All the Lies - Charlotte Byrd Page 0,52

up at me, silently asking permission.

I smile and wait for him to act. It's all the consent that he needs and he slides his hand firmly under my bra.

His body reacts against mine. I feel the hardness of it. It's almost as if it's made out of marble.

Beautiful on the outside and yet hard and imposing when up close.

The muscles in his stomach contract and retract with each breath, forming that elusive six pack and then disappearing all in a mere moment.

I run my fingers up and down the washboard abs, noticing how big he seems in comparison to me.

I'm not very tall and I'm not very thin, yet he towers over me.

Continuing to kiss me, he pulls down on my blouse exposing my breast. He takes my nipple expertly between his lips and kisses it gently. I run my hand over his belt buckle and down his pants.

His body is firm against mine so I don't quite touch it, but I can feel its outline and it’s huge. The biggest I've ever felt with a nice curve to it, veering slightly to the left.

When his hands make their way down past my panties to my core, I open my legs. I want him to feel how much I want him.

“I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone,” he whispers into my ear. “I’ve wanted you since the first time I spotted you on the patio.”

“That's because you thought that I was taken,” I joke.

He pulls his lips away from mine, meets my eyes, and shakes his head.

“No, absolutely not. There's something different about you, Emma. It scares me.”

When he swallows hard, I see the outline of his Adam's apple dip up and down.

I know what he means. I feel the same way.

We lose ourselves in each other's eyes for a moment, unwilling to even blink out of fear of allowing reality to rush back.

“I want you,” he says.

I reach over and put my lips on his.

“Although.” He pulls away slightly and presses his index finger to my lips. “I want you for more than just this moment.”

“What do you mean?” I ask, kissing his finger.

“I want you to spend the week with me, here.”

“I can't stay that long,” I say and try to kiss him again. “I don't even think I can stay the night. I have to get back to work by Monday.”

31

Emma

His face clenches and his jaw tightens. There's a tension there that is hard to explain, but I can tell that he wants me still just as much as I want him.

“Invite me inside,” I say. “I want to see your bedroom.”

He hesitates.

My heart sinks.

Is this happening again? Did I just put myself out there just to get crushed once again?

Pulling his hands out of my panties, he withdraws into himself and buckles his jeans.

I adjust my clothing and take a deep breath to try to calm my nerves. I can't believe that he's doing this to me.

Rejecting me like this.

I know that he wants me, so why are we playing these games?

“You want something from me,” Liam says, with his dark hair falling into his eyes. “I want something from you.”

“I have no idea what you're talking about,” I say.

“You want me to agree to that article about D. B. Carter. You want me to expose who I really am and the only way that I'll do it is if you agree to spend a week with me here.”

I shake my head and cross my arms. I try to walk away from him, but he grabs my hand.

“I'm not going to sleep with you for a story,” I snap at him. “I was going to sleep with you now, but I'm not going to do it like that. Not as a deal.”

“I'm sorry. I don't mean to offend you. I know that you’re a journalist and that you have high standards. I just want to spend time with you. I don't want you to leave, not quite yet and not for good. So, if you come here for a week, you can see how I work, we can spend time together, and anything else that happens is entirely up to you.”

Now it's my turn to swallow hard, but I mutter out, “Why do you want this?”

“I want you.”

“So, why did we stop?”

“I want to make you wait,” he says after a very long pause.

His eyes twinkle in the sunlight and his words hit me so hard they practically blow me back.

Did I just hear