he’d been holding, his heartbeat crashing against her hand. Reaching up, he gently drew the back of his hand down her cheek and whispered, “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you.”
Even that simple touch was enough to ignite a fire in the pit of Olivia’s stomach. She closed her eyes and slowly inhaled, drawing his intoxicating scent deep into her lungs.
Olivia reached up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist, holding his hand against her cheek, afraid that any second he’d pull it away. For a brief moment, when his thumb brushed across her bottom lip, she thought he’d kiss her, hoped he’d pull her into his arms as if three years and a world of heartache hadn’t passed between them.
But he didn’t move—didn’t press that mouth she longed to taste against her own and kiss her as he once had when she belonged to him and no other—but then, that was the problem, wasn’t it? She did belong to another.
The draft of passing cars kept knocking against the Camaro, interrupting a moment she wished would last forever. “We have to keep moving,” he whispered, slowly pulling his hand out of her grasp.
“I love your eyes,” she whispered, reluctantly pulling her hand from his chest. “I always know what you’re feeling, even when your actions contradict them.”
“Well, I don’t love them,” he replied with a frustrated growl. “I don’t especially appreciate feeling emotionally vulnerable.”
“Welcome to my world. You can feel everything I feel. You know how much I love you, how much I want you. My emotions are an open book to you.”
He turned to face her. “Do you think that just because you can’t sense it, that I don’t feel the same way?”
Olivia shrugged. “I think…that I’ve hurt you, probably more than I realize. And I think you’ve put up walls. I won’t lie by telling you that doesn’t hurt.”
Liam muttered a curse and scrubbed his face with his hands before jacking them through his hair. “What am I supposed to do, Olivia? You’re engaged to marry another man—”
“And if I wasn’t?”
“But you are, and to ask me a ‘what if’ fallacy isn’t fair to me or you. The rules haven’t changed. If I took you, I’d lose you. And don’t begrudge our connection, because that’s what has kept you alive all these years. I’m here to do a job, and keeping you alive is my only priority. If I let myself get caught up in the past, I could get sloppy and potentially make a fatal mistake. Nothing matters except your safety. Not my feelings for you, not our past, and not your future with Mitch.”
Olivia didn’t respond. She was too busy choking back tears clogging her throat, and she’d be damned if she was going to sit here and cry in front of him.
Liam pulled back onto the freeway, taking his frustration out on the accelerator as he sent the Camaro racing up to eighty, and then some.
Guilt consumed her. She felt horrible at how easily her heart betrayed Mitch, and right on its heels was her traitorous body. Whether Liam wanted her or not, it didn’t matter. She was quickly coming to the realization that she still belonged to him. Mind, body, and spirit, she belonged to him.
Shifting his weight in the seat, he lifted his lean hips and shoved his hand into his pocket to dig out his cell phone. “You should call your parents,” he grumbled, handing her the phone. He didn’t bother to cast even a glance her way. His walls were up like Jericho, not that she blamed him.
Olivia took the phone, mumbled a “thank you,” and dialed her mother’s number. It rang twice before Kim answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Olivia? Oh, Olivia, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I just wanted to call and tell you—”
“What happened to you, sweetheart? Where are you?”
“Put her on speaker,” her father whispered.
“No, Mom, please don’t. Look, I just called to tell you I’m safe. I just… I just need a little space right now, that’s
Even that simple touch was enough to ignite a fire in the pit of Olivia’s stomach. She closed her eyes and slowly inhaled, drawing his intoxicating scent deep into her lungs.
Olivia reached up and wrapped her fingers around his wrist, holding his hand against her cheek, afraid that any second he’d pull it away. For a brief moment, when his thumb brushed across her bottom lip, she thought he’d kiss her, hoped he’d pull her into his arms as if three years and a world of heartache hadn’t passed between them.
But he didn’t move—didn’t press that mouth she longed to taste against her own and kiss her as he once had when she belonged to him and no other—but then, that was the problem, wasn’t it? She did belong to another.
The draft of passing cars kept knocking against the Camaro, interrupting a moment she wished would last forever. “We have to keep moving,” he whispered, slowly pulling his hand out of her grasp.
“I love your eyes,” she whispered, reluctantly pulling her hand from his chest. “I always know what you’re feeling, even when your actions contradict them.”
“Well, I don’t love them,” he replied with a frustrated growl. “I don’t especially appreciate feeling emotionally vulnerable.”
“Welcome to my world. You can feel everything I feel. You know how much I love you, how much I want you. My emotions are an open book to you.”
He turned to face her. “Do you think that just because you can’t sense it, that I don’t feel the same way?”
Olivia shrugged. “I think…that I’ve hurt you, probably more than I realize. And I think you’ve put up walls. I won’t lie by telling you that doesn’t hurt.”
Liam muttered a curse and scrubbed his face with his hands before jacking them through his hair. “What am I supposed to do, Olivia? You’re engaged to marry another man—”
“And if I wasn’t?”
“But you are, and to ask me a ‘what if’ fallacy isn’t fair to me or you. The rules haven’t changed. If I took you, I’d lose you. And don’t begrudge our connection, because that’s what has kept you alive all these years. I’m here to do a job, and keeping you alive is my only priority. If I let myself get caught up in the past, I could get sloppy and potentially make a fatal mistake. Nothing matters except your safety. Not my feelings for you, not our past, and not your future with Mitch.”
Olivia didn’t respond. She was too busy choking back tears clogging her throat, and she’d be damned if she was going to sit here and cry in front of him.
Liam pulled back onto the freeway, taking his frustration out on the accelerator as he sent the Camaro racing up to eighty, and then some.
Guilt consumed her. She felt horrible at how easily her heart betrayed Mitch, and right on its heels was her traitorous body. Whether Liam wanted her or not, it didn’t matter. She was quickly coming to the realization that she still belonged to him. Mind, body, and spirit, she belonged to him.
Shifting his weight in the seat, he lifted his lean hips and shoved his hand into his pocket to dig out his cell phone. “You should call your parents,” he grumbled, handing her the phone. He didn’t bother to cast even a glance her way. His walls were up like Jericho, not that she blamed him.
Olivia took the phone, mumbled a “thank you,” and dialed her mother’s number. It rang twice before Kim answered. “Hello?”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Olivia? Oh, Olivia, are you all right?”
“I’m fine. I just wanted to call and tell you—”
“What happened to you, sweetheart? Where are you?”
“Put her on speaker,” her father whispered.
“No, Mom, please don’t. Look, I just called to tell you I’m safe. I just… I just need a little space right now, that’s
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