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I push the emergency exit open, glad an alarm doesn’t go off. And then I start running.
I’m not a runner but fuck this feels good. The Atlanta air is hot, and it burns my lungs, making me feel free. Thankfully the station is out in the suburbs, and we’re in some type of corporate strip, so I don’t have to worry about paparazzi. I know it’s stupid that I bolted, but I was going to cry in front of all those people. Or maybe even scream. I’d rather run away and have them make fun of me later.
I start to feel my breath come up short, so I turn around a corner of a building and move into an alley that houses trash. It kind of smells, but there aren’t any people around, and I’m blocked from view. I take a deep breath, the burning of my lungs fueling me. I hear footsteps and before long they stop in front of me. I don’t have to look up to know who it is. It’s his job, and he’s my… Well, I don’t know what he is.
“Jesus, Birdie. What the hell?!” Liam puts his hands on his knees to catch his breath.
I wipe sweat from my forehead then lock eyes with him. “I couldn’t stay there. I—” my voice breaks.
Liam walks over to me and grabs my chin like he did so many times last night. He searches my face, then cracks a small smile. “You can run very fast, Birdie. You gave me a run for my money.”
I snicker. “You think I’m out of shape, Miller?”
He shakes his head. “I’ve seen you on that stage. I know you have great lung capacity. I just didn’t expect you to have such a stellar sprint.”
I shrug. “Long legs.”
He barks out a laugh then leans his damp forehead against mine. “You can’t run off like that. What if that creep was waiting for you outside?”
I swallow. “I thought of that, but my panic won out. Sorry.” Liam stares at me for a moment. I’m not sure what he’s thinking, but then he does the last thing I expect. He kisses me.
As I’m quickly learning, Liam’s kisses are like a drug. The way I feel when his lips touch mine is very close to the high I get from singing on stage in front of thousands of people every night. He makes my heart race and my palms sweat.
When he finally pulls away, he brings his kisses to my neck, groping my breast and then down to my hips and ass. I press my hips into his and let out a breathy moan. “Liam…”
“You make me insane, Birdie.” His voice is hot and breathy.
“Did chasing me turn you on?” He chuckles against my skin before he touches his lips to the shell of my ear. His warm breath makes me shiver.
“I’ll definitely be punishing you for running out like that later.” He kisses my ear and tugs on my earlobe.
Later.I want to groan. Not having sex last night was hard enough, I don’t know how much longer I can wait.
He eases away from me then scrunches up his nose “We’re right by the trash.”
“We are.”
We both laugh together before Liam grabs my hand. His tone turns serious. “Are you okay? You really worried me back there.”
I squeeze his hand. “I haven’t had a panic attack like this since my first sold out show. But I’ll be okay.”
It looks like he wants to know more, but he doesn’t ask. “Are you sure?”
“Positive.”
He tugs me to him and kisses me one more time. “Let’s get back before Eric sends out a search party.”
I grin. “Probably a good idea.”
Liam drops his hand from mine, and I immediately miss his touch. But he stays close to me, scanning the area to see if anyone’s around. When he’s satisfied it’s safe, he leads me back to the station.
I turn my eyes up toward him as we walk, the sun hitting his face at just the right angle. He’s so stupidly handsome. If he weren’t in bodyguard mode and people weren't nearby, I would probably give in to my desire to pinch his sculpted butt, that looks sinfully good in slacks. But I didn’t want Eric to know Liam and I had a thing happening, whatever this thing is. At least not yet. I have to know what’s exactly going on between us first.
When we approach the studio doors, Eric is waiting to usher us inside. Shea and Gia are there as well, they had just been in another room listening. Unfortunately for me, Gabe is waiting there too. When he sees me, he abruptly grabs me out from under Liam’s arm and hugs me. I stiffen against him.
“Birdie! I’m so sorry that happened. I have no idea how! We had at least a hundred or more people who called in. The fact he got on… it’s, I don’t know.”
I pull back from Gabe and Liam steps right up beside me. I don’t have to look at him to know he didn’t like the fact that Gabe just grabbed me without my consent. I hear him crack his knuckles beside me and almost smile from the dramedy of it. Gabe glances at Liam, and he immediately leans back in fear.
