Venus rising boxset, p.55
Venus Rising Boxset, page 55
“Lorelei’s an idiot.”
“She’s hilarious and quirky.”
“The plot lines suck. You just want to strangle all of them by the end of an episode.”
“They’re funny.”
“But you do want to strangle them.”
“But in a happy way!”
“All the characters are selfish.”
“Not Rory!”
“Or Luke!”
“Luke’s hot.”
“Yeah, okay, Luke’s hot, but the guys Rory goes out with are all losers.”
“What?! What about Logan?
“I like Dean’s hair.”
“Dean cheats on his wife!”
“Well, Logan’s a spoiled brat.”
“But he’s cute.”
“Not as hot as Luke.”
“No one’s at hot as Luke.”
“Not even Christopher?”
“I love the episode where Luke punches him in the face.”
“Yeah,” Olivia sighed. “Luke’s the best part of the show, but he doesn’t make up for the rest of it.”
“He’s yummy,” said Hilary a little dreamily.
“I’m not sure I like where this conversation is going,” said Chris, eying Jessica suspiciously. Not surprising since she’d been the first one to bring up Luke and his hotness. Hilary giggled.
Justin just rolled his eyes. “You’re the one who had to ask.”
“At least we all managed to agree on something,” teased Olivia, looking rather pleased with herself. It was pretty obvious she really enjoyed tweaking Chris and Justin, and any time she managed to get under Chris’ skin, it was a real accomplishment since he tended to let things roll off his back.
“Please tell me you’re not going jealous over a fictional character,” Jessica said, laughing as she pulled him down for a kiss. “You have no problem sharing me with Justin, but I mention a fictional character is hot, and you get all fussy.” Smiling again, Chris kissed her back thoroughly.
“Justin’s different.”
“So, it’s just any guy other than Justin I’m not allowed to think is hot? What about Liam? Liam’s pretty hot.”
“Hey, now,” Liam said. Hilary twisted around to see him holding up his hands in surrender as Chris mock-glared at him. “I’m just sitting here quietly.”
“Sitting quietly and looking hot,” Jessica said, obviously enjoying herself.
“Yeah, Liam’s pretty hot,” Olivia chimed in, her eyes glinting with mischief.
It was obvious that Hilary was the only female in the room who hadn’t spoken up. In fact, she’d turned back to her mostly empty plate, trying not to feel the hot flush on her cheeks, which was almost as hard as not glaring at Olivia. She’d get her back. Wait and see if she didn’t.
“What’s the matter, honey-girl,” Liam teased in his deep voice, his leg nudging up against her. Warmth spread through her body, emanating outwards from her arm where he touched her. “Don’t you think I’m hot?”
She couldn’t bring herself to turn around and face him, but at least she got her voice under control.
“Hunka-hunka burning love.”
Everyone cracked up, and Hilary shrugged as she laughed. Fortunately, they finally turned the conversation as Jessica asked the guys how their night had gone. Liam’s leg, however, didn’t move away, staying pressed up against her. If she scooted away, she’d run into his other leg. Oh... whatever. She was hung over, she could do what she wanted. Giving a little sigh, Hilary rested her head against his leg and felt him freeze. A small smile played on her lips. Evidently, he hadn’t been expecting that.
Point for the honey-girl.
The only thing wrong with his chosen position was he couldn’t see Hilary’s face. Although the expressions on both Olivia’s and Justin’s faces showed surprise and amusement. Chris looked more smug than anything else. Jessica was looking at him to gauge his reaction. Liam shot her a smile, hoping it didn’t look smarmy or anything. She smiled back but continued to keep her eye on him as she listened to Chris and Justin give their accounts of the evening before.
Feeling rather daring, Liam reached forward and tugged Hilary’s hair from her ponytail. She didn’t resist, which didn’t surprise him since she had already shown him how submissive she could be, and she didn’t tense up either, which was by far the more expressive indicator at the moment. Instead, she made what sounded like a little hum of happiness as he began to run his fingers through her hair. He liked the way her gleaming blonde hair looked--golden and spread out across his dark jeans. Setting his plate to the side on the end table, along with his empty coffee mug, he began to run his fingers through the soft wealth of her hair, massaging her scalp a little with each stroke.
He was rewarded as Hilary let out a little sigh and leaned back against the couch, settling herself between his legs. She tilted her head back to look at him with the kind of smile that could melt a sociopath’s heart—pure, sweetly innocent, and oh, so sincere. It would take a harder man than him not to feel motivated to go gallivanting off, defeating dragons for a smile like that, and at the same time, it made him feel like a dirty perv for all the debaucherous things that innocent smile made him want to do to her.
“That feels nice, thank you.”
“My pleasure,” he murmured, his voice a low purr, and gave her a wicked grin. The kind he used when he wanted to let a woman know he was interested in more than just a conversation. Hilary blushed, and he could see the peaks of her nipples hardening before she tilted her head forward again, and he lost the lovely view.
She was always so polite, and he was starting to like that about her. On the other hand, it also made him want to find out how to break down her social control and push her beyond it, back to a place where pleases and thank yous didn’t matter so much. Had she been so polite during their scene together? Most of his memories were of how she tasted, the way she smelled, the softness of her skin. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember the words they’d said. Not that it had mattered since they’d been roleplaying.
