It would be so easy to lean on him, but I’d worked too hard on myself to start needing anyone’s protection. I’d wasted too much of my life being afraid, and I was doing better now, but what if Igot used to his protection? Tomorrow, when he wasn’t there and I had to walk in alone…would I be even more scared?
Liam hooked out an elbow. There it was. Offering me his protection, while simultaneously honoring my unspoken boundaries. Boundaries that would rival a fortress. Tall walls, a deep moat, and the willingness to destroy anyone who tried to breach it. But Liam seemed to understand that, and even crazier, it didn’t seem to deter him.
I looped my arm through his, and my fingertips grazed the tattered flag tattoo peeking out the bottom of his sleeve. I couldn’t help but envision what the rest of his tattoo looked like rippling over his muscles. What other tattoos and muscles and beauty were hidden under his shirt? God, what was he doing to me?
My hand barely reached a quarter of the way around his bicep. I felt the strength in his muscles and his movements without another inch of our bodies touching. Without him touching me at all, in fact. Just my hand on him. Yeah, I could get used to him way too easily.
He was too damn perfect in every way.
We stood in front of my door, electricity and nerves zapping between us, the sound of my heart pounding louder than Thor’s excited whining.
“Thank you for asking me to dinner. I had a great time,” he said, his voice low.
“Me too. Thank you.”
His hand came up, ever so slowly, and he trailed his fingers down my jaw, a feather light caress, his eyes following his movements and settling on my mouth. A wild flutter flowed through me, like a horde of bees took flight in my chest and swarmed down. He gently lifted my chin, leaned in, and brushed his lips against mine, the gentle scrape of his beard teasing my skin.
“Goodnight, Jenna,” he whispered against my lips as he pulled away.
I gaped up at him. I wanted more. I wanted a real kiss.
He shook his head, a smile on those beautiful lips. “Not yet. Go inside to Thor.”
“Thank you for a great night, Liam.”
“It was my pleasure. I can’t wait to see you again. Call me if you need anything.”
I went in and closed the door quickly. Not that I didn’t trust him. I may have trusted him more than I’d ever trusted anybody. It was just…a lot.
Thor circled me before running to the couch for his hug. “I had the best night,” I whispered into his fur. My phone buzzed from by the door where I’d dropped my stuff. Could it be him already? I pried Thor’s paws off and ran for my phone. It was!
“Hello?”
“Hey, Jenna. Do you want to go for Tex-Mex on Friday?” He sounded so adorably eager, and my heart did a happy little dance.
“I’d love to.”
“Great! I thought of a fun place to take you. I’ll be working the next few days, but I’m going to call you, okay? And you can call me if you need anything. Or just to talk. You can always call me.”
Yeah, he was really sweet. We talked a little more as I fed Thor, and then we said goodbye.
Right after coming back from the dog run, my phone rang again. I smiled as I hurried to grab it, wondering why he’d called this time, but it wasn’t Liam. It was my not-so-little brother.
“Teddy Bear! How’s life in college?”
“Hey Jen Jen! It’s good, and it’s almost finished! How’s life in Texas?” God, it had been years since his voice had deepened, but it still surprised me sometimes.
“I’m good, but wait—what do you mean, it’s almost finished? Don’t you still have another semester?”
“I was planning on it to finish my minor, but now that I have a job offer, I’m going to skip the minor and graduate without it.” Pride filled his voice, making me feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“My baby brother is all grown up with a job! Tell me about it!”
“I start in August, and I’ll be an associate biomedical engineer at Cardiac Care and Research. They develop and research cardiac equipment, like to improve pacemakers and imaging equipment.”
“That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you! You’ll really be saving lives, Ty.”
He laughed, and for a moment I heard the little boy I’d once known so well. My heart ached for all the years I’d missed. He was barely thirteen when I left for college, and I’d only seen him a few times since. I tried to talk to him often, even when all I got were grunts and one-word responses. Thankfully, he outgrew that phase, and we were fairly close, but still, it wasn’t like it used to be.