La Cosa Nostra, This Thing of Ours (8 page)

I hear someone behind me taking a seat at the bar. 

"What do you recommend?" the sexy voice says. 
Bastard, two can play at this game
. Looking around to make sure no one is in eye shot, I stare directly into those smoldering dark eyes then reach down and remove my panties, getting an eye opening look of shock. Shoving them in a whiskey glass, I place it in front of the very stunned Liam.
The problem with this game is that he is better at it
.

"I told you
," he says, taking the black silk panties from the glass. Placing them up to his nose he inhales deeply. Standing, he shoves them in his front pocket.

"You told me what?"
I am now the one stunned. 

"That your org
asm was mine." With a sexy wink and that goddamn sexy smile, he walks away. I don't see him the rest of the night. I'm happy and sad about it at the same time. Monica walks around the whole night looking like someone killed her puppy. She avoids me at all cost, having the other girls get her drinks for her.
Thought you were going to cut me bitch?

When my shift is over
, I change and head out to my car. I'd decided that what happened tonight was not going to happen again, ever. The man has a serious problem with possession.  

Next to my car is
the Viper, the engine running. I ignore it as I fumble with my keys to unlock my car. I hear the window roll down behind me. 

"Harper?"

"Liam, I need to get home, I have class in the morning," I say, not turning around as I open my door. Looking at him will not help my willpower. 

"Please
, Petal, I just want to talk to you." He sounds almost pathetic. 

"Why do you keep calling me
petal?" I swing around, annoyed. Big mistake, those eyes have me. 

"You don't like it?" The wounded
look in his eyes is pathetic. Who is this man? One minute he is confident and stuck on himself, the next he is like putty.  

"
Liam, what do you want from me? I'm not a possession and that is all you want. Do you want me to fuck you so I can feel like shit about myself?  So you can get me out of your fucking system?" I slam my car door leaning up against it with my arms crossed. 

"What are you doing to me
, Harper Troy?" he says, hitting the steering wheel with frustration.  "I can't concentrate, I can't eat, and I barely sleep."

"Did you ever think you
want me so much because I don't fall at your feet?" I ask, although in the locker room I almost did. He gets out of his car and walks around, leaning up against his car, facing me.

"Yes
, actually I did. Women have never been anything but toys to me. I've never cared what they had to say or what they were thinking. But you, I don't want to just possess that beautiful body of yours, I want in your head too. I want to know what you think, where you're from, your dreams, and your goals. I want to know everything about you." There's sincerity in his voice that makes me want to believe him.

J
ust like that, everything changes. He's not being cocky, he's not being arrogant. He is being real and truthful. I can see it in his beautiful eyes. The caveman thing I could work with, but not this defeated puppy dog stare that's still searing hot and sexy.
I just can't help to think this is another one of his games
.

"I think you are so good at this game you would say just about anything to get in
to my pants. You're not used to losing. I'm sorry, but you are going to lose this one." If words could cut, I feel like the ones I just said cut him to pieces. 

"Do you think I've ever had to say th
ose things to get what I want? I've never wanted those things before. I could care less what the women I sleep with think. I could care less what they say or do."  If he is acting, the man should win an Emmy. I am at a loss for words and I don't know how else to tell him no. The big problem is that I really don't want to say no anymore. 

"I w
ant to take you out to dinner. No sex, I won't even try. Just let me do this, and if after that you say you still don't want me, then I swear I will leave you alone. I will stop coming here. The only way I could leave you alone is to never see you again." He shoves his hands in his pockets as his eyes go to the ground. He looks beaten, sullen, and even sad. 

"Ok
ay, we'll go on one date." I have no choice but to agree. He's even sexier to me now.

"Really?" His eyes are back up to me
, beaming. 

"I guess I owe you
at least that after earlier." I giggle, remembering the mind altering orgasm he gave me.

"Th
at was all my pleasure. I've never had the urge to make a woman come. It's all I've been able to think about, what you taste like, what you smell like. Petal, you are the sweetest thing I've ever tasted." He takes a step closer to me and reaches out for my face. 

I move to avoid his hand.
"I already said yes, no need for all the theatrics." He seems hurt that I avoided his touch, but damn, if he touches me I don't know if I will be able to control myself. I already have no panties on and feel myself getting wet, yet again. "Goodnight, Liam." I open my door, sitting in my car to leave. All along, I feel him watching me. Even his eyes through the window feel like fire blazing a hole into me. 

My car doesn't start on the first try.
Please, please not now. Start you piece of shit
. I try again and it just whirs. Not looking at the man now leaning up against his car, I can still feel his intense stare. I can even feel the smile that I know is creeping up on his face as my car betrays me with sadder and sadder attempts to start. The whir gets quieter draining the battery till it is dead. No sound at all. I lean my head against the head rest for a second before I turn to see a very satisfied Liam leaning so casually against his car. 

