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“Okay, let’s do that. I want her,” Liam says.
“What?” I ask, shocked.
“I want her,” Liam tells me with a shrug.
“You want acat? This is a lifetime commitment, Liam. How are you going to look after a cat once the season is in full swing? You’re on the road all the time,” I remind him.
“How do you look after Casper when you’re not home?” he fires back with a questioning brow.
“I’m usually home.”
“You’ve spent the last two nights at my place,” he whispers but I swear it feels like he’s shouting.
I tug Liam aside, hoping Mark doesn’t think I’m being rude. “I have friends who go over and check on him.”
Liam looks to Mark. “She’s right. I can’t commit to full-time care. My schedule is hectic, but I want to give an additional twenty-thousand on top of whatever the team has agreed to donate. Keep it between us, please. They don’t need to know,” he says, gesturing a thumb over his shoulder to where the press is waiting on the other side of the glass wall.
Liam’s custom-tailored suit is now covered in various shades of cat hair. And how do I know it’scustom-tailored, you may ask? It fits him way too well not to be. He doesn’t seem to care one bit though.
“Should we do this?” Liam asks, and it takes me a minute to realize what he’s talking about.
“Ah, yeah.” I follow him out of the indoor cat play area we’ve been holed up inside for thirty minutes, and we make our way to where the media outlets are set up and waiting for us. Liam and Mark stand on a makeshift stage as the former passes the latter a huge, oversized Vancouver Knights check for the sum of one hundred thousand dollars.
After a short speech, during which Liam surprises me again with his obvious passion for the animals’ well-being, I’m left feeling a little guilty. I’m beginning to think that I don’t know Liam King very well at all. And, maybe, I’ve rushed to conclusions where his character is concerned. Except for the whole jumping in bed with every puck bunny to come sniffing at his skates—that one’s forgone. There’s no question that the guy is a manwhore in every sense of the word. I know one when I see one. I’ve grown up with brothers who have a constant revolving door of women. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve caught one of them sneaking a girl out of the house in the wee hours of the morning.
Once all the formalities are done, Liam and I head back to the car. “Well, that was fun. What’s next?” he asks.
“I’m dropping you off atyourhome, and then I’m going tomine. I trust you can handle yourself for one afternoon.”
“An afternoon, yes. Does that mean I’ll be seeing you tonight? We have dinner plans, remember?” he says.
“No, we don’t. And I really hope I don’t have to come out and babysit you tonight. I just want one night of sleeping in my own bed. Being in my own apartment,” I tell him.
“Okay, I’ll stay in. I’m just sayin’ it’d be way more fun if westayed intogether—clothing optional of course,” he says with a too-big grin.
“You are relentless in your pursuits.” I shake my head at him. “We’re not spending the night together.”
“Being relentless has gotten me to where I am today. It works well for me.”
“Right, well, like I said, I’m sure you’re capable of staying out of trouble for one night. So, please, for the love of God, don’t make me have to come get you,” I remind him as I pull the car around to the front of his building.
“I won’t.” He looks at me. “How steadfast are you on this wholeme not kissing youthing? Because I gotta be honest. I really want to fucking kiss you right now.”
My eyes widen. “No. We are not kissing again, Liam,” I say, though I’m silently crying on the inside, subconsciously begging him to just do it. Because I know if he did, I’d throw caution to the wind and go along with it again.
He doesn’t kiss me though; instead, he opens the door and steps onto the sidewalk. “Pity, I really like kissing you, Aliyah Monroe. I’ve never really liked kissing anyone before. You’re really good at it.”
“Or you’re just really horny because you haven’t gotten laid since you arrived.”
“I’ve jerked off plenty, don’t you worry. To thoughts of you, in case you were wondering.” He winks.
“I wasn’t. Goodbye, Liam.”
“See you tomorrow, princess.” With that, he closes the door. And I wait, watching as he disappears through the front entrance of his building.
Once he’s out of view, I sigh and lean back against the headrest. How on earth am I going to survive the season?
* * *
