Because of His Future (For His Pleasure, Book 26) (10 page)

He felt so good, so right.

It was just the two of them against the
world, and even in the darkness of her shitty apartment and this tiny bed in
this tiny room—she still loved him just the same.

More than ever, even.

He fucked her so good, his hands on her
breasts, his cock penetrating, their bodies co-mingling perfectly, as his hands
slid down and hovered on her hips.

Liam worked her hips as he fucked her
shivering mound, fucked it wet—fucked it until she came hard on his dick.

“I’m going to shoot my load,” he
said.
 
“All the way deep in your
fucking pussy, baby.”

“Oh, yeah.” She nodded, grunting, feeling
like an animal and loving it.

She was sweating now, covered in sweat
and juice and sex and he was fucking her harder now…harder and faster…and now
she was coming again.

She cried out, unable to hold in the
scream.

Liam groaned and she collapsed into his
arms.

Moments later, in the silence, came the
unmistakable sound of the floorboards squeaking and creaking as someone pounded
down the hallway and banged on the door to her room.

“Shit,” she whispered in Liam’s ear, as
he struggled not to laugh out loud.

She could hear him breathing, laughing
and shaking and now she was laughing too.

“Shhhh….” She whispered.

There was knocking on her door again.

“Uh…hello?” Grace called out.

“It’s late and some people are trying to
sleep.
 
I really hope this isn’t the
way you two plan on behaving, because if it is—we’re going to have a
problem.”

“No, no…we’re just…it won’t happen
again,” Grace shouted.

“Yeah, it won’t happen again!” Liam
yelled, and then he started giggling like a teenager as the angry footsteps
pounded down the hallway and faded out.

“Shit,” Grace said.
 
She was laughing, but kind of
humiliated.

“Perfect ending to the day we’ve had,”
Liam laughed.
 
“Just perfect.”

She had to agree.

***

Less than a week later, and Grace was
standing outside a small chapel, waiting for her brother to emerge from a
meeting about his business.

As she waited for Scott to emerge, she
thought back on the night with Liam in her bed, with Eliane yelling at them for
loud sex, and it seemed like a lifetime ago.

It had been funny and hot and sexy and
sweet.

But nothing since then had been sweet at
all.

Scott exited the chapel and came down the
steps with a look of stony acceptance on his face.
 

“How’d it go?” she asked, already knowing
the answer.

“About what you’d expect,” Scott said.
 
He was holding some papers rolled up in
his hands, and he squeezed them tightly.
 
“Nobody has the balls…nobody can stand up to those bastards.”

“I’m so sorry,” she said.

He began walking down the street and she
followed at his side.
 

“Want to grab a drink?” Scott asked.

“Not really,” she said.

He glanced at her.
 
“Coffee?”

She shook her head again.
 
“Don’t have much appetite lately.”

He sighed as they walked next to each
other.
 
“You and me both,” her
brother admitted.
 
“And what about
Liam?
 
How’s he holding up?”

Grace shrugged.
 
“I don’t know.
 
Not that well, I don’t think.”

Scott stopped walking and looked at
her.
 
His forehead was gleaming with
beads of sweat.
 
“My business is
ruined, Grace.
 
You know that,
right?
 
I just lost my tenth client
in half that many days.
 
And I know
it’s just a matter of time before the rest go away.”

Grace nodded miserably.
 
“Yeah, I know.”
 

Just like Vera had warned, Scott’s
clientele were all getting cold feet for one reason or another.
 
Some of them admitted to being contacted
by another, much more sophisticated and popular wedding planner—who’d
just so happened to choose to work with them for a low, low price.
 

And that same planner had even insisted
on paying off any lingering contractual deposits that might be owed to Scott.

As the old clients backed out or left,
new ones were impossible to find.

Everything had dried up for him almost
overnight, just as had been threatened.

But surprisingly, Scott hadn’t freaked
out and blamed Grace for everything.
 
Instead, he’d grown angry and stubborn and told Grace to keep fighting
back.

“You know that I said I wouldn’t back
down to these people anymore,” Scott continued.
 
“I’m tired of being bullied by the
Houston clan.”

“I know.
 
And I can’t thank you enough,
Scott.
 
You’ve been so
brave—an absolute hero.”
 
She
trembled as she thought about what her normally cranky, petulant and cynical
brother had done for her.

He’d sacrificed his life’s work.

“The thing is, Grace,” Scott said, his
eyes steadily trained on her—“I don’t want this to have been for
nothing.”

She wilted a little under that
penetrating gaze.
 
Scott knew her
too well for Grace to try and fool him.
 
“It’s not for nothing,” she said unconvincingly.

“If Liam isn’t fighting for the two of
you, then why should I?”

Grace swallowed.
 
“His mother just died and he feels
responsible.
 
He’s struggling with
everything.
 
And the reporters won’t
leave him alone.
 
Won’t leave either
of us alone.”

Scott smirked.
 
“Come on,” he said.
 
