Page 90 of Savage Temptation

“Stop laughing, you’re spoiling perfectly good swimmers.”

I laughed louder, slumping forward and pulling him along with me.

I have never felt peace like this. Like what I felt when his arms were wrapped so protectively around me. I was in the safest place in the world, and no one could burst this bubble.

“You’re amazing, do you know that?” Liam whispered, his fingers slowly stroking my skin.

“I feel amazing when I’m with you,” I confessed. “Can we stay here for a couple more days before going back to reality?”

“We have somewhere to be tomorrow, but we can push our return to New York a few days forward after that.”

“Where are we going?” I curiously asked, resting my chin on his broad chest.

“It’s a surprise. And you’re not convincing me to spoil it. You’ll see when we get there.” He teased with a devilish smile on his face. “Oh, and we’ll be traveling like the gangsters in those books of yours. The jet will be fueled and ready first thing in the morning.”

My heart grew heavy with the memory of how I had reacted during the flight over. I was going to be a mess again in the tight space of the plane, but this time I’d try to calm down before lashing out in jealousy, fear, or all the above.

“I’m sorry I overreacted. Whenever I picture you with someone else, I just feel a burning anguish growing inside me. And I know you’ve been around. I thought that buying dresses and jewelry and first-class tickets and stuff like that was something you would normally do for one of them. It just seemed so natural to you, I guessed it was something you did often.”

“Yes, I have been around. Just meaningless hookups, like scratching an itch. Nothing like this.” He smiled, his gaze deeply buried in mine. “Never anything like this.”

“Like this… and what is this?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s whatever you want it to be. I don’t want to push you into anything, but I’d like to think that you’re mine. All mine. Just mine.” Each word that left his mouth more serious than the previous one. My lips crashed onto his in a passionate kiss after he had just verbalized my desires.

“Does that mean you’ll also be mine? All mine? Just mine?” I asked, perfectly echoing his previous words, unknowingly holding my breath for his answer.

“I already am.” His reply was unwavering, coming in hand with a smile so big it illuminated his entire face. I kissed him passionately again, sealing our deal.

When morning came, I woke up with a trail of Liam’s kisses down my naked back, small goosebumps erupting all over my body.

“Good morning, Gorgeous.” Liam greeted once my eyes were open. “I had the hotel staff pack your bags and bring them here. You can shower and change before we go.”

I sleepily opened my eyes, seeing that Liam was wearing nothing but a low-hanging towel around his waist, his hair wet and dripping onto me. My face must have shown my disappointment as he burst out laughing.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of time to shower together. Right now we have to hurry up and get to the jet before nine.” He said, planting a tender kiss on my forehead.

Without inhibition, I got out of bed, completely naked, letting the sheet slide down my body, walking to the bathroom as seductively as I knew how to, turning only when I arrived at the door.

“Pitty. I kind of felt like round three in the shower was a good idea.” I teased, licking my lips before closing the bathroom door, leaving Liam with a graphic idea of what I had in mind.

The hot water helped me relax my taut and sore muscles from last night. It was a good feeling, a good sore. But I welcomed the relief anyway.

I quickly got dressed casually, seeing that Liam was in a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt. I asked him again where we were going, but still, he refused to tell me.

I was dumbstruck when we got to the airstrip and saw that we were, in fact, stepping into a luxurious jet that was waiting just for us.

Liam greeted the staff, showing me to our seats. Charcoal carpet covered the floor, accentuating the white leather seats and wooden tables and details.

It smelled like luxury and power, impeccable taste and opulence.

Still, it could be covered in gold and even that wouldn’t take away from the anxiety already growing in the pit of my stomach, my chest tightening as if the weight of the world was suddenly pressing on it.

Liam locked his fingers with mine while we were taking off, rubbing small, soothing circles on the back of my hand. Once we were high in the sky, the pilot started to speak, providing us some information about the flight.

“The sky is clear, no turbulence ahead, shortening our flight to about four and a half hours. The weather in Jacksonville…”

My ears blocked. My vision blurred. My heart stopped beating all together.

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