Collateral Damage (33 page)

Liam opened his mouth to respond but before he could get a single word out she pulled his head down and took his mouth in a ferocious kiss. Her words undid him, but the desperation, the frantic need he tasted on her lips obliterated everything else.

Liam groaned into her mouth and slid one hand into her hair, palming the back of her head as he tangled his tongue with hers, wanting deeper, closer. The kiss turned greedy, wild as she began running her hands all over him, her fingers curling impatiently around the hem of his T-shirt and tugging upward.

He reached one hand back to grab the fabric between his shoulder blades and peeled it over his head. Honor made a low sound and attacked his neck and chest with her mouth, tongue licking at his skin, teeth nipping as though she wanted to eat him alive.

Lust roared through him, amped up by everything that had happened in the past few hours. He wanted to plunge inside her and feel her clench around him, her arms and legs wound around him, holding tight. He wanted his scent all over her skin, wanted her to cry out with the pleasure only he could give her and come inside her.

Liam gripped a handful of her hair and tugged, bringing her lips up to his. He plunged his tongue into her mouth, tasting her, mimicking what he wanted to do to her body with his cock, trapped hard and aching against his fly. Her hands reached for the waistband of his pants and ripped them open. He peeled off her shirt. A seam ripped and he faltered only a second when he saw the bandage on her upper arm, reminding him that she’d been hurt.

“No, it’s fine, don’t stop. Hurry,” she urged against his lips, her busy hands already shoving down his pants and sliding into the front of his boxers. The second her fingers wrapped around his length he tensed and let out a raw groan.

Fusing his mouth to hers, he picked her up by the hips and started for the stairs, intent on claiming his woman.

****

Honor could barely breathe for the tidal wave of desire crashing over her. Liam’s cock was hard and hot in her hand, her sensitized nipples rubbing against her bra with each step he took. He tasted dark, spicy and desperate. Delicious. She couldn’t get enough, kept gliding her tongue against his as he headed up the stairs to her room.

But she couldn’t wait that long.

Tightening her legs around his waist, she grabbed one of his shoulders and leaned back to slide her fist up and down his hot length. Liam sucked in a breath and shot one hand out to grab the railing, his low groan vibrating straight to the pulsing ache between her thighs. Still palming the back of her head with one hand he kissed her harder, his movements rough and urgent, firing her blood. Need pulsed through her, raw and untamable.

She stroked him again, slower this time, pulling back to see his expression. His eyes were a deep, molten green, smoldering with a need she was dying to see unleashed.

“Now,” she breathed against his lips. “Right now.” Hard and deep and fast.

She ended up with her back against the stairs, one of Liam’s hands between her shoulder blades as he undid the clasp of her bra and tossed it aside. He cupped her breasts in his palms and rubbed the length of his cock against the apex of her thighs, still covered by her pants and underwear. His mouth closed over one nipple, his tongue hot and wet against the rigid peak.

Yessss…

Honor hissed in a breath and twisted, her fingers gripping his hair and her thighs squeezing his hips.

“Get inside me,” she panted, out of her mind with need.

Liam kept tormenting her nipples as he wrenched her pants down and off. With a single, hard jerk, he tore the side of her underwear and tugged them aside to bare her slick folds to him. She grabbed the back of his neck and ground her hips against him, desperate, uncaring that the stair beneath her was digging into her spine.

Without warning he slid his arms around her and turned them in a fluid display of masculine power that pushed her arousal even higher. He settled her on top of him, her knees braced on the stair on either side of his hips, his cock jutting between them, dark and swollen.

Placing her hands on his chest, Honor felt the heat of him sear her palms. He cupped one side of her ass in one big hand and cradled a breast in the other, his eyes smoldering as he gazed up at her. “Ride me.”

The deep command sent a shiver through her. It surprised her that he was allowing her to be on top, but she knew he’d done it out of consideration for her comfort because of the stairs. Though his thoughtfulness touched her, she didn’t want him thinking she was fragile right now. She needed the rough-edged sex he could give her to ease the ache inside and push away the memory of what had happened tonight. This moment with Liam, the powerful intimacy of it, was all that mattered.

