Waves of nausea and guilt poured over him. For a moment, Liam thought he’d have to toss Kate onto the bed so he could run into the bathroom and hurl his self-loathing into the bowl. He bit back his feelings, as he’d been doing so effectively for years, and managed to keep it all down.
He must have still looked sick because Kate ran her hand up and down his back, rubbing and soothing his muscles. Perfect. The idea of her seeing him at his worst was as appealing as a vomit popsicle.
Kate massaged the top of his shoulder. “Liam, you did nothing wrong in accepting the money. She wanted to make amends, and I guess it was the only way she could do so.”
“Some days I feel like my business is built on a foundation of shame.”
“It’s not. You built up your business. You are the success behind it, no one else. Plenty of people in your shoes would have climbed into a hole and died. But you turned your life around, Liam Doyle. You became a success. You should be proud.”
He grinned, no longer feeling like a helpless kid. “You know the reason I decided to build casinos is because of the money they make. I wanted to know that if I ever had a family, they’d want for nothing. So I studied the competition and recognized a lot of gaps in the market. I tailored my properties to cater to those gaps. Now I can’t keep people away. But does it make me happy? I don’t know anymore.”
She grabbed his hand and drew whorls on his palm. “Well, despite how I feel about casinos, I’m woman enough to admit you’ve created amazing hotels. The best on the Strip.”
“The best on the Strip. That meant something to me a few years ago. But now? Who the hell knows? Kate, since I opened Vice, I just haven’t been myself. I haven’t been motivated. And I’m sick to death thinking I might end up being the failure she always knew I’d be.” He rubbed his chest, trying to erase the pains that always seemed present.
“There’s nothing about you that says failure to me. You are an amazing man,” she said, sighing. “And I want you so much it makes me crazy.”
To hear her say the words almost erased all his pain. The flood of emotion made his cock throb. He had to have her again. Now.
“Liam, you have to tell me about your time on the streets. I won’t stop wondering and worrying.”
Raw need suppressed his sigh of frustration. “Just let it go, Kate.”
“But…”
“No buts. You know everything that’s fit to print.” He reached for the tie on her robe, untied it, and removed the garment. He gazed at her beautiful body, the gorgeous curves which provided him with the best solace he’d ever known. He removed his own robe. “Just let me be with you. That’s all I want right now.”
She stared at him, her face crinkled with uncertainty, but she lay back on the bed and held out her hand.
Liam situated himself between her comforting thighs, and together they forgot the world.
Liam shut the suite door after accepting the tray of room service breakfast he’d ordered. She huddled on the couch, wrapped in her robe, and grinned at him as he brought it inside. “I’ve never been so happy to see a tray of food,” she admitted. “I’m starving because of how you’ve used my body all night long.”
He didn’t say a word but offered her a heated look and deposited the tray on a table.
She tightened her robe and tripped over to the table, her bare feet loving the feel of the thick carpet. She moved next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hungry?”
His grin didn’t reach his eyes. “I guess.”
“You should be. I know I worked up an appetite.”
Again, he said nothing, turning instead to the television in the corner. The morning news was on, but he stared at the report as if he wasn’t absorbing a word.
Kate eyed him. He’d been strangely quiet this morning. She feared their talk had scared him off a little. He’d still been affectionate upon waking, holding her close, kissing her as if she were a fragile doll. To see him retreat now scared her more than she cared to admit, and she felt the need to coax him back out of his shell, if she could.
Their talk had scared her, as well. Her dream last night had been colored with images of abandoned children and life on the streets. What had happened to him out there? She knew the question would continue to plague her.
She lifted the lid to the tray and took in the incredible smell of bacon and eggs. Liam watched her and a dark gleam lit up his eyes, like a tiger preparing for the kill. She picked up a piece of bacon, held it to his mouth, and he bit off a piece.
“Liam,” she said, wanting to make him feel better. “Are you okay?”
He continued to watch her as he swallowed his bacon.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?”
“I don’t feel like talking.”
Just as she suspected. After his confessions, he’d clammed up again. It had felt as if they’d broken down a wall and grown closer, but this morning she awoke to find he’d erected a higher one. She might have woken up with a different man altogether. After their breakthrough and an astounding night of pleasure, it seemed guarded Liam was back in control.
Okay, maybe she should give him some space. He could share more when he was ready. But the neediness in his eyes told her he needed to express himself, more than he realized.
“I’m here for you,” she said. “Last night you shared so much. I want you to know I didn’t take it for granted. Just don’t shut me out now.”
He seemed to absorb her words at first, then his gaze dropped and he tugged at her robe tie, loosening it.
“What are you doing?”
He removed her robe and tossed it to the floor. “Stop talking, Kate.” His own robe soon followed.
“Liam…”
“You want to know what I need? What I want? I want you, hot and wet and ready for me. And I want it now.”
“I don’t think we should…”
He molded his hand around her breast and kissed her hard, as if to stop her from talking. She pulled away, surprised at his change in mood, but he held her face and took her mouth once again. His tongue plunged into her mouth, tasting of bacon and lust. Even though she hadn’t started out in the mood, her body responded and melted before him.
His touch intensified as his hands explored her. He tweaked her nipple hard. When she gasped, he swallowed her cry. When she moaned, he wrestled his hand between her legs and claimed her there. She didn’t want to be wet for him, but she couldn’t help herself and he knew it.
He had taken control of her.
Pulling back his hand, he moved her to the floor-to-ceiling window and turned her to face outward. She shied away, worried someone would see them.
“One way glass,” he said as if reading her mind. “Now stay put.” He positioned her arms over her head so her palms rested on the window. He moved her hips toward him so her bottom stuck out. Before she could protest, not that she wanted to, he slid inside her.
Kate cried out as he slammed into her again and again, feeling at the edge of a precipice with the Strip laid out before her. As he claimed her, as he forced them both into a state of orgasmic agony, she felt she might fall right through the window and down to the sidewalk below.
She didn’t want this right now. But she did as well. Liam seemed to understand the addiction streaming through her veins, a need she couldn’t articulate.
As she came with a shocked whisper, with a sense of violated awe, she marveled at the sway he held over her. His grunts of crazed satisfaction turned into blasphemous exclamations as he pulled out and shot on her behind.
When he finished she looked over her shoulder, dizzy, and saw him reach for a cloth. He cleaned her up, his mouth tight, avoiding her eyes. The lines at the corners of his eyes had deepened to a sad crinkle.