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Sure enough, down aways on the beach stood a dark figure staring out at the water. The height and build of the guy made me certain it was Liam. His head was tilted slightly back toward the sky, and a beer bottle hung loosely in his grip.
“Who do you think you are?” I yelled as I stomped toward him. Sand kicked up in my wake and stuck to my toes.
His head swiveled to me, and in the dark I couldn’t make out the expression on his face.
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
I stopped in front of him and glared up at him. He wasn’t much taller than me, but enough to try to appear intimidating. If only he’d known I’d dealt with far worse men than him. He didn’t scare me. Not at all.
“The clothes,” I said slowly, like he was stupid. “Who do you think you are to go and buy me clothes? I don’t need your charity.”
“Funny,” he sneered, lifting the bottle to his lips, “seeing as how you’re living under my roof because you’re homeless.”
My teeth gnashed together. “Yes, well, I’m beginning to regret that decision. I think I’d be better off on the streets than stuck dealing with some rich, stuck-up, party boy.”
He chuckled, but there was no humor in it. His icy-blue eyes stared down at me, lifeless. “You don’t know me, sweetheart, so I’d suggest retracting what you just said.”
My hands fisted at my sides. I wanted to lash out, to hit him and scream at him, but that would only make me like Blaise.
Instead, I took a deep breath and cooled my temper.
“You’re right, I’m sorry.”
His eyes widened in surprise.
Clearing my throat, I said, “I know you’re doing me a lot of kindness by letting me stay with you. The clothes seemed like too much and…and…” I decided to be honest for once in my life, and it’d probably be the only small truth Liam would get from me. “And I didn’t want you to hold that over my head.”
His brows narrowed in thought, but he said nothing.
Squaring my shoulders, I continued, “I’m curious, though, how’d you know my size?”
His lips parted, and he grinned like the Joker, his teeth a pearly white in the darkness. He looked me up and down slowly then tipped his head to the side.
“I’m very well-acquainted with the female body. I figured I could make an educated guess on your size, and your question makes me believe I succeeded.” His grin widened.
I shook my head. “You’re impossible.”
I turned away from him and looked out at the ocean, breathing in the salty air and enjoying the slight sting of the wind on my cheeks.
“It’s beautiful here,” I admitted out loud.
I felt Liam’s arm brush mine as he looked too. “My favorite place in the world.”
Taking a deep breath, I glanced up at him. “Well, thanks for the clothes, and the bed to sleep in, and everything…yeah,” I rambled, backing away.
“Don’t thank me,” he said, his gaze still glued to the water. “I’m not the kind of guy that deserves it.”
I puzzled over his words all the way back to the house.
Liam was clearly a complicated guy.
A guy I should stay a million miles away from.
But I’d always been attracted to danger, and some habits die hard.
And others?
Well, they kill you.
