Chapter 44 Breath
Ava Reed
I barely had a second to catch my breath before Liam had me in his arms again.
The next thing I knew, he was kicking open the bathroom door, stepping inside like a man on a goddamn mission.
And I?
I didn’t stop him. I didn’t fight it. I didn’t even pretend to resist.
Because the second he laid me down on the cool marble countertop, the heat of his body caging me in, the hunger in his eyes stripping me bare…I knew.
There was no running. Not from him. Not from this. Not from the truth I had spent so long trying to ignore.
Liam Carter owned me.
And I wanted him to.
He pulled back just enough to look at me, his fingers pushing my hair away from my face, his jaw tight, his breathing uneven.
"You have no fucking idea what you do to me," he murmured, his thumb brushing over my bottom lip.
I barely had time to respond before he crashed his mouth into mine again, deep and consuming, like he was starving for me.
I kissed him back just as desperately, my hands sliding under his hoodie, feeling the hard ridges of his abs, the warmth of his skin, the way his muscles tensed under my touch.
He groaned into my mouth, nipping at my bottom lip before pulling back just slightly, his forehead pressed against mine.
Then, without a word, he reached over, turned on the faucet, and tested the water with his fingers.
A slow, heated smile curved his lips.
"Shower, baby?"
I swallowed hard, my heart hammering, my body already burning.
I knew what was about to happen.
And still, I nodded.
His grin was devastating.
He stripped me slowly, his hands gliding over my skin, his eyes devouring me as he unzipped my skirt, let it pool at my feet, unhooked my bra, tossed it aside. He took his time, his fingers trailing, teasing, tracing over every inch of me, like he wanted to memorize me.
And when I was finally bare before him, my chest rising and falling, my body already aching, he exhaled sharply, like he was struggling to keep himself together.
"You're so fucking beautiful," he muttered, his voice rough, his fingers tracing a line between my breasts, down my stomach, lower and lower.
I gasped when he suddenly lifted me into his arms, stepping into the shower, the warm water cascading over us.
His hands were everywhere.
I moaned as he ran his palms over my curves, his lips trailing down my neck, my shoulder, his breath hot against my skin.
And then…
Then, he dropped to his knees.
A sharp gasp left me as he gripped my thighs, spreading them apart, his breath ghosting over my center.
"Liam"
But I didn’t get to finish.
Because the moment his tongue touched me, I broke.
A wrecked sob left my lips as my hands flew to his hair, my fingers tangling, my body trembling under the first slow, devastating stroke of his tongue in my soaking aching pussy.
"Fuck," I whimpered, my back hitting the cool tile, my head falling back, my entire body consumed by him.
He groaned against me, his hands tightening on my thighs, his grip bruising, unrelenting.
"You taste like fucking heaven," he muttered against me before he devoured me.
I was gone.
I was gone.
I had never been touched like this before. Never been worshiped like this before.
And Liam?
Liam didn’t stop.
He didn’t relent.
His tongue was merciless, his lips dragging over my clit, his fingers digging into my thighs as he kept me pinned right where he wanted me.
"You’re mine," he growled, his voice wrecked, his eyes wild as he looked up at me. "Say it."
I couldn’t think. I couldn’t breathe.
His tongue flicked against me again, slow and torturous, and I screamed. He sucked the life out of me, eating me like the pasta didn’t end this hunger
"Liam!"
He smirked, his hands gripping my ass, dragging me impossibly closer to his mouth.
"Say it, baby."
I was falling apart.
I was shattering.
And then, he sucked my clit into his mouth harder, his fingers digging in, owning me.
I detonated.
A sharp, strangled cry ripped from my throat as my orgasm crashed over me like a fucking tidal wave. My body locked up, my legs trembling, my hands fisting in his hair as I came hard against his tongue.
Liam groaned against me, drinking me in, his tongue working me through every pulse, every fucking aftershock that tore through my body.
And when I finally collapsed against the shower wall, breathless, boneless, wrecked.
He pressed one last slow, teasing kiss to my thigh before standing, gripping my jaw, and kissing me deeply.
I tasted myself on his tongue.
I whimpered, my fingers tightening on his arms.
His eyes burned into mine, his expression dark, dangerous.
"You’re mine, Ava," he murmured against my lips.
And this time, I didn’t hesitate.
I looked him in the eyes, my heart pounding, my body still humming from what he just did to me.
And I finally said the truth I had been running from.
"Yes," I whispered. "I’m yours."
Liam exhaled sharply, his grip on me tightening.
And then, he lifted me again, his mouth crashing onto mine, his body pressing into me, and I knew.
We weren’t done. Not even close.