“Thanks,” he said before walking out of the hospital.
Needing to retrieve his weapon from Addy’s, he turned the borrowed car toward her house. A heaviness filled his chest at the thought of losing her again. Understanding her fears, nothing he could say would comfort her. He owed his second chance to the team and Leo. If his leader hadn’t alerted him in time, he might’ve returned as Addy feared, in a box. As much as he loved her, this job gave him a purpose, and if she didn’t understand it by now, he didn’t hold out much hope for them.
* * *
Addy pulledinto her driveway and hit the steering wheel. “Why did I let you in? You’ll hurt me all over again,” she cried.
Placing her head on the steering wheel, she sobbed. She opened the door and entered the house. She gazed around at how much she changed from the moment she met him. He encouraged her to come out of her shell. For what? Only to sink into despair?
Zeus nuzzled her hand as she climbed the steps to her bathroom. Bending down, she picked up Liam’s clothes from the floor. Emptying his pockets, she found a picture of her taped to the inside of his shirt, near his heart. His pants pocket held a letter she wrote to him. She scooped up his socks and felt something inside one of them. Pulling it out, she found another letter. She already knew which one. On top of the paper, she noticed Liam’s handwriting.
One more step leads you home to Addy.
Her breath hitched. She put herself into his shoes. He dragged her from prison and made her live. She thanked him by crushing him before he left to find Leo again. Thinking of Catherine, she didn’t know how she’d have felt if they didn’t find Sam’s body. Would she have wanted his brothers to leave him there? No. Never.
A soft knock on her door caught her attention. She opened it to find Liam standing there.
“I know you don’t want to see me now. I left my weapon in the bathroom. Can we come in?”
Addy jumped into his arms. “I’m sorry, Liam. I’m terrified to let you go. But I know you need to do this. What if they never brought Sam home? I’d always stay in limbo. I can’t imagine how much I’d have missed because his brothers didn’t leave him behind.”
Apollo ran inside, and Liam stepped through the doorway and shut the door. He held her head close to his chest as he breathed a sigh of relief.
Pulling her back at arm’s length, he gazed into her eyes. “You can’t run, Addy. Even if something happens to me, I want you to remember I want you to live. Be the badass Addy I’ve come to know. I saw you even when you didn’t.”
“I won’t run. I’ll be here when you return. Every step you take means one less you take to come home to me,” she whispered.
Liam crushed his lips to hers. Addy tugged at his clothes, peeling off his shirt, desperation from months apart and the stress of leaving again bubbling to the surface.
He kissed down her neck, leaving a heated trail in his wake. She moaned as she pushed him toward the sofa. He pulled her T-shirt over her head and ran his hands over the silk bra.
“Did you buy this for me?”
“Yes,” she breathed.
“You didn’t know when I planned to come home,” he said, leaning back to see her face.
Heat rushed to her cheeks. “I wear them because I think about you. I imagine you taking them off of me.”
Leaning in, he kissed between her breasts. “Then, let me make your dream come true,” he said as he unhooked her braand slid it down her arms. The material tickled across her skin, making her shiver.
Liam sucked her nipple into his mouth and moaned as she tugged at his. His hand stroked her side, and his thumb grazed the other nipple as he took turns playing with her breasts.
“You don’t know how I’ve dreamed of you,” he whispered.
“Yes, I do. I think of you from the moment I wake up until I close my eyes at night,” she whispered.
Picking her up by the waist, he set her aside. She grabbed at his jeans, unbuttoning them as he tugged hers down.
“I love you, Addy,” he said, worshiping her with tiny kisses along her stomach.
“Please, Liam,” she begged. “I need you now.”
“We have all night,” he whispered.
“No. You need to rest, and I want to fall asleep in your arms again,” she argued.
“I have a long flight with no one but me and the pilot. I’ll rest then, and when we’re done, I guarantee you’ll fall asleep in my arms,” he said, lying her on the coffee table. He placed her legs on each corner and opened them. Spying the wet spot between her legs, he smiled.
