Page 23 of Beckoning Liam

“Count on it. I have all kinds of plans for you when we get back to London. I am going to be the envy of every other Dom at Baker Street.”

Feeling foolish for even caring in their current circumstances, she asked, “Does that mean you want to scene with me at the club?”

He turned to look at her, his eyes searching her face. “I don’t just tie up any ole girl on a train and fuck her silly. You want a custom corset? That’s not a problem, but it goes along with a collar.”

Stunned, Becks, gasped, “You’re asking me if I’d accept a collar from you?”

Never in her life had she imagined wanting to be collared by any man, and now it sounded like the most romantic thing in the world.

“No,” he said evenly, and she felt like she’d been punched in the gut. He shook his head. “Part of me says I ought to put you over my knee, bare your pretty ass, and spank it red in front of all of these very vanilla types. And the other part says I haven’t made myself or my intentions clear, but I get a pass on that because we’ve been a little busy trying to save the world. So, I wasn’t asking you if you’d accept a collar from me; I was tellingyou I was going to put one around your very pretty neck and declare you off the market.”

Sitting back and stupidly feeling happier than she could remember feeling in a long time, she grinned, and said, “Anything else I should know, Master?”

That made him smile. “Yeah, there’ll be a ring coming your way in the near future.”

She wrapped both her arms around the one of his closest to her. “I’m awfully happy to hear that. Would you mind me telling you that I think I’ve fallen in love with you?”

“You think or you know? You need to be definitive about these things, and yes, I would mind very much if you said that.”

She was fairly sure he was just giving her a hard time. “Why?”

“Because I’m old school, baby, and I believe the guy should say it first.”

“So do you?”

“I’m talking about a ring and a collar.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean love, and I need to hear it.”

Liam groaned. “God, you’re a sucker for the romantic shit, aren’t you?”

“I’m afraid so.”

He laughed. “Fine then. I’m not sure how or when, but unlike some people in this relationship, I am quite sure that I absolutely know I am in love with you. Happy?”

“More so than I have ever been. Now, could you do one more little thing for me?”

“Name it.”

“Keep us both alive so we can live that future.”

“Done,” he said, cupping her head with his hand and kissing her deeply.

They shared a quiet moment where she could actually believe they’d live to see that future. And then, the man with thenewspaper was folding it, rising from his seat, his gaze sharp, predatory.

“Stay here, Becks. You wait for me.”

In an instant, Liam was on his feet, the sharpness in his gaze returning as he moved down the aisle, drawing the man’s attention. The man she’d never seen as anything but graceful, stumbled, reaching down for the small blade he kept in his boot under his jeans. Liam had managed to smuggle it onboard by avoiding any kind of security prior to boarding the plane. Pulling it free, he slipped it up and beneath the man’s ribs, straight into his heart. The man gasped briefly, and Liam eased him back into his seat, stuffing a pillow under the dead man’s jacket to stop any blood that might leak out.

Chapter Ten

Liam

Liam’s heart beat like a metronome on crack as he wove through the dense throng of travelers at Lyon's international airport. Becks was a shadow at his side. Their arrival had been quiet, unannounced—but it hadn’t been without its hiccups. Killing the man on the plane hadn’t been on Liam’s agenda, but he had recognized Sokolov’s man had been about to make his move, and so Liam had been forced to make his own.

"Keep your eyes open," Liam murmured, his voice low and steady, a command that resonated with his dominant nature, even as it sought to reassure. Becks nodded, her head turning slowly on her neck as she scanned the crowd. God, she was as gorgeous as she was brave. At this point, most Oxford professors would have been a basket case, but not Becks. She trusted him to keep them alive, so he could give her the promised future.

He hadn’t meant to tell her he loved her or his plans, but it had just slipped out and once it had, there was nothing to do but own it and make her believe, and believe she had.

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