Pulling his head toward her, she moaned when he took her nipple into his mouth, and began rubbing her aching sex along his cock. The friction along her clit sent tingles radiating outward, mixing with the tug of his lips, the stroke of his tongue.

Lifting up, she grasped his cock and settled herself over the thick head. With a sharp tug she pulled his head back, stared into his eyes as she lowered her weight and impaled herself on him.

Liam’s hips surged, his lips capturing her fractured moan as he sank deep inside her. The heavy, delicious pressure increased the throb in her clit. Honor feasted on his mouth as she rode him, her entire body trembling with need. Liam groaned and gripped her ass harder, urging her to move harder, faster. He broke the kiss and bent to suck one of her tight nipples into his hot mouth.

Pressure began to coil deep inside her, spreading out from where they were joined. Honor slipped a hand between her legs to stroke her clit. Liam released her nipple and leaned back to watch her tease herself while she rode him, his expression taut with desire.

She pumped her hips faster, took him harder as pleasure sizzled along her nerve endings. A gasp tore free, followed by a soft moan as her orgasm rushed toward her.

“Honor,
ahh
,” he moaned, head tipping back, eyes closed and an expression of pure ecstasy on his face.

Frantic for release, Honor seized a handful of his hair and dragged his head upward. Liam’s eyes flew open. He slid the hand at her breast to her other hip and held her in place with him buried inside her, his grip forceful enough to leave marks. A dark thrill shot through her at his possessive hold, mixing with the rising pleasure until she was writhing, desperate.

“Liam,” she cried, her whole body tightening as he finally let her move in those last few seconds before release. Her fingers slicked over her swollen clit in tight circles. She rode him in a hard, desperate rhythm, poised to fly. The sudden lash of pleasure took her breath away; only a whimper escaped as she clamped down on him in a rhythmic series of contractions, release exploding inside her.

Liam stiffened beneath her. All those beautiful muscles went rigid, his face a mask of sensual agony as he moaned her name and followed her over the edge.

Breathing hard, suddenly feeling weak all over, Honor set her hands on his shoulders and sank down on top of him. With her face resting in the crook of his neck she breathed in the salty, spicy scent of his skin and sighed.

His arms came around her, gliding gently up and down her back. He nuzzled her temple, his lips skimming the top of her cheek. “I don’t know if I can move.”

“Me either,” she murmured, content to stay where she was even though her banged-up knees were killing her and her thigh muscles were suddenly hating this position.

Groaning, Liam wrapped his arms around her and sat up, taking her upper body with him. “Can you hold onto me long enough for me to get us upstairs?”

She smiled against his neck, knowing he still had plenty of strength enough to carry her without her holding on. “Yeah,” she whispered, tucking closer, winding her arms around his sturdy neck.

He pushed to his feet, both arms holding her securely around the waist while she locked her ankles at the small of his back. He turned and started up the stairs, the sudden wetness between her legs reminding her that they hadn’t used a condom. She was on the shot, so she didn’t care and she loved that there was nothing between them this time.

Half-asleep by the time he reached her bedroom, she protested when he turned toward the master bathroom. “You don’t want a shower?”

“Later,” she mumbled, snuggling closer.

With a chuckle Liam strode for her bed and set her beneath the sheets. As soon as he climbed in beside her she rolled back on top of him, her thighs bracketing his and her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder. She hummed in contentment when he pulled the covers over them and began gliding that soothing hand up and down her back once more.

“Love you,” she whispered, eternally grateful for the chance to tell him in person, and for the gift of lying here in his arms.

“Love you back, sweet pea.”

She smiled at the endearment. After a few minutes ugly memories began to surface, but she squashed them. There’d be plenty of time for her to replay last night’s events, and worry about what she was going to say when she saw Smithers in the hospital tomorrow. Right now she was exhausted and only wanted to bask in the feel of Liam’s naked body beneath her, let the steady throb of his heartbeat beneath her cheek lull her.

