Wicked Heart (Starcrossed #3)(100)

I glance at the clock. It’s only 7.30 a.m. “How long have you been awake?”

“A couple of hours. Worked out. Showered. Now I’m reading. Shush.”

I smile and watch as his eyes scan the page. It’s hard to believe that this is the same man who used to avoid looking at the printed word as much as possible. His new glasses have dark rims, and the lenses glow with faint light. The difference they’ve made in his life has been immediate and remarkable. I love watching him read. I mean, any man who reads is sexy, but Liam reading is off-the-charts hot.

I move over and kiss his shoulder. “You’re enjoying it?”

“Sssh. They’re shoving Ponyboy’s head into the fountain. They’re going to kill him, aren’t they? Goddamn rich, entitled assholes.”

I kiss his shoulder again, and this time I add a flick of tongue.

He sucks in a sharp breath. “Hey. I’m trying to concentrate here. You’re making that impossible.”

“I’ll save you the time. They kill Ponyboy and everyone’s sad. The end.”

He slaps the book down and glares at me. The way the light of the lenses reflects off his incredible eyes makes me warm all over. “You’d better be joking right now, lady. Seriously. I will take you down.”

I lean over and kiss his neck. “As if I’d ruin it for you. But let me give you a spoiler alert about what’s going to happen in this bed right now—I’m going to lick you. Everywhere. Brace yourself.” I start with his neck, and God, he tastes good. I kiss and suck my way down to his chest. I don’t miss the way his breathing speeds up, or the way his boxer briefs now seem a whole lot fuller.

“Uh . . . is this going to happen every time you see me reading?”

“Probably. It’s super-hot.”

“Then I’m never going to get through my reading list.”

“Oh, sweetie. No one ever gets through their TBR list. For every book you finish, you’ll add five more. That’s just the way it works.”

He groans as I graze my fingers over his abs and finger the edge of his underwear. “In that case, maybe I’ll take a break.”

“Awesome idea.”

He places his glasses carefully on his nightstand before pouncing on me. In a matter of seconds, he’s yanked off my nightie and settled between my legs.

“Now, how should I punish you for your heartless Ponyboy joke?” He grinds against me. God, he’s so hard. So arousing.

I swallow. “Well, usually the sentence for false reports of character death is mind-blowing oral sex. Just saying.”

“Is that right?” He circles his hips. I pant and grip his shoulders. “Why is it that every evil thing you do is punishable by oral?”

“Hey, I don’t make the rules.”

“Lucky for you, I’m more than happy to punish you as often as you like.”

He kisses me before moving down my body, setting every piece of skin he touches ablaze with his mouth and hands as he goes. My breasts get special attention. I close my eyes and moan. This man is a foreplay genius. Within seconds my whole body is aching for him. By the time he starts kissing up the insides of my thighs, I’m already half gone. When he closes his mouth over me, I bury my fingers in his hair and gasp. Sweet Jesus. He growls against me, and I have enough experience to know that when he grips my hips like that and pulls me to the end of the bed, there’s nothing I can do but try to keep breathing and hold on for the ride.

A few minutes later, I’m arching off the bed and screaming his name.

“God, I love you,” Liam whispers as he yanks down his underwear and climbs on top of me. “I seem to love you more every day. How is that possible? It’s driving me insane.”

When he pushes inside me, we both let out a sigh of relief. My whole body seems to melt around him.

Being together like this isn’t optional. It’s essential, like breathing. There’s nothing else in the world as miraculous as having Liam Quinn inside me. I knew it the very first time we made love and I know it now. How we both survived without each other for so many years, I’ll never know.

Liam takes his time as he makes love to me. Neither of us wants it to end.

We end up making love all day. We punctuate it with eating, sleeping, and reading, but barely a moment goes by when we’re not touching each other.

In the late afternoon, we shower and get ready to go to his foundation’s fund-raiser. He’s in his tux and ready to go within five minutes. I take over an hour to bring my hair and makeup to a red-carpet standard. The pressure is extra high, because it’s our first public appearance together. I just hope I don’t get rotten tomatoes thrown at me.

I finish up, and when I ask Liam to zip up my dress, he presses soft, warm kisses to my neck and shoulder. “I have something I want to give you before we go. When you’re ready, come out to the living room, okay?”

I turn and give him a gentle kiss. “Okay.”

It takes me only a few minutes to put all the essentials in my clutch and step into my shoes, and by the time I get out to the living room, there are two bright gift boxes sitting on the coffee table.

Liam leans back on the couch and appraises me as I sit next to him.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“A game.”

“Pick a box?”