Page 26 of Passion Restored

Liz cleared her throat, and Murphy turned to her, his smile in place. Nothing seemed to faze him, and she kind of liked that.

“Come on in,” Murphy said as he moved out of the way. “Everyone is in the back since Owen had us put those built-in heaters out there. It’s not too chilly but with him still being on the mend and Rowan wanting to play outside, we wanted to be careful. I’ll go put the salad in the fridge since we’re still working on cheese and veggies and things. Drinks are outside so make sure the crew shows you where they are.” He hurried off, and Liz watched as Tessa followed his movements.

“Are you sure you don’t want to bang him?” Liz whispered.

“Who has the dirty mouth now?” Tessa asked with a laugh. “And as much as I love watching that man move, I’m having more fun flirting.” She held up a hand before they made their way to the back of the house where the French doors led to the patio. “It’s not the same as you and Owen. I’ve already gone over this. Now put a smile on your face and be prepared to have fun. You need it.”

“I don’t know how you convinced me to show up here when I have so many things to do at the house. Plus, I can’t drink since I’m on-call tonight. And I don’t know how I ended up in these jeans. I can barely breathe in them.”

“I can barely breathe watching you walk in them.”

Liz froze at the sound of Owen’s voice, and Tessa grinned. “Hey, Owen. Thanks for inviting us.”

Liz turned, her body on fire from Owen’s mere presence alone.

“Thanks for coming,” Owen said, his eyes on Liz and not on Tessa.

“Come on, Tessa,” Murphy put in as he shuffled past them. “I think I see a drink with your name on it.”

“Hell, yeah,” Tessa said as she pushed past Liz. “Have fun, you two!”

With that, the French doors slammed shut, and Liz was left alone in a hallway with the man she’d told herself she would stay away from. From where they stood, no one could see them, and Owen’s doors seemed to be thick enough that she couldn’t hear a thing going on outside. It was as if they were the only two people in the world, and she didn’t know what to do about that. She hadn’t even said hello to the other guests, and yet, the only thing she wanted to do was move closer to this particular Gallagher.

“So…Murphy invited us. I hope that’s okay.”

Owen took one step forward, the heat of him so close she knew she’d singe if she touched him. “Murphy seems to have ideas about us, and I wasn’t going to stop him from asking you and Tessa over.”

He reached up and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, and she licked her suddenly dry lips. How could this man do that to her? She didn’t even know him, and yet she wanted to, wanted to know the feel of him, the way he tasted, the way he moved.

“Where is your sling?” she asked, her voice annoyingly breathy. “Shouldn’t you be taking it easy?”

His finger traced her jaw, and her breath caught. “I’m allowed to move without it. I’m almost fully healed as it is other than the road rash and some aches and pains. And as for taking it easy, I’m pretty sure you’ll be the judge of that, don’t you think?”

She blinked, unaware that he’d moved closer, their hips now brushing, the long, thick, line of his cock pressing against her belly.

Holy hell. She was in over her head, and yet she wasn’t sure she cared.

“What are we doing?”

He cupped her face, his head lowering. “I don’t know, Liz. I don’t fucking know.”

When his lips touched hers, her eyes closed, and her mouth parted. He tasted of soda and Owen, sweet and salty. She wanted to devour him, but with the way he kissed her, she knew it would be the other way around.

Before she could think, he’d pulled her toward the open door behind them and had her back pressed to the other side of it, his hands on her body, her hands on his back. The quick snap of the lock told her he’d locked them into the room, and she couldn’t focus on that. Instead, she slid her hands up his back, under the thin knit of his sweater, and moaned into him. His skin was so hot, so soft, and yet she wanted more.

Owen pulled away, his breath coming in pants as he reached under her shirt, cupping her breasts over her bra. “You’re so fucking sexy, Liz. Did you think about what you were going to do to me when you showed up in those jeans? I want to pull them down ever so slightly so I can cup that thick ass of yours as I fuck you. Are you going to let me do that? Are you going to let me sink my cock into that pussy so we both can come hard against this door?”

She shuddered in his hold, gasping as he pinched her nipple. “We shouldn’t.”

His eyes darkened. “Tell me why.”

“Because…because…” Well, hell, she couldn’t think of a good reason right then. “We’re neighbors!” she blurted. “It would make things complicated.”

He licked her lip before biting down. “We can make sure we don’t complicate things. I like you, Liz. I want to get to know you. I want to feel you.”

“You say that, but people always complicate things. It’s how it works.”

He bit her earlobe, and her legs went weak. “Then we’ll be careful. Kiss me, Liz. Kiss me back.”

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