Too willing.
She astonished him. Not only by her stunning individuality but also by the way she made him feel special. He had to face up to what was happening inside him, but at the same time he feared it.
It was time to let go of his fears. Time to understand there was something valuable to be had in this experience. Time to realize there was always something new to learn, always valuable insights to be gained. His life did not have to be buried in work, success and the pursuit of revenge.
“Make love to me, Liam,” she begged.
“Dammit, woman.” His cock throbbed as he watched her touch herself.
“You know what you gotta do to have me.”
Liam stalked across the patio. He grabbed her by the shoulders, pinned her against the chaise and kissed her with a fierceness that pulled a feral growl from his throat.
Katie let out a soft, whispered breath.
In that moment, her small sigh told him something important. She had goaded him into this because whenever things started to get emotionally intimate between them, she reached for a physical remedy.
Katie Winfield, he now recognized, was afraid of her tender feelings.
The seductress image was all a ruse, a protective defense mechanism she hid behind. She cloaked her real self with sexy clothing, adventurous sex and casual relationships. The real Katie disappeared inside parties and flirtatious behavior and frisky role-playing. But there was so much more to her than her sexuality.
Here, with his body pressed against her, he could feel the emotional surging of this deeper, richer, more complex personality. He wondered if she even understood the dynamics of her alluring behavior. Somehow, he doubted it.
Liam felt himself dragged down into the tempting whirlpool of mystery. They stared into each other’s eyes and his world narrowed to one simple thing.
Katie.
She was right. He couldn’t resist her.
Compelled, Liam scooped a giggling Katie into his arms and carried her back toward the bedroom. She nibbled on his upper arm, driving him straight to distraction. He couldn’t wait to get out of his clothes and into her.
He laid her gently down on the bed, but immediately, she popped to her feet.
“Let’s do it on the floor.” With a wicked gleam in her eyes, she reached for his belt buckle.
“The bed’s more comfortable,” he said, tussling his T-shirt over his head as she pulled his belt through the loops in a sensuous slither of leather.
“The floor’s more adventuresome.” She undid the snap on his jeans.
“Adventuresome sex makes me come too fast. For once, I want to take things nice and slow.” He kicked off his shoes. “Which is damned hard to do.”
“How about on the bathroom counter in front of the mirror?” She tugged down his zipper.
“How about you resting on fresh sheets with a pillow tucked under your beautiful butt while I find new ways of pleasuring you with my tongue?” He wriggled his eyebrows suggestively.
“How about in the swimming pool?” She tugged both his jeans and his underwear down his hips in one fluid motion, releasing his aching erection from its restraints.
Liam kicked out of the jeans. Feeling giddier than he had the first time he’d made love, he flung himself onto the bed, grinned at her wolfishly and patted the spot beside him. “Come here, Miss Winfield.”
KATIE SHOOK her head. Her throat constricted and her fingers went inexplicably numb. “How about we do it on the kitchen table?”
He lay on his side, propped up on his elbow. He looked like a lion, long and lean and powerful. “I know you like adventure, sweetheart, but there’s something to be said for tradition. Let’s just rock this bed till the slats break.”
Sweetheart.
It was the first time Liam had ever called her sweetheart. The word formed a precious knot of terror inside her stomach.
She shook her head. “How about in the shower?”
Liam sat up, cocked his head and gave her the strangest look. “What’s wrong with the bed?”
Katie shrugged. How could she begin to explain this nameless sense of dread at the thought of sinking down onto the mattress with him?
A look of sudden insight crossed his face. “You’re afraid to make love in a bed.”
“I’m not,” Katie denied.
“Then prove you’re not afraid. Come here.”
Katie stayed at the door. Her knees wavered strange and loose and her hands were shaking. “I don’t have to prove anything to you.”
“Why, you’re stone-cold terrified.”
“No one is scared of making love in a bed,” she scoffed, but her voice came out breathless, airy.
He held out a hand, curled his fingers in a come-hither gesture.
She hung back.
“What’s wrong? I thought you were hot for this?”
She shrugged.
“Katie?”
“It just feels weird.”
“It’s not weird. You’re used to hiding behind masks and darkened movie theatres and the shadow of midnight.”
“Not necessarily.”
“And you like it hard and fast and anonymous. When you have sex, you pretend to be someone else, don’t you? A French maid, a 1920s movie siren, a good-girl blue blood gone bad.”
“I don’t,” she squeaked.
“What are you so afraid of, Katie?” he murmured.
“I’m not afraid,” she denied. But it was true. All of it. She’d never made love in a bed and she preferred having wild, quick sex in adventurous places while role-playing. “I like sex to be exciting and spontaneous and innovative and-”
“Impersonal,” he finished.
“That’s not what I was going to say.”
“Maybe not, but it’s accurate.”
Until this moment, until he’d called her on it, she’d never caught on that she avoided having sex in a bed. She thought it was because she was impulsive and creative, but now she knew that wasn’t the truth. Now she understood the reason why she’d eschewed beds for floors and swimming pools and closets and movie theatres. Why risk and danger and quick, hurried mating with men she barely knew had been her modus operandi.
Beds were where married people made love. Beds were for committed, long-term relationships. And she just didn’t have that kind of staying power. Everyone said so.
“What are you so afraid of?” Liam repeated
You! The way you make me feel. The stark terror that if I let myself love you, somehow I’ll lose who I am.
He swung his legs over the bed, got up and stalked toward her, his naked, erect penis bouncing jauntily with every step.
Katie took a step back from him until her bare bottom butted up against the door. She wanted to turn and flee, but Liam wasn’t about to let her get away.
He planted both hands against the door over her head, leaned in, lowered his head and looked deeply into her eyes. “I understand you completely, Katie Winfield. Maybe even better than you understand yourself.”
Hypnotized, she stared into his eyes, waiting for him to tell her what was wrong with her.
“Doesn’t it get tiring?” he asked.
His question was unexpected and made her feel as if he were peeling off the edges of her skin, digging for the woman who lay beneath the surface. Her throat was closing off.
“What?” she whispered.
“Staying in motion, staying busy, trying to outrun your feelings.”
“I’m not…” Katie broke off at the tenderness in his eyes. She couldn’t talk against the pressure weighing down on her chest.
“It’s okay to be ordinary,” he murmured. “It’s okay for things to be boring once in a while. There’s nothing wrong with taking a time out. In fact, when you slow down, you’re really able to experience your adventures.”
“Oh, that’s rich.” Her laugh sounded hollow. “Coming from you, Mr. Workaholic.”
“Hey, it’s the lesson you taught me. You’ve helped me to realize, all work and no play makes Liam a dull boy. But what I’m trying to tell you is that all go and no staying power makes Katie incomplete. Slow down with me, sweetheart. Let’s explore this whole new experience together.”