Page 16 of Liv Parrish

“Liv, listen to me. You wanting this and willing to try? That’s all I need from you. Everything else we work out together, understand? If I thought for even a moment that you would not be worth the effort, I would not be here right now, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I can’t stop wondering what you’re doing when you’re not with me and I definitely can’t stop wondering what it will be like when I finally get to kiss you.” That gets my attention, and without thinking, my eyes drop to his lips. “Fuck baby, don’t do that. You look at my lips like that and I’m going to break the promise I made to myself.”

“What promise?” comes out in a breathy whisper, because his lips are now so tantalizingly close, I could reach them with mine if I just shifted ever so slightly forward. I lick mine and he groans before pulling away and closing his eyes.

“The one where I don’t kiss you until you are one hundred percent on board with this relationship.” I want to argue, because damn if I don’t want that kiss, but he’s right. I just admitted it to him a moment ago and as much as I want to convince myself I’m all in, I can’t when David lurks in the dark corners of my mind, trying to steal what no longer belongs to him.

“I wish I didn’t have to make you wait.” It’s true, because more than I want to kiss him, I want him to have what he wants, and I can already feel my heart trying to make room for this man who only wants a chance.

“I don’t mind, baby. I’ll wait as long as it takes. In the meantime, I just want to spend as much time with you as I can.”

“I’d like that.” I snuggle back into his side and lean my head against his shoulder. If this is all we get to have right now, I’m going to soak it up for as long as possible, which turns out to be not long at all.

“At some point you need to tell me how you know Wyatt.” I don’t raise my head, but I also don’t miss that Heath isn’t quite as relaxed as he would want me to believe.

“I don’t, really. The man I know is named Nick Reardon, and I get the impression he is very different from your Wyatt.”

“Nick is a cover Wyatt had to use to get a job done, but at their core, they are the same man, a friend and someone I trust with my life.” That doesn’t surprise me. I can’t imagine Heath allowing people into his life that did not share the same values or morals.

“That’s good, I suppose, because the world he was involved in, is not exactly clean or without risk. I helped him out a few times, but I’m glad he has you too.”

“Helped him out how, exactly?”

“I think you should ask Wyatt. I don’t want to speak out of turn and I’m sure he would want to tell you himself. It’s not my place.”

“But you were involved somehow?” Tension is now radiating from his body, which is stiff and unyielding next to mine.

“Not the way you think, it’s not a relationship or anything. Usually, it’s like what you saw yesterday. He or someone he knows might need medical attention, so he would call me, and I’d help if I could.” Heath doesn’t respond right away, and I get the impression he’s searching for the right words because he’s not entirely happy right now.

“I must admit I’m not wild about you being exposed to his world. The people he’s involved with, are dangerous, even to those closest to them, but you’re right. I’ll talk to him about it, get all the facts.” I move so that I can look into his eyes again.

“Um, just so I know we’re on the same page here, you don’t intend on telling me I can’t see him again, right? I mean, Wyatt and I aren’t close friends or anything, but he’s important to me and if that’s going to be a problem for you, we should probably address that now.”

“Important to you how?” The air is now thick with unease, and I try to pull away slightly, but he doesn’t let go.

“He saved my life. The day we met, I was someplace I shouldn’t have been and got into trouble. If Wyatt hadn’t shown up, I would have been raped and possibly murdered, so if he ever needs my help, I’m going to give it to him.” A nerve ticks in Heath’s jaw, but aside from that he doesn’t move a muscle for a few moments. He does look upset though. Very upset.

“How close?” comes out in a soft growl, barely above a whisper.

“Excuse me?”

“How close did you come to being raped?”

“I’m okay, you don’t have to worry. Wyatt– “

“Liv, please, I need to know. How close?”

“They got my clothes off, but–”

“They?!” He shoots up off the sofa and then turns back so that he’s towering over me, waiting for me to reply.

“Yes, there were three of them. Two held me down while the third got my pants off, but nothing–” He’s pacing now, running his hands through his hair, swearing under his breath.

“Jesus! When was this?”

“Uh, about a week after you and I met.” The pacing stops and he spins towards me.

“Fuck, you mean I could have stopped it from happening?”

“What? No! It was completely random. I was taking one of the kids from the center home one evening and after I dropped him off, I started having car trouble. I didn’t have a choice but to pull over, and the next thing I knew three guys were there pulling me into an alley. There’s nothing you could have done.” How can he possibly feel responsible for what almost happened?

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