Before Sunrise (44 page)

Where is Kay?

“
Liam?”

Liam grabbed the wrist of the hand on his
shoulder and flipped the bastard hard to the ground. He panted
deeply, felt the sweat drip from his face. He blinked and tried to
focus. Kennedy looked up at him shocked, terror in her eyes. But
she didn’t move. She lay perfectly still. He held her wrist down
painfully tight. He knew it. He was hurting her, but why? How?

“
Babe, oh shit. I’m sorry.
Did I hurt you? Are you okay?” He gathered her into his arms. Tears
sprung to his eyes. “What did I do? God, what did I do?”

“
I’m fine, Liam. I’m okay.
Hey, I just slipped when you grabbed my wrist. I’m okay. You didn’t
hurt me.” She broke free of his arms and straddled his lap, taking
his face in her hands.

“
Sweetheart, calm down. I’m
okay. Christ, you’re burning up with fever. Liam, look at me. We’re
okay.” She put his face to her breasts and held him as best she
could on the floor.

Liam groaned and then wept
hard against her breast.
Did I hurt
her?
It happened so fast. It scared the
shit out of him. Were they right about him? Was he so fucked up
he’d hurt them? He had to get help. He didn’t want to lose his
mind. He didn’t want to lose her again.

“
I’m so sorry. I can’t….”
His voice broke. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Kay.”

“
Shh.” She stroked the top
of his head. “You’ve been through a lot, Liam. But you’re home,
with me and I’m going to take care of you. I don’t care what it
takes, Liam, I’m going to take care of you. It’s okay. You’re with
me and I’m never going to let you go. Here and now is what matters.
Feel that? Do you feel my heartbeat? Focus on it baby, it’s okay. I
got you. I’m here. Right here.”

Liam stopped crying. He
listened to her heartbeat, inhaled her fragrance. She was real,
solid, warm and comforting in his arms. He pushed back against her
chest until she lay against the floor with her legs wrapped around
his waist. He covered her with his body, and kissed her face and
neck, hoping against hope he hadn’t scared her too badly. Again he
realized his cheeks were wet with tears. Had he been crying? He
didn’t remember it. Kennedy caught his face and stopped his
hurried, frantic kisses; she directed his lips to hers and helped
him ease into a controlled, loving kiss.
Have I forgotten how?
His emotions
kept spiking.
What is wrong with
me
?

Her tongue, sweet from the wine, swept over
his and soon his head cleared. He wanted to get inside of her. He
wanted her so bad he shook with need.

His hand eased over the soft cashmere of her
sweater and slowly drew it up to her breasts. Liam lifted his head
and looked at them. He remembered her stepping out of the shower.
How beautiful her body was. How badly he wanted to touch her. He
sat back. She lay there smiling at him, her tummy rising and
falling. He ran his finger over the traces of a bulge, the last
traces of what carrying her daughter did to her body. He had missed
so much. His daughter almost died. She almost died. And they needed
him so much. Phil had been there instead of him. No wonder she
clung to that man. It wasn’t her fault, it was his. He had failed
her.

Her hand moved and the Christmas lights made
it sparkle. He narrowed his eyes on her finger. Snatching her hand
in his, he wanted to snatch Phil’s ring off. He frowned and studied
it closely.

“
I kept it, Liam. I could
never part with it.”

Liam looked up at her. “You kept it?”

“
There is no competition
between you and Phil. He never had me, Liam.” She lifted to her
right elbow. “We never shared or came close to the levels of
intimacy you and I have. Do you understand? I’m still your Kay.
That hasn’t changed. But Liam, you have to let the jealousy go. We
have so much more to fight to overcome. Phil is not a threat to
you, to us. You did what you had to in that desert to survive, and
I did what I had to, to be sane for us both. We did it and we’re
together. Okay?”

Liam kissed her hand. He realized in that
moment it didn’t matter. To hell with what happened in the five
years he was gone. She was his Kay always. No man, no war, no one
could come between them. With his kiss he forced her back down. He
fumbled to undo the top button to her jeans and lower the zipper.
He sat back to pull off her boots, then tugged on her jeans,
bringing them off her shapely legs. Her black thong had disappeared
between the folds of her pussy, making him groan with need. She
rolled the panty down her hips and Liam brought it down the rest of
the way. Lifting her leg and parting her wider, he kissed her sweet
skin, upward, until his face was between her thighs.

