I almost groaned. Could you die of too much pleasure? But, like the little wanton I was becoming, I put my hand into his and let him pull me up out of the bed, perfectly happy to find out.
* * *
‘What is this place?’ I asked as I took in the soaring impressive ceilings and general air of elegant decay. The effect was uncanny, as if everyone had just run outside during an emergency and not come back. There was dust everywhere.
Liam was leading us over to a lift, carrying a huge pizza box and a bag of drinks. He looked back. ‘It used to be a hotel but it closed about a year ago. It’s caught up in a legal wrangle and my friend Ramon is caretaking it in the meantime.’
Ramon was a huge giant of a guy liberally covered in piercings and tattoos who had let us in after greeting Liam with a complicated system of hand-slapping, hugging and pressing knuckles together.
I stepped into the lift beside him, nose scrunching up at the musky smell, and whispered, ‘I don’t think I’d like to get on the wrong side of Ramon.’
Liam’s mouth quirked. ‘That’s why he’s one of the best security guards in the city. But he wasn’t always like that. When we were in school he was a puny little kid who was always sick. He was getting bullied, and one day me and Candy put ourselves between him and the bullies. We’ve been friends ever since...but don’t ever tell him I told you that story.’
I looked at him and couldn’t help my insides clenching into a knot and then swooping. Uh-oh. Instead, I commented faintly, ‘You and Candy were in school together?’
Liam nodded. ‘Since kindergarten. She’s my oldest friend.’
And even though I knew Candy was gay, a little spurt of jealousy lanced my gut. The lift stopped then and the doors opened creakily onto a small dark corridor with a door at the end. Liam led the way and deftly managed the food and drinks while opening the door. I couldn’t take my eyes off his powerful biceps as they bunched and moved.
And then the door was open and it led onto the roof. I followed Liam out and my jaw dropped. The sky was a blood-red colour from the setting sun and we were so high up it was as if we were soaring in a sea of tall buildings.
Liam had put the things down on a raised flat surface and said gruffly, ‘Come see this.’
I walked over and gasped all over again. The view was breathtaking. ‘Where are we?’ I knew vaguely that we’d come north and were somewhere around the mideast side.
Liam pointed. ‘That’s the Queensboro Bridge crossing the East River over Roosevelt Island.’
‘It’s beautiful,’ I breathed, taking in the ornate bridge against the dusky-pink sky. The air was incredibly warm and sultry, nothing stirring. And even though we could hear the sounds of the traffic far below, it was so peaceful.
‘It’s my favourite bridge.’ Liam said now.
I felt absurdly emotional and had to school my features before looking at him. ‘This is...amazing.’
* * *
Liam looked at Caitlin and her big eyes were swirling with things that suddenly made him nervous. He’d brought her here without even thinking twice and now he felt exposed. All he’d known was that he’d wanted to get out of that apartment, things had felt intense. But instead of leaving Caitlin behind...which was what he usually did with women, he’d brought her with him.
More abruptly than he intended, he said, ‘Come on, let’s eat. Ramon’s shift ends in an hour and we’ll have to be gone.’
When he noticed the minute flinch that crossed Caitlin’s face, he had the absurd urge to apologize, and quickly turned away to sit on the raised flat block, opening the pizza box, taking out some beers.
‘This looks great, I’m starving.’
Liam glanced at Caitlin and was inexplicably relieved to see her looking expressionless. He handed her a big slice of pizza and his dick jerked against his jeans when he saw her open that lush mouth to take a bite. Damn. He’d never been turned on so easily.
He handed her a beer and opened one for himself. She obviously noticed that it was nonalcoholic and asked after chewing her pizza, ‘How come you don’t drink?’
And then he saw the penny drop, and her face suffused with colour and her eyes met his guiltily.
‘I’m not an alcoholic, Caitlin,’ Liam
said wryly. And then, with no premeditation at all, he said, ‘But my dad is.’
Why the hell had he just said that? All he could see were Caitlin’s eyes, glowing like dark amber, and he felt something give in his chest.
Liam glanced down. ‘When my folks split up...my dad started to drink heavily. That’s when I slowly started to take over the business. He had the grace to let me take over after he ended up in rehab. He moved out to Queens. Ever since then he’s been on and off the wagon like clockwork. But he refuses to get more help.’
He shrugged his shoulder as if telling her this wasn’t something he’d only ever told a handful of people. ‘All I can do is try to make sure he doesn’t kill himself.’