Vivian's List (Vol. 1) (16 page)

I took them for
long walks, played catch, and refilled their water bowls. It was four hours later before Vivian came to get me.

“I’m adopting
Atticus,” she informed me.

I
tried to appear nonchalant, but secretly I was overjoyed.

“
You’re right.” She drew in a deep breath and her voice was resolute when she spoke. “I love him so much. And I have a choice to either take him home with me or let him die in a cage. And I’m not going to let him die in a cage. I’m prepared to give him a lifetime of love and joy in the few months he has left.”

The
building had poor ventilation, and the air was arid and stuffy.

And a
s Viv stood there, brushing her damp hair from her forehead, she looked emotionally drained and a little worn around the edges.

But gazing at her face
, I wondered how I could ever have loved anyone else in my life.

Not only was
Viv beautifully profound, she was profoundly beautiful.

Ah, f
uck trying to play it cool.

I reached
out, bridging the distance between us. “We’ll adopt Atticus together.”

Her eyes lit up.
“Really?”

“Really.” I cupped her face in my hand
s and kissed the smile on her lips.

Chapter Eighteen

Vivian

I awoke to a flood of cherry sunshine pouring in through the slanted venetian blinds. The morning light felt harsh against my eyes, and I turned on my side to glance at the clock.

I
t was nearly nine.

The AC kicked in and the cool air hit my bare skin.
I shivered a little and looked over at Liam, watching the lean sinew of his chest rising and falling with each deep breath.

My gaze flitted
up to his face. Normally there was always something about
him
, about his demeanor that commanded respect, and it was easy for me to see how Liam was a lieutenant in the army. How he rose through the ranks so quickly.

But i
n sleep his features relaxed, and he looked so unguarded … almost youthful.

I sighed.
Last night, like most nights, Liam had slept restlessly, waking every hour or so.

It was nightmares, he
’d told me. And that was all he would say of it.

I
hadn’t pressed him for I wanted to let him reveal more on his own.

When Liam
didn’t so much as stir, I rebalanced my weight on the mattress and glanced around my bedroom.

Where was
Atticus?

Yesterday Liam had splurged
on Atticus, buying him the most luxurious bed from the pet store. Constructed of thick memory foam, it came with a taupe hypoallergenic microfiber cover, and was even labeled ‘Orthopedic.’

Liam had
set the orthopedic dog mattress next to his side of the bed.

But A
tticus wasn’t there.

Quietly
I rose out of bed, careful not to disturb Liam’s sleep. I tiptoed around the room in search of Atticus and found him curled up next to the long ottoman bench at the foot of my bed. I smiled and sat down on the bench, stroking him lovingly a few times.

His
amber-flecked eyes were turned up at me, and he whimpered softly before drifting back to sleep. Soon his black paws started twitching as he chased rabbits in his dreams.

Suddenly t
he mattress creaked and I turned. Liam slipped out of the covers and came to join me on the bench. I shifted to make room for him, but he simply gathered me onto his lap and kissed me lightly on my bare shoulder.

Together
, we gazed on adoringly at Atticus like he was our firstborn child.

The
strange domesticity of the scene almost took my breath away.

I
nestled into the crook of Liam’s arm, sighing as the warmth and comfort stole through my limbs.

With his left hand, Liam
began caressing my left breast.

He kissed that delicate pulse just beneath my ear
, letting his breath caress my earlobe. “Look at us in the mirror,” he whispered.

I
lifted my gaze, staring at the floor-to-ceiling mirrored closet doors in front of us.

Liam
was watching me closely, a genuine warmth in his eyes.

Brushing
my long hair aside, he kissed the base of my neck. “Don’t look at me, Viv. Look at
us
.”

In the mirror, I took in the sight of the two of us
, deliciously naked on the plush ottoman bench with Liam’s arms wrapped around my waist as I sat on his lap in a reverse cowgirl position.

Our reflected gaze
was mesmerizing. Tantalizing. I loved the way we looked together. Loved the contrast of our skin … his tanned torso dark against the honey-colored complexion of my skin. The soft swells of my breasts, the lush curve of my hips set against the hard angles and planes of his tremendous male body.

Meanwhile, Liam’s hands were caressing my breasts
, lifting and pushing them together.

A soft
sigh escaped me as he covered my nipples with his thumbs and began making a series of lazy circles.

“You’re so beautiful.” His voice
was thick and raspy as he thumbed my nipples, pinching the buds until I cried out.

My eyes fluttered shut and
I let my head roll forward, lost in the swirling sensations as he continued teasing my breasts.

“Look in the mirror,
Viv.” His tongue flicked against my ear. “I want you to get a good clear view of how sexy you look when I make love to you.” He skimmed his palms down and over my hips, pulling me firmly against his swelling erection. “I want you to see how fuckin’ hot you look when you come for me.”

At his urging,
I lifted my gaze, staring again at our reflection.

With one hand, Liam
reached between my legs, spreading my thighs and parting my sex.

Feathers of air touched me intimately
.

I was open to
Liam’s dark and intense gaze.

O
pen to
my
gaze.

I
had to force myself not to shy away from the reflection staring back at me.

My labia, flared wide open,
flushed a deep pink and dotted with moisture.

I
looked so utterly and completely exposed. And so
lewd
.

Instinctively, I tri
ed to bring my legs together but Liam gripped my knees, keeping my thighs splayed wide open, exposing my throbbing clit.

S
parks of heat flashed in Liam’s eyes as he stared at my glistening sex.

