Page 158 of Power Play

“What? My sparkling personality doesn’t do it for you?” he asks, and I laugh. “Who needs a wedding band when there’s a hickey on your neck that tells the whole story?”

I rub my thumb over the little purple mark I covered with makeup earlier. The blemish took forever to hide, and I don’t know if he’s trying to be funny or telling the truth.

“And what’s the whole story?” I ask.

“That my wife took my cock so well last night, I had to bite her throat to keep from yelling her name,” Liam says, his voice dropping low.

He takes a step away from me, eyes raking down my body and soaking in my outfit.

The pink dress shows off my shoulders. The thin straps are an unwise choice for the cooler night temperatures but far too cute to ruin with a coat. The silk is cool against my skin, hugging my curves and hitting at the top of my thighs.

Months ago I would’ve felt self-conscious with his slow and tempting assessment. I would’ve tried to cover myself up or deflect the attention away, nervous about what he might think.

Not tonight.

Tonight I feel powerful.

Beautiful.

Like a new woman.

“You are…” He trails off and shakes his head, like he’s trying to get rid of every thought he’s ever had. He glances up at the stars before looking back down at me, his jaw tense and his voice hoarse. “Unbelievable.”

“Am I?”

Liam steps back toward me and cups my cheeks with warm hands. “The first day I met you, I thought you were the most beautiful woman in the room. Any room,” he tells me, and the world stops moving. “I’ve seen you bust your ass on the ice. I’ve seen you naked. I’ve seen you in blazers that hurt my eyes and sweatpants and team-issued polos. I’ve seen you in a hundred different outfits, and you’ve looked good in every single one of them. But this.This.” He blows out a shaky breath. “This is adangerous look of yours, Piper. It makes me want things I don’t think I’m allowed to have.”

There’s a lump in my throat I can’t swallow around. I’m painstakingly aware of the scent of his cologne. How delicately he holds me, like he’s afraid I’m going to break if he lets go, and how still and quiet it is around us.

“What kind of things?” I whisper, and the question gets snatched up by the night air.

He dips his head so our foreheads press together and lets out a sigh. A war rages inside him. I can sense it—a battle of self-control and the desire to share all the secrets of the universe with me, and I wonder which side is going to win.

“You know what kind of things,” he murmurs.

It hits me then, with an intensity so strong, so overpowering, I almost fall over because of it.

Here, underneath the stars, in his hold with a touch so grounding, sosafe, nothing about this feels fake.

It feels real and deep and terrifyingly promising.

There’s a future, a life where we grow old together and I never, not for a single second, doubt my worth.

From the way Liam is looking at me, unblinking and soft and like I’m the most important thing in the world, I know he realizes it too.

I want to know all the things he’s hiding.

I want to know why he’s smiling and what it would take to get him to do that every minute of every day.

I want to be the one to make him happy.

God, I like him so much.

It’s a full-circle moment, going from wondering if I’d ever have feelings for someone again after Steven broke me to falling headfirst for a man who couldn’t be more his opposite.

He took away my trust while Liam restores it.

He made me feel small while Liam makes me feel like an equal.

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