Page 93 of Power Play

“Liar,” he said and kissed my cheek. “It’s okay. I’m thinking about it too.”

I was powerless to keep my mouth shut. I couldn’t stop myself from saying, ‘what are you thinking about,’ if I were paid a million dollars.

“I’m thinking about how you taste. And how many hours are between now and when that little girl goes to bed so I can fuck you the way you want to be fucked.”

“How…” I swallowed. “How do you think…?” I couldn’t sayhow do you think I want to be fucked. The words were too dirty to say out loud in the sunshine surrounded by Tess and birds and wide open space. They were words for closed doors and dark rooms.

“Hard,” he whispered. He apparently didn’t have the same hangups. “Deep. And by me.”

I felt a bloom of heat and damp between my legs, and I had no idea how he could turn me on with just some words in my ear. When plenty of other men left me cold and bored when they were trying their hardest.

Well, not plenty, I thought. But some. Enough that I stopped trying, thinking there was something wrong with me.

“Liam!” Tess cried and waved her hand, beckoning him to her side. She crouched in the sand, fascinated by something.

Liam kissed my shoulder. “That’s my shirt. I like you in it,” he said and jumped to his feet, going down to the edge of the water to study whatever Tess had found.

They were cute together. Their heads tilted in identical ways. She looked up at him and I didn’t know if it was my imagination or what, but I could have sworn their noses were the exact same shape. Long and straight. And their chins were the same kind of pugnacious.

Stop, Kit, I told myself and took a sip of my coffee.

But once I saw the similarities they were hard to unsee.

It wasanother perfect summer beach day. When the sun got too hot and Liam complained of being starved, we packed it in from the beach, but not before we all picked up twenty pieces of trash.

“My mom says we have to do that whenever we go to the beach or the park,” Tess said. “We have to leave it better than when we found it.”

“Your mom is a nice lady,” I said, and Tess, for the first time since we’d been together, nodded, but looked weepy.

“You miss her?” I asked, curling my arm around her shoulder and giving her a squeeze. She nodded.

“You know what I do when I miss my mom?” Liam said, scooping Tess up under his arm until she started screaming and laughing at the same time. “I go have pie for breakfast. Just a big piece of pie.”

“Do you really?” I asked.

“You doubt me?” he asked, pretending to be offended.

“Just seems like you are looking for a reason to have pie for breakfast.”

“Well, I am, but it does remind me of her. So?” He looked at me and gave Tess a jostle. “What do you say? Pie, and then, let’s see, you probably don’t want to go back to the bookstore again.”

“I do!” Tess cried.

“Nah, you’re probably like, been there, done that,” he teased. “You probably want to go to the bait and tackle shop instead.”

“I don’t even know what bait and tackle is!” Tess cried.

We both laughed, but Liam kept up the ruse the whole way there, listing shops Tess would have zero interest in, all the while knowing he would take us back to the bookstore.

My heart swelled with something…something I wouldn’t name. This week was temporary. I knew that more than anyone. What I didn’t need to do was fall in love with this man.

In the bright sunshine, surrounded by the squawk of birds and Tess’s laughter, I was worried it might be too late.

Liam

You have to love a diner.Honestly, was there anything better? All day breakfast. Pie whenever you wanted it. Carrot cake, if that’s your thing. Fried chicken no matter what and always, always, a decent meatloaf sandwich.

Pappas Diner gave off every vibe of being top shelf. Great big, comfortable booths. It smelled like coffee and french fries. And… best of all… the spinning pie rack was full. Cream pies, three-layer chocolate cakes, a dozen different fruit pies. It was the best pie rack I’d seen in ages.

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