Page 73 of Fix Them Up
‘You’re annoying me now.’
‘Prove it.’
‘Okay.’ He stepped back. ‘Well, I agreed to renovate your house, and I saved you from a collapsing tent.’
‘That was just to gloat.’ I crossed my arms.
Liam smiled. ‘That was a bonus. I fixed the lock on your house because I couldn’t stand the thought of you not being safe. I make you dinner every night because I refuse to let you starve. And ’cos a bag of crisps doesn’t count as dinner.’ He took a step forward, standing in front of me. ‘And there is the fact I can’t stop thinking about you all the fucking time. I can’t get you out of my head.’
Breath left my lungs at his words, but a bit of me couldn’t believe what he was saying.
‘But when I kissed you, you looked like you wanted the ground to swallow you up.’
Liam looked at me through dark eyelashes. ‘I didn’t want the ground to swallow me up. You were tipsy. And you’d had a rough day. You were grieving, and I didn’t want to… take advantage. Knowing you might not be in control of all your decisions. That you might regret it.’ Liam’s face tightened. ‘I’ve woken up and regretted things I’ve done before. It’s not a pleasant feeling.’
‘I’m sorry,’ I said quietly.
‘It’s fine,’ he said, twirling a lock of my hair around his finger.
My eyes were laser-focused on his earnest face as he shared this with me. This was so new, so delicate. We were both walking on a tightrope, both scared to look down. His eyes met mine, then flickered to my mouth. I felt a swoop in my stomach.
He leaned in, whispering in my ear. ‘The kiss was everything, Kat. I haven’t felt this way about anyone. Ever. So I wanted to be careful. I wanted to do things properly. I’ve spent so much time fucking things up, and I can’t do that again. Not with you.’
His hand touched my elbow and traced it down to my palm tentatively. Exploring. Asking a question. I answered by touching him back. A flicker of relief on his face. It had taken a lot for him to confess.
His chest was heaving, his voice faltering.
Liam was nervous.
So, I made the first move.
I pushed up onto my toes and pressed my mouth against his.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The shock seemed to ripple through his body, briefly freezing him. His hands came up to my face and into my hair. The kiss started slowly and softly as if it was only supposed to be a short kiss, a stolen moment at midnight. My feet were between his, his hand holding a runaway curl at my cheek. His lips were firm and unrelenting against mine but not pushing further.
And I wanted further.
So, I ran my hands into his hair and pulled gently.
Liam listened, answering my demands. He pushed me up onto the kitchen worktop, standing between my legs. My chest flush against his. Then, he deepened the kiss, all tongues and teeth.
‘Since I first saw you in this kitchen, I’ve wanted to press you up against this counter,’ Liam said, kissing down my neck. ‘Every day since, I wanted to taste you. See if you taste as sweet as you look.’
I made a noise that came out like a half moan, half complaint that he’d moved further from my lips. I was eating up these confessions like my life depended on it. Liam gently bit my neck, and a soft hum came from his throat. I pulled him closer again, drawing his lips to mine, where I wanted them. When his tongue brushed mine, I groaned.
He was good at this. Really good.
He touched, kissed, and pressed in all the right places. His armsroamed but kept me locked in on the counter. I was panting, wanting – no, needing – more from him.
‘What do you want, Red?’ Liam said, panting lightly. I glanced down and saw that he was impressively hard in his boxers.
‘I want that,’ I said, leaning over to caress him, but Liam’s hand touched my wrist. He brought it up to his lips, kissing the sensitive part of my wrist.
‘Not yet.’ He grinned. ‘It’s my turn first,’ he said, kissing down my arm. ‘I’ve imagined these hands wrapped around my cock more times than I want to admit.’
I gave a surprised exhale at his words. ‘Dirty.’
