the table.
“You didn’t get anything in,” she pointed out.
“Sure and you’ve an eye for details, don’t you, sweet Fi?” Liam raised an eyebrow at her.
“I’ll go stripes. Corner pocket,” Fi said, and set to working the table. Liam crowed as her first ball sank into the pocket. By the fifth, he’d gone silent.
“Seems like you may have played this a few times, Fi.”
“Here and there.”
“I’d say more than here and there.”
“Did I tell you I used to be in a league? I earned a lot of pocket money from those games.” Fi walked the table and studied her angles for her last shot. She kicked her foot up so Liam looked dumbly down at her soft leather boots. “Paid for extra purchases like these gorgeous leather boots.”
“Sure, those are some smart boots, Fi.” Liam winced as she bent over the table once more. “Aren’t you going to let me play at all?”
“You had your chance when I let you break.” With that, Fi shot the eight ball into the corner pocket – much to the delight of the barman, who clapped his hands and held up a bottle with a shot glass. “Looks like the winner gets a shot.”
“Damn it. I’ve been hustled by a wee wisp of a lass,” Liam grumbled, but then a wide smile broke across his handsome face and Fi caught her breath. Shaking her head, she hooked her arm through his. “Come on then. Shot’s on me.”
They’d stumbled their way through the windy streets that night, arms wrapped around each other, laughing so hard they cried. When they’d finally reached the door of the small flat Fi was renting, Liam had leaned against it, smiling down at her.
“There. Safely delivered home. I’ve done my duty,” Liam said.
The moment held and Fi looked up at him, the buzz of alcohol and something else holding her there, her gaze on his lips.
“Have you then? Is there anything else you’d like to do?”
“Aye, Fi, you’re testing me limits here,” Liam said, running a hand through his hair.
“I wonder just how far I can push them.” Fi leaned in and nipped at his lip, brushing hers lightly over his, before turning to unlock her door and push it open. “Will you be joining me then?”
Liam paused in the doorway, his head swinging between the street outside and the staircase up to her flat.
“I suppose it would be ungentlemanly of me not to see you all the way to your door,” Liam said, following her in.
Fi bit back a smile as they climbed the stairs in silence, the heat and nearness of him burning through her. Once at her door, she quickly unlocked it, then pushed it open and stepped inside, leaving him to decide. When she heard the door click behind her, she turned and smiled.
“Is this a bad idea?” Liam asked, looking huge in the tiny living room of her apartment.
“Likely,” Fi said, unzipping her coat and tossing it to the chair.
“I should go.”
“Probably.” She crossed to him and ran a hand up his chest.
“I like you, Fi.”
“I like you too, Liam.” Reaching up, she stood on her tiptoes to brush a kiss over his lips once more. Testing him.
“I don’t want you to stop liking me.”
“Then don’t do something that would make me stop liking you.” She reached for his hand, tugging him to her miniscule bedroom. A single bed lay tucked under a small window, and Fi flicked on the pretty beaded lamp on the dresser, making light dance across the ceiling like stars.
“Then I promise you’ll like this,” Liam said, his voice husky as he picked her up. Her breath rushed from her lungs in one excited gasp as he laid her on the bed. His mouth trailed down her neck, nuzzling into her collarbone, as he began to explore. Fi gasped, arching her neck backward, as his hands found her shirt and unbuttoned it. He pulled her wrists over her head, leaving them tangled in their sleeves. Prisoned there, unable to move or touch him, Fi arched once again as his mouth found her breast, naked beneath her shirt, and began a languid exploration.
Heat speared through her as he took his time at her breasts – an area many men bypassed, as she wasn’t particularly blessed in that department – and shivered as his teeth scraped a sensitive nipple. The man had a mouth dreams were made of, she decided. Wanting to touch him, she pushed against the hand that held her pinned. Instead,