“You see, that’s the thing.” He shook his head, tipping her chin up even farther as he leaned in, looking down into her eyes. “I’m waiting for the day you realize there’s nothing to run from.”
Her violet eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in a shallow gasp, but besides that she made no other sound.
“I want you, Harper. I want all of you.” His hand was at her throat, his thumb holding her chin in place so she couldn’t look away.
“I want all of you, too,” she whispered, more than a little breathless.
“I’m yours.” His lips hovered just above hers, and he couldn’t resist covering them. Kissing her and dipping his tongue inside to taste the perfection that was her mouth. Devouring her as she devoured him right back.
She pulled away, looking up at him as her palms slid down his chest to his abs. “Only mine?” she asked, flexing her hands and causing her nails to bite into his skin.
“Only yours.”
“Good.” One of her hands was wrapping around his cock that had most definitely found its second wind, and she was lining him up with her entrance. “Show me.”
He claimed her mouth as he flexed his hips, pushing into her in one swift move. Being inside of Harper in any capacity was enough to short-circuit his brain, but being inside of her with no barriers…yeah, he still wasn’t quite over how amazing it was.
Who was he kidding? He’d never get over it.
Her legs came around his waist, her feet locking at his lower back and her heels digging into his ass. He grabbed on to her hips, holding her steady so she wouldn’t slide across the counter as he moved in and out of her.
It was only a matter of time before he had her good and truly breathless again, her hands clawing at his back as she rocked against him.
He pulled one of his hands from her hip and palmed the back of her head, his fingers spearing in her hair as he looked down into her eyes.
“And you’re mine.” He entered her in a powerful stroke.
“Yes,” she gasped.
“Say it,” he demanded, pulling out of her before thrusting back in.
“I-I’m yours.” Her nails bit into his back harder and he’d swear she probably drew blood.
Could not give less of a shit.
“Promise?” he asked.
“I swear.”
There was something about looking down into those violet eyes of hers, so bare and honest and full of love for him, that made him feel like a fucking king.
She was his.
His mouth crashed down on hers, the kiss imitating their bodies. Rough, passionate, naked hunger for each other. Only ever for each other ever again.
He knew her orgasm was coming seconds before it happened. Her back arched, thrusting those magnificent breasts of hers against his chest before her body tightened around his cock.
Her mouth fell away from his. “Oh God. Oh God. Oh Goooooooood.”
And just like that he was gone. Spilling inside of her as his release overtook him.
It was remarkable that he was still standing. Really it was. But the thought of pulling away from her was unbearable. He needed her skin on his. His lips on her shoulder…and her neck. His mouth went to the freckled spot just under her ear, kissing it before going to her cheek, and then moving over to find her mouth again.
The world might be raging around them…but there inside of Harper’s little apartment, all he knew was peace.
They’d finally found each other.
Chapter Eighteen The Correct Way to Eat an Oreo
Liam was only going to get seven days of settling back into his daily Mirabelle routine with Harper before leaving town again. Though this time Harper would be going with him for a little trip.
Her twenty-seventh birthday was the following week, and after their talk of fate the other night, he kind of had to marvel at the fact that the release of “Forever” was the exact same day. So yeah, they were really going to celebrate and in style.
He was taking her to New York for four days. He didn’t have any shows that he needed to perform at while he was there. No interviews. No recording. No meetings. Nothing.
It would be just the two of them lost in the city together.
After that, she would be returning to Mirabelle while he would be leaving for the next leg of the Isaac Hunter tour. This time to Australia…for two and a half weeks.
The fact that he was going to be half a world away from her was not something that made him even remotely happy. Add to that the fact that it would be the longest he’d go without seeing her since they’d reconnected in Jacksonville.
Yeah, he didn’t want to think about it. It made him twitchy. Made his skin itch in the most uncomfortable way because there was no way to scratch it. No way to make it go away.
He was just going to have to get through it, though. They were going to get through it. But like he’d said so many times before: there wasn’t any other choice.
So for now he was just going to focus on the four days before them. He’d gotten a room at The Plaza, a suite that cost more than anything he’d ever paid for in his life.
He was most definitely pulling out all the stops. Doing things he’d never done for a woman he’d been seeing before. But he wasn’t just seeing Harper. He was in love with her, and he wanted the weekend to be beyond special. Something for her to always remember.
On Friday, the actual day of her birthday—and the song release—he made dinner reservations at Le Petit Fromage. The restaurant was booked out to the end of the year, but the owner and head chef was one of Hunter Andrews’s childhood friends.
Liam and Harper toasted the evening with sparkling apple juice over what had to be the most decadent meal he’d ever eaten in his life.
The following night he took her to see a show on Broadway. He’d watched her more than the actual show. But as he was usually hard pressed to pay attention to anything besides her, it wasn’t all that shocking.
And really who could blame him? She was wrapped in a blue sequined dress, the back dipping down in a low-V to just above her ass. It was a feat to be sure that the dress somehow managed to contain her breasts. It had to have been because of the intricate pattern of crisscross straps in the back. And since Adele had designed and made said garment—one of three dresses that were his sister’s birthday gift to Harper—he wasn’t surprised at all.
After the show they headed outside the theater, the crowd of people swarming around them as they waited for the limo he’d rented. Yup, a limo.
Harper’s hand was in his as she leaned against his side, her head resting on his shoulder.
“You tired?” he asked, pressing his lips to her temple.
It was almost eleven at night and they’d been up early to “explore the city” as she’d put it. Something they’d done mostly on foot. Though, she hadn’t been walking around in the skyscraper heels she was currently wearing.
“Yes…and hungry.” She peeked up at him, biting her bottom lip. “Dinner feels like it was ages ago. What are the chances we could get a burger before we go back to the hotel?”
“I’d say they’re pretty high.”
“And French fries…and a milk shake, too.”
“Whatever you want,” he said, knowing that those words applied to pretty much everything.
When the driver showed up they asked him to take them to the best—and fastest—burger place he knew of. He didn’t even hesitate, pulling off into traffic and cutting through the bright lights and tall buildings.
Harper was more than a tad bit desperate to get comfortable. Her shoes reaching the max of what she could handle for the evening. The second they walked into the hotel room she kicked off her heels. Her next stop was the bedroom, the bags of food in her hand. She’d grabbed a blanket from the sofa on her way, spreading it out over the white quilt before she climbed on top.
She was now sitting in the middle of the bed, her legs crossed in front of her as she unpacked the food from the bags and created her own little picnic. She grabbed a French fry and dipped it in the garlic aioli before popping it into her mouth.