Beautifully Cruel (Beautifully Cruel #1)(32)

Which is good, because I’m not in the mood to suffer through more of their caterwauling.

The conversation with Diego upset me. In all the time I’ve known him, he’s been nothing but smiling, friendly, sweet. Light-hearted. But today I saw another side of him. The darker side.

He was like a different person.

Brooding on that, I take the water and my laptop and head to my bedroom. I’m anxious to look up the name Liam Black to see what I can find, but as soon as I open the door that idea goes straight out the window.

Because the man himself is inside.

Leaning against my dresser in his beautiful black suit and tie, calmly eating pistachio ice cream from the container while gazing at me with burning dark eyes.

I jerk to a stop and stand there staring at him.

My heart lurches. My stomach drops. I try to catch a breath, but can’t.

In a thoughtful voice, he says, “You hung up on me.” He lifts a spoonful of ice cream to his mouth and eats it, tonguing the spoon as if it’s a woman’s body. As if he’s got his face buried between a pair of spread thighs.

I’ve never seen anything so carnal.

“I…I…”

“No one’s ever done that before,” he says, in that same thoughtful tone. He crooks his wrist and points at me with the spoon. “Except you.”

Swallowing, I manage to form a complete sentence. “You deserved it.”

He stares at me for a moment in crackling intensity. Then he slowly sets the ice cream aside, dropping the spoon into the container and leaving it on the dresser.

He turns his attention to me again. It’s like being hit with a spotlight.

“Come here.”

His voice is calm, but his eyes are wild and his nostrils are flared, as if he’s about to start pawing the ground like a bull.

I feel electrocuted, like someone just plugged me into a socket. All my nerves are screaming. Gripping the water bottle and laptop, my hands start to shake.

Watching me, Liam licks his lips.

Feeling like I’m standing on the edge of a very high cliff, I whisper, “You said you couldn’t get away until late.”

His eyes glitter like he’s running a fever. His voice drops. “Come. Here.”

I’m engulfed in a wave of heat.

Trying not to hyperventilate, I slowly set the bottle of water and my laptop on the nightstand next to my bed. Smoothing my sweaty palms on the front of my jeans, I take a few tentative steps toward him.

He lifts out his hand.

I take a few more steps, sliding my hand into his. His fingers curl around mine. He gently coerces me forward, closing the distance between us.

Then he pulls me against his body, wraps an arm around my back, and cradles my head in his big hand.

He’s huge, hot, and hard everywhere. His gaze locks onto mine, and I’m on fire.

“Tell me to leave,” he whispers, his an urgent rasp. “Tell me it’s over. Tell me you never want to see me again.”

I flatten my shaking hands on his chest, look into his eyes, and shake my head.

He closes his eyes briefly, draws a breath, exhales in a ragged rush. Then he presses my head to his chest and brushes his lips against my forehead. “Last chance, lass.”

“I can’t kick you out yet. You’ve never even kissed me.”

His chuckle is a low rumble underneath my ear. “So you’ve been waiting for that to end it, have you?”

“Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

His arms tighten around me. I sense he’s trying to be gentle, but also is having a difficult time holding back.

I tilt my head back and reach up and touch his face. “Kiss me,” I whisper, my voice trembling.

His lips curve into a wry smile. “Such a bossy little thing.”

“Please?”

Hearing that, his eyes darken. The smile disappears from his face. He grinds his back teeth together, hesitating.

Then he lowers his head and lightly brushes his lips against mine.

It’s exquisitely soft and tender, a whisper of a thing, yet it sends a bolt of lust straight through me.

When I softly gasp and lean into him, he pulls back and gazes down at me in silence.

I drop my forehead against his chest and groan in frustration.

“You’re still hurt,” he murmurs.

“Somebody else is about to get hurt here, I’ll tell you what.”

Silent laughter rocks his chest.

I wind my arms around his broad shoulders and snuggle closer to him, closing my eyes. Then I sigh, because Liam’s body has gone stiff.

I grouse, “I don’t bite.”

The hand cradling my head closes to a fist around my hair. He slides his arm down my back, palms my ass, and pulls me closer, so I feel his erection digging into my hip. He lowers his head and says gruffly into my ear, “But I do.”

Then he opens his mouth over the pulse pounding in my neck and bites me.

It’s not hard, not enough to sting or leave a mark, but it sends such a jolt of electricity through me I moan like a porn star. I sag against him, digging my fingers into his shoulders, my eyes rolling back into my head.

The bite turns into a gentle suck.

His mouth is heaven. Velvet soft lips and greedy hot tongue—I want to feel that all over me. I want his mouth to explore every inch of my skin.