A Borrowed Life (Carly and Liam #1) (30 page)

I’m about to answer him when the cold and stern voice of Liam sounds behind him.

“She's with me,” he says.

If he smiles, it's obviously just out of politeness.

“Can I help you with something, Mr. Harris?”

“Ah, Mr. Walker! I was simply introducing myself to Carly.”

“I see,” he says, stepping beside me.

Is he a little jealous? He slides his hand on my back and his caress soothes a little bit of tension that was building up in my stomach.

“I take it that she's the young woman whom everybody is talking about,” says the man, smiling at me with sparks in the eyes. “Congratulation Liam, she's beautiful!”

“Thank you,” Liam answers, visibly annoyed by Mr. Harris' comments. “Do you want to see the housing project?” he suggests, dragging the man away.

I immediately make my way to the bathroom. No way I’m keeping these vibrating panties on one more minute! So what if I have to finish the evening without any underwear on. My dress is long enoug
h
no one will even notice.

I shut the door behind me, locking myself in a small cubicle. I lift my skirt and remove the panties. I choose to sit there for a few seconds and let my body recover. I must pull myself together. I have to go back out there and deal with everyone as if nothing had happened. But I want sex so much that I squirm on the toilet seat. I could call Liam and beg him to join me, but that would be granting him victory. Never!

Suddenly, the bathroom door creaks open, and high heels echo against the floor.

“I can’t believe Liam dared taking this girl here!” protests a voice that I recognize.

Desiree. But to who is she talking to?

“Calm down, dear!”

Ah, Aubelia. Why am I even surprised?

“She's not in her element,” says Liam's mother. “She is like a fish out of water. And you know what happens to fish that stay out of the water too long?”

“They die,” rejoices Desiree.

My heart almost stops beating. Are they serious? Or should I see this as a mere metaphor? But maybe I should worry? After all, someone
has
actually tried to kill me! And what if it were one of them? Maybe Richard Lexington is not as involved as I thought?

“Oh!” Liam's mother sighs. “I miss so much when you and Liam were together! You two were such a perfect couple, and I would have been so proud to have you as a daughter-in-law!”

Why is she talking about them being a couple again when Liam assured me that Desiree was never a girlfriend of his? I begin to find all this quite strange.

“Don't worry about it, Aubelia, I'll take care of Carly. She won't be around for long, and Liam and I will be a couple again. I know what to do to him.”

“I don't doubt it, my dear!”

The water flows down the drain of the sink while the two women keep talking, spreading gossip about the guests, and I'm trying to remain silent. But what I've heard confirms the worst. If I want to stay with Liam, I must be ready to fight for him. The question is, does he want to fight for me? Or will he choose Desiree? What if she was right and she managed to seduce him again? Oh, if I could, I'd forbid him to see her! But it would give me the role of the jealous, control-freak girlfriend, and I would be pushing him away myself.

No, I think I'll simply have to stay on my guard, and be ready for anything.

I finally join Liam in the room, smiling as if everything was fine, but I see a puzzled look on his face. He studies me a few seconds, remaining perplexed over something. I frown and look around me. I don't see what. Then, noticing his hand in his pocket, I understand that he is pressing the vibration button. I smile innocently and he understands immediately.

“Excuse us,” he says to a client. He quietly grabs my elbow and leads me into another room, where we find ourselves completely alone. Soon, he presses me against the wall to kiss me so fiercely that he pinches my lips.

“I take it you have no underwear on?” he scolds in a breath.

“You abused it.”

“I abused it? Me? Let me show you!”

The harsh and brutal tone he adopts awaken something new in me, something wild and incredibly exciting. He pins my wrists against the wall behind me and I moan. The surprise of such an abrupt gesture coming from him mixed with the anticipation of what he'll do to me causes my breathing to intensify loudly. Suddenly, Liam steps back, breathless. His eyes are burning with desire, yet he refuses to touch me. No! Not again!

“Liam!”

My tone is begging. He hesitates a moment, and then swallows as he pulls himself together before gently leaning towards me. He slides his fingers through my hair and kisses me tenderly. The enthusiasm and energy that had assailed him few seconds earlier has completely disappeared. Why? Why is it forbidden to let himself go with me?

