Page 35 of So Bad It Must Be Good

Chapter Nine

“Shit, shit, shit.”

Kayla was jerked out of sleep by that repeated word and the bed she was in moving as though she were in an earthquake.

She blinked her eyes open, realizing for the second time in a week she was in Liam’s bed.

Heat suffused her cheeks this time though because she was quite sure of all the things she’d done with Liam last night. There was no fuzzy memory or wondering what might have happened.

She remembered it all in great detail.

“Shit,” he was muttering over and over, pawing around in drawers, pulling on a pair of jeans and then a T-shirt.

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t spare her a glance. “I’m supposed to meet my dad at seven to go over some business stuff before our first appointment of the day.”

Kayla glanced at the old digital clock on his nightstand. Well, shit was right. It was already seven.

“Is there anything I can do? Do you need me to—”

“You’re fine,” he said, plopping down on the bed and pulling on socks hurriedly. “Take your time, feel free to eat anything in the kitchen, and I’ll leave you my key so you can lock up.”

“But how will you get back in?”

“I’ll stop by your place on my way home from work.” He popped off the bed again, grabbing his phone and shoving it into his pocket.

“Oh, okay,” Kayla managed, still drowsy with sleep and not quite putting everything he said together. Except he was leaving, which was not exactly how she’d planned to spend the morning.

“Sorry.” He gave her a hurried kiss and almost missed her mouth completely, just hitting the corner. “I’m never late.” And with that, he strode into the bathroom.

His words made her smile. No, Liam wasn’t the type of man who would be late. She never would have listed punctual as an attribute she needed in a man, but the thing about Liam never being late was that it spoke not just to his deep sense of responsibility, but to the fact he was a man you could trust.

The kind of man who’d put a woman, if not first, at least on equal ground. He cared that other people were okay, and if they weren’t, he wanted to help. That was quite the amazing thing.

She had the terrible tendency of dating guys who treated her as more of an afterthought. Someone to pursue, but ultimately be bored with the moment the catch had been made.

Come to think of it, that’s probably what had happened with Aiden. He’d been interested until she’d so enthusiastically said yes to him asking her out.

Kayla bit her lip as she pulled the blankets up to her chin. Truth be told, she hadn’t thought about Aiden in days. Had she put Liam in an awkward position by ending up falling for him instead?

She rolled her eyes at herself. Yes, because Aiden had been so interested. Interested enough to miss their date, send his brother, and spend the next few days not contacting her in any way.

Yeah, Aiden was fine.

Liam came out of the bathroom, keys in hand. He was twisting what she presumed to be his house key off a ring. “My last appointment should be over around five. Will you be home?”

“I should be.”

He placed the key on the nightstand. “I’ll text first, but I’ll swing by and pick it up. Sound good?”

Kayla nodded. He shoved his keys into his pockets, giving her only the most cursory glance.

“I’ll see you later then,” he muttered, and was walking quickly out the bedroom door before he’d finished the sentence.

Kayla watched him go. She should get up and get dressed and get out of his house. She had résumés to send out, job listings to scour. She had things to do. But before she could put her mind to any of them, Liam reappeared.

“Fuck it,” he said emphatically, and for the first time this morning his eyes were on her. Fierce and hot, like she was something he had to possess. The shiver that went through her had nothing to do with fear and everything to do with excitement, and then she was crushed against him, his mouth hot and wild on hers, his tongue delving into her mouth with no preamble.

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