They went quickly toward his house, and then they were out of the cold. He ushered her down a hallway, still holding the hand he’d grabbed when helping her from the horse.
He let go of her only when they entered a large room with a burning fireplace, the warmth drawing Whitney immediately to it. Still, a shiver traveled down her spine when he let his hands rest on her shoulders, and she had to fight not to turn around and propel herself into his arms.
“Consider taking off your coat. We’re going to be here a little while.” Liam’s breath brushed across her ear.
“I’m still a bit cold,” she said, barely able to get the words past the tightening in her throat.
He reached around her and began slowly unzipping her jacket. Her eyes were drawn to the movement as another shudder passed through her.
Liam pulled the coat off, sliding it down her arms and then tossing it to one side. It landed on a couch.
“I’ve waited long enough to do this.”
That was her only warning before he drew her around, then yanked her against his body. And now his lips were pressing against hers.
It took only milliseconds before she felt her lips parting, before he claimed her mouth and made her knees shake with the intensity of the kiss he was sharing with her.
Liam’s hands moved down from her shoulders, traveled to her back, and fell on the top of her nicely curved behind. He couldn’t help himself, and he followed the same journey up and back down again.
The kiss was all-consuming, and when he broke away, leaning back only a couple of inches so that when her eyes opened, she could clearly see the need burning in his, she wanted nothing more than to pull him back to her.
“Let’s go upstairs, Whitney. This has been inevitable since the moment I first laid eyes on you.”
It took a few moments for his words to sink past the lust-filled haze she was in, but when they did, she stiffened all the way through, and then her hand came up and she pushed against his chest.
He didn’t fight her when she drew away from him, and she was grateful for that.
“You’ve been nothing but rude to me from the moment we met, so why in the world would I ever think that?” she almost hissed. “And besides, nothing is inevitable, Liam. Nothing.” She was still trembling, but her temper helped her speak. “And, dammit, I’m most certainly not the kind of woman to jump into bed with a man just because he thinks it’s somehow inevitable.”
“Why would you resist? I can feel the way your body reacts to mine,” he told her. His eyes held no anger, only puzzlement.
“You kiss me once and then assume I’m ready to jump into your bed? What sort of world do you live in?”
“The real world, Whitney. If you don’t want me, that’s one thing, but it’s more than clear that you do.” He finally moved away to a cabinet in the corner. Pulling out two glasses, he poured them each a stiff drink of bourbon.
“I’m the one living in the real world, Liam. You live in some sort of fantasyland where you get everything you want at the snap of two fingers. And I’m not enjoying being here in your sad world. I would like to go back to your father’s house now,” she told him as he approached.
Just then a boom of thunder exploded right over them, or what felt like it, and the lights went out. A shiver of fear ran through her as she looked at Liam in the gray light coming in through the windows.
“It doesn’t look like we’re going anywhere for the moment,” Liam said, his smile of victory unmistakable.
“I think I’d rather face a storm than face the evening in here with you.” She was surprised, though, when she realized that she’d said those words aloud.
“You would probably be safer,” he told her before setting down his glass and moving back toward her.
Whitney had no idea what to do. She only knew that if he touched her again, she just might melt right into his arms, so she panicked and did the only thing she could think of — turned and ran.
She didn’t make it far before Liam caught up to her, and when he hauled her into his arms, his look was perfectly clear. He was willing to use any and all means to seduce her.
She hoped she had the strength to resist.
Chapter Ten
A few minutes later, Whitney was quite aware she didn’t have that willpower — not at all — because as Liam pressed her against the wall and sipped from her lips, she was jelly in his hands.
Within seconds, her knees buckled and only the hardness of his body was responsible for holding her up.
Whitney knew with every fiber of her being that this was wrong, that she didn’t even like the man, that there was no way she should be giving herself to him, but she couldn’t seem to stop the madness.