Unplugged (Blue Phoenix, #3)(51)

Liam wipes my hair from where it’s stuck to my face, and smiles. “That was just the start,” he whispers.

CHAPTER 21



CERYS



The temperature didn’t drop last night, the sticky humidity of late July makes lying naked next to Liam more acceptable. I snuggle into him and rest my head on his warm chest, listening to the steady thrum of his heart. Liam shifts and encompasses me in his arms, burying his face in my hair. The bed smells of him. Us. Sex.

“Good morning,” he whispers, soft lips moving against my forehead.

“You’re still here,” I murmur.

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

I rest my palms on his chest and look up at his tired face. “I don’t know. I guess I half-expected you to run away again.”

“Why run? There’s no five year old to shock when she sees me coming out of her mum’s bedroom,” he says.

“Ella...” She’s never far from my thoughts and guilt twinges as I glance at the bedside clock. 11 a.m. “I should call Phoebe; I said I’d pick Ella up early.”

Liam’s clothes lie on the floor and images of my last night rest with them, how the frantic sex turned into his gentle kisses and leisurely exploration of my body and then to things I wouldn’t have dreamt of doing with Craig. Liam pushed us into a dizzying plane of pleasure I never knew existed, telling me again and again how I belonged to him. Finally ending in the early hours, Liam looked down at me with a sincerity and tenderness that made me cry as we finally exhausted the need we’d held.

Liam tore apart my heart and soul then put them together again with a piece of himself inside. He was right. After last night, I’m his.

“I should get a shower and go get Ella.”

“Now who’s running away?” he asks and laces his hands behind his head.

The tattoo running across his chest to his shoulder is newer than in the pictures on my old bedroom wall. His ink blends into one canvas of colour across his chest and continues down his arms, a strange collection of pictures and words. Of course, there’s a phoenix, soaring across his chest with the tail feathers heading toward his muscled abs. I drag a fingernail down the length of the bird and across the tight muscles.

How do I really feel about what I did last night? Slightly sore considering it’s a long time since I had anyone in my bed, and before then it was quick and not repeatedly.

“You can hang around when I go to pick her up. If you want to, I mean.”

“Of course I want to! I’m not disappearing and leaving you after last night.” He sits and kisses my arm. “Get your shower, I’ll make breakfast.”

“That’s sweet of you,” I say and giggle as he pokes me and pulls a sour face.

Refreshed by my shower but anxious to get dressed and collect Ella, I throw a pair of cotton shorts and tank top on, and grab my phone to call Phoebe.

“Phoebe, I’m sorry, I’m running late.”

“Don’t stress, she’s fine.” Phoebe pauses. “Late night with your rock star?”

I’m glad she’s not in the room to see me blush. “A little. I slept in.”

“I bet you did! Naughty...”

“Phoebe!”

“Seriously, as long as you had fun, I’m happy.”

“I’ll be about an hour. Is that okay?”

“Of course! She’s playing in the garden with Jordan, no trouble at all.”

Despite her reassuring words, I want to get to Ella as soon as I can. I don’t want Ella feeling abandoned; I’ve never left her alone overnight.

The relief Phoebe isn’t annoyed with me evaporates when I walk downstairs. Craig is sitting on the sofa. He greets me with a dark expression, one I’m too familiar with. I glance behind. Liam has his back to us in the kitchen. Shirtless. Crap.

“Why are you here?” I ask Craig.

“I came to see my daughter. Why’s he here?”

“None of your business,” I say.

“I think it is if you’ve got people like him in the house.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Come on, Cerys, everyone knows what the Blue Phoenix guys are like! One of them overdosed earlier this year!”

“Are you suggesting I’m letting a drug addict into the house? Don’t be ridiculous!” I say in a low voice.

“Fine, where is she? He said I had to wait for you before I went upstairs which is a bit f-ucking cheeky when this is partly my house.”

Liam walks in with two green mugs and sets one on the table in front of Craig. “Everything okay?” Liam asks.

My discomfort at Craig’s presence isn’t shared by Liam. Craig is a few inches shorter and stockier, and coiled like a spring ready to snap at Liam, but Liam barely looks at Craig. Their lack of engagement is a good thing. I wish to God, Liam would go upstairs and find a t-shirt, though.

“Ella’s not here,” I tell Craig, “I’m going to pick her up from a friend’s in about half an hour.”

“What?” he growls. “Whose house? How long has she...?” Realisation crosses his face. “Oh, I see, you’re dumping Ella at a friend’s, so you can be with him,” says Craig. He turns to Liam. “I guess my daughter hanging around you gets annoying, an extra part you don’t want.”