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“Devin was not a dork. He was the coolest person I knew. He spent every year at the lake with his godfather in the cabin next to ours.” My gaze falls back to the boy who stole my twelve-year-old heart. His lanky frame towers over me as his arm lies lazily over my shoulder. His braced smile is wide matching mine, and his mousey brown strands fall in dishevelled waves, concealing his bright, grey-blue eyes.
“Oh, did little Saoirse have a crush on the dork?” His tone is teasing, but it doesn’t stop me from raising my hand and slapping his bare chest. “You’re an arsehole, you know that.”
“Stop avoiding the question.” His wink sends a shiver down my spine.
My eyes roll at his ridiculousness. “If you must know, Devin was the first boy I kissed.”
“Let’s hope he grew into himself. Otherwise, you’d be the only girl who’d ever want to kiss him.”
“Liam! Don’t be so mean.” I slap at him again, only this time he jumps back, trying to stop my hand from connecting to his bare skin.
The move knocks both of us off balance, and suddenly Liam’s arms wrap around my waist as we flail back onto the mattress in a fit of laughter. Before I know what’s happening, Liam rolls out from under me and then cages me beneath him. His eyes are wild, glistening with laughter and lust. “What was the last thing Devin ever said to you?”
It’s a strange question, considering Liam’s lips are mere millimetres from mine, taunting me as his tongue slowly travels along the seam of his mouth.
“Uh, eh…I don’t remember.”
“Try.”
I hadn’t thought of that day for a long time, and the words Devin and I exchanged are a distant, faded memory. But, doing as Liam asks, I think back to that last holiday and the bitter goodbye Devin and I shared before I had to leave to start my new school.
Closing my eyes, I recall standing next to my mam’s car and Devin sweeping the hair from my face as a foolish tear fell from my eyes.
“I don’t want to leave.”
“I know.” His boyish grin swings free, lighting up his face and showcasing the tiny dimple on his left cheek. “But I’ll see you again next year, and every year after that.”
“Promise?”
“Always, free bird.”
My lids swing open to find Liam’s stormy eyes hovering above mine. I survey every inch of his face, searching for the awkward boy I once knew. Gone are the train track braces, replaced by a pearly white smile that lights up his face. Although they’re familiar, his eyes are not as bright and innocent. There’s a darkness to them now, something that wasn’t there when he was a young boy. Although it’s still the same shade, his hair is much shorter, showcasing the new tattoos along the back and sides of his skull. It’s not shocking that I didn’t recognise him. He’s come a long way from the lanky boy he once was, but the longer I stare into those familiar grey eyes, the more foolish I feel.
“Devin?” The question reduces my words to a pathetic wheeze as a series of sputtering heartbeats pitter-patter against my rib cage.
“Finally, free bird. I was beginning to think that kiss meant nothing to you.”
“But…where did Liam come from?” My confusion twists my face into a tight knot, making Liam — or Devin — snicker.
“Liam’s my middle name. Being a twin is hard enough without having names that rhyme. I swear my parents were asking for me to be bullied. So, when I turned fourteen, I insisted everyone use my middle name instead. Besides, Liam suits me better, don’t you think?”
I open my mouth to ask more questions, like where was Beibhinn all those summers we spent by the lake, and why didn't she spend the summers with their godfather, just like he did. But Liam’s finger presses against my lips, silencing my thoughts.
“I know you’ve lots of questions, and I promise you, I’ll answer them all, but right now, I need to…”
His roving eyes hone in on mine, expelling a flurry of goosebumps along my skin. I swallow the lump forming in the back of my throat.
“Need what?” I ask, airy and breathless, feeling the effects of our proximity.
He answers my question by sealing his lips on mine. He starts off slow, teasing my mouth open with a swipe of his tongue. I open for him, meeting each of his tender brushes with one of my own. Suddenly, my body ignites, and I’m diving into all things Liam Devereux.
My arms circle his neck, drawing him closer, and he picks up his pace, devouring my mouth with greedy laps of his tongue.
This kiss is nothing like the one we shared all those years ago. Instead, it’s doused in hunger, a need to claim something we lost as kids. His roaming hands slide over my rib cage, sending a shiver up my spine, forcing my back to arch into his chest, greedy for more. It’s dangerous, and even though I know we probably shouldn’t be doing this with everything else that’s going on, I never want to stop.
I’m lost in him and the sensation he draws from my body. It’s been too long since a man kissed me into oblivion, the way Liam is now. My skin is on fire, scorched by his touch. I need more…Fuck, I crave it. My hands trace over his back, sculpting the hard muscles defining his solid frame. My nails dig into his skin, and a deep groan rumbles against my lips. I’m seconds away from sayingfuck itand taking everything he’s willing to offer me. But before I can beg him to relieve the throbbing need building between my thighs, he rears back, stealing the air from my lungs.
His eyes find mine as he cups my cheek. “I’ve wanted to do that since the second I saw you lounging in the garden.”
“Then why did you stop?”
“Trust me, free bird. Stopping is the last thing I want to do, but we both know I have to. At least until I can give you the answers you need.”
As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. That doesn't mean I have to like it, though.
He leans forward, stealing one more quick kiss. “Goodnight, free bird.”
“Night, Liam.”