“I love you, Carly,” he whispers before kissing me in the hollow of the shoulder.

“I love you too, Liam.”

His hand slides up on my dress' fabric to slowly reveal my legs. His middle finger slips between my thighs to massage my already wet clitoris.

“Mmm!” he exclaims. “You are ready!”

“I have been for awhile!” I answer.

He lowers his zipper, unfastens his belt, and drops his pants down to his knees. His erection fights against his boxers, so I push them down. I stroke his shaft, enjoying the hardness of his member. He lets out a breath of pleasure while my palm glides up and down.

He kisses me gently as he pushes his penis inside me. The relief that ensues is so good that I almost melt in his arms.

“Here, I'll take care of you.”

His voice causes a chill in me and I wrap my arms around his neck. He slowly withdraws his glans, letting me enjoy every inch, and then pushes inside again. He remains there, motionless.

He lowers the strap of my dress to reveal my breasts and grabs them with both hands. My nipples point to him, begging to be touched. He immediately answers the call by rolling his thumbs on them. My head falls backwards and my back arches to push my breasts further into him. All my lower abdomen contracts dangerously.

He bends to kiss my nipple and sucks on it. I want to scream it's so good, but I restrain myself, and blow against his neck. His hands lift my thighs and I wrap my legs around his pelvis. He resumes his back and forth movements, accelerating the pace faster and faster, and my breathing becomes moans.

A shock violently shakes my body, and all of my limbs tremble while I come. The moans he quietly blows near my ear intensify every second until it becomes completely erratic. He comes as he gives one last, strong thrust. He presses a soft kiss against my lips, staying inside me while he recovers. He gently pushes a strand of my hair out of my face and then removes himself.

“Do you have a tissue?” he asks.

“In my purse.”

He bends down to pick up my bag that fell on the floor and hands it to me. I take out the small pack of Kleenex, and he takes it from me to wipe the sperm flowing between my legs. Without underwear, the rest of the evening could become very troublesome.

“Feeling better?” he asks.

I nod. How did he know it wasn't going well? I haven't revealed any worries, have I? He presses a kiss on my temple, holding me against him.

“Is something bothering you?”

I nod.

“I don’t want you waiting until you feel this way before you tell me.”

“Okay.”

I remain somewhat shocked. While everyone only saw my smile, he saw my distress. He saw behind the mask that I showed. How?

I slowly open my eyes and wake up in bed with the man I love by my side. Last night was emotionally draining and I'm barely recovering. Some glimpses of my nightmares tonight come back to mind.

I’m dancing with Liam when my father suddenly appears before my eyes. Then, this man I don't know grabs me from behind, tearing me away from Liam's arms, and he can't do anything to catch me. I find myself on the edge of a bridge, trying to keep my balance not to fall into the river. Behind me, Aubelia and Desiree are there, giggling and ordering me to jump.

I sink to the bottom of the water, pushed by someone I can't see. When I get to the bottom, a hand grabs my ankle. I scream again and again. A young blonde woman floats in front of me and her hair finally moves away from her face, revealing Liora. She smiles at me, waiting for me to drown.

I snuggle into Liam's arms who's slowly waking up. His arm tenderly strokes my waist, my back, and my shoulders, trying to get me closer to him.

“Good morning, gorgeous.”

“Good morning, handsome.”

“Slept well?”

I nod, choosing not to tell him about my nightmares at the risk of bringing up a discussion that I don't want to have.

“And you?”

“Very good!”

He rolls over me, his strong, heavy body holding me against the mattress. He leans into me and kisses me passionately.

“Do we have time?” I ask between kisses.

“No. I have a meeting in thirty minutes. Can Javen take you home?”

“Yes, of course!”

With that, he puts his right foot on the floor and his hands leave my body. I sigh, overcome with the same heartbreaking feeling that invades me every time we have to part. The flexing of the muscles on his back as he puts on his shirt makes me want to do anything to bring him back into bed with me. I work at eleven thirty today, so I have plenty of time.

I rise to join him, sliding my hands on the V of his waist and my fingers head to his crotch. His smile stretches across his face, but his hands grab my wrists to immobilize them. He turns around and kisses me.

