“That sounds like fun,” she replied. No, it didn’t, really, but she needed some distraction from the impossible situation in this old mansion.
“Sweet dreams,” Sam said, and he made a swift exit.
Whitney suspected that he’d done that so she wouldn’t have time to change her mind.
She took a deep breath and headed inside. It was late, so the halls were empty. Once upstairs, she peeked in on both children and saw them sleeping soundly.
She walked toward her door, feeling slightly depressed, but unsure why. She’d gone out, had an attentive companion, and should have had a wonderful time, but instead was feeling a lonely ache.
“How was your ‘date’?” Liam asked.
“Do you like to lurk in dark corners just so you can give me a heart attack?” she asked him. “This is the second time today.”
“Do you like to avoid questions?” He seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face now — she might have preferred the blank mask that he’d always worn before. “And technically it’s tomorrow now, but who’s counting?”
“I had a great time. I’m exhausted, though, so I’ll see you in the morning, perhaps. Or later.” She placed her hand on the doorknob and started to twist it when he grabbed her and hauled her toward him.
“Think about this tonight,” he said nanoseconds before his head descended. She had no time to react before his lips were pressed against hers.
Whitney’s pulse beat out of control and she could barely breathe. She involuntarily wound her arms around his neck and clung to him while his hands roamed up and down her back.
She could feel his arousal — it was impressive — and her stomach flipped upside down. She couldn’t seem to get enough of his taste, scent, or touch. She was quickly forgetting why kissing him was boneheaded … um … a major blunder.
“Invite me into your room,” he growled against her ear as he ran his skilled tongue down the curve of her neck, making her moan. All she had to do was say yes. She opened her mouth to utter the simple word as his hand slipped around her side and cupped her aching breast.
He flicked his thumb over her sensitive nipple, and she throbbed with the intense pleasure of the contact, even through her clothes.
She couldn’t help but cry out, and his body seemed to harden even more. He pressed her firmly against the bedroom door, molding the two of them even closer together.
Liam brought his lips back to hers, almost devouring her, and then he moved his hand to the hem of her little dress, sliding it upward, touching the skin of her inner thigh. She shook with need.
“Invite me inside,” he murmured again.
She would have said yes, would have begged him to take her right there against the door if she’d been capable of speech.
His hand slid further up, over the tops of her stockings, and then his fingers were against the bare skin of her hip and curling around her delicately rounded backside. Trailing his lips down her neck, he ignited a fire inside her that she’d only managed to feel with this one man. She was still standing only because of the pressure of his arms and the door behind her.
He moved his fingers upward and began undoing the zipper of her dress, and his tongue now slid across the swell of her breast. Her peaked nipple was begging for those warm lips of his to capture it, to send her spiraling out of control.
A door shut somewhere in the house, and that small sound brought her back to reality. What in heck was she doing? She was practically making love to this man in the hall, where her niece or nephew could walk by. Not to mention myriad other people.
“Liam, we have to stop,” she whispered. She could barely get the words past her throat, choked as it was by desire. She brought her hands down to his chest and pushed.
He lifted his head and stared at her in confusion. And those passionate eyes of his were almost her undoing. When he bent his head to take her lips once more, she didn’t know how she found the will to pull away, but she did. He let out a deep sigh and finally stepped back and walked away. Whitney let out her own sigh, gathered the strength to open her door, and slunk through it. After closing it, she sagged against it, and a shudder racked her body.
Why hadn’t she let him inside? Why couldn’t she have been selfish for one single night? It wouldn’t have hurt anyone.
Even as she had these thoughts and wishes, she knew how misguided they were. It would have hurt her, and hurt her sense of self. She knew she couldn’t ever have a one-night stand without deep regrets. Still, as she climbed into bed, her body in absolute agony, she wished she could be the kind of woman who could just let go.
Chapter Seventeen