The Ending I Want
I hate lying to him, but the alternative isn’t an option. If I tell Liam the truth, I know what will happen. He’ll try to talk me out of my decision.
I don’t want to be talked out of it.
“Have you had anything to drink?” he asks.
“It was the drink that got me in this state.” I convey humor in my voice as I lift my eyes to him.
“I mean, water, smart-arse.”
“No.” I shake my head. Then, I immediately regret doing it as the pain increases.
“Here, drink this.” He lifts his half-full water bottle and then throws it to me, and I catch it. “You need something to eat, too. I’ll feed you after I’ve finished up here.”
“You’ll make someone a good husband one day, Hunter.” I manage a teasing smile.
His return look is less than humorous.
I unscrew the cap on the bottle and put it to my lips. I can taste Liam on it. I like that a lot. Might make me weird or a little gross, but I don’t care. I drink the water he gave me. Once the bottle’s empty, I screw the cap back on and put it down.
My headache is now a low throb. I need to grab some pain pills from my purse before it comes back with a vengeance.
“What are your plans for today?” Liam asks.
“Dunno.” I lift my shoulders.
He gives me a contrite look before saying, “I’ve got to go into the office again today.” He checks the time on his Apple Watch. “Pretty soon, in fact.”
“Everything okay at work?” I ask.
“Yeah, just a few issues with a company I’m buying out. I need to call some people. Shout at them.” He gives a slow smile.
“Such a big boss man.”
“And don’t you forget it.” His smile curves into a sexy one, and then it suddenly downturns. “I feel like shit for leaving you alone though.”
“Don’t feel bad. I’m a big girl, Hunter. It’s not your job to entertain me twenty-four/seven. Your job is to run your businesses.”
With all the time he’s been spending with me since I arrived in England, it’s easy for me to forget that Liam has a day job—an I-own-multiple-multimillion-dollar-companies day job.
“I’ll find a way to entertain myself.”
His brows pull together. “But I like to entertain you, Boston. It’s become my new favorite pastime.”
“I’m your new favorite pastime? I’m afraid to ask what you did before me.” Screw other women probably.
I suddenly feel a little sick. Probably because of the headache.
“When I say that, what I mean is, fucking you is my new favorite pastime. Getting to spend time with you is, of course, the bonus.”
“Nice save.”
“I thought so.” He grins. “So, today…what about shopping?”
“What about shopping?”
“Why don’t you go shopping? You haven’t hit up any of the stores since you’ve been here.”
“Um…” I curl my toes in against the hard floor. “Shopping’s not really my thing.”
Well, it is. I love to shop as much as the next girl, but there’s no point in buying new clothes if I’m not going to be here to wear them.
But then I could always buy my funeral outfit.
Wow, that was morbid, even for me.
Definitely no to the shopping then.
“Isn’t shopping an all women’s thing?” Liam says.
I raise a brow. “That’s a stereotypical thing to say, Mr. Hunter.”
“You got me. Sorry, Miss Shaw.” He lifts his hands in surrender, but the smile on his lips says otherwise. “So, no to the shopping. Why don’t you hang out here until I get back? Watch a movie in the cinema room.”
That gets my attention. “You have a cinema room? How am I just finding this out now?”
Liam chuckles. “The door at the end of this hall—that’s the cinema room. It’s well stocked with movies.”
“And that’s my whole day planned.” I smile. Leaning back on my hands, I stretch my legs out.
“Popcorn and sweets are in the kitchen, so just help yourself.” He stops the treadmill and steps off.
“What are sweets?”
He walks toward a cupboard, opens the door, gets a towel out, and turns back to me. He presses the towel to his face, drying the sweat from it. “Candy to you.”
“Ah. I think I’m going to need an English phrase book to learn these new things.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll teach them to you. You’ll be an expert in English lingo in no time.” He hangs the towel around his neck and tilts his head in the direction of the door. “I’m gonna go take a shower. Wanna join me?”
I get to my feet and tread softly toward him. He watches me the whole time.
Stopping just before him, I press a hand to his sweat-slicked chest. I have the sudden urge to lick the place where my hand is.
Looking up at him, I seductively bat my lashes. “Are we going to have sex while we’re in the shower?”
A smile teases his lips. He leans down and presses his lips against mine, kissing me. I can taste the salty sweat on his lips. It’s a surprising turn-on.
“Of course.”
“And are you going to spank me again?”
Fire sparks in his eyes, and his smile returns, wider this time. “Only if you’re really dirty.”
“Oh, I’m really, really dirty.” I lift my lips.
“Then, get your arse in the shower. Now.”
“Wake up, sleepyhead.”
Warm fingers are stroking my cheek, and I can hear a television on in the background.