front to sign autographs. I follow. The two familiar girls are the first to get to them. “Liam!” one of them screams. He walks over. The short blonde girl jumps on him. He has no choice but to catch her. She locks her legs around his waist. “Take me home tonight.”
“Uh …” He glances at me.
“Give me something to remember you by,” she says loudly. “I promise you’ll never forget it.”
He puts her down and motions to Jeremy. Jeremy throws him a T-shirt, and Liam gives it to the girl. “How about this?”
The girl eyes the shirt and smiles deviously. Then, right here in front of hundreds of people, she takes her shirt off, exposing her bare chest, and slowly, making sure Liam gets a good look, puts on the Reckless Alibi tee.
She leans close and whispers something to him. He shakes his head, then moves to another group of fans. She pouts and stomps away.
Girl after girl fawns over him, all wanting a piece of him. It dawns on me that I’m one of them, wanting a man I can never have.
~ ~ ~
“There you are,” Liam says, easing into a squat beside me. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Mind if I sit?”
I make room for him on my towel. Bright moonlight cuts a path across the water, giving me something to look at other than him.
He elbows me. “That was some show, huh?”
“I’m happy for them.”
“They deserve it after everything they’ve been through.”
I dig my toes into the cool sand. “So do you.”
“Can we not have this conversation again?”
I lean my head against his shoulder. He doesn’t pull away.
“You’re emotional,” he says. “He proposed and sang her a love song, and they’re going to ride off in the sunset or some shit like that. And now you want what they have.”
“That’s not true,” I lie.
“What do you want then?”
“You. I want you, Liam.” He lies back, and I lie next to him. “We could be together, you know. I don’t have to touch you.”
“I won’t be with you that way. It’s … dirty.”
“Even if I say it’s okay?”
“I can’t, El. Not like that. Not with you.”
“Can I just lie with you then?”
A long sigh escapes him, then he moves his arm so I can snuggle into him. I put my head on his chest, then my hand, hoping he doesn’t protest.
His heart pounds under my ear as he strokes my hair. We listen to the sound of the waves lapping on the beach. I dare to trace the outline of his nipple. He sucks in a breath, leans in, and presses his lips to my forehead. It’s the most sensual gesture he’s made. I crane my neck and look up at him. “Kiss me.”
He doesn’t move.
“Kiss me, Liam.”
“Ella.”
“You’ve done it twice. We both know what it feels like. I know you want to, and you think about it as much as I do. I want you to kiss me. I want you to touch me.” I take his hand and put it on my breast. “Please.”
He pushes me onto the ground and gets on top of me, closing his fingers around my wrists and pinning my hands above my head. He gazes into my eyes, his pupils large and inviting, then he lowers his mouth to mine. When my lips part for him, he growls. It’s desperate. It’s sexy. I close my eyes, wanting it to last forever. Needing it to be enough. Every time we kiss, it’s better than the one before.
He frees my hands so he can touch me, skimming a finger down my side, making me shiver. He puts a hand between us to hold my breast. His touch is as gentle as his kiss. How can he be this caring, this sensual, and be afraid of what comes next?
His lips find mine again. His tongue becomes more demanding. I’m putty in his arms, willing to do whatever it takes to have him. When my fingers weave through his hair, he rolls off me, breaking all contact.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
“That’s the thing.” He scrubs a hand across his stubble. “You shouldn’t have to be.”
I put my head back on his chest like it was before. “It’s okay, Liam.”
“Nothing about this is okay. It can never be more than this, El.”
I’m careful not to touch him where I shouldn’t. “Then this will have to be enough.”
His chest rises sharply and then falls, his heavy breath displacing the hair on top of my head. “Until it