Page 61 of Lost in You (The Monroes 3)

When he didn’t answer, Macy scooted toward the edge of the counter, locking her ankles behind his back. He eased into her, swallowing her gasp when he covered her mouth with his. Macy’s short nails bit into his shoulders, her knees tightened on his sides.

The heat running through him, the intensity of her hold on him, had Liam quickening his pace. He couldn’t concentrate on anything other than Macy, on bringing her pleasure. He broke the kiss, molded her breasts in his palms, pleased when she arched back on a groan.

“Liam.”

Her whispered plea did something to him. As if he’d been waiting for her to fully give herself to him, to have his name on her lips when she came apart.

Her entire body tightened as she cried out, and Liam tumbled right with her. Together. There was no other way he wanted to be.

As their bodies ceased trembling, Liam tried not to think about the path his thoughts had traveled. Right now he had Macy in his arms, in his kitchen. She’d come to him in the boldest of ways and he wasn’t looking any further than right now.

“Stay with me,” he whispered in her ear.

Instantly, the body that had been trembling moments ago went tense. “Liam—”

“Just tonight.” Why was he begging? Damn it. He knew full well asking such things meant this was more than what they’d agreed on, but he couldn’t stop himself. “We won’t do anything in that bed but sleep.”

She lifted her head, those bright eyes zeroed in on him as if she could see into his soul. And maybe she could. Perhaps she was one of the few people in this world who actually wanted to get that deep.

“I’ve never slept in a man’s bed before,” she whispered. Shaking her head, she pressed her palms against his chest and gently pushed him away. “I can’t. I just . . . I can’t.”

Fear. He knew she spoke from fear. Her voice shook and she couldn’t meet his eyes any longer. Some men might see her rejection as a personal jab, but he knew her better. He stepped back, helping her off the counter without another word.

Silently, they gathered their clothes and dressed. She’d had a little sundress in the living room he hadn’t spotted before. Now with her flushed face, her tousled hair around her shoulders, and that simple yellow dress with boots, she looked so wholesome, so vulnerable.

She smoothed her hands down the front of her dress as she faced away from him. Liam came into the living room, stopping just short of touching her.

“I want to know what happened to you.”

Macy stilled, but didn’t turn. “No, you don’t.”

Liam curled his fingers around her bare arm, gently so she didn’t feel trapped. Because that’s what all of this boiled down to.

“If we’re going to keep seeing each other, I deserve to know. I won’t be like your other guys, Macy.”

Throwing him a glance over her shoulder, she drew her brows in. “You’ve never been like any other guy. Before . . . before my incident I was infatuated with you. You’ve always been different for me.”

The soft curtain of her dark hair covered part of her face, but he could make out her eyes and she was serious. She’d had feelings for him for a long time, longer than he’d ever thought. A viselike grip tightened around his chest. He had no clue what to do with this information. Whatever was going on here was something more than he’d ever anticipated. He’d tried to avoid it, had fought himself, fought her, but the reality was they had crossed a line both physically and emotionally.

Liam stepped around to stand directly in front of her. Cupping her face, he directed her gaze into his.

“I won’t force you to do anything.” She started to look away, but he gave her a slight jerk. “But you can’t keep hiding. I won’t let you.”

Moisture gathered in her eyes. “And what about you? When are you going to stop hiding?”

Liam clenched his jaw. “I’m here, aren’t I? Hard to hide from this family.”

“They love you,” she told him with a slight smile. “They won’t let you run, either.”

No, they were giving him free rein to do what he wanted. Stay, go . . .

He stared into Macy’s bright blue eyes and ignored the slam of regret. How could he feel this strong and want to leave at the same time? He had goals, damn it. But right now, seeing this pain in her eyes, this determination to push through to get him to open up, his goals seemed to fade away.

“I need to get home.”

She pushed around him and he let her go. He watched as she went to the door, then stopped and turned back around.

“I didn’t even ask about Braxton.”

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