Page 2 of Liam

A Week Later

It was finally time for me to go back to school. I don’t think I will ever be ready, but it’s time for me to move on with my life. So now I’m sitting at lunch, and all of my friends have completely abandoned me, leaving me all alone with people staring at me. They’re looking at me like I am from a different planet. Nobody knows what happened except for the people I thought of as friends, but I guess they spread it around.

I duck my head and stare at the tray in front of me, my appetite completely gone. Them not being my friends isn’t a big deal to me, not compared to everything else that happened. Someone sets down a tray directly beside me, and I look up to see Liam, much to my surprise. He sits down beside me and I stare at him. What is he doing? He begins opening my food and drink for me while I just stare.

He finally looks at me for the first time, a small smile tugging at the edges of his lips. I smile and lower my head again, blushing hard. He is so beautiful it’s hard not to smile. I offer him my hand, like a dork. “Paisley.”

He looks at my hand, his twitching lips turning into a full-blown smile. “Liam.”

This was the start of my forever.

A Couple of Years Later

Paisley

Today is the day I have dreaded more than anything. Today is the day my best friend in the whole world is leaving for basic training. Liam is someone I have come to trust and care about. There is also a part of me that wants him. God, do I want him. I have this fear buried deep in my heart because I am scared for him. I am scared that he will be taken away from me. A knock on my bedroom door interrupts my fears, and Liam steps into my room.

“Sneaking in again?” I ask, a grin sliding over my face for the first time today. He winks, neither confirming nor denying. He shuts the door behind him, and my stomach sinks because he is such a beautiful man. I thought he was beautiful the first time I met him, but now? He has changed. He is taller, at least six foot five, his body has filled out, and he has a killer smile. I scoot across the bed so he can sit beside me. We watch TV together, as we have time and time again, but we won’t do this again for a long time. I stare at the TV, not looking at him even though I can feel him staring at me, demanding that I look at him. I don’t want him to see me cry.

“What happened?” he asks, and his hand wraps around mine. I don’t say anything, and my throat tightens. He touches my jaw and turns my head to look at him. His eyes darken when he sees my tears, and his nose flares. “Who fucking bothered you?”

Bothered me? I close my eyes and laugh. I fall forward and lay my head on his chest while shaking with laughter.

“Paisley?” His hand is resting on the back of my head.

I push him away and smile up at him because he so cute. “Nobody bothered me.”

He studies my face to make sure I am being truthful. “Why are you sad then?” He touches my jaw, wiping away a tear. He is a sweetheart.

“I am sad because you’re leaving.”

He closes his eyes, his hand in my hair. It’s so quiet I can hear the clock ticking on the wall. His eyes slowly open, locking with mine. “I was going to tell you this shit tomorrow, but I am going to tell you now.”

Oh my goodness, what could it be? He lifts me up and sets me down directly in front of him, with only a few inches separating our faces. His hand moves from my hair to the side of my face. “I have wanted you since the moment I met you, but I didn’t want to claim you until I deserve you, and I realize that I will never deserve you, my love. I also knew that I never wanted you to wait for me to come back from basic, or while I am deployed. I want you to live your dreams and do whatever you want to do in life.” He gives me that sexy smile. “But know that the moment I am done with the SEALs, I am coming for your ass.”

Oh my fucking god. I narrow my eyes at him. “Well, I wish you had told me sooner because I would have done this a long time ago.”

He gives me a questioning look, but I never stop to give him an answer. I lean forward, pressing my lips against his.

Heaven.

His hands are on my face, taking control of the kiss. His lips are soft as they move over mine in a way that I will never forget.

This is my first kiss.

A few minutes later, he slowly lets me go and presses his forehead against mine. “I have wanted that for so long,” he whispers.

I will wait for him. I will live my life and start my career—I want to be a nurse—but I want him. “I will wait for you, Liam,” I whisper, and I kiss his cheek and lie against his chest once more.

Liam

I feel fucking stupid. I thought for years that she could not want someone like me. I am the son of a prostitute and a man who spends his days beating up his wife. I started working the moment I was old enough, so I could eat. I was surrounded by pimps and guys paying my mother. Way too many times I saw her get her ass beat. I would step in the way and try to defend her. No matter how many times she did shitty things, she was still my mother. Then she was fucking killed.

Then I went to live with my father, who was an asshole, and I hate his fucking guts. His wife saw him beating my ass, so she left him, which shocked the shit out of me. I never expected that, nor did I expect her to say I had a sister. My sister had lived a fucked-up life just as I had.

My father’s wife helped me sneak out in the middle of the night, and she took me to my sister. It was the best thing that had ever happened to me. My sister gave me a life I’d never imagined I would have. Then I became a prospect for the Devil Souls MC and found out what I was meant to do in life. That was when I met her, Paisley.

Paisley

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