Page 7 of Liam
Our eyes lock, and a jolt shoots through me, electric and unexpected. My mouth opens, a sarcastic quip ready, but the words die on my tongue.
We remain frozen in this strange tableau, water cascading around us. Liam’s white shirt, now translucent, clings to the contours of his chest. His hair, usually so perfect, hangs in wet strands, framing his face. Every point where our bodies touch feels like a livewire, sending sparks through my skin.
His eyes hold mine. The intensity in them catches me off guard, making my heart race for reasons I don’t want to examine.
“Well,” I manage, my voice unsteady, “I hope you didn’t have plans to wear that suit again. Though I’m sure you have a closet full of identical ones, right?”
Liam remains silent, his eyes roving over my face, searching. The weight of his gaze makes me want to squirm, but I hold still, unwilling to break whatever spell has fallen over us.
The sprinklers continue their relentless downpour, but we stand unmoving, locked in this moment. Transitioning from anger to...this, whatever it is, leaves me reeling.
“If you wanted to cool off,” he says, “you could have just said so. No need for the dramatics.”
Chapter Three
ALERIA
My heart thunders in my chest, a staccato rhythm that matches the slow drip of water pooling around us as the sprinklers finally sputter to a halt.
Oh no. No, no, no. This is not attraction. It can’t be. It’s just proximity and adrenaline. And possibly heatstroke. Yes, definitely heatstroke.Do labs get heatstroke?
I attempt to push my soaked hair out of my face, only to tangle my fingers in the wild curls. Great. Now I probably look like a drowned poodle. Liam, on the other hand, seems to have mastered the art of looking good while drenched.
His expensive shirt clings to him in all the right places, like some sort of avant-garde fashion statement. It’s not fair.
“Well,” I blurt out, aiming for snark but landing somewhere between squeaky and flustered, “I hope you’re happy.You’ve now made your mark on my lab. Literally. With water. Everywhere.”
Smooth, Aleria. Real smooth.
Liam arches an eyebrow. “If I remember right, you’re the one who set off the sprinklers.”
“Only because of you.”
Liam’s lips curl into a smirk that sends my stomach into a series of complicated gymnastic routines. “Believe me, Dr. James, if I were trying to make my mark, you’d know it.”
Was that flirting? No, impossible. He probably uses that tone to order coffee. Or talk to his houseplants.
“You know,” Liam says, running a hand through his wet hair in a way that should be illegal, “most people would be eager to leave after being trapped and soaked.”
I snort, a most undignified sound that makes me wince. “Well, most people don’t have research to salvage,” I retort, turning to my workstation to hide the blush creeping up my cheeks. “But please, don’t let me keep you from your thrilling life of whatever it is you do. Counting money? Professional smirking?”
As I gather up soggy papers, the lab door unlocks with a click. Mia Chen, my lab mate and best friend, bursts in.
“I heard the alarm. Is everything okay?” she exclaims, her short frame occupying the doorway. “What in Einstein’s name happened here?” Mia’s eyes widen at the water still dripping from the ceiling.
“A minor mishap with the sprinklers,” I say, wringing out my lab coat. Then I remember my manners, or what’s left of them after this disaster. “Oh. Mia, this is Liam Valeur, CEO of Valeur Tech. Mr. Valeur, this is Dr. Mia Chen, my lab partner.”
“And occasional disaster control specialist,” Mia adds with a pointed look at the sprinklers. Her eyes dart between us, no doubt noting my flushed face and Liam’s rigid posture. “Though apparently, I’m branching out to flood control.”
Liam offers a charming smile, somehow looking elegant despite being drenched. “Dr. Chen. A pleasure.” He glances at her workstation across the lab, where complex quantum calculations fill multiple screens. “I've read your papers on spectral analysis. Impressive work.”
“Thank you,” Mia says, her professional tone not quite hiding her surprise that the CEO of Valeur Tech reads physics papers. She shoots me a look that clearly says we’ll be talking about this later. “I hope you’re alright?”
“I’m perfectly fine,” Liam says, but I catch the edge in his voice. “Dr. James was just giving me a very thorough demonstration of your safety systems.”
“Let me go find some towels for you both.”
Liam shakes his head. “No need for that. It’s just water. I’ll dry off in no time.”
