Fooling around on the Ferris wheel may have started as something impulsive, stupid even, because of Brian, but when Liam touched me...it felt so good. Within seconds, I was only thinking about him and how he made me feel. If there was another thought about Brian, it was only happiness that I wasn’t thinking about him.
The way Liam had been so gentle, so controlled, the muscles and veins in his forearm dancing under his skin…he’d made me feel things I never felt before.
I didn’t feel trapped in his arms. I felt protected. Even with the bulge in his pants pressed right up against me, I never had a moment of apprehension. Well, maybe in the very beginning, inanticipation of feeling afraid, but then when I feltit, feltLiam, it only made me want more.
After the Ferris wheel, we had fun with our friends, went on more rides, played more games, and he even won me a prize like I’d asked—a giant stuffed ring-tailed lemur—but all that paled in comparison to the electricity sizzling between us. It was still buzzing inside me. I’d never wanted like this before.
I knew he wanted me too. I saw it in his eyes, felt it in his touch.
So why wasn’t he back yet? Why wasn’t he insane with need and urgency like I was? Why was he allowing time for my nerves to creep back in?
Finally, the door opened, and Thor ran in followed by Liam, so big and handsome haloed by the hallway light. His eyes darkened, intense and needy as they fixed on me. This was a man on a mission, not a single sign of doubt in him. Thank God.
“Sorry I took so long. We went for a jog. I wanted him go to the bathroom and get all his energy out so he won’t have to go out again tonight.”
Of course, he’d been doing the most thoughtful thing ever. How could I have doubted him? “Good idea. Thank you for taking care of him.”
He shut the door and stalked to me, his eyes heavy on mine. “That’s for if I stay or if I go, so you don’t need to take him out.”
“I want you to stay,” I said firmly.
He took my hand, his thumb teasing a circle on my palm, his voice gentle. “I know, but I don’t want you to feel pressured. I’m happy to be here, but that doesn’t mean anything has to happen, and you can change your mind at any time.”
I stepped into his space, wrapping my arms around his neck. I tugged his head down and rose onto my toes, getting as close to eye level as I could with this stubborn, too-caring-for-his-own-good, giant. “I want to have sex with you, Liam, and I won’t change my mind. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.”
His eyes flared, then softened. “That’s not how fear works, Firefly.”
I grabbed his hair and held tight, my gaze locked on his, desperate for him to see the truth in my words. “I’m not afraid of being with you. I know it’ll be amazing. I’ve been afraid of how I’ll react. Me, not you. But I know that even if I have a bad moment, it will still be okay. We’ll deal with it together, and together, I can handle whatever thoughts or flashbacks or feelings I have, so there’s no reason to be afraid of them.”
A smile spread across his face, so pure and happy and beautiful and so freakin’ sexy. “Damn right we’ll handle it together.” He grabbed my shoulders, and my heart raced at the urgency in his grip. Finally, he was losing some of that iron control. “Just don’t hide it from me. If something feels bad, you need to let me know.”
“I will. Let’s go.” I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him to my bedroom, but he didn’t budge.
“Want to watch TV and relax a bit first?”
Jeez! “No! I’m ready, Liam. I want to make love to you right now.”
His chest rose with a quick gasp before he froze, the darkening of his eyes and flare of his nostrils the only signs he heard me. “Bed or couch?”
Thank God. “Bed.”
“What do you need to do to lock up for the night?”
Damn practical fool.
“Because,” he added with a smirk, “You’re going to be far too blissed out and replete to even think about it afterward."
“Well, okay then.” I told him, and we hurried to do it all, clumsy in our eagerness. Well, I was. Liam was never clumsy.
“Ready?” he asked.
I kissed Thor and told him to stay. “Ready.” I was. I was so ready, but there was suddenly a tiny niggle in the back of my mind questioning if this was the right time. The right way for it to happen given how it started. I knew it didn’t matter, but what if he thought… “No, wait.”
His brows furrowed, and he took my hands in his. “What is it?”
“I want to say this before we go in, then I don’t want to think about it again. This has nothing to do with him. I need you to know that. I know the Ferris wheel started to prove a point, but notthis. He’s so not on my mind, he doesn’t even exist. Not here. Not now. It’s only about you. Now that I got a taste of being with you, I’m craving more. I want it all with you, Liam.”
Liam brushed his lips against mine, his kiss sweet at first before it ignited, our tongues teasing at what was to come. “I know, Firefly, and I want it all with you too,” he murmured against my lips.