Page 43 of Ward Willing
When I’m a few feet away, Liam tugs me backward, sloshing my beer all over the wood floor.
“We’re going to talk about the fact that you’re wearing my shirt later,” he growls, his breath in my ear before he lets me go and walks back to the bar to retrieve the other two drinks.
My legs are like jelly, and my heart is buzzing inside of my ribcage, but somehow, I make it back to the booth. Sitting down with Orion, I don’t let myself glance over to the other end of the booth. Instead, I tell Liam’s brother all about my classes, and he listens intently.
Orion is a good guy. All of Liam’s brothers are. And the crazy thing is, they’re good peoplebecauseof Liam. He always put them first. Still does.
Charles Ravage, their father, is MIA, though I know Orion still talks to him sometimes. As far as I know, Orion spent most of his teenage years living a normal life with his mother, stepfather, and stepsister, Layla. She’s only a couple of years older than me, and the two of us hang out a lot.
It was nice to have a default family already built into my life. They all acted like I was part of the family from day one. Even though Liam and I aren’t related by blood, they all tucked me right into the family dynamic and treated me like an actual family member.
Maybe that’s part of the problem. None of the other brothers ever held back affection with me. But Liam has always kept his distance—more so since Catalina. Maybe the reason Iwanthim is because I’m searching for something deeper between us. Iwanthim to stake his claim on me, and I enjoy it when he takes care of me. Maybe I’ve inadvertently blended what I like in bed with the type of person he is to me.
Ilikethat he watches out for me, even when I fight back.
Ilikethat he’s always been there for me.
Being a submissive means I don’t have to think or make decisions.
I can let go and have someoneelsetake over.
And Liam? He already takes care of me. I’m sure there’s a subconscious reason as to why I’m attracted to him, and why, above anyone else, I’d want to submit to him.
“He looks so fucking uncomfortable,” Orion says, chuckling.
I follow his gaze to Liam, who is sipping his beer. I notice he’s barely had any, whereas the woman talking to him seems to be on her second glass.
“I was uncomfortable at my first munch, too,” I say quickly, hoping to change the subject.
“It’s funny. Chase has been into BDSM since I was in high school. And Miles always had his voyeur kink. Kai went the complete opposite direction and chose god, but Liam…” He sips his beer. “I don’t know.”
I stare down at my empty pint glass. I’m going to need more alcohol to talk to Orion about Liam.
“Not everyone is kinky,” I offer. “Maybe he’s a vanilla guy who answered some questions the right way. Maybe we were wrong.”
“Nah. I think he’s kinky as fuck, but he’s not like me and Chase, or even Miles. We were all content to explore our kinks with strangers. I think Liam needs to build that trust first. He’s not a prude, but he needs that extra foundational layer.”
Yeah, I definitely need more beer for this conversation.
“Maybe.”
“Question is… where’s he going to find someone to show him?”
My cheeks and chest flush with color, and when I lift my eyes to the other side of the booth, Liam is watching me intently. His blue-grey eyes bore into mine, and I suddenly can’t breathe.
I never told Orion or anyone about that night, but sometimes it’s like people cantell.Especially Orion, because he hints like this all the time, which doesn’t help anything.
“I’m going to get another drink.”
In half a second, I’m out of my seat and walking to the bar on shaky legs.
CHAPTERSIX
THE SHOW
Liam
An hour later, Zoe and I head back to my Jeep so we’re not late for Scotty’s show. I climb in first and reach over the dash to open her door, but she hesitates for a second, her hand hovering on the door frame. When she looks at me, I can’t discern the look on her face. Gratitude, maybe? I’m not sure why. I’ve been opening her doors like this forever.