Kennedy shivered as he used his tongue to
lick her slit from her opening to her clit. He enticed her bud into
his mouth and sucked until she creamed his chin. Liam’s eyes
crossed beneath closed lids as he feasted on her pussy, loving her
with his tongue, deep-kissing her until she was coming. The heady
scent of her arousal had his dick punching through the front of his
pants. He wanted to lay her on a bed of roses and make love to her
slow and easy. That would be perfect. But his hunger for her had
him lowering his zipper and removing his cock in order to ravage
her on the cool hardwood floor before the Christmas tree.

Liam dropped on her, forcing his tongue into
her mouth, giving her a taste of herself as the head of his cock
pushed into her. Liam shuddered. He bit her bottom lip prepared to
make love to her the way he had in his dreams.

“
Mommy!”

Liam thrust in another inch and nearly shot
his load. Her pussy clenched and his shaft was sheathed in such
sweet tightness. He needed more. He was going to have her, all of
her, every inch of her. She was so soft and her body yielded to him
in all the right ways. He thrust again, sinking almost all the way
in.

“
MOMMY!”

“
Liam, stop. Get
up.”

Kennedy shoved hard and forced him to
withdraw. He fell over on his back, still shuddering, his hand on
his cock. He watched in pain as she yanked her jeans on and ran for
the stairs. Liam dropped his head back. He blew out a deep breath
and willed his body to get under control. Forcing his cock into his
pants, he struggled to rise. His legs were shaky. His fucking bum
leg was completely useless, as though now completely disconnected
from his brain. His dick throbbed, and the scent of sex was still
up his nose. This was a far worse torture than any he knew. Gaining
strength with each staggering step, he made it up the stairs to the
room. He could hear Mackenzie crying.

Kennedy looked back at him and smiled. “Come
in. Lay with us, okay?”

“
She’s not
asleep?”

Mackenzie appeared from around her mother’s
shoulder. “No, daddy, I not ’sleep.”

Liam smiled. “I see that, beautiful.” He
walked in and dropped next to Kennedy on the mattress. He spooned
her from behind as Mackenzie lay pressed to her breast. He laid
there with her perfectly still, his erection pressing into her
butt. Maybe Mackenzie would go to sleep. He lifted his head to look
at his daughter. She hugged her mommy, but she remained wide awake.
She glanced up and saw him peeking and grinned.

“
Hi, daddy.”

Liam dropped back on the pillow. It was
going to be a long night.

***

“
Are you serious? Did Liam
really eat a scorpion?” Harper giggled.

“
I ate the scorpion, he ate
the spider.” Eric smirked.

Harper laughed. “You made that up.” She
licked her fingers, licked her lips, and it was making him nuts. He
checked his watch. It read almost midnight. It proved to be too
late and the roads too icy for her to brave them alone. What the
fuck was he going to do?

“
Why do you keep checking
your watch?” Harper asked, biting into another rib. The sauce
dripped on her chin. She blinked those round eyes at him and he
wanted to hit something, anything, to force his cock to stop
twitching in his pants.

“
What is it with you,
sweetheart? Why are you teasing me?”

Harper lowered the rib. “I’m in love with
you.”

Eric’s brows shot up. “What?”

“
You heard me. I love
you.”

“
No. No you
don’t.”

“
Yes I do. Why are you so
surprised? Kennedy fell in love with Liam when she was seventeen.
When she was my age she was already married and living with him.
What’s the big deal?”

“
You aren’t Kennedy and I’m
not Liam, for starters. You don’t even know me, Harper. Not
really.”

“
I know that I love you.
I’ve loved you since I was thirteen. You never treated me like a
kid. You never talked down to me. And we have fun together. We
connect. You know we do. I love you.”

“
Fuck, this is crazy. I
should drive you home. You can get your car in the
morning.”

“
Eric, wait.” She put her
hand over his. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a filter like most girls. I
just say what I mean. Like you do. I know it’s weird for you. That
you see me as some kid. But I’m a woman.”

“
I don’t want to hear this.”
He grunted, pushing up from the table.

