Chapter 14—Liam

“Get your fucking hands off her!” I couldn’t see straight through my rage. The tips of my ears burned with a level of anger I’d never felt before. Every muscle in my body was wound tight, ready to snap at the slightest provocation. My hands shook with the effort of not beating the asshole bloody. But it was my heart that took the biggest hit. The sheer terror I’d seen on Eve’s face, the helplessness I’d heard in her voice when I’d walked in.

I turned to the piece of shit dickhead on the floor and advanced toward him. He got to his feet, and like the stupid fucker he was, he didn’t run. He stood there, facing me. Challenging me. The asshole wanted a fight, he’d get a goddamn fight. And when I was done with him, he wouldn’t need an ambulance or a doctor. He’d need a coroner.

“She wanted it,” he said, his gaze darting past me to her. “Tell him, Eve. You’re so hot and bothered by this pathetic excuse—”

I launched my fist into his face, not giving him the chance to finish whatever bullshit he was spewing from his mouth.

“Liam!” Eve shrieked. “Stop. He’s my boss.”

“I don’t give a shit if he’s the fucking pope. He doesn’t get to touch you like that.” I grabbed a fistful of his shirt and hauled him toward me. But before I could land another punch, Eve gripped my arm.

“Don’t. Please.” Her lips trembled, and her big, blue eyes filled with tears.

I wanted nothing more than to beat this guy into a body bag, but I released him with a hard shove. “If you so much as think about putting your hands on her again, you’ll have to deal with me, and trust me when I say you won’t be walking away from it.”

Troy shook his head and smoothed his hair back. “You really could’ve gone far with me, Eve. Maybe it’s best this way. Clearly you like to slum. Personally, I prefer a little class with my pussy.”

“Get the fuck out. Now,” Eve said, her voice steadier than I’d expected.

When Troy left, she collapsed into my arms. I pulled her to my chest, holding her tightly and stroking her hair. And now I was shaking for an entirely different reason. God, what would’ve happened if I hadn’t walked in when I did? She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face against my chest. It took everything in me not to kiss her and make love to her until I was positive she was okay.

She trembled, and I held her tighter. “Eve, honey, what happened?”

“He…” She sniffled. “He said he saw you and Derrick touching me and heard you two talking about fucking me. Then he said he could fuck me better than both of you.”

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered under my breath. I’d never wanted to hurt anyone as badly as I wanted to hurt Troy. What made him think he had the right to put his hands on any woman like that? “I’m sorry, Eve. We should’ve waited until everyone was gone.”

“No.” She pulled back and shook her head. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not. Our need for you put you in a dangerous position.” I bit back another curse and dragged my shaking hand through my hair. Unfortunately, there were a lot of men like Troy in this lifestyle—men who thought they could do whatever the hell they wanted simply because a woman liked to have two men and wasn’t afraid of her sexuality. It pissed me off. And knowing it was Eve he’d crossed the line with… I flexed my fingers, the need to hit something consuming me.

“Where’s Derrick?”

I clenched my teeth. Of course, she wanted her husband. I tried not to let it get to me, but it did. “I think he’s cleaning up outside. I’ll go get him, and I’ll make sure Troy left.” I hooked my thumb toward the front door. Really, I just needed some air and space to calm down.

“Liam, wait.” Her voice was strangled, and she grabbed my hand, the touch sending a jolt of need straight to my balls. She flung her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine.

Without hesitation, I jerked her to my body, letting her feel how hard I was, how badly I wanted her. “Eve.” I breathed her name as if it were my personal prayer, and then I lifted her onto the island counter. Standing between her parted legs, I crushed my mouth to hers, my tongue delving deep for a long taste. “God, the thought of what he would’ve done to you.” I kissed along her jaw, noticing the red spot where that asshole had had his lips on her. “I would’ve killed him if he hurt you.” I dragged my lips back to hers, and I took her face into my hands. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Thanks to you.” She smiled weakly, her hands resting on my hips.

I gave her lips a tender kiss, then rested my forehead to hers. My heart finally started to slow, and my breathing returned to normal. But the adrenaline was still thick in my veins, and my limbs trembled. “I will never let anyone hurt you, Eve. I’d die before I let anything bad happen to you.”

“Don’t say that.” Her voice quivered. She moved her hands up to cradle my face, her gaze scared but determined. “I can’t stand the thought of anything bad happening to you, either, you know?”

I smiled, my lips seeking hers for another kiss, which she eagerly returned. “Are you sure you’re all right?”

She nodded.

I took a deep breath. “I’ll go find Derrick. Stay here, okay?” I really just wanted to be alone with her a bit longer, but I knew I couldn’t do that. It wasn’t fair to her or Derrick. He needed to know what happened.

“No.” She hopped off the counter. “I don’t want to be in here alone. I’m going with you.” There was a slight tremor left in her voice, and there was no way I could tell her no.

