Chapter 51 Surborn
Ava Reed
I barely managed to shut my apartment door before the first sob broke free.
Fuck.
My hands shook as I pressed my back against the door, my chest heaving, my mind replaying everything over and over again.
The practice. The fight. Him. Liam Carter.
Reckless. Stubborn. Impossible.
And yet, the only person who had ever made me feel this much.
I ran a hand through my hair, forcing myself to take deep breaths. I needed to calm down. I needed to think. But how the hell was I supposed to think when every inch of my body still felt like it was burning from the way he had looked at me? The way his voice had dropped, thick with frustration, with something deeper, something real?
I moved toward the couch on unsteady legs, sinking into it as I tried to convince myself that I had made the right call. Leaving his house, walking away before things got worse.
A sharp knock at the door made my stomach drop.
I knew who it was before I even stood up.
Another knock, this time harder.
I let out a shaky breath.
“Ava.”
Liam’s voice, rough and low, cut through the door like a blade.
I swallowed hard, my fingers twitching at my sides. My heart was pounding.
I shouldn’t open it. I should tell him to go.
But I didn’t.
Because I was weak when it came to him. Because no matter how much I fought it, how much I tried to convince myself otherwise…I needed him.
I unlocked the door, but I didn’t even get the chance to speak before he pushed inside, slamming it shut behind him.
He was soaked. His hair was dripping, his shirt clinging to his chest, his eyes burning into me with an intensity that made my knees weak.
“Liam”
“No.” His voice was sharp, his jaw tight. “Not this time, Ava.”
“What?” I blinked.
He stepped closer, his presence filling the entire apartment. “You always run. Every damn time we fight, you run. Well, not tonight.” His eyes darkened. “Tonight, you’re going to listen.”
“I don’t want to fight.” I stiffened, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Neither do I,” he said, his voice dropping.
I refused to look at him. I couldn't. My hands clenched at my sides, my body still thrumming with frustration, anger, fear.
“Say something,” Liam finally muttered, his voice rough with irritation.
I scoffed, shaking my head as I folded my arms.
“You promised, Liam.” My voice cracked, and I hated it. Hated how weak I sounded. “You promised to take it easy, and what do you do? You pull the same reckless shit as before.”
“I wasn’t being reckless.” Liam exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over his face.
I let out a humorless laugh. “Oh, really? Then what do you call it? Because I call it you almost getting yourself fucking hurt again.”
“I was fine.” His jaw clenched.
I snapped my gaze up to him, anger flashing through me like wildfire.
“You think you were fine! But what if you weren’t? What if one bad hit took you out for good? You don’t get to do that, Liam! Not after everything!”
His expression darkened, something unreadable flickering in his eyes.
“And what the hell do you want me to do, huh?” His voice dropped, low and sharp. “Just sit on the sidelines and watch like some washed-up player? That’s not who I am, Ava.”
“No,” I shot back, stepping closer. “But maybe you should learn when to slow the fuck down! You’re acting like you have something to prove, but to who, Liam? To the team? To my dad? To yourself?”
Liam’s hands curled into fists at his sides, his nostrils flaring. “You don’t get it.”
I let out a breathless laugh. “No, you don’t get it! I’m the one who’s been patching you up, Liam! I’m the one who sees what happens when you push yourself too far! And I…”
I stopped myself. The words lodged in my throat, suffocating me. I felt too much, cared too much, and if I said it out loud, there’d be no taking it back.
Liam stepped in closer, his presence overwhelming. “You what, Snowflakes?” His voice was low, dangerous.
“Forget it.” I shook my head.
“The fuck I will.” His fingers closed around my wrist, not rough, but firm enough to stop me from running. “Say it.”
My breath hitched. My heartbeat thundered against my ribs, too loud, too fast.
I jerked my arm free. “I care, okay?” My voice trembled, but I didn’t stop. “I fucking care, Liam. And it terrifies me.”
His whole body went still. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
The silence stretched between us, heavy, thick with something neither of us wanted to acknowledge.
Then, suddenly…
“Fuck this,” Liam growled.
Before I could react, his hands were in my hair, yanking me forward, and his mouth crashed onto mine.
I gasped against his lips, but the second his tongue swept inside, all my protests dissolved. I shouldn’t be doing this, not here, not like this—but God, he tasted like frustration and need, and I was drowning in it.
My fingers curled into his shirt, yanking him closer, and Liam groaned against my mouth, his grip tightening, his body pressing flush against mine
My breath caught. “You don’t get to decide that.”
“The fuck I don’t.”
My pulse was racing, my skin burning where he touched me. I should have pushed him away. I should have told him to leave.
But instead, I stayed.
And I let him win.
Liam tilted my head back, his lips hovering just above mine. “Tell me you don’t want me,” he rasped. “Tell me, and I’ll walk out that door.”
I opened my mouth.
No words came.
Liam let out a slow exhale, his grip tightening. “That’s what I thought.”
Then—
He kissed me.
Hard.
Desperate.
A collision of frustration and longing and everything we had been avoiding for weeks.
A broken sound left my throat as I clutched his soaked shirt, pulling him closer, kissing him back like my life depended on it.
His hands were everywhere.
Rough. Frantic. Claiming.
Before I could even process what was happening, he lifted me effortlessly, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carried me through the dimly lit apartment, his lips never leaving mine.
My back hit the wall, and he was everywhere—his mouth on my neck, his hands sliding beneath my shirt, his fingers scorching against my bare skin.
“Still mad at me, baby?” he murmured against my throat.
“Yes.” I shuddered.
His grip on my thighs tightened, and his lips brushed against my ear.
“I am sorry. I will listen to you from now on. I will do better, by you, for me. I promise I will. Don’t be mad at me, Snowflakes.”
I let out a shaky breath, my hands trembling as I cupped his face. “Okay.”
Liam exhaled like he had been waiting forever to hear that single word.
Right there against the wall, his hands strong and unyielding, his mouth trailing fire along my skin, his body pressing me so tight against him that I couldn’t tell where I ended and he began.
And when he finally carried me to the bedroom, laying me down on the sheets with a reverence that made my heart ache, I knew.
I was beyond in love with this stubborn man.