invite into the house. It only made sense if she were under some sort of spell. What if Liam was too? Did he even want to do this?
Believe that, if nothing else, sweet Dani. He wants you to the point of madness. He always has. No spell or hypnosis required.
He was talking in her head. That was normal.
Liam didn’t stop until they were in his bedroom. She buried her face in his neck, inhaling his familiar scent and letting it sink into her bones. She’d always loved the way he smelled. Spices from the kitchen. Soap, mint and man. Home.
He set her down carefully in the center of the bed, standing back with an expression of masculine satisfaction that gave her a start. There it was again. The feeling that she didn’t know this Liam. Not as well as she was about to. The thought of what he and his accomplice might do to her had Dani almost vibrating with impatience.
But Liam didn’t move any closer. Long moments ticked by as she stared up at him in confusion. What was he waiting for?
The bed dipped and she jumped as Stax traced the edge of her towel with his fingers. “You needed to see this, Dani. His restraint in action. See how he trembles with it? This is how it’s been for him for years. Always watching over you but holding himself back, bottling up all that hunger and desire. Saving it all for you. It is truly impressive. I certainly wouldn’t have the willpower to keep all that need reined in for so long.”
His words wove a seductive cocoon around them, making her feel safe. Relaxed. Aroused. “Years?”
“Tell her, Liam. The truth now.”
Liam glared at the hand Stax had on her thigh, but still held himself in check. “Tell her what? That I wanted her in my bed the first night we met? That I live for the moments I’m with her? That I wake up hard every morning and use her shower just so I can jerk off to the smell of her damn shampoo?”
Dani watched his eyes close as if he were in pain. “Should I tell her that letting her go that morning because she was scared, and that night in the kitchen because she’d had too much to drink, were the hardest things I can remember doing in my life?”
“Liam?” Her heart was racing. She hadn’t known.
His smile was self-deprecating. “It was worth it, all of it, to be here with you now.”
She took a breath and let her towel drop to the bed, making his nostrils flare. “You’re perfect.”
“Yes, she is. And very brave,” Stax praised seductively.
Dani shuddered but didn’t move away when the handsome man lowered his head, brushing his lips and tongue along the top of her thigh.
Liam growled. “My permission, Stax. Remember?”
“Your confession made her smell too good. I couldn’t resist a taste.”
“Me first.” Dani’s heart lodged in her throat at Liam’s possessive response.
Stax lifted himself away from her, taking her towel and tossing it on the floor behind him. “Tell us the truth, Dani. Who is the man you most desire? If you had to choose, who—”
“Liam.” No question. No hesitation.
Liam sounded shaken. “Say it again.”
“How can you doubt it when everyone else sees right through me?” She licked her lips nervously, the moment feeling too important to fumble. “I want you, Liam. I think I have for a while, but I didn’t know what to do with it. Didn’t trust it. You’re so wonderful. What would you want with me?”
Stax lifted a hand to caress her shoulder in approval, watching Liam for any sign of discomfort. When he didn’t find it, he touched her, sending a current of heat through her body, increasing her desire. “After all you’ve experienced, a passion that intense might scare someone else, but not you. Not anymore.”
“Not anymore,” she repeated. “Not with Liam.”
“You can tell him what you want from him now. What you need.”
When she hesitated, Liam leaned closer, cupping her bare knees with his palms. She shivered. “Whatever it is, I’ll give it to you. The world. Anything. You have to know that by now.”
Dani took a breath and the words came flowing out. “I’m not fragile. I was, but I’m not anymore. You don’t have to hold back with me.” She stopped for a moment, studying his hands on her skin, feeling his touch to her core. “I’d like you to give me everything he says you’ve saved up for me. Now,