Bullets & Bonfires

She clings to me even tighter, shaking her head.

I stroke my hand over her hair, now noticing how short she cut it. “I love the hair.”

“Thanks,” she whispers.

My hand continues rubbing her back, waiting for her to continue.

Finally, she takes a deep breath. “When you were…on top of me, holding me so tight. For a second I couldn’t breathe and I panicked. That’s all. I’m so sorry.”

“Stop saying you’re sorry.”

“It’s not you, Liam. It’s me.”

I don’t know the right thing to say. It’s not her. It’s not me. It’s neither of us, but it’s both of us. If she’s mine for real, then we need to work through this together.

“I’m sorry I ruined everything.”

“Hey.” My hand brushes over her cheek. “You didn’t ruin anything.”

“But I did. Please don’t…”

“Don’t what?” I ask when she doesn’t finish her sentence.

“I don’t want you to see me…think of me any different.” Her mouth quirks. “Not when you’re finally falling in love with me.”

“Bree.” I slip my fingers under her chin, tipping her head back so she meets my eyes. “I’m not falling in love with you. I’m already there. Been there a long time.”

“Liam,” she breathes out.

“And I still think you’re the same sweet girl I’ve always known. Only difference is now you’re mine.”

“And you’re mine.” Her words come out somewhere between a question and a statement.

“Yes. I’m very much yours.” I wait a few seconds for her to absorb that. “Tell me, was that the only time we’ve…been together that you had those feelings?”

“Yes.” She shifts. “Only tonight. I think because I couldn’t see you and I was sleepy.” She hesitates and glances at the closed bedroom door “You stopped when I asked. That’s all I need.” She brushes her lips over my cheek. “Everything was so, so good before that,” she whispers against my ear, scraping her teeth over my earlobe. “I loved waking up with your hand in my panties.”

“Bree,” I warn.

“Liam,” she mimics. Another twist of her body and she’s straddling my lap. She reaches down and lifts her hips so she can fling the sheet away.

“Bree—”

She places her finger over my lips, asking for my silence. “This was particularly good the other day. Let’s try this.”

Her fear and anxiety seem to have lessened. Even though she’s playing naughty sex kitten, I’m having trouble catching up. “You need to give me a minute, sweetness. You scared me.”

“Hmm…” She trails kisses down my neck and over my shoulder. “How’s that?” she murmurs against my skin.

“Good.” My dick stirs back to life. “Tell me what you like. Be specific.”

Her eyes close as if she wants to call up the image in her head before sharing. “You. Behind me. Gripping my hips and pounding into me so hard.”

Ding!

I fit my hands over her hips, holding her tight. “Like this?”

She answers by slipping her hand between us and stroking my cock. “Almost, except I want to see your face when you make me come.”

My brain’s too foggy, my throat too tight. I reach down and circle her clit with my fingers, loving the jolt and jerk of her hips. “Come on, baby girl.” My ragged voice practically begs her to climb back on my cock.

She’s done teasing me. With another soft press of her lips to mine, she braces her hands on my shoulders and lifts herself. I guide her way, and groan as she takes me inside her. “Fuck, that’s good. Keep going.”

The way she takes me is all consuming. Not the fast, desperate fucking of before. This time I hold her tight and let her take what she needs. Keep her grounded with my voice and hands.

“So good, Bree.” I squeeze my eyes shut, trying not to succumb to the orgasm threatening to throw me over the edge. She gasps and grinds down harder.

“Liam.”

“Right here, sweetness.” I’ve never experienced this level of wanting. The intensity of needing to feel her come apart. Somehow I hold out until she’s spent and then I blow like a volcano. My teeth scrape her shoulder. “You’re mine, Bree. Mine.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Finally, Liam and I have a morning together. All week he’s been distracted with some case. I don’t ask a lot of questions, but I can see the toll it’s taking on him. That’s why I don’t want to dwell on last night.

I’m also embarrassed as hell.

“Are you okay?” he asks me first thing.

“I’m fine. Really happy you’re still here this morning.”

He presses a soft, slow kiss against my lips. “Me too.”

Kimber’s waiting by the back door with an eager expression.

“I think she’s happy to see you too,” I say as I clip on Kimber’s leash.

Liam takes my hand and leads us outside. “She was glued to the bedroom door last night when I came home.”

The backyard is small, but rests against a strip of woods that belong to the town, giving it a larger feeling. Knowing Kimber can’t walk far but still needs to stretch her legs, we take it easy. “Do you…can you tell me about the case you’ve been working on?”

“I have a few at the moment.”

“The one that’s keeping you up at night.”

His expression turns distant. “It’s a child abuse case.”

My hand flies to my mouth. “Oh.”

“It’s bad. We arrested the parents yesterday, but the whole thing’s a mess.”

“Boy or girl?”

“A little girl.”

“Where’d she go? I mean, if the parents were arrested.”

“Her grandmother’s.”

“That’s so sad. But at least she’s with someone she knows.”

He nods once. “True. The woman boards horses at her farm and I guess the little girl is pretty horse-crazy.”

“I think most little girls are. But that sounds promising.”

He lifts his shoulders and I figure there’s more to the story he can’t share with me.

“Chad’s brother hasn’t bothered you anymore, has he?”

“Well, uh.” I hesitate because I know Liam will be upset that I didn’t tell him this sooner.

“Bree?” He stops and faces me.

“I ran into him at the mall yesterday.”

“You what?” To Liam’s credit, he doesn’t yell, but he’s clearly frustrated. “Why didn’t you tell me right away?”

“He said it was an accident and I believed him. He was trying to hide from me when I caught up to him.” Who am I trying to convince? Liam or myself?

“Yeah, right,” he mutters, running his hands through his hair.

“He told me about the restraining order.”

He stops and stares me in the eye. “I told you I was going to do it.”

“I know. I’m not mad. He apologized, but it was pretty insincere.”

Liam snorts. “What else?”

“Nothing.” My lips curve as I remember how empowered I felt facing Chris head-on. “I think it shocked the hell out of him that I confronted him instead of cowering or running away. Heck, I surprised myself. Must have been left over adrenaline from Sully’s class.”

One corner of his mouth lifts, but I don’t think he’s ready to let me off the hook yet.

“Okay.” He hesitates. “I don’t want to encourage you to handle things alone, but I’m proud of you.”

“I was in a public place.”

His lips settle into a grim line. “That doesn’t always matter. If you run into him again you have to tell me. Even if you think it’s a coincidence.”

“I will. Honestly, I had fun with Aubrey and her sister afterwards, so I ended up forgetting about it.”

The tension in his face eases and his shoulders drop. “I’m glad you had a good time.” He tucks my hair behind my ear. “I like this a lot.” r />

“Thank you.”

As we’re walking back inside, he casually asks about the carnations in the trash. “They were on my windshield last night when I went outside to take the selfie.”

“What?!” This time he raises his voice.