Page 36 of So Bad It Must Be Good

She wound her arms around his neck and he all but pulled her off the bed with simply the strength of his arms around her.

No one, ever, had kissed her like she was something both precious and necessary. No one, ever, had made her feel this heart-pumping desire mixed with some chest-constricting warmth. But Liam made her feel both things, and so many more unnameable reactions.

He pulled his mouth away, though his arms remained around her, keeping her pulled slightly above being prone on the bed. He was breathing heavily, a bit of a dazed expression on his face.

She had dazed him. Her. It was that power from last night. It was a giddy rightness. All things she’d never had. Never known she’d wanted. But oh, oh, she wanted him and all he could do to her.

His crystal-blue eyes ablaze with something Kayla felt like she understood on some cellular level even though she couldn’t put it into words. She just knew it was . . . more. So much more than she was used to.

And she liked it.

“Stop and get condoms before you come over tonight,” she managed to say, though she was panting as if she’d run a mile.

His mouth curved, sharp and all the more lethal because he employed it so infrequently. “I might forget my own name, but I will not forget the condoms.”

“Now, go,” she urged, smiling at him. “I hear you’re never late.”

The smile he wore now was softer, the quirk of one side. Responsible, kind Liam as opposed to feral, lustful Liam. So many facets to this man she never would have guessed at.

“I’ll see you soon,” he replied, giving her one quick kiss before letting her go completely. He stepped out of the room, glancing back once and offering a wave.

She knew she was probably letting her heart lead and gallop ahead when it would be more sensible and responsible to keep her feelings in check, to wait and see how things went. She should be careful if only to avoid getting hurt.

But she was always careful. Always waiting for someone else to make the first move or show her the next step, and the thing was, it had never once stopped her from getting hurt. Being the timid, fragile doormat didn’t keep you from getting stepped on or broken. It just kept other people from having to see they’d done it.

No more. Improved . . . Well, “Improving Kayla” was not going to be cautious. She was going to embrace this new hand she’d been dealt.

And if Liam wasn’t on the same page, well, she’d survive. She’d at the very least get some sex out of the deal—and if actual sex was anything like last night, it would well be worth a little heartache.

* * *

“You got a girl.”

Liam jerked at Dad’s accusation as he bandaged up the scrape across his knuckles. He didn’t bother to look up and into what would be Dad’s too-shrewd gaze. He focused on getting a bandage over the cut.

“Girl?”

“Girl. Woman. Whatever. You’re never this distracted, son. Hell, you had better focus when you had mono.”

Liam shot Dad a wry glance. “Exaggerate much?” Except maybe today it wasn’t that big of an exaggeration. He’d thought about Kayla all day. Too much. Far too much. He was a guy who liked sex. What guy didn’t? Sometimes he’d wondered if it was a bit much, all in all, but it had never been this bad, this all-encompassing need.

But this whole distraction thing wasn’t solely about sex or the almost having of it. It had more to do with the woman herself.

“Well, since you aren’t sick, best as I can tell, it’s got to be a woman.”

“Maybe it is.” Liam finished with his bandage and then went to his toolbox to put away his tools. It was already almost five o’clock and he’d put in a full day with Dad. He still needed to stop somewhere and buy condoms, actually use said condoms with Kayla, and, if he had an ounce of sense left in his head, he’d go home and do some work in his shop for the market on Wednesday.

“Going to tell me about her?”

Liam shrugged. He supposed he could tell Dad that it was Kayla Gallagher, but if he told Dad, Dad would tell Mom, who would mention it to Aiden, and as of yet Liam hadn’t had any luck getting ahold of Aiden to tell him that his little plan of getting Kayla was over.

She was Liam’s now.

Some people would probably consider that a pretty archaic way of thinking, and those people could go fuck themselves.

He locked his toolbox and nodded to Dad as they headed out of the Coreli’s house where they’d managed to fiddle with their ancient dishwasher enough to get it working again.

“Not getting any younger,” Dad commented as he pulled open the truck bed so Liam could shove the toolbox into its spot.

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