"You wouldn't happen to have a pair of jumper cables in that beast would you?" I ask
, opening the door then popping the hood of my car. 

"Are you kidding me?" He lets out a loud laugh.  "This car would blow your car up
if we tried to jump start it." He follows me around to the front of my car watching me as I examine the engine. I ignore his comment and his laugh. The smug man is back, he knows he is giving me a ride home. He knows I have no choice, and just like that he is back. 

"What are you looking for?"
He leans in cocking his head so he can see my face that is low studying the engine.
I have no fucking idea what I am looking for, but God, if I could just do something for once that doesn't make me look like an idiot
.

Ri
ght now I'd rather walk home than give in to that arrogant smile that is plastered across his gorgeous face. I pull out my phone and start thumbing through my contacts.

"What are you doing?" Now he's pissed. I do a little dance in my head when I see he is getting frustrated. 

"Calling triple A," I announce, feeling very triumphant at the shocked leer I'm getting.

"Harper
... for the love of God, just get your fine ass in my car," he shouts, snatching my phone from my hands. He then opens the door to my car and takes the keys, my purse and bag. Opening his passenger side door, he throws them in the car and stands there, waiting for me to get in. 

I'
m frozen, fighting with myself. He runs one hand through his hair so hard I expect to see a bald spot. 

"You
are the most frustrating woman," he grunts, coming to the front of my car where I am still frozen. I'm losing at this game, and I have no idea how to keep my dignity. I can't sleep with him, I can't be at least the second or third woman he has slept with this week alone. Before I can argue, he slams the hood of my car shut and I am up in his arms being placed in the passenger seat of his car.  Still not having said a word, because I am flabbergasted, he leans over me, buckling my seatbelt.
God does he smell good
is all my mind can concentrate on, he is so close as he clicks the belt in.  

I'm silent as he moves with ease in and out o
f traffic toward my apartment. He is silent also, but I feel he is about ready to explode. The tension in the tiny sports car is thick with anger, lust, and fear. I'd say the fear is all me, I just want out of this car with all my clothes still on. He screeches to a halt in front of my building and fumbles with my keys before he removes my car key then hands me the rest.

"What are
you doing?" I ask as I take my keys.

"I'm going to have my mechanic look at your car then I
will have him deliver it to you," he says, surly and not looking at me. 

"I appreciate that
, I do, but I don't think I can afford your mechanic," I mention softly.

"Just say thank you
and leave it," he broods. "Why do you fight me on everything?" He slams his hand on the steering wheel in frustration as I start to protest. "Don't worry, we don't have to go on a date. I'm done. It's obvious you are too stubborn for me," he sneers. I think I went from being attractive to him, to him loathing me in about two seconds.

"Sorry,
" I say softly, not sure what else to say. I unbuckle my seatbelt to get out.

"What the hell
, woman?! It would be one thing if I was the only one feeling it, but goddammit, I know you are too." He grips my wrist with one hand before I exit the car. "Why do you have to make everything so hard?"

"Do you think I want to
?" I shout, now mad at what he assumes is me being difficult. "I have had sex three times in my life." I hold three fingers up to his face wiggling them for emphasis. "All with the same man when I was a teenager. I don't sleep around, and I sure as hell don't want to be a Monica, someone you say you fucked once. At the end of the night I will be out of your system and you'll be free to move on to your next conquest." I stop with a huff before I continue. "I'll be left there with a hole in my heart, Liam, because unlike you, I have feelings, and sleeping with someone would only intensify those feelings."

"You've only been with one man?"
Really out of all that, that is what he picks up on
. 

"Yes,
I'm not a prude, but I do have dignity and I am trying to have some morals. I am not going to be a notch on your bed post, I refuse to be." I open the door, exiting the car I storm toward my building. I hear the low hum of the Viper as I'm walking away. As soon as I get inside I turn to see the Viper speeding away. 

Chapter 9

I have no classes this
week because it's spring break. I spend the whole day studying for finals.  That is, when I'm not thinking about Liam. I do everything I can to push him out of my mind. In the end I don't think I retained anything I've studied. 

I work tonight b
ut have the next two days off. I will go to the library and join Jax's study group, I know he can at least distract me from Liam. 

My car still isn't b
ack so I take the bus to work. I see that it is no longer at The Guardian, so hopefully it is at the mechanic's and not been stolen. Either way, right now, that is the least of my worries. 

The first hour of work is normal, m
aking drinks for the waitresses, when in walks a group. A few older men that I've seen here before, but they have a young twenty-something man with them this time. They take their normal seat in the VIP section, so I have a perfect view of them. As soon as the man sits down he looks up at the bar. He gives me a smile. He is very good-looking, the clean-cut kind you take home to your parents. I see him say something to one of his friends and then he comes up to take a seat at the bar.

