Let Me In (8 page)

Her head fell back against the pillow at the pressure of him filling her pussy, eyes closing in ecstasy. He was so thick and hard, easing the emptiness inside her. A helpless moan escaped, her throat tightening as she clutched him to her.
I need you. Take me.
She swallowed the words before they could escape.

When he was buried deep inside her, Liam paused and dropped a soft kiss on the tip of her nose. “All right?”

Trembling, she nodded and hung on. He threaded his hands into her hair, holding her still for his kiss in a tender show of dominance that only made her hotter. The caress of his tongue against hers had her pussy squeezing around him impatiently. “Liam…”

“I know. Let me take care of you.” Balanced on his forearms, he began to thrust. A hard, urgent rhythm that stole her breath and caused everything in her to tighten. Hot, sweet pleasure enveloped her. His big body imprisoned her, surrounded her like a living shield. She whimpered into his mouth as the tension began to coil low in her belly. It wasn’t enough. She tried to angle her hips to get better contact on her swollen, pulsing clit. A little more and she’d come, she was so revved up already. The immense power in him made her belly flip. His arms and shoulders flexed with every stroke, his face tight with strain as he watched her, one hundred percent focused on her pleasure.

The pressure inside her rose further. “Oh, God,” she cried, the friction almost too intense to bear. Her whole being was laid open to him, defenseless while he drove into her and observed her every expression, and she didn’t care. Digging her fingers into his back, she twisted her hips to meet him and cried out his name, frantic for more.

“Fuck,” he muttered hoarsely. He drew up onto his knees and reached back to unlock her ankles from the small of his back. Before she could utter a protest he brought her legs over his wide shoulders and leaned forward. The sudden shift trapped her beneath him and lodged him impossibly deep inside her, made him feel huge. The angle and increased pressure against her G-spot were exquisite. She moaned incoherently, grabbing his bulging biceps as he kept thrusting in a steady tempo. The bed squeaked on its frame, mixing with the sounds of their labored breathing.

When she thought she’d scream with frustration he slid one hand down her stomach to stroke her wet pussy. His fingers rubbed her throbbing clit tenderly, finding the exact spot that drove her wild. Talia cried out and rocked her hips in a frenzied rhythm, craving the orgasm he was pushing her toward.

“Fuck yeah. I want to watch you come.” His voice was rough, strained with the effort of holding back, but he never stopped moving.

The pleasure built higher, gathering in her core until she couldn’t take any more. Crying out, she arched her neck and let the ecstasy overtake her. It detonated inside her, exploding outward to race throughout her body. Liam rode her through it, holding his rhythm, milking every last ripple out of her before she shuddered and went limp beneath him.

Coming back to earth, she eventually opened her eyes to find him watching her, his erect cock gliding in and out of her. Her fingers were still curled into his arms. Needing to touch him, to give him the same pleasure he’d just given her, she reached up and cradled the side of his face with one hand. Tenderness and gratitude flooded her, along with another, stronger emotion she refused to name.

Liam closed his eyes for a moment and released a deep breath, as though gathering himself. When he opened them and looked down at her, the muscles in his jaw tightened. He drove deep, harder than before.

Talia gasped and dug her fingers deeper into his muscles, awed by the experience of it. He was so beautiful, pumping deep into her body as he sought his own pleasure. She let her hands drift over his damp skin, stroking him all over, lifting into his movements. Suddenly he groaned and tensed above her, and she could actually feel him swelling inside her. His hips drove forward one last time, and his head fell back as a low growl of male pleasure slipped free. She watched the release tear through him, wracking his muscles with shudders. When it was over he bent to catch his breath for a moment, then gently kissed her lips before unhooking her legs from over his shoulders.

She expected him to withdraw and let her get up, but once he pulled out he surprised her by covering her face with sweet, tender kisses and lying atop her with his cheek pressed to her breast. Her heart turned over in her chest. She’d loved him from afar for so long, but the way he’d just made love to her broke through every one of her defenses.

Reeling from the emotional impact, Talia wrapped her limbs around him and cradled him tightly. For a minute she allowed herself to give in to the need to caress him. She stroked her fingers through his thick, silky hair, awed by the closeness between them. She loved how much he seemed to enjoy her touch and intended to savor every second of this experience because she knew it wouldn’t last.

Liam sighed in contentment and snuggled closer. “I knew you’d feel this good.”

I love you.
Talia bit her lip to hold back the words that demanded to be set free. She closed her eyes, fighting to make sense of everything. The thought of walking away now was too painful to contemplate. And she had only herself to blame.

Raising his head, Liam gave her a slow smile. “You okay?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t help but smile back. He’d been an amazingly considerate and attentive lover. Not that it should have surprised her. She’d always known he’d be like that, since he was so caring and affectionate. And the way he was looking at her right now almost convinced her she really did matter to him. More than anything she wanted to stop the clock and bask in the moment, soak up all the tenderness he lavished upon her.

“Be right back.” He kissed her again, letting his lips and tongue linger against hers, unraveling her all over again before he got up and disappeared into the bathroom.

