Only a Millionaire (The Sinclairs #6.5)(31)

I didn’t belong here anymore. Being home didn’t have the same comfortable feeling that it always had before the shooting at the bank.

But I didn’t really belong in Amesport, either. Yes, I knew I had family there now, but I didn’t know any of them.

I’d learned that where I lived was just a location. My only safe place was with Liam, and he wasn’t here.

Tears leaked out of my eyes as I wandered around the single bedroom of my apartment, not sensing that I was home anymore.

Disgusted with myself for allowing so much self-pity, I searched in my drawers for an old pair of pajamas and underwear. I’d brought very little here to California, but I still had some things I’d left behind.

I undressed, feeling the exhaustion in every part of my body, my movements slow and heavy as I stepped into my small shower.

For a moment, I felt slightly revived by the streams of water pouring over my tired body, but my uplifting moment ended abruptly. My relief morphed into terror as a large body slammed into me as it entered my shower.





CHAPTER 15

BROOKE



“Liam?” I gasped as I turned around, petrified.

He was gloriously nude, but it took me a moment to recognize exactly who was with me, even though I knew and fantasized about that particularly gorgeous naked male body so damn often.

“Did I scare you?” he said in a husky voice that made my toes curl. “You didn’t answer the door, but it was unlocked, a fact that we need to talk about later.”

Even though Citrus Beach was a small city, I’d always felt relatively safe in my apartment here. I usually locked up, but I must have been so distracted that I’d forgotten.

I took a couple of deep breaths, willing my heart to slow down. We were close together because the stall was small, but he didn’t touch me. I knew he was waiting for me to register his presence without being afraid.

I finally looked up at him, my heart racing with something other than fear. His handsome face was the most welcoming thing I’d ever seen. “Liam,” I said with more surety, and then threw myself into his arms.

He caught me firmly, pulling me against his powerful wet body.

“I missed you so much,” I told him in a rush, my heart tripping because he was here with me.

Everything I’d discovered about my parents in such a short period of time had been weighing on me, but I’d held it inside, not wanting to talk about it in front of Jade. She’d already been in the place I was in now. I didn’t want to send her back there again. My siblings had already had time to process the truth. I hadn’t.

I welcomed his strong arms around me. His stalwart presence made me crumble, and I sobbed all of my confusion, fear, and anger onto his very solid shoulder.

His arms tightened around me, and he just held me while I cried, stroking my wet hair as he hoarsely whispered into my ear, “It will all be okay, sweetheart. I promise.”

I believed him. As long as he was here with me, I felt like I was going to be okay.

Liam grounded me, allowing me to finally express the sorrow I’d been experiencing since I’d learned about how my mother had been betrayed.

“She didn’t deserve what he did to her, Liam,” I babbled as I cried. “All she ever wanted was to protect us. But she was so alone.”

“He was an asshole, baby,” he crooned. “There’s a special place in hell for men like him,” he growled.

It took a few minutes for my tears to subside and my head to clear. “What are you doing here?” I said in a tremulous voice, after I’d cried myself out.

“What do you think?” he asked in a lazy baritone. “I came for you.”

“Thank you,” I said shakily as I ran my fingers down his jawline. “I really needed you. I was going to go back to Amesport after I saw my brothers tomorrow, but I’m glad you’re here. You obviously know everything. How did you find out?”

It was pretty clear that Liam knew about my father.

“I was ready to beat it out of Evan, but he spilled the information before we had to go there. I was fucking worried, Brooke. I lost track of how many times I’ve tried to call.”

He looked concerned. I could see it in his eyes. “I’m sorry. I should have waited to come here, but I was just . . . overwhelmed. I didn’t know who to trust anymore.”

Since we’d both been flying, we obviously hadn’t connected. I’d tried to call him, too.

He pushed me back against the shower wall, pinning me to the cold tile. “You can trust me,” he growled. “I’ve never lied to you. Maybe I protected myself because of your boyfriend, but I’m not a liar.”

I nodded. “I know.”

“Don’t ever do that again,” he demanded.

“I won’t,” I agreed readily. I knew I wouldn’t have liked it if he’d done the same thing to me.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I said, running my hands over his ripped body to prove to myself he was real and not an illusion.

“I’ll always be there when you need me,” he vowed solemnly.

“I’ll always need you,” I said, mesmerized by his compelling stare. I got lost in the deep green shade of his eyes, not sure if I ever wanted to be found again.

“I’m done with my promise,” he rumbled. “I’m done pretending I don’t need to fuck you until you can’t think straight. I know you, Brooke. And you know me. We recognized each other a long time ago. Maybe we don’t know every little thing there is to know about each other, but I know what I want. The details can be filled in later.”