"Hello
, love," he says in a beautiful British accent. "I'm in the States for a few weeks and my mates told me I had to come here." 

"Welcome," I greet him politely.
He has sandy brown hair, dimples, and gorgeous blue eyes.  "What can I get you?" I ask, with one hand leaning on the bar.

"Well that's a loade
d question, are you on the menu?" He laughs, and even though I should be mad at the comment, the way he said it in his accent only makes me laugh.

"Not tonight." I flirt
because I believe he is harmless. He is also a distraction from Liam, if only for a minute.

"Just my luck." He smiles his gorgeous smile showing off his dimple
s and his perfect white teeth. "What do you recommend then, love?"

"Everything
you want I can make it." 

"Is there a house special?"

"One Guardian Angel coming up." I start pouring various liquors in a tumbler, adding ice I start to shake the drink. Then HE walks in, with a strawberry blonde with fair skin, looking like she just walked off the runway.
Fucking asshole
. He doesn't look my way. He doesn't even look in my direction at all, but he does put his hand on the small of her back and directs her to their table. I have jealous rage boiling up in me.
I turned him down, over and over again. Why am I so fucking jealous?

"I think it is shaken well
, love," Mr. British says as I've been shaking the crap out of his drink. 

"Oh sorry, I like to be thorough." I pour the liquid into a tumbler
, inserting a skinny straw I slide it across the bar to him. 

"Brilliant," he remarks after taking a sip,
"I'll be back for another." He gives me a wink and goes back to his table.

"How does it feel to
be yesterday's news?" Monica comes bouncing up to the bar delivering her insult.

"How does it feel to be yesterday's trash
, Monica?  I never slept with him." I spit at her. It does the trick, because after a dirty look she never says another word.

I watch them for
the next hour; the two of them all snuggled up in the booth. He has one of his hands under her hair, massaging the nape of her neck with gentle fingers. At this angle I can also see under the table. When I see her hand go on his knee then start to slide up his leg it is all I can handle. 

I have no
idea why I do what I do next. I don't own him, he can be with who he wants. So can I. Maybe we'll just see if he can ignore me now. I make another Guardian Angel. Fixing my skirt and pulling down my shirt to make sure the swells of my breasts are in full view, I walk over to Mr. British's table. Pulling a chair so that I am facing him, but also in full view of Liam, I sit, crossing my legs seductively. 

"Hello
, you," he says, his eyes as big as quarters. I lean forward placing the drink in front of him.  Then lean forward even more so I make sure he and Liam can see down my shirt. 

"I thoug
ht you might want another drink," I whisper softly in his ear. I have no idea if Liam is even looking or if he even cares. I realize what a mistake this was when Mr. British's hand goes on my knee and starts inching its way up my thigh.  I'm just about to hop up and leave when his hand passes the lace of my stockings. 

"If you don't remove your hand from her rig
ht now, I will be cutting it off," Liam growls, low and furious. I see he has one hand on Mr. British's shoulder delivering his warning. I am mortified by everything, what I just did, and how I just acted. I stand and beeline to the locker room opening my locker to grab my clothes. I have to get the fuck out of here. 

"What the hell was that?" Liam's booming voice yells when he enters the locker room
, slamming the door behind him.

"I don't know, Liam.
Did you feel jealous?" I shout back. 

"Murderous,
" he growls, his chest heaving up and down. "I want to scrub you where he touched you and then put my hands all over you so it is only me who has touched your skin."

"But
you can have your paws all over some bimbo in front of me? If I had slept with you last night and then had to watch that, it would have killed me," I growl back.

"I was proving a point," h
e says, running his hands through his hair. The door opens and in walks the girl du jour.  

"L
iam, baby, is everything alright?" she says, eyeing me up and down before putting her long fingered hand on Liam's chest. He doesn't move, he just stares at me. 

"Bunny
, go back to the table," he mumbles, still staring intensely at me.

"No
, Bunny, you need to hop your skinny ass out of this club," I sneer at her, and see Liam's lips curve into a half smile. She doesn't move, but looks from me to Liam. I walk toward them with so much purpose she actually looks a little frightened and takes a step behind him, but does not remove her hand. 

"Fucking take your hands off him
," I shout. 

"Liam, are you going
to let her talk to me like that?" She turns to him, but Liam looks anything but concerned for her. He has a look of satisfaction on his face and is looking over my whole body like he is about to devour me. 

"Yes
, I am," is all he says before he takes a step closer to me.

I take the
rest of the steps that separate us and slide my hands into his silky black hair. I stand on my tiptoes to reach his mouth.

The
kiss is urgent and demanding as he wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me to him. My lips press hard against his as he slides his tongue into my mouth searching for mine. Our teeth clash as if he is trying to climb into my mouth so he can be inside me. His hands slide down over my ass and he pulls me into him, his rock hard erection against my belly. 

