me better than that, Ellie. The one time I decided to say fuck it and try, you show up. If that’s not a sign from above, I don’t know what the hell is.”
“You want me to believe you haven’t been with a woman since me?” I ask, torn between wanting to believe it and afraid of believing it at the same time.
“I’m not saying I didn’t try at first. I’m saying when you left, my shit was left broken,” he says, his lips stretching into an almost smile, that looks a little bitter.
“It didn’t look broken the other night.”
“And maybe it wouldn’t have been if I’d let her finish. I can’t say either way, what I do know is that once you showed up everything changed for me. These past few days have been so fucking good, I know I’m not giving you up.”
“Liam—”
“And I know you need to quit trying to run away, Ellie. Running didn’t work out before. Now we’re here.”
“I live here now.”
“You liked Tennessee.”
“My job is here.”
“There’s a job in Tennessee with your name on it, Ellie.”
“I’m afraid to ask,” I mumble, some of the tension I was feeling finally starting to bleed away.
“The pay sucks, but the fringe benefits can’t be matched,” he jokes, leaving no room to mistake what type of job he’d be offering.
“I can’t promise anything, Liam, and honestly there’s a real chance you might not want me now. I’m not the same person I was when I left.”
“We can take it day by day. I’m not rushing you, Ice. But that fucker out there doesn’t get one more taste of you.”
“He never had one to begin with, you idiot,” I mumble, still confused, but tired of fighting.
“Then—”
“I may have left you, Liam, but I still loved you. You know I’m not the type of woman to do the mattress mambo with someone unless I love them.”
“You did with me after just three days, Ice,” he reminds me. I can feel my face heat as I blush.
“I loved you,” I sigh. “I’ve always loved you, Liam.”
“So, once you left, you were broken, too?” he murmurs, leaning in to nuzzle my neck. I close my eyes, realizing he wants me to give him the words. I should resent that, but for some reason, I don’t.
“Yeah, dummy. I was broken, too.”
“That makes me unbelievably fucking happy, Ice.”
“Because you’re an asshole,” I mutter.
“Probably, but I don’t really give a fuck. But, I’m feeling the need to celebrate…”
“I have to tell you, Liam. I’m not ready to bend over my desk, so if that’s what you’re thinking, you can get that thought out of your mind for now.”
“I can wait as long as you can,” he says with a smirk that tells me I just might be in trouble…