“I have something for you.”

“Again?”

He opens a drawer from his dresser and pulls out a small square box. Inside I find a silver key. I frown, puzzled. Liam's arms wrap around my body, and his fingers caress my shoulders down to my waist.

“I want you to feel at home here. I gave your name to security, and they know you have full access to my apartment.”

“Are you serious?”

I'm speechless. The key to his apartment! This is a big step. I doubt he opens his door to a lot of people.

“Are you happy?”

“Wait a minute!” I answer giggling.

I leap joyfully to my purse and I turn around to see him trying not to laugh at my childish reaction. I take the key to my apartment and give it to him. I will make a copy of Sean's later. Liam closes his hand over it, smiling broadly, and leans in to kiss me.

“Thank you,” he whispers in my ear, his voice filled with gratitude.

I look up to him and I think he's touched. Even his extraordinary self-control can't resist these feelings. I push myself to my feet to press a soft kiss on his lips.

“I love you!”

“I love you, too!”

He hugs me against him and the warmth of his body instantly overwhelms me. It means so much to me! We are choosing to be part of each other's everyday life.

“Will we see each other tonight?”

“In theory. But you know how my job is. I know what time I’ll start working, but I never know what time I’ll finish.”

“Okay. And you want to keep this job, why?”

“Because it’s what I want, that's all.”

He sighs.

“Fine. Then let me know as soon as you're done and I'll pick you up.”

“I'll try to see if I can finish early. See you later!”

“Cayden!” I call him furiously, joining my boss in the kitchen. “What the heck?”

“Would you keep your voice down!” he immediately replies.

He grabs my elbow to drag me to the back of the restaurant. The dinner rush hour will start soon and he isn’t letting me go.

“I told you I had plans tonight! I asked you to let me leave among the first cuts, why did you order Josie to keep me last? And why is it that it's 4:30 p.m. and I'm still here?”

“I need you. That’s not new Carly, you know how this works.”

“You could have kept anyone else! What am I supposed to do with my other plans?”

“Cancel.”

“What! And if I leave anyway?”

“Then don't bother coming back.”

“You're an ass!”

I leave, slamming the door behind me. Liam will be furious! His friend Duncan invited us to dinner, and he has probably been waiting for quite a while now. I haven’t even showered and I'm not ready to leave here, either. I'm sure Cayden did it on purpose just because I asked! I debate leaving anyway, since I hate this job and my boss. It wouldn't be a big loss, but Cayden has the power to prevent me from working for a very long time. I go back into the restaurant, pinning a fake smile on my face. I pick up a plate of ribs on the stove.

“Table twenty-three,” the cook tells me.

“Alright.”

I make my way into the dining room and put the meal in front of a man who is eating alone.

“Enjoy your meal!”

“Thank you.”

“Do you need anything else?”

“Everything is fine, thank you.”

I turn to take a quick look at my tables. Everything seems in order, so I pick up empty glasses on another table to take them to the sink where a young student who aspires to be waiter will wash them. Here we go again for another round.

“Do you have everything you need?” I make sure after bringing sautéed shrimp to a couple.

“Yes, thank you.”

I turn around and I see him standing at the door, staring at me patiently. Even at the other end of the room, his presence is so striking that I feel him right next to me. No one can miss it, he's so,
here
. And only Liam can produce this effect on me. I sigh. What should I say? I could be released at any moment, but there is probably a small chance that it will happen.

“Go, Carly,” Liv says, coming up behind me.

“I'll be fired.”

“I talked to Cayden. I'll cover for you tonight.”

“Really?”

Cayden is standing in the back, watching the restaurant. His eyes meet mine and I can see he isn’t thrilled about it, but he still nods letting me know that I can actually leave.

“I love you!” I tell Liv, hugging her in my arms.

“Me too!”

“At table three, the woman is allergic to peanuts. Table five is waiting on a plate of nachos, and eight should be finished shortly.”

“Okay, fine. Go, hurry!”

I let out a giggle and throw myself into Liam's arms.

“Is everything okay?” he asks, his warm voice echoing in my ear and sending a thrill down my entire body.

I push myself to my feet to kiss him.