I took her hand, lacing our fingers, and we headed outside. The backyard where we’d had the barbeque was empty, a half-full trash bag lay abandoned on the ground near the grill. “Derrick?” I called.

“Maybe he headed out front with some of the guests,” Eve suggested.

I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as we walked around to the front of the cabin. As the driveway came into view, Eve stopped. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

She tilted her head. “That’s Skylar’s car.” She nodded at the Jeep parked behind my car. “She said she was leaving.”

A knot twisted my stomach. I hadn’t missed the way Derrick had been hanging around Skylar all day, and I prayed my instincts were wrong. But then I saw the subtle way Skylar’s car bounced. I took a deep breath and momentarily closed my eyes. “C’mon.” I tugged Eve toward the cabin. “Maybe they went back inside.” But she was rooted in place.

Eve yanked her hand from mine and stormed toward Skylar’s car, jerking the door open. Then she gasped and jumped back, her hand over her mouth. I didn’t need to see inside to know what she’d found—her husband was fucking her best friend. The irony of that wasn’t lost on me, but my anger was instantaneous. How dare Derrick cheat on his wife?

“Eve.” Derrick was out of the car in a flash, buttoning his shorts.

“Oh, God,” Skylar said. “I’m so sorry, Eve.”

“Let me explain.” Derrick held up his hands in a show of surrender.

“Explain?” she shouted. “I don’t need you to explain how your dick ended up inside Skylar. I know how that shit works!” Without another word, she brushed past me and rushed in the cabin.

“Eve!” I chased after her, Derrick on my heels. I stepped inside to find her on the couch, face buried in her hands. “Hey.” I sat beside her and gently placed my hand on her back.

“Don’t.” She jerked away from my touch and looked up at me with a tear-stained face. “That’s why you’re here, isn’t it?”

My jaw dropped. “What?” Confusion swirled in my brain. She couldn’t possibly be implying I had something to do with her husband cheating, could she?

She stood just as Derrick entered. “That’s why you invited him, isn’t it?” She pointed at me. “So he could keep my occupied while you fucked my best friend?” She turned to me, venom in her gaze. “That’s the real reason you’re here, isn’t it? To cover for him?”

I stood slowly. “Hey now, wait a minute.”

“No!” she shouted so loud, I cringed.

“I didn’t know a damn thing about him and Skylar,” I snapped. “Tell her, Derrick.” I glared at him.

“Yes, I invited him here for you, Eve, so you’d have someone to be with.” He hung his head. “But he didn’t know anything about Skylar. I swear it.”

I cursed under my breath. Right from the start I’d known something about this whole thing was off. I had no idea he’d used me to keep his wife busy so he could cheat on her, though.

“Oh, right.” She huffed. “Like I’m going to believe a word that comes out of your mouth. Clearly you two are in on this together.”

I curled my hands into fists, my nails biting into my palms. “We are not in this together, Eve.” Derrick was fucking lucky I hadn’t knocked him on his ass yet. And if it weren’t for the fact that Eve was standing between us, that’s exactly what I would’ve done. “Fuck.” I dragged my hand through my hair. “I knew coming here was a mistake.”

Eve whipped around to stare at me, her eyes filling with fresh tears. Her bottom lip trembled. Shit.

“Eve, I didn’t mean—”

“Don’t.” She shook her head.

Could I have said anything dumber? Being with her wasn’t a mistake, but I should’ve insisted Derrick tell me the truth before I ever agreed to come here. It was my fault for ignoring my instincts. I snapped my mouth shut and swallowed hard.

She crossed her arms over her chest, hugging herself tightly. “God, Derrick. My best friend? How could you?” Her voice gave out, and I had to shove my hands in my pockets so I wouldn’t pull her into my arms. All I wanted to do was hold her, comfort her, assure her it would be okay. But I wasn’t sure things would ever be okay again.

“You need to let me explain,” he said carefully, almost like he was afraid if he spoke too loudly, she’d take off. “There’s a lot you don’t know.”

“I know I don’t satisfy you,” she said. “I haven’t for years. That’s why you’re sleeping with someone else. Because I don’t do it for you anymore.”

My heart shattered at the pain in her voice. I cleared my throat. “I think I should go.” As much as I wanted to stay, to get Eve to understand I was a victim of Derrick’s scheming, too, this was a conversation they needed to have without me hanging around.

“You need to hear this, too,” Derrick said. There wasn’t a trace of remorse or guilt in his voice. What the hell was wrong with him?

“This is between you and me,” Eve said, her gaze trained on Derrick. Slowly, she faced me again, and I held my breath, suddenly very aware that this was probably the last time I’d ever see her. “You need to go, Liam.”

I nodded but hesitated, wondering if she’d say anything more. She remained silent. Defeated, my shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Eve,” I whispered.

“Me too,” she whispered back.

I quickly gathered my stuff and left. I barely made it the road before my vision blurred with tears. I hastily wiped them away and slammed my palms against the steering wheel. “Fuck!”