Page 50 of Tomorrow's Never Promised

“I wish you could find a school in New York,” I add. I hate that my best friend is across the country.

“Me too,” Conor smiles and rubs Lexi’s cheek with his thumb.

“I wouldloveto come back, but I already got into a program back in Arizona.”

“Maybe I’ll be able to get some time to come and see you,” Conor says hopefully.He’s cute. The way he looks at Lexi says just how infatuated he is with her.

“I wouldlovethat,” she says standing. “I’ll be right back, just need to use the restroom.”

“Do you know where it is?” Conor asks, his eyes twinkling with mischief.

“Um…no I don’t. This place is huge,” she laughs, wrapping a towel around herself.

“I’ll show you, angel.” Conor wastes no time getting out toassistLexi. That leaves me and Liam alone.

“They won’t be back for a while,” Liam chuckles. He finishes off his beer and grabs a new one.

“Nope.” I finish off the rest of my wine. Liam grabs the bottle and refreshes my glass. His eyes reach mine and they are hungry and inquisitive. “Thanks.”

“How are the legs?” His hands strum along the pavers.

“Sore,” I admit. “I guess I was never really doing it right.” He removes his hand from around my back and dips it into the water. Strong fingers begin to massage my thigh. I can’t even help the moan that escapes my mouth. “Ahh.”

“I can teach you some more routines if you’d like. We can be gym buddies.” He inches his body closer to me, his nipple ring brushing my arm. Liam’s eyes are piercing mine now and I couldn’t look away if I tried.

He’s captivated me.

He moves his hand higher up my thigh into dangerous territory. His knuckles graze my bikini bottom, but it's enough for me to shiver with need. I watch his eyes go to my nipples which are now protruding through the thin fabric.

He leans down to whisper in my ear. “What is it about hot water andyouthat gets me so fucking hard?”

Liam removes his hand and cups my face. His thumb runs over my lips. “Madison. I want you so badly right now. If you were mine, I’d already be buried deep inside you.” I clench my thighs tightly together.It’s so wrong that I want that just as badly as he does.

My rational brain kicks in and I pull away from him. “Liam. We need to stop this. We can’t. Killian is my boyfriend.He’s your brother. There is no chance for us anymore. We need to stop living in the past.Please. Just. Stop.” He looks wounded by my words. I want to turn around and kiss that scruffy face.

But I can’t.

I get out and wrap the towel around me.

“Madison.” I hear him say behind me but I don’t bother to turn back. Instead, I book it to the house and place as much distance as I can between us.

The last fewweeks with Killian gone have been nothing short of chaotic. I’ve been holed up in the office going over contracts and working my arse off to run the syndicate in my brother’s absence. Madison has done nothing but mope around—when she is actuallyoutsideof her bedroom. Killian has only made contact with her a handful of times.

She takes her meals in herroom. Her schoolwork gets done from herroom. The only time I see her is when she uses the gym once a day—and even then, she avoids me. She told me she would prefer to work out alone.

I check in on her throughout the day, but she hasn’t said much to me. She keeps those damn earbuds in the majority of the time, only nodding at my presence.

Enough is enough. I’m putting a stop to this behavior. Her J-term is over today, and it is time to celebrate. I am planning a night out for us at The Triskelion. Her roommate Leah, Carly, Lexi, and her sister Mikayla have all signed NDAs and will be surprising her in the VIP. I want to partake in some of the festivities, so I have arranged for Colin and Kieran to come with us for extra security.I need this night as much as she does.

Maddy passes me on her usual route from the gym to the kitchen to grab an iced green tea. She smiles at me for the first time since our little hot tub night. I let her pass me, wanting to rile her up in the kitchen. It’s been too long since I’ve been able to play around with her.

She has her back turned to me, headphones in, grabbing the freshly prepared tea from the refrigerator. I sneak up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist. Madison jumps at the contact, gasping as she turns around in my arms. Her eyes are wide with fear or perhaps hope that I was Killian.

I snag her headphones from her ears, replacing my arms around her waist again. My hands refuse to move an inch from around her perfect body. She pulls back, trying to put space between us, but I only tighten my hold on her.

“Liam,” she puts a hand on her chest. “You surprised me. I thought you were…” she trails off, confirming my theory.

“Sorry, love. Just me.” I shrug, masking the pain I feel that she was hoping I was my brother.

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