Liam sat and pulled me into his lap, resting me on one knee with my legs draped in between his. “Liam, we’re in public,” I hissed, squirming.
“Look around. Do you think anyone remotely cares?” He squeezed my hips.
I scanned the room again. The crowd paid us no mind, now accepting the two ‘fancy’ spectators with no more than the occasional passing glance.
I forced myself to relax, leaning into him. He kissed my bare shoulder, his fingers trailing up and down my spine. “See? It’s fine.”
“You’re very handsy tonight.”
“Do you not like it?” he whispered in my ear as one of his hands found the slit of my dress and traced circles around my inner thigh.
Warmth bloomed low in my belly. Gods this man could turn me on with the slightest touch or word. “I didn’t say that. I’m just not used to so much attention. Especially in public. Ambrose wasn’t…affectionate. Actually, no one I’ve dated has been.”
The hand on my thigh moved an inch higher, while his other cupped the nape of my neck and turned me toward him. “First of all, it seems everyone you’ve ever been with were fools if they couldn’t see how truly astounding you are. Second of all, sunshine, it’s nearly impossible for me to keep my hands off you. But you wouldn’t know that because tonight is the first time we’ve been together outside of the perilous jungle. I’m not holding back anymore.”
I raised my hand and brushed that unruly strand of hair away from his face. Something I’d been wanting to do for a long time. “You were holding back before?”
“Yes.” His face moved closer, our foreheads now touching. “I’ve been holding back since that night we played the prank on Rosebud.”
A giggle escaped me as I remembered how free I’d felt. How much fun I’d had. I missed that feeling. “I still can’t believe we did that. What was it about that night that changed everything?”
“It was the first time you finally relaxed. And seeing you laughing and joyful and utterly uninhibited…it was intoxicating.Youare intoxicating.” He pressed a gentle kiss on my nose, my cheek, the corner of my lips, my jaw. “I wish to see you like that all the time.”
My heart warmed at his words. I wanted that too, though I didn’t know how to do it. It was hard to resist going back to my old habits, and I’d never be completely carefree. I would always struggle with the need to control my environment. And it wasn’t just because of my mother, it was who I was.
“Is that why we’re here? So you can see me like that again?”
He pulled me tighter against him. “That’s exactly why we’re here. Now let’s get drunk and watch people beat the ever-loving shit out of each other.”
Chapter 33
Bewitched
Liam
She was here. Cerise was here.
In my lap. In my arms. I could hardly breathe, I was so entranced by her presence.
I knew it had been risky pulling her away from the gala. I’m sure she’d pay for it later when her mother berated her for disappearing. Maybe I was a bad influence and this wasn’t the way to go about things, but at this moment I didn’t care.
I couldn’t bear to see the expression she wore earlier tonight in the ballroom. The pasted-on smile, hiding a world of pain and stress. The pressure I knew she was putting on herself to maintain her perfectly coiffed exterior. I had to do something. Had to rescue her from herself.
And if my impulsive need to whisk her away came back and bit me in the ass…well, I would figure it out then. Like I always did.
Cerise still sat on my lap, sipping her second ale. We were both tipsy and I couldn’t stop thinking about the fact that she had no panties on—because they were still in my pocket.
She shifted as she cheered, watching the current competitors dancing around one another in the ring. But I wasn’t watching the fight.
I was watching her.
The unbridled joy. The way her head fell back with laughter. The ‘whoop’ she let out and then caught herself, cheeks flushing as if she shouldn’t have yelled.
The hand I rested on her thigh moved higher ever so slowly, my thumb brushing closer and closer to her bare sex. She shivered, looking at me with flushed cheeks. “Not here, Liam.”
I leaned in, brushing my lips slowly along her shoulder. “Then we should leave soon, because I don’t know how much longer I can have you sitting in my lap without reaching under your dress and making you come again all over my hand.”
She gasped, goosebumps peppering her skin, pupils blown. Cerise seemed to enjoy my proclivities in the bedroom. It made us so sexually compatible I could hardly function. Her need for someone else to take control and my penchant for being the one to do so fit each other like two puzzle pieces finding their way together.