“Yes. Give me a few minutes, I will close my shift and join you.”

“I'll wait in the car.”

“Okay.”

I count the cash of the day, put the envelope with the money in the safe near Cayden's office, and I join Liam in his car, greeting Javen on the way. We stop at my apartment so I can shower quickly and change into something suitable for the evening. Fortunately, Sean couldn't sell all the clothes that I bought with Liv, and I still have a fitted navy blue evening dress with a round neckline and two simple straps up my shoulders.

I check my hair one last time in the mirror when my cell rings. I recognize the number as Richard’s. I send the call to voice mail, and as I drop my phone in my purse, a noise warns me of a new notification. I tremble as I check it because I know it's Richard.

Don't ignore me Carly!
he texts.

I take a deep breath and delete the message. I have chosen to not let him intimidate me, and not let him get to me, so I won't answer to him provoking me.

I will be at your place in twenty minutes!
he texts again.

In that case it's time for me to leave! When he gets here, the apartment will be empty. I get out of my room and smile at Liam. All this time, he waited in the living room without saying anything. He grins when he sees me coming.

“Always so beautiful,” he breathes, approaching to kiss me.

“Thanks,” I answer, pressing my lips against his, and we set off.

It's about seven o'clock when we finally arrive at Duncan's, who is a childhood friend of Liam’s. With Jay, they all went to school together and their friendship has survived the test of time. Duncan is now in a relationship with a woman whose name is Leslie. I saw her at the wedding, but I didn’t really have a chance to talk to her. She's a very beautiful brunette, with tanned skin and brown eyes. Although this isn't the first time I’m meeting them, I don't know them well, and I am somewhat nervous.

“Hi Carly,” Jay greets me upon my arrival.

His appearance tonight surprises me, and he is nothing compared to the gentleman in a tuxedo that I met at the wedding. Tonight, he is wearing jeans and a T-shirt that forms to his muscular body. His hair was well-styled when I first saw him, but today it's the opposite. He gently takes my hand in his, causing a mild discomfort in me.

I withdraw my hand maybe a little too quickly, and his eyes remain deeply riveted in mine, as if he was doing some kind of searching. Fortunately, Duncan immediately lightens the atmosphere by offering refreshments. I get to the living room where Leslie is in the middle of a conversation with a woman I would rather never see again. Her scornful blue eyes land on me and a haughty smile appears on her face.

“Hi Carly,” Desiree says, rising to greet me.

I would have preferred if she wouldn't pretend to be my friend, so I wouldn't have to play the game, too. But obviously, she's friends with Liam and I will inevitably have to see her again. So for him, I choose to make an effort and smile warmly.

“How are you?” she questions hypocritically.

“Very good and you?”

“Wonderful!”

I sit next to Leslie and glance at Liam who gives me a sweet smile. He sees nothing of the tension between Desiree and me. Either he does it on purpose, or he only pretends not to see it since it's more than obvious.

A few minutes later, dinner is served and we gather around a large rectangular table.

“Leslie, the veal is delicious,” I tell her as I finish a first bite.

“Thank you,” she answers with a smile.

“Leslie is a fabulous cook,” Duncan adds, putting his arm around her waist. “I'm lucky!”

“You should start your own business,” Jay suggests.

“Stop it!” she answers, laughing.

“No, he's right,” Desiree insists. “You'd be fabulous, I’m sure. I know plenty of people who regularly organize events, and they are always looking for competent caterers.”

“Actually,” she finally admits, “I had perhaps thought of it a little.”

I listen to her talk about her passion for cooking with so much enthusiasm. All add their piece of advice on how to succeed in busines
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public relationships and everything. Her business venture has become a common project to the whole group.

The last plate has left the table and only two half bottles of wine remain in the center. We talk for a while without worrying about the time that passes, but outside, the darkness invades the sky and the moon is high in the large dining room window.

Liam's arm wraps around my shoulders and I notice Jay's gaze on me. His eyes scan my body head to toe as if he were studying a piece of meat. My muscles clench. I don't like it and I realize that I'm frowning when his eyes reach mine. His expression darkens, suddenly realizing what he was doing.

“A poker game?” He proposes.