I’d never felt more defenseless and more
aroused
. “Liam, I—”

“
Shhh,” he soothed. “Keep watching, Viv.” Using his fingertips, he spread the creamy droplets of my arousal around my labia.

Entranced, I watched. Watched
his strong fingers rubbing the moisture deep into my pink folds, his thumb pressing hard against my extruded clit, teasing and taunting the swollen bud.

My body tre
mbled, and my flesh quivered as he continued stroking, wringing every last ounce of pleasure from my body.

A strangled
sob caught in my throat, and in the mirror I saw thick rivulets of juice seeping out of my sex.

“
So wet.” His fingers cleaved the slick folds of my labia and I moaned as he sank two fingers deep into my core. “So juicy.” My moans melted into breathy whimpers as he slowly withdrew his fingers.

With a sure, fluid grace of movement, he lifted me up and set me back down on the ottoman.

I licked my lips in obvious anticipation, watching him pull a foil packet out of the nightstand drawer.

He came back for me
just moments later, his cock readily sheathed in a condom.

Again, he gathered me into his arms so I was sitting on h
is lap, and facing away from him. Facing the floor-to-ceiling closet mirrors.

For a frozen moment,
Liam’s reflected gaze trapped mine. Then I began moving my hips against the broad head of his cock, making small pelvic circles, feeding the desire welling inside me.

He groaned in appreciation and
I felt his cock probing my warm entrance.

Unable to tear my gaze away,
I watched our reflection in the mirror as I eased myself onto his stiff shaft, slowly sinking down to the hilt. My lower abdomen clenched, feeling so full, so engorged with him buried deep inside me.

Pleasure coiled
within my womb.

He was all I could feel, and
I loved how perfectly we fit when we were joined.

How perfectly we fit when we were
fused together.

Using
the heels of my feet as support, I gently bounced up and down the length of his rigid shaft, my long breasts swaying with my rhythmic movements.

The image was entrancing and subtly erotic.

I watched myself as if in a dream, barely even recognizing the girl in the mirror.

She looked
so confident, so wild and free, and yet so totally in control.

And for
one heart-stopping moment I wondered if Liam saw that girl, too.

I found his dark gaze and held it steadily
.

He tantalized
me with his heated stare, and his hands shook as they slid up to grasp my breasts, squeezing them as if trying to still them from swaying.

White-hot darts of fire
streaked through my body and I bounced to a faster tempo, filling myself with him, relishing in the delicious friction of our bodies as I slid up and down his thick shaft. Every single nerve ending I possessed begged for release.

“Yes,” Liam rasped, kneading my breasts
with desperation. “Come for me.”

His words af
fected me as much as his touch. And something about the way he watched me, that steely expression on his face, the raw desire in his eyes, it pushed me over the brink.

My nails scored his muscled thighs as my
body gave a violent shudder.

Even as my body s
hook with the force of my release, I kept my eyes trained on the mirror, transfixed at the deliciously erotic image … the both of us watching as I writhed against him, convulsions still wracking my body.

I
t shattered me, splintering me into a million pieces, sending me into another liquid meltdown. Gasping in quiet sobs, my engorged clit pulsated, my inner thighs quivered and I stopped fighting the pleasure.

I gave myself up to him, simply letting the rolling sensations flow through my body and through my limbs, letting it seep through my blood and heat up my veins from the inside.

As Liam held me close, rocking me through the gentle currents, I felt the flex of his muscles in his arms and shoulders.

“
Shhhhh.” Even as he soothed me, I heard his restrained breaths as he tried to control his own needs.

The tendons in his neck stretched and tightened a
s he focused on my sweaty, dazed face.

The stiff ridge of his cock was still embedded
deep inside me, sheathed in my damp warmth.

I started bouncing again, up and down his
rigid length, watching his blade-cut face contort with every effort to hold back.

“God,
Viv,” he rasped with visible effort, grasping my swaying breasts, his breathing growing rough. “Don’t stop.” He squeezed my achingly swollen breasts, crushing them with his fingers as I rocked him through his pending climax, pushing down, pulling up, clamping my inner muscles around his slick, hot shaft, giving him everything I had in me and absorbing everything he gave me. 

A
fierce groan tore through his chest and my breasts vibrated with the detonation of his release.

Afterward
we lay in bed, a tangle of limbs, facing each other.

Liam’s
expression was soft, and there was a tenderness there that I had never seen before. It was as if he truly saw me—not just my face, but the very essence of
me
.

A
nd in that moment, I
knew
.
The list, it didn’t matter anymore.

What we had between us was bigger than the list.

It was more than just sex. It was so much more.

And I
finally understood. Love didn’t have to be that crazy intense out of your mind feeling that I had with Brody.

It could
instead be a warm, calm, and secure feeling with the person who is your best friend.

Being with Liam, it was so different than being with Brody.

Liam reminded me of what love had to offer.

It was as if I had woken up in a world as different from yesterday as
night is from day.

I
wasn’t depressed anymore, I could sleep at night, I wasn’t stressed out, I wasn’t constantly checking my phone, and I wasn’t a ball of nerves when I went out on dates.

All of this
, it made me realize that I wasn’t nervous about Liam because he gave me no reason to be nervous. So much of that intense feeling in my relationship with Brody stemmed from the precariousness of it all.

But
in Liam’s case, he gave me no reason to feel that way because I trusted him. I felt safe with him.

Now I understood where Liam was coming from when he’d
talked about love.

There was the
love that’s shouted from the rooftops for the world to see.

There was the quiet love that’s tucked away in the corner.

And then there was the love that’s somewhere in between.