Page 87 of Blood Money

“Yes, so much. I should have told you last night.”

“I love you too. I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid you didn’t…that I was imaging this being more than just sex.”

I pulled him to me and kissed him. “It’s a lot more. Marry me.”

His made a strangled sound. “What?”

“Will you marry me?”

“Is this really the time to talk about that?”

“Liam.”

He held my gaze for a moment, then smiled. “Yes.”

I kissed him then, long and hard. When he started to grow more frantic and his hands slipped into my hair, I took hold of them again and pulled away. “There’s something else.”

“That wasn’t enough of a surprise?”

If only. “We made some agreements when we met with Cathal.”

“What kind of agreements?”

“Lucien told him I would marry you.”

Liam narrowed his eyes and pulled his hands away. “What if I’d said no? Wait. You didn’t just say you loved me so I’d agree to your plan, did you?”

Of fuck. I couldn’t let him think that. “No, baby. I swear. I told Lucien I loved you when he asked me why he should help us. You can ask him.”

“You said that—to Lucien?”

“Yes. I know I should have told you first, but?—”

Liam pushed my hair off my forehead as he leaned in for a kiss. “I told your father I loved you.”

“Fuck me.”

He grinned and pulled back to look at me. “Do we have time?”

“Sadly, no. O’Keefe wanted something in exchange for his blessing, so Lucien offered for you to be a liaison between our two families.”

Liam shook his head. “I don’t want to be involved, not like that. They don’t even care about me.”

“There are some things that you haven’t been told. You were supposed to know about your parents’ true identities after they passed away. Your real identity wasn’t communicated to you like it should’ve been. I don’t know the reasons, but if we’re going to make this work with both our families, I don’t think this is negotiable.”

Liam pressed his hand to his eyes and exhaled. “I never wanted to be part of this.”

“But you were always going to be if you stayed with me. Are you regretting your choice?”

He dropped his hands and looked at me again. “No. It’s not what I would have chosen, but I’ll do anything if it means I can be with you.”

“You’re going to be my husband, and I am going to pamper you like you’ve never imagined.”

“I don’t doubt that, but what about Ava? You haven’t even met her, and it’s not right for you to have to support her too.”

Didn’t he understand that anyone he cared about automatically mattered to me? “I would gladly take care of your sister, but that’s not going to be an issue.”

“What do you mean?” Liam’s confusion just made me want to kiss him again.

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