Unplugged (23 page)

“
Don’t stop.”

“
I don’t intend to.” He kisses my ankle then proceeds to move his lips along my leg, across my stomach and breasts until his mouth hovers over mine. The sensation of his rough cheeks against my skin adds to the burn threatening to explode inside. “I’m going to kiss every inch of your beautiful self. Then I’m going to make love to you slowly until you come screaming my name.” I squirm. I want him inside me. What happened to the threat from downstairs? “And after that I’m going to fuck you.”

Please.

Liam stands and looks down at me,
my skin cools at the loss of him. I can’t move; I’m a shaking mess as he shucks off his boxers and digs around in his jeans for a condom. Continuing to watch me, he tears open the foil before sliding the condom on his hard length.

Liam
rests back onto me, propping himself up by the arms as he looks down, his loose hair falling into my face. “By the end of tonight, your body will know that you’re completely mine.” He nudges my legs apart with his knee, darkened eyes on mine. “I can guarantee you won’t want anyone else after tonight.”

All I
’m aware of is the tip of him resting against my sensitive sex and I shift my hips, desperate for Liam to fill me. He moves backward in response, mouthing ‘no’ at me; and when I try to shuffle closer, he pulls my hair again so I can’t move without it hurting.

“
You’re a surprise, Cerys,” he says and hitches my leg around his hip. “I’ve changed my mind; I think I’ll fuck you first.”

I
gasp as he thrusts into me hard then stops, kissing me again, and forcing my mouth open to accept his tongue. I dig my nails into his shoulders, and lock my legs around his waist; I fit tightly around him but want him closer. Liam pulls his head away and takes a deep breath. He withdraws slowly, watching my face and I close my eyes focusing only on the pleasure pulsing through every nerve ending.

“
You feel so fucking good, like you were made for me,” he says and drives himself into me, harder and faster, pulling me to the promise he denied me several minutes ago. As my breathing turns to moans, Liam grabs my arms and holds them over my head, continuing his fierce pushes until I come, crying his name. Liam doesn’t stop, and neither does the sensation shattering my body. Gaze fixed firmly on mine, his urgency increases and I match his rhythm until he grinds into me one last time, holding still before swearing as he comes.

Liam
drops to bury his damp forehead against my neck and releases my hands. “You are fucking awesome,” he says and moves his mouth to find mine.

I hold him against me
, relishing the closeness and the tender caress of the kiss. “
That
was fucking awesome,” I reply.

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 fucking 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.”

“
You couldn’t be further from the truth! Liam likes Ella,” I retort.

With those words
, I trigger off a chain reaction I never dreamt possible.

“
I’ll leave you to it,” says Liam to me, continuing to act as if Craig isn’t in the room, and heads toward the stairs.

“
I don’t want him around my daughter.”

“
Hypocrite,” I snap.

“
What the fuck does that mean?”

“
It’s two weeks since you saw her! Why are you here?”

“
I’ve been busy, working hard to give you money for Ella!”

I sweep a gaze over his clothes. His
smart jeans and designer trainers would’ve cost as much as a week’s groceries. “Right, sure. Too busy for your daughter?”

“
I’m here now, aren’t I?”

“
You should’ve called first. We need to organise days for you to see Ella. You can’t just turn up. We have plans today.”

“
We?” he says narrowing his eyes.

“
Yes, we. Me and Ella.”

“
So the half-naked man in your house is a casual thing?”

“
Seriously, Craig, my relationship with Liam is none of your business. Me and you ended almost six months ago.”

“
I came across the city to see Ella; I’ll wait for you to bring her home.”

“You can visit Ella next weekend. This is too short notice.”

“
What the fuck?”

I dig my nails into my palms, surprised by my new ability to stand up to Craig.
“Me and Ella have a different life now; you can’t expect us to drop everything when it suits you.”

Craig glances over my shoulder
toward the direction Liam went. “If you try and keep her from me...”

“
I’m not! I just want us to organise this properly if you’ve decided you want to see Ella more often!” I temper my tone. “Look, today is a bad day. Let’s catch up in the week and sort something out? It would help Ella too if she knows when to expect you.”

“
So you’re saying ‘no’ to today?”

“
Correct.”

Craig steps toward me.
“Remember, this is partly my house, for my daughter. Not you. If you make things difficult for me, you’re out.”

His deep brown eyes are filled with anger, anger I
know he’s close to the edge of. He’s not violent, but Craig’s moods are unpredictable. Christmas was a prime example of decisions he makes when gripped by whatever the fury does to his logic.

“
I won’t. We’ll sort something out. Maybe if you came round tomorrow?” I say, using my well-practiced calming tone.

Will he leave or will this escalate? What possessed him to come and see us out of the blue? Liam moves around upstairs and the situation turns my stomach. The only good thing in all this is that Ella isn
’t here.

Craig pulls his car keys from his pocket.
“I’ll call you.”

Relieved he
’s closed down and the unpredictable mood hidden, I smile with false gratitude. “Thank you, Craig. I’m so sorry about this, I wish you’d called.”

“
Yeah,” he mutters with a final glance toward the stairs.

As I close the door behind Craig, I lean against it and take a shaky breath. This
guy kicked me and Ella out in a fit of rage at Christmas. He holds the cards when it comes to financial support for Ella, and by default, for me.
Please don’t let this go badly.

Dazed by the encounter, I don
’t notice Liam approach and touch my arm. “Are you okay?”

“
I need to get Ella,” I say absent-mindedly.

“
Do you want me to come?”

“
No!”

Liam
’s face registers surprise. “Okay. Do you want me to leave?”

“
No,” I say quietly.

“
Cerys, you’re shaking.” He takes my hand and squeezes. “Don’t let the dickhead get to you. He’s behaving like a dog pissing on his territory.”

I pull a face.
“That’s gross, Liam.”