“
You don’t have a choice.
Soon you will be gone. And I won’t get my chance to tell you how I
feel. I love you,” she said with bass in her voice.

Eric looked back at her. Had she completely
lost her mind?

She grinned at him. “No one knows I’m
here.”

“
I know. Dammit! Would you
cut this shit out!” he yelled at her. Harper looked stricken by his
words. He didn’t mean to hurt her, but she was freaking him out. He
walked over and brought her into his arms. She hugged his waist.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell, but this can’t happen. I know
you’ve seen your sister and Liam and you think that’s true love.
Maybe it is. And you’ll have it, Harper. You’re young, beautiful.”
He lifted her chin. “You are so special I know you’ll have it. But
you won’t have it with me.”

“
Kiss me.”

“
Harper, are you listening
to me?”

“
Kiss me. One kiss and I’ll
leave you alone. I’ll stop. I swear.”

He stared at her lips for a second. His
heart was pounding in his chest. No woman had that effect on him.
She was so determined, and he cared for her. He really did. But he
lived a dangerous life. He had little time or use for love. Hell,
he didn’t even know what the hell it felt like to be in love.

Harper closed her eyes and lifted her lips
to him. He held her. He shouldn’t be doing that, but he didn’t make
his arms drop away. Her soft curves were pressed into him. His hand
itched to ease down her back and cup that round ass of hers. He
tried not to stare at. She swayed a bit, waiting on her kiss. Maybe
if he kissed her he could get it out of his system. He’d repent
after he took her home and then just get his ass to Jakarta. In a
year she would have forgotten all about him. She’d be in love with
some young man who wouldn’t know how to worship her body. Wouldn’t
know how to show her passion. The lucky bastard wouldn’t know what
a treasure she was.

“
Kiss me, Eric.”

Eric’s hand went around her
neck. His thumb forced her head to tilt back.
Fuck it. What harm could one kiss do?

Her kiss poured through him like warm honey.
All of his reasoning and sensibility melted away. He lifted her up
into his arms so he could gain greater access to her darting tongue
and those soft, pliant thick lips of hers. Young or not, she was
masterful in the art of kissing. He liked that. She wrapped her
arms around his neck and pressed her body into his. Eric groaned in
the back of his throat. Their tongues clashed like swords. His
chest was tight, and his heart pounding like a hammer.

Then she broke away. Eric stepped back,
sucking down hard breaths and licking his lips to taste the rib
sauce he’d swept off of hers. Harper gave him a very calculating
smirk as she undid the sash to her trench and let it fall open.
Eric shook his head no. But his dick pained him so bad he had to
readjust it. Harper noticed. If a black man could blush he would
have now. Damn, she wasn’t a kid. She knew exactly what she was
doing to him. How the hell had he let it get to the point where he
wanted to fuck her to oblivion?

Harper let the coat drift from her
shoulders. His gaze fell with the wool trench and stopped at her
pink pumps and he let his eyes slowly climb her dark legs to her
round hips. The lacy pink thong sweetly concealed her pussy from
view. He focused on her tattoo and wondered why a strawberry, then
let his gaze travel up to her breasts. Harper put her hands to her
hips, letting Eric take her all in before she spoke.

“
I’m not a virgin, you know?
I lost my virginity at sixteen. I can satisfy you, Eric. This will
happen. Either you come in the room and make love to me now, or
I’ll lie on your bed and touch myself like I do most nights when
I’m dreaming about you. Your choice.” She walked past him, running
her hand over his chest and touching his arm.

As though on autopilot, Eric’s head slowly
turned to watch the rounded perfection of her ass as she slipped
away. He dropped his head back and laced his fingers at the back of
his neck.

“
Fuck. Fuck!”

***

Liam awoke. At some point Kennedy had drawn
the cover over the three of them. She was turned toward him, her
mouth slightly parted in a light snore. He had fallen asleep and
hadn’t dreamed. Sleep never came so easily, but somehow, with her,
it had. He looked up and saw it was still dark outside. Lifting
from his pillow, he could see Mackenzie remained sleep. Her arms
were flung wide and her legs spread under the sheet. She had forced
her mother to move closer to him, claiming the entire right side of
the mattress.