“You tell me if you need anything, okay? Even if you just want to talk. I’m here,” he murmured against the top of her head.

Honor nodded sleepily and kissed the side of his neck. “Just don’t let go.”

He was still a moment, then his big arms curved around her and held her tight. “Never again, sweet pea. I promise.”

Cocooned in the safety and love he gave her, Honor allowed herself to drift off.

Liam finished cooking the last of the pancakes and poured him and Honor each a mug of freshly brewed coffee. His stomach grumbled but he was going to wait to eat with her. They’d slept in late, until almost ten, then he’d climbed in the shower with her and there was no way he could’ve been expected to keep his hands off all that smooth, wet skin.

He’d kissed each and every bruise and abrasion on her body, then used his hands, mouth and the showerhead to drive her to the edge of orgasm twice before finally pinning her to the fiberglass wall. He’d captured her mouth with his just as he pushed inside her, drinking in the broken cries she made while the water pounded over his back and her short fingernails dug into his shoulders.

Since he’d interrupted her shower, he was letting her finish alone so he could surprise her with breakfast. The hot water would be good for her sore muscles and bruises. After they ate, they were having a talk. Beginning at noon they had more interviews scheduled with Army officials and government agencies and before they set foot back on base he needed to know exactly where they stood with their relationship. Not that he had doubts after how she’d professed her feelings last night; he just wanted it spelled out that they were together again, this time for the long haul.

He loaded up a tray with their coffees, pancakes, butter and syrup, then headed for the stairs. His foot had just touched the bottom step when the doorbell rang. Frowning, he set the tray on the floor and strode to the door. When he checked through the peephole, his stomach automatically contracted into a ball of dread.

Setting his jaw, he unlocked the door and swung it open, setting one hand against the jamb to make it clear to the unexpected visitors that they weren’t getting past him without permission.

Charity and her mother stood on the top step. Charity’s eyes, a little greener than Honor’s, widened when she saw him standing there shirtless. Beside her, her mother blinked, seeming stunned to find him there.

“Morning,” Liam said, not budging but willing to be pleasant as long as they remembered to do the same. “To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?” He used the
we
deliberately, wanting to make his claim on Honor clear.

“We heard about the attack,” Charity said, her eyes studiously remaining on his face as if she was either too embarrassed or too afraid to look at his bare chest. “It’s all over the news, about the President dying. They said there were drones attacking the base and people shooting soldiers and civilians. I wanted to make sure Honor’s okay.”

“You could’ve called and asked her.”

“I called six times and left voicemails, but she wouldn’t pick up and didn’t return any of my messages.”

Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen her pull out her phone since leaving the base. “She might not have checked her phone yet today. We got home late, so she was tired. She’s just in the shower now.” He said it without apology, didn’t give a fuck if it offended them that he’d stayed the night in her bed. No power on earth could have moved him from her side last night.

“But she’s okay?” Mrs. Girard asked, and Liam could hear the worry in her voice.

“She’s okay. Had a few close calls and lost one of her soldiers last night though.”

Charity pressed her lips together, her eyes filling with tears. “Can we… Can we see her?”

Normally the tears wouldn’t have worked on him because he knew just how manipulative she could be, but even he could tell she was genuinely upset about her sister almost dying. “That’s not up to me. You can wait here while I check with—”

“It’s okay, Liam. Let them in.”

Liam turned his head to find Honor standing on the fourth stair from the bottom. Her hair was damp and she was dressed in a fresh uniform, her expression calm. That mix of strength and serenity in the face of everything she’d gone through made him want to scoop her up in his arms and take her back upstairs, spend hours showing her just how much he adored and cherished her.

“You sure?” One word from her and he’d happily slam the door in the women’s faces.

She nodded. “I’m sure.”

Liam dropped his arm as she descended the rest of the stairs. He met her partway, sliding his arms around her and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You want me to stay?” he murmured, low enough that only she could hear.