"Fuck
, I want you so bad," he growls, moving his lips down my neck, he kisses below my ear before he moves to the hollow of my throat. I gasp for air as I breathe in his manly scent and he grinds his hips against mine. He lifts me up just enough so his cock is next to my sex. 

"You fucking asshole
," I hear Bunny say and then the door slams.

"Liam
," I breathe as he returns his lips to mine, crushing into them, my lips full and bruised from the pressure. 

"Please let me take you home," h
e moans, his hands on my ass fisting the material, inching it up.  This brings me to my senses. I push on his chest to release from him. 

"Liam
." My breathing is heavy as I take a step back keeping one hand on his chest to keep him at a distance.

"What if I di
dn't go ape shit jealous, would you have slept with that woman tonight?" I ask, using my free hand to pull my skirt down. He looks lost, like I just took away his favorite toy. It's cute and sexy at the same time, but I have to know. 

"No," h
e answers, reaching for me. 

"I don't believ
e you." I take two steps back. "Nothing has changed. I want to be wanted for more than one night. I want to be begged for. I want someone who doesn't have a string of women lined up." 

"I do want more than one night, I will beg for you." He takes two steps toward me so we are in touching distance of each other. 

"I want to wait, I want to date. I want to go a whole week without seeing another girl on your arm." I reach for my bag in my locker. I grab my jeans and slip them on under my skirt. He is watching every move I make. I feel the need to put on all the clothes I can. 

"I will do whatever you want." He sounds desperate right now. 

"I have to go, tell Matty I'm sick." I pull on my jacket zipping it up to my neck. 

"Let me take you home. W
e don't have to do anything else, I just want to be with you." He watches me like a hawk as I pack my bag and get my purse. 

"No, I have to study.
I have to put some space between us. What I just did out there is not me. I can't believe I did it, I am mortified with myself." I shake my head trying to get my actions out of my head.

"How are you going to
get home?" He runs his hands through his hair. I can see he is getting frustrated again. 

"I'll
take the bus."

"Hell no! No, no, no.
It is not safe this time of night," he spits out his objection. 

"
Liam, we are taking this slow. If you can't handle it, then tell me now. I'm already invested, I just feel like you are one huge broken heart for me."  

"I can handle it, Petal. I'll
wait as long as you want.  If that means we can be together in any way, I can handle it. I'm invested, too, me taking you home is just making sure you are safe. I will be doing that, and if you can't handle that then tell me now," he throws my words back at me.

"What will people think when we leave together?" I place one hand on my hip, shutting my locker with the other.

"I don't care.  I hope they think I'm taking my girl home," he says sheepishly when he says 'my girl'.  I must admit I like the sound of it.

"How many waitresses have you taken home from here over the years?" 

Silence, and the worst look of guilt. 

"I bet no one thought that y
ou were taking your girl home. Don't look guilty either. That's who you are, this is who I am. I can't change you anymore than you can change me."

"So what a
re you saying?" Confusion is now one of the many mix of emotions he wears so well on his face.

"That I'm getting home on my own." 

"My God woman, you are so ... ugh." His hands are in fists up by his face. "You know what, take the bus, hitchhike, ask British lover boy to take you home. I don't care," he spits, giving me a look of total frustration before he slams out of the room.
That went well, Harper
.

I'm able to sneak out of t
he club with no one seeing me. I make it home safe on the bus and sit on my bed fumbling with my phone. I want to call him. I know he was frustrated, but did he really not care? Before I have a chance to decide whether or not I should call him, my phone rings and I see it is him.

"Hello,
" I answer softly.

"I just want
to make sure you are home safe," he says in the same soft voice. If I thought his voice was sexy in person, his phone voice is to die for.

"Yes, I am home." 

"I'm sorry I said those things. I just don't know how to handle you," he mumbles in the phone.

"I know the feeling." I let out a soft chuckle.

"We are a hot mess, aren't we?" He laughs, making me laugh. "Can I see you tomorrow?" he asks after the laughter subsides.

"I need to study for finals."

"What about tomorrow night?" 

"Can I let you know tomorrow?" I really have no idea how long I will study for.

"So I need to sit around and wait to see if you have time for me?" Here comes the anger and frustration again.

"No, you can make plans.
I just don't know what time I am going to be free. I never said you had to be at my beck and call," I snap. "What would you normally do on a Tuesday night?" 

"I don't t
hink you want me to answer that," he mumbles. He's right, I don't want to know.

"So if I can't make it
, you want to know if you should have a girl lined up just in case." Is this what he is getting at?

"Jesus, Harper
, no," he shouts. I have to pull the phone from my ear he says it so loud. 

"
Okay, Okay, I don't know where we are at right now.  Are we exclusive?" I chance the question that I've been dying to know.