‘Fourteen. And my sister was eleven.’
Liam looked at me, and there was a hint of bitterness around his mouth. ‘My mom took my sister back to L.A. with her, so I haven’t seen her all that much. The split was very...acrimonious.’
My belly clenched. I knew all about your world being ripped apart at a young age. ‘I’m sorry,’ I whispered.
Liam shrugged and took a slug of his coffee. He smiled then but it didn’t reach his eyes. ‘That’s life, I guess. I feel sorry for the suckers who believe that some kind of fairy tale exists.’
His words touched something deep inside me that had been blasted to pieces when my parents died. I blurted out, ‘My brother, Johnny, is somewhere in New York.’
Liam looked at me. ‘Somewhere? You don’t know?’
I shook my head, familiar anxiety clutching my insides. ‘He had a big row with our older sister, Mary, about two years ago, and took off. We know he’s okay...he lets us know. But not where he is. I want to try to find him while I’m here.’
‘What about your folks? They must be worried?’
I shoved the reflex pain down deep. ‘They died in a car crash ten years ago. Johnny was seventeen, Mary eighteen. It was a tough time.’
‘I can imagine.’
Liam reached across the table and took my hand, lacing my fingers with his.
‘I’ll help you find him if you like.’
A lump of emotion made my throat feel tight. There was nothing more between us than this crazy out-of-control lust and a dubious working relationship that was about to become unprofessional in the extreme. He didn’t owe me anything.
‘Thanks.’ I knew that once this lust fizzled out, things would be awkward and in spite of what he’d said about this not affecting my job, it might not work out. So I didn’t harbour any great hopes that he would stick to his word, but still, it was nice of him to offer.
A waitress arrived beside us, all but sticking her sizable cleavage into Liam’s face, offering more coffee. He looked at me, and the recent conversation was forgotten, the air sizzling again.
‘Ready to go?’
I took a breath and just nodded. Liam threw some money down on the table, and when he saw me reaching for my wallet, he said gruffly, ‘No, it’s on me.’
He took my hand and clasped it in his, tugging me from the booth. We squeezed out past the waiting punters. Liam put the helmet over my head and then attended to himself.
Back on the bike, I wound my arms around his taut body, feeling the sting of my hard nipples pressed into his back, an ache growing between my legs. As promised on the ride back, the skyline of Lower Manhattan filled the horizon and it was spectacular.
I had a heady, exhilarating feeling that the world was laid out before me and anything was possible. Liam’s hand came over mine where they were clasped just above the waistband of his jeans. He guided one of my hands down under his jeans where all I could feel was the pulsing heat of his hard-on.
My mouth watered. The roar of the powerful engine under me caused vibrations between my legs that made me even hotter.
He pulled his T-shirt down so that it covered the top of his jeans and where I enclosed him in my fist. He was awesome. Steel encased in velvet. And all I could think about was how he’d felt in my mouth as I’d licked and sucked him until he’d swollen against my tongue and then exploded in a rush of hot release.
I really wanted to do that again. Soon.
When he came to a stop outside my apartment, I was trembling from a mix of lust and adrenaline after the ride. I took my hand away from his hot flesh and got off the bike, legs wobbly. I couldn’t seem to move. When Liam was in front of me, he gently removed the helmet from my head, and his own.
He looked at me. I’d vaguely noticed that the bright sunny morning had become dull and overcast, the air thick with the onset of a storm. It was humid. Weather befitting a debauched day in bed? I’d never done anything like this before.
‘Give me the keys, Caitlin,’ he ordered roughly. That tone again, making illicit thrills run over my skin.
I dug them out and handed them over. Liam took my hand again and led me to the door and opened it. Every step we took brought us closer to being shut off from the world, and I couldn’t wait.
Once in the apartment, the darkening sky outside gave it a slightly cocoon-like glow. My pulse was clamouring so hard I was afraid Liam could hear it.
My eyes dropped to the bulge in his jeans. For me. I bit my lower lip and Liam reached out to free it, rubbing his thumb back and forth. I looked at him and felt burnt alive. And then he stepped up to me and the world was reduced to his mouth on mine.
My nipples strained against my bra, his hands were everywhere and it still wasn’t enough. He covered my ass with a hand, kneaded it and then up, to the small of my back under my T-shirt.