“You know that he
could
fight back, but he’s choosing not to.
 
He’s wallowing.”

“No, no.
 
He’s just…he needs time.”
 
But she thought of how Liam had been
going out to the bar with his friends most nights, and he didn’t have a job
yet, nor did he seem inclined to get one.

“How much time, Grace?” Scott asked.
 
“Because I sure as shit don’t intend to
let my life be put on hold forever while this guy sits around and lets his
shitty family drive us into the ground.”

“I know.
 
Believe me, Scott.
 
I know.”

Scott made a slight smile with just one
side of his mouth.
 
“Oh, Gracey,” he
said, tweaking her cheek lightly.
 
“You always look so freaking pitiful.
 
How can I stay mad at you about
anything?”

They began walking again.

“I’ve been trying to get work,” Grace
said, “but I’m having the same problems as you.
 
It’s like the Houston family has the
power to turn everyone on the entire island of Manhattan against you, if they
want to.”

“Yeah, that’s because they do,” Scott
said.
 
“And it won’t stop unless
someone pushes back.”

“He doesn’t want to fight with his
brother and sister.”

“What about us?” Scott said.
 
“Doesn’t he care if they kick dirt in
our faces day in and day out?”

“I don’t know.”

For a little while longer, the two of
them commiserated, bitching and moaning about the Houston’s and their evil
ways.
 
On the brighter side, Scott
had a new boyfriend, which seemed to have cheered him slightly.

They hugged and went their separate ways
not long after.

Afterward, Grace made a call to one of
the temp agencies she’d interviewed with the other day.
 
Her contact told her that they literally
had no jobs for her.

“Nothing?” Grace said.
 
“I’ll do anything.
 
Anything at all.”

There was a silence on the other end.

“Hello?” Grace yelled.

“I’ll be frank with you,” the man who’d
been her contact said.
 
“We had a
placement, but when they saw your name on the resume, they told us it was a no
go.”

Grace felt like sobbing but was all cried
out.
 
“You’re all cowards,” she
said.

“Excuse me, ma’am.
 
I’m just doing my job.
 
I don’t care to be talked to in this
manner.”
 

There was a click and he was gone.

And then Grace realized that she
shouldn’t have accused him of being a coward.
 
She was saying it to the wrong person.

When she got home, Liam wasn’t at the
apartment.
 
She assumed he’d gone
out to some bar again, as he’d done every single day since the funeral.

The apartment was quiet because her
roommates were both out doing other things.

She checked her cell for the umpteenth
time to see if Liam might have texted her to tell her where he was going or
not.
 
Maybe she’d missed it.

But no.

The last text exchange was when she’d
told him that she was waiting outside the chapel for her brother, and Liam had
just texted back “cool.”

Nothing else.

Nothing about going out for a drink.
 
Nada.

She felt a surge of frustration nearly
overtake her and she wanted to smash her phone into the wall.

She’d been trying to stay patient.
 
After all, Liam was going through a
devastating series of losses.

His mother had died in an accident for
which he blamed himself.

His sister and brother, pretty much his
entire family and the people who he’d grown up with—had all turned
against him and cut him out.
 
Shunned and ostracized him, simply because he was choosing to be in a
serious relationship with Grace.

It was so silly and insane she could
almost laugh, if it weren’t truly happening—and truly tearing Liam apart
inside.

He had lost access to every red cent of
his considerable family fortune, and only a few of his old college buddies were
returning his calls now.

The press and media printed awful stories
about him on a regular basis, because the Houston empire knew how to play the
PR game like the best of them.
 
And
Liam was choosing to let them sling all the mud while he pretended it wasn’t
happening.

Grace was trying to be patient and let
him work through it.

Except it turned out he wasn’t working
through anything.
 
He was just
drinking and frittering his days and nights away.

He wasn’t being outright mean to Grace,
but he’d become somewhat aloof and disinterested in discussing any future plans
about climbing out of their serious financial hole.

Grace texted Liam and asked where he’d
gone.

Moments later, he texted back.

Just out with the boys.
 
Be home later tonite.

Grace shook her head and quickly
responded.

Maybe I’ll come meet u?

Now a bit more time went by.
 
She sent more question marks.

?????

Finally, about five minutes later, came
his terse response.

Prob not the best time for that…will
explain…be home in a few.

Grace was getting angry now.
 
He was going from being distant and
aloof and drinking more than she’d like, to acting almost suspicious—like
he was cheating or something.

The thought didn’t sit well with
her.
 
She knew that there were lots
and lots and lots of women from his past who were always happy to flirt with
him and insinuate that they were open for business.

Not to mention all the random women out
there who knew him as a rich, hot famous boy that they’d be only too happy for
one night with.

Sound
familiar?
She asked
herself.
 
Weren’t you only too happy at the prospect of one night with the hot
rich boy not long ago?

That
was different.
 
He wasn’t with
anyone when we got together.

But now she was feeling that familiar
churning in her stomach.