When the door clicked shut, Talia sighed and flopped back against her pillow. Shit, what now? They never should have done this, and now it was too late. There was no way to fix it, and it would hurt him when she left. God, she didn’t want to hurt him, or to be gutted in return. Too late to escape unscathed now. He hadn’t asked her for anything or expressed an interest in more than a fling, yet this thing between them felt anything but casual. Now that they’d slept together, would he expect way more than she was capable of giving him? And he’d want to ask her about her mother. He deserved to know at least that much about her past, but she wasn’t quite ready to have that conversation. And certainly not while she was naked in bed with him.

Should she get up, shower and then head down to the police station? They probably wouldn’t let her see her mother yet, but she had to figure out what her next move was going to be. And she had to plan for a future that didn’t include Liam, no matter how much she wished otherwise. Things were too complicated now to allow for a relationship, assuming he even wanted one.

A searing ache spread through her chest. The thought of losing him tore her heart apart.

The bathroom door opened and she braced herself for his questions, but Liam merely walked back to the bed in all his naked glory and slid in beside her. He pulled the sheets over them and rolled her onto her side, curling his body around hers protectively.

Talia closed her eyes, summoning the courage to be strong. There was no escaping the reality of what had to be done. She had to end this. “Liam…”

His arms tightened around her and he placed a tender kiss on the back of her neck. “Don’t talk right now. Sleep for a while. You’re exhausted. Things won’t look so bad after you’ve had some rest.”

Yes, they would. A few hours’ sleep wouldn’t change the inevitable.

She tried to turn in his arms and look at him, but he kept her tucked tight against him. “Sleep,” he repeated in a husky whisper. “Just close your eyes and let me hold you like this. You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to.”

Her eyes burned with unshed tears. Damn, she really must be tired. Blowing out a breath, she allowed her muscles to relax and focused on the sensation of being held in Liam’s arms. A few more hours wouldn’t kill her. Once she woke up she would do what needed to be done. In the meantime, she’d savor every moment of being held tight against his naked body.

His warmth soothed her, the steady beat of his heart lulling her as her eyes drifted shut. His contented sigh barely registered before she fell asleep.

* * *

When Liam woke it took him a moment to realize Talia wasn’t in bed beside him. Rolling over, he blinked groggily and found her already dressed, busy folding what few items of clothing she’d brought in her duffel. “Hey.”

She darted a glance over at him. “Hi.”

He didn’t like the distant expression on her face. Sitting up, he watched her, noting the way she avoided eye contact. What the hell was going on in her head now? “You going somewhere?”

“No, I just like to keep everything tidy.”

Yeah, and that aspect of her personality made all kinds of sense to him now. “Okay. So how come you won’t look at me?”

Her head came up and she met his eyes. “There. See?” She resumed folding.

“We had sex, Tal. It’s not a criminal offense.”

“I know that.”

Sure seemed like she regretted it. Testing her, he slid out of bed. She paused for a second, darting a look at his naked body before she refocused on her task. One last sweater and she’d be out of things to fiddle with.

“I put your clothes in the bathroom if you want to grab a shower before you go.”

He folded his arms across his chest, unsure if he’d heard her right. “Are you kicking me out?”

A faint blush stole across her cheeks. “No, but I’ve got things to take care of. You’re welcome to stay here for a while if you want.”

She’d prefer he didn’t, though. That was obvious enough.

For a moment he debated marching across the room to rip the sweater she was folding from her hands, then toss her back onto the bed and regain the ground he’d somehow lost since falling asleep beside her just over an hour ago. It drove him nuts how she could burn so hot for him one moment and freeze him out the next.

He stood there for another moment. She never looked up. “Guess I’ll go then,” he muttered and headed into the bathroom. When he was dressed he walked out to find her standing awkwardly by the table. At least she looked at him this time, though it seemed like a real effort for her. “So what now?”

“I have to make some calls, and I’ll probably go down to the police station at some point,” she answered, deliberately misunderstanding his question.

“And you don’t want me there, is that it?”

Her expression fell. “Liam, this isn’t easy for me.”

“That’s exactly why you shouldn’t be handling this all on your own. You know I want to be here for you.”

She nodded. “That means a lot.”

He arched a brow. “But you still want me to go.”

“I need some time alone, and I don’t want you to be mad,” she said finally.

Too late. The frustration was already eating at him. He didn’t have a clue how to handle her when she put her force field up. “Will you at least call me if you need to go to the station?”

“Okay.”

Liam figured the odds were evenly split on that one. Staring at her for another second, he shook his head. He didn’t dare try to hug her in case it caused her to retreat even further. “All right. See you later, then.”

She stood there while he let himself out. Once the door clicked shut he expelled a loud sigh and rubbed a hand over his face. This wasn’t even close to how he’d envisioned things turning out. Giving her the space she so clearly wanted was either the kind thing to do, or the worst mistake he could make. In a lot of ways Talia was a complete mystery to him. Few people got to really know her.

He needed to talk to one of them.

Pulling out his phone, he dialed his sister on his way out to the truck and asked her to meet him at his place. When he got home she was already helping herself to a beer at his kitchen counter. “Glad to see you’re making yourself at home,” he remarked.