Page 84 of Power Play

I laughed, because that was ridiculous. I lived alone and was trying to get my half-brother to talk to me. And Wyatt and I were a thousand miles away from each other all the time. My family was tiny. I had more money than I needed, who cared what I spent it on?

“Honestly, Janice, you’ve lost me a little bit.”

“If you do this thing with Kit, she’ll just be another satellite in orbit around you, and something tells me that wouldn’t be goodfor either of you. I’m just putting it out there,” she said. “Now let me talk to my daughter.”

Kit

I could hearthe soft rumble of Tess’s and Liam’s voices in the bedroom as I washed out my wine glass and set it on the rack to dry. Part of me was tempted to go in there and see what they were talking about. We’d had such a good day and if we were debriefing about it all – I wanted in. I heard Tess laugh and I took one step towards the hallway and her bedroom, but stopped myself.

Even after our discussion on the beach today, I still needed to remind myself of one very important fact.

All of this was temporary. Even if something did happen with me and Liam - and I wasn’t so naïve to think it wouldn’t happen – I’d had a hard time not being attracted to him when he was a jerk. Now he was going to be Charming Liam? Fun Liam? Good with kids Liam?

Pretty much all hope was lost that he wasn’t going to find his way into my panties eventually.

Then what happened?

Let’s see, if his pattern held true, we would date maybe a couple of weeks. Then he would end things before anything got serious. He’d be the nicest ex-boyfriend ever. Would probably give me some kind of job to prove there were no hard feelings, and if I knew him, he’d find a way to help me pay for college.

If I let myself get swept up in him, in his looks and his easy-going attitude and the way I felt when I was around him, I might even be tempted to stay. To be what… his dog walker? He didn’teven have a dog, but Liam was the kind of guy who would get a dog just to keep an ex-girlfriend from getting her feelings hurt.

Not that I was an ex-girlfriend yet. That was my choice to make. If I was going to even be his future ex-girlfriend.

Liam stepped out into the hallway. He wore a thin t-shirt that clung to his shoulders and a pair of old shorts that ended above his knees. He filled that hallway in a way that was weirdly comforting. He was solid. Big. He could protect a person if they needed protecting. I remembered the way he curled that big body over mine…

“Kit?” he said, looking up at me from the far end of the hallway.

I realized I was standing barefoot in an old dress I’d put on, and I had a hand pressed to my stomach. I was staring at him.

“You okay?” he asked and took a step towards me.

Liam walked towards me, all those muscles shifting and coiling. That look on his face like he meant business and that business was me and my body. I was a deer and he was a wolf. He didn’t stop until he was right in front of me, his stomach against mine. I could feel the muscles of his thighs press into mine. Our bare toes touched.

“You want me to kiss you?” he said, and I was silent. The words locked in my throat, behind my pride. Buried in my fear. His eyes traveled over my face, like he was taking note of my wide pupils and my parted lips. The heartbeat pounding in my throat.

“I can see how much you want it, Kit.” He brushed his finger over my nipple. I wasn’t wearing a bra and his touch through the thin fabric made me gasp.

Fuck it. I am doing this. Five years of denial and I was going to gorge myself on the creamy sugary deliciousness of Liam Locke.

I was ready to be his future ex-girlfriend.

“Kiss me already,” I said.

He shook his head. “Remember what I said?” he asked, his hands in fists at his side like he was physically stopping himself from touching me. I felt his restraint like a thrumming electricity in the air. Every breath I took, I lifted towards him like my body was taking this distance between us into its own hands.

I shook my head. At this moment, drunk on the nearness of him, I couldn’t remember my own name.

“I said next time, you had to kiss me.”

I stood there breathing. Waiting. Surely, he would break. Surely, he would do what I couldn’t seem to force myself to do. What we both wanted.

“Not ready yet? Because you’re still not sure you can trust me. That’s fair. I’ll wait. I’ll wait for a really long time. Good night, Kit,” he said and walked away.

20

Liam

Me: Yo, Wy, you ever going to text me back? I’ve got real stuff happening.

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