AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I have methods you haven’t even heard of yet.” I bit my bottom lip, wondering when exactly he’d gotten so soft-spoken, the sweetness in his voice doing funny things to my stomach.
Silvery eyes met blue as I felt his hand come up to my hair, stroking it gently back from my face. With a rattling sigh, he leaned into me, letting his nose gently brush against mine. I could barely breathe, my body tingled, and heat pooled at the core of me as I realized exactly how close we were. My skirt had again ridden up, and I sat practically across his lap, straddling him, feeling the heat of him right where I wanted it.
I blinked.
He pressed forward, letting our foreheads touch as his free hand dropped to my hip. With a short breath, he pulled me even closer, making my mouth drop open in surprise, and pleasure flooded me as my panties dragged along the hard lines of his crotch.
“Liam? I took care of the car. Where are you two?” a deep male voice called from somewhere down the hall. What could only be described as a growl tumbled from Liam’s lips, making me smile. As he tightened his hold, I felt his lips brush softly against mine in a ghost of a kiss.
“It’ll be a pleasure working with you, Ashlyn,” he breathed against my lips.
I sucked in a harsh breath, my body growing tight as desire surged through me. Heavy footsteps in the hall outside caught Liam pushing back and standing, his face softening as I rose as well, wobbly against his side.
“We’re in here, Ian. Can you give us a hand?” Liam called, wrapping an arm protectively around my waist.
Footsteps outside began to hurry, and quickly the other man popped around the corner.
In the apartment’s light, I turned my head to get my first real look at Ian O’Malley. His face was young, somewhere around Liam’s age, his body thick with muscle and encased in the same white V-neck as from the club. Simple dark blue jeans hugged long legs that carried him towards us. I felt my cheeks warm. He wasn’t Liam Macklen, but Ian was incredibly handsome.
The moment he caught sight of me, his face paled and he hurried to us. “Everyone okay here?”
“I’ve got her, Ian,” Liam said, his deep voice low. The larger man, Ian crossed the room quickly, dropping to his knees before me, making my cheeks warm once again. What was it with attractive men lately, dropping to their knees in front of me?
Nevertheless, careful, professional hands were on my knees now, checking the abused skin over before feeling down my legs to my now-naked ankles.
“Excuse me… Do you have to do that?” I asked, skittering away from his touch.
Ian sat back on his haunches, looking up at me with more than a little irritation. “I’m just making sure you are okay.” As if that answered all my questions, he quickly went back to examining the fine bones of my feet.
“Can you do it more gently, please?” I hissed, extracting my foot from his hands once more. The skin still hummed with pain, even though I knew he was trying to be gentle.
Ian rose from the ground with a surprising amount of grace considering his bulk. “I’m sorry, Ashlyn. I am used to dealing with that guy.”
I snorted. Liam’s light eyes were soft as he noticed my smile, returning it with a wry one of his own. There was an easy companionship between these two. It gave me hope for Liam. He might just be likable after all.
“I’m rethinking this now. We should get you to a hospital and make sure that your ankle isn’t going to need some extra care.” Liam’s hands stroked down my upper arm, surprising me and warming me from the inside.
“I’m not going anywhere but home. If you could just help me to the door, I’d be more than happy to get out of your way.”
Liam’s gaze shot to Ian, who backed away slowly. “You need to have that ankle looked at, and the scrape on your cheek looks rough too.” A gentle finger turned my chin this way then that, his eyes dark and worried as he observed what felt like rug burn on my cheekbone.
My hands brushed him away. “It’s fine. I’m going home.”
“Ashlyn, please.”
“No, no, no. Thank you, Mr. Macklen. I believe our business has concluded for the evening.”
I could practically feel the disapproval wafting over Liam’s tense form. Gritting my teeth, I unwound his arm from my back and moved a few steps away, doing my best to keep the hobble to a minimum as I tried to get a grip on my night.
I should go home.
That fall had hurt a lot, but I had the sneaking suspicion that most of my horror was a combination of embarrassment and shame over the way I’d reacted to his flirting as well as how truly graceless I’d demonstrated myself to be. Even now, the pain was receding, leaving a dull ache in its place. The headache that was blooming straight behind my ears had nothing to do with my fall and everything to do with the man hovering over me.
His playboy act was gone, vanished into a soft, gentle man who watched me with nothing but worry and concern in his eyes. I suddenly wished again that he’d go back to the assholery that he’d been during our meeting. I could handle that.
“You should stay here tonight. What if you have a concussion?”
Oh God. Why had I just shivered when he said that?
