Page 29 of Liam

“Liam?”

Her voice brought him out of his fantasy. “Oh yeah, feed. He has barley, straw, and grass mainly but because he’s older and to keep his weight up, I feed him additional high fibre pellets. He occasionally gets apples, carrots, swedes, that kind of thing but that’s only as a treat.”

Liam filled the bucket with feed and looked up to see Digby running towards them. Closing the shed, they walked towards the gate.

“Oh, what a beautiful boy.” Taamira was stroking the animal’s soft ears and cooing over him as Digby lapped it up, nuzzling her jumper.

“Come on, Digby,” Liam said as he shook the bucket into the trough.

With food on offer, the donkey quickly abandoned Taamira. Liam came to stand beside her, stroking the animal’s back as he did.

“Do you know how old he is?”

Liam shook his head. “Not really but the vet thinks around twenty-two.”

Once they had finished feeding and settling Digby, Liam led them back inside. “I was going to make spaghetti Bolognese for dinner. Would you like to learn how?”

Taamira smiled. “You are willing to share one of your four recipes with me?”

“As long as you do the dishes.”

Her face lit up at something that would usually be met by groaning in any other person. “Deal. Let me wash up and I will be right back.”

Liam grinned as he washed his own hands. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he took it out and read the message. Decker had a basic profile for him but would give him something more detailed by tomorrow.

Liam clicked the link he’d sent and read through it. There were no surprises in it really, but it was good to have. In his opinion, it still pointed towards her brother though. He tucked the phone away as Taamira came back into the kitchen.

“Any more news on my nieces?”

He saw her eyes move to his pocket and realised she’d been keeping busy to distract herself from going crazy with worry.

“Nothing more yet, but at least we know they’re safe for now. Jack will call as soon as he hears anything else.” He had seen her relief when Jack had given her the news that her nieces were unharmed as far as they could tell.

Taamira nodded and then forced a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. He hated that, he wanted to see the joy, the happiness that reached her soul.

“Have you ever cooked before?” he asked instead as she moved closer to him, her scent enveloping him.

“Not really.”

Her embarrassment was cute, so he grinned. “Then this is a nice easy one to start with.”

They worked together side by side as Liam showed her how to brown the turkey mince which he had swapped out with his regular beef, knowing Taamira didn’t eat beef, pork, or lamb, not liking the taste of red meats. He found it was fun to cook with someone else, and she was a quick study. Before long they had the Bolognese simmering and the pasta on to boil.

“That was easier than I thought. I wonder what else we can make?”

The light was back in her eyes, and he liked it. He moved so she was up against the counter and pinned her with his hands either side. The last hour as they cooked had driven him to the edge of what he could take. He wanted her so badly, and surely one taste wouldn’t hurt. It would probably help get her out of his system he rationalised.

“You make me burn with the need to taste you,” he admitted, watching her eyes go wide before her gaze settled on his lips.

His head descended, and the last thing he saw were her eyes fluttering closed before his lips touched hers, and he realised one taste would never be enough.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

DRUGGED— THAT WAS THE ONLY WAY TO DESCRIBE THE FEELING AS LIAM KISSED HER. IT WASN’T A light brush of the lips, but neither was it an all-out assault. She wanted to melt into his body, the kiss was firm, probing, and languid. Her hands moved to his chest, the electric touch of his fingers along her hips causing goose bumps to pepper her skin. He didn’t push, but he led her where he seemed to know she needed to go.

Then it was gone, and she was looking into his sky-blue eyes. They held heat, passion, but also surprise and a little of something else she couldn’t put her finger on. Her hands still rested on his chest, which flexed beneath her fingers.

Liam blew out a breath which feathered along her skin before he stepped back. “I’m sorry.”