Page 55 of Persuading Liam

Finally allowed to move on my own accord, I ride his cock hard, gripping his shoulders until they’re red, driving us forward quickly into orgasm like it’s a race against insanity.

It doesn’t take long for us to get there. And the second we do, he says, “God Marley, I love you so much,” I come harder than I’ve ever come before.

I collapse against him, shivering, dizzy, unsure if he said what I thought he said, uncertain if I even know my name anymore.

He clutches me to him, dropping kisses all over my head, his body shuddering from orgasm too. “I love you Marley Green,” he says again, and then again as he kisses me.

I pull myself up from his chest to see if he’s just drunk on orgasm, but his face is serious. “What?”

He touches my face and smiles. We’re sweaty and our skin sticks to each other but I don’t mind. “I didn’t really mean to tell you this way, but it’s true. I’m in love with you. I have been for a while.”

Tears rush down my cheeks and my entire body fills with light as I comprehend what he’s saying. He loves me. Liam loves me. Marley Green. It’s the most beautiful feeling I’ve ever experienced. I take his face in my hands and kiss his lips. “I love you, too, Liam.”

The edges of worry that built up as he waited for my response to ease as he smiles. A full smile, one I’ve never seen, one that lights up the entire goddamn world. “You do?”

“I do.” I lean forward and kiss his lips. “I think I have since the beginning.”

His eyes fill with joy. “I think that’s the best thing I’ve ever heard.”

I grin and before I can answer, he continues.

“Before we go any further, though, I want to explain what happened the other morning.”

“You don’t have to,” I say, shaking my head.

“I want to,” he answers, “Well,needto.”

I settle against him, my heart beating wildly at the thought of what he might reveal. “I understand.”

He takes a deep breath. “My mother died fifteen years ago,” he starts, wincing with a pain that I can tell hasn’t eased in years. “Cancer.”

My heart splinters for him. “Oh Liam, I’m so sorry.”

He strokes my cheek. “She was the light of our family, the heart, the music... And the night she died…”

His voice trails off into several painful swallows, and I wrap my fingers around him to ground him, to let him know he’s not alone.

“I was with my father at the brewery after we said goodbye at the hospital. Just me and him and I watched him just…fall apart…completely…like every seam unraveled until he wasn’t the man I knew anymore.”

My breath hitches as he continues and my fingers grip him a little tighter.

“I watched him tear his office to the ground with his bare fingers, watched his soul leave his body…held him while he screamed for her. And all I could think was, ‘is this worth it’? Is loving someone worth this kind of pain?”

Tears falling, I press my head against his chest as he draws a shaky breath. “I decided that it wasn’t. I thought that living life blocked off from everyone else would be easier than losing anyone I loved. And it was, Marley…” He pauses and pulls me up until we’re face to face.

He traces the line of my cheek with his finger. “Until I met you.”

Tears rain down as I press my cheek into his hand. “Liam.”

“The night I lost my shit and left you here, I had a nightmare about that night with my father. That it wasme, that I lostyouand I panicked. I did the one thing I know how to do—run. Only it didn’t work. It was the first time I considered that livingwithout love might be worse than losing it.” He smiles at me and kisses my lips.

“I have a lot of work to do on me,” he goes on. “Gus is helping me find the right therapist, but I want to start this adventure with you with a clean slate. I want you to know that I’m broken, but you’re worth the effort to put myself back together.”

Sobbing, I kiss his lips. “Liam, you’re not broken, not any more than the rest of us. I love you just the way you are now in this moment, and I’ll love you when you’ve gotten help. I’m here for you. Whatever you need.”

His grin lights up the whole damn apartment. “I love you too, Marley…”

Before he can continue, my alarm goes off, and my heart stops.

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