Honored_ An Alpha Mob Romance(37)

Upstairs, I dumped the bag on the bed and started going through the stuff. It was mostly T-shirts and jeans, surprisingly in my size, and a pair of comfortable pajamas, plus some underwear and a clean bra. I couldn’t believe that he got stuff that might fit, more or less, since he had nothing to go off of. I sighed, pulling off my shirt. There was a mirror hanging on one wall, and I looked at myself in it: haggard, exhausted, and unkempt. My hair was a mess, and it was clear that I had been crying earlier from the red rims around my eyes. I shook my head, finding it hard to care what I looked like.

As I moved over toward the bed, I heard the door push open.

“Here, I got you some—” he said, and stopped, staring at me.

I looked back and raised an eyebrow. My nipples were slightly erect from the cool bedroom air, and a small smile played on his lips as he took in my full breasts. After a second, he turned away.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize you were changing.”

Usually, I would have been mortified, but for some reason I was having trouble giving a shit about much. Truthfully, I wanted him to see me. For some reason, because of the day we had, it felt good to be the object of his desire, even if it was by accident. I grabbed a shirt and pulled it over my head.

“Knock next time,” I said.

“Yeah. I just wanted to tell you that I got you a toothbrush and some other toiletries.”

“Thanks.”

He peeked over his shoulder and grinned. “Stuff’s in the bathroom.”

“Okay.”

“If you need anything, I’ll be downstairs.”

I looked at him, at his rumpled dress shirt and the muscles it was barely hiding, at the cut of his jaw and his perfect nose, his full lips and excited eyes, and I needed him. I needed him in that second like I hadn’t needed anything in my life. I crossed the room without another word, and he turned to face me, reading my expression.

“Ellie—” he said, but stopped as I wrapped my hands around him, running my fingers through his hair.

He grabbed me by my hips and pulled me close against him, and I let out a small gasp. His strong body was like a life raft for me. Everything was threatening to pull me under, but Liam was the only thing trying to keep oxygen in my lungs.

“I never said thank you,” I whispered.

“You don’t have to.”

I pressed my lips against his and kissed him hard, crushing my mouth against him. I gripped his hair and I felt him press me harder against his body. Our mouths met and tongues touched, his fresh taste filling my mouth, his smell filling my nose, and for the first time in what seemed like years, I felt good. The terror slipped into the back of my mind as he kissed me hard, his hands running slowly up my back. His full lips and rough stubble pressed against my face and I loved it, wanted the slight tickling pain of his strong body. It filled me and I felt weightless, like I was being drawn up above the waves.

After a minute, when we were reaching the point where I knew I’d lose myself, he slowed himself and softly disengaged from me, moving me a few inches away. I could still feel his heat and his taste lingering on my body and lips.

“We shouldn’t,” he said. I could tell he was fighting something. His whole body felt tense and hard.

“I know,” I said.

I was fighting the same thing: pure, unfiltered need.

His hands gripped my hips one more time, and then he let go. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay.”

He gave me a look I couldn’t read and left the room, closing the door behind him. I sighed, staring at the space he occupied seconds ago as the fear began to flood me again. I shook my head and walked back over to the bed, shoving the unused clothes to the floor. I climbed into the bed, slipped under the sheets, and closed my eyes. Excitement and exhaustion warred inside me, my body still ringing for Liam but my eyes heavy from the taxing day.

Sooner than I could have guessed, exhaustion won out, and I slipped into sleep.





Chapter Fifteen: Liam


I woke up, my head pounding and my mouth muggy and dry. I groaned, cursing, as I rolled over on the stiff couch. There was a half empty whisky bottle and an empty glass sitting on the coffee table, and the television was still on, playing an early morning news program.

I sat up, clutching my head. What a stupid fucking idea. Getting drunk was not the way I should deal with my issues. I stood up unsteadily and walked into the kitchen. I put on a pot of coffee and looked around. Ellie wasn’t up yet; I wondered how late a kindergarten teacher could sleep. Actually, I wondered how long a traumatized kindergarten teacher could sleep. Pretty long, I decided.

That fucking kiss, though. It had come out of nowhere. Well, no, not nowhere. I had gotten a pretty good view of her perfect tits. I couldn’t decide what had gotten me harder: the way she didn’t seem to care that I was staring at her body, or the way she pressed herself against me and ran her fingers through my hair. I’d been with plenty of girls that threw themselves at me, but none were like her, not a single one of them. She was the first one I wanted more of, not in the sense of fucking again, but in a hungry kind of way. I wanted every inch of her, every position of her, every moment and moan and more.