What would she do if he assigned her a role which required her to be foul mouthed? Now, that might be an interesting experiment.
Although not something he should be thinking about right now, considering he wanted to get to know her better and see if something was there between the two of them, something more than fantastic sex. So, he just went back to concentrating on massaging her scalp and listening to the conversation.
“TAKE IT! TAKE IT! RUN, YOU FUCKER!!!!!!”
“GO! GO! RUN, FAT MAN, RUUUUUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!!!!”
Liam snorted, trying to hold in his laughter as he’d already been subjected to several glares from Hilary for his amusement over her and Jessica’s version of ‘cheering’ when it came to football. At least Chris was on the receiving end of just as many glares, although he’d seen the show before.
There seemed to be steps to the excitement. First, they would bounce, then they would either stand or get up on their knees, then there was the jumping and screaming with vile profanities spewing from Jessica’s mouth and less vile but more creative insults from Hilary’s. It was the most entertaining football game he’d ever watched.
Catching Justin’s eye, he gestured at the two women, who were jumping up and down, pumping their fists as the—admittedly large—defensive man managed to get most of the way down the field after intercepting the ball.
“Why haven’t you brought them to a game before?”
“Are you kidding me?” Justin said, laughing. “Our friends would be watching them instead of the game.”
“Just like you,” Chris said, leaning over to punch Liam’s shoulder playfully.
Olivia was ignoring them, cheering just as loudly as Hilary and Jessica. The guys had a point, but it was really too bad, especially considering how much Olivia seemed to be enjoying having female companionship for the football game. Kind of ironic, actually—of the six people in the room, the three most interested in the game were the women. Justin was the only real football fan out of the men, and he was just as distracted by Jessica’s antics as Chris was.
Pretty females bouncing up and down, all those lovely curves jiggling as blonde hair whipped around her shoulders... hmm. Yeah, perhaps a sight he’d rather not share with his friends. At least not until he could try to secure Hilary’s interest for himself.
Eventually, she relaxed around him, and they’d been teasing and flirting, the kind of innocent flirting that had nothing to do with sex and everything to do with attraction. It was a little strange to flirt without trying to seduce her or pull her into a scene, but he found himself enjoying it. Hilary was sunshine and brightness, a bouncing, silly ball of energy that made him laugh more than he ever had with a woman. She settled back onto the couch next to him, not quite touching his side—although the back of her shoulders pressed against the arm he had slung along the back of the couch—eyes sparkling with enjoyment.
“Enjoying the floor show?” she asked, giving him a mock-stern look.
“Oh, yes,” he grinned at her unashamedly. “Best football game I’ve ever seen.”
Hilary laughed. “We’re losing, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“That’s okay, my favorite part of this game is definitely the cheerleaders.” He let his hand drop a little lower, so his fingertips were touching her upper arm and began to draw small circles on her bare skin, just under the hem of her sleeve. Hilary shivered a little and blushed as she looked away, turning her attention back to the television. With a small smile playing on his lips, Liam chose to watch her instead of the television.
Which was a lot of fun until a few minutes later when the Skins finally scored a touchdown, and Hilary was jumping to her feet again, screaming wildly, actually startling him because he’d become so involved in just looking at her. Justin and Chris were laughing again, but this time at him—even Olivia sent him an amused glance as she celebrated with the other two girls. Apparently, touchdowns were cause for jumping and hugging and—holy shit—they were doing a touchdown dance. Liam held his hands to his already aching stomach muscles and laughed so hard, tears sparked in his eyes.
The man was driving her up the wall. She had no idea whether he was attracted to her, or if he thought of her as some kind of entertainment. They’d flirted a little, but he didn’t make any obvious moves on her. It was all a lot more subtle than anything that had happened between them before, and she had no idea how to read him. Was he just a flirt? Was he just trying to get into her pants again? Although if sex was all he wanted, wouldn’t he be more obvious about seducing, instead of flirting? The little touches he’d been giving her all day were driving her wild. Did he know how potent his fingertips were?
Fortunately, she’d always enjoyed watching football and throwing herself into the game, even though she wasn’t a fan of any particular team. Maybe she had a little more spirit for the Redskins, just because of where she’d grown up, but she really didn’t care who was playing. She’d just pick a side and cheer for them—hard—because that’s what made the game fun. Why watch a game you weren’t going to get into?
Which brought up another point about the boys she didn’t understand. Okay, so she’d known Chris wasn’t a huge football fan, even though he enjoyed watching games, but Justin seemed more distracted than usual this game. Normally, he was amused by Jessica, but not completely distracted by their exuberance. Sometimes, when she looked at him, expecting to see him cheering, he was watching Liam—who was watching her.
Having Liam’s eyes on her made it even harder for her to act her normal self, especially since she really felt like she was making an idiot out of herself. Still, it seemed like he was enjoying himself. He obviously was more like Chris when it came to watching football—he enjoyed it but wasn’t a fan. So, why had he come today? Just to see her? That seemed rather arrogant to think, but she kind of hoped so. Was it just her imagination, or were those silvery eyes caressing her as she moved?
Sitting next to him had made it incredibly hard to concentrate on the game. The warmth of his hard body right next to hers, the muscled arm she leaned against, then he’d started stroking her arm, and she’d nearly jumped him in front of everyone. The entire day was like one long session of foreplay but with no hope of release—not unless she wanted to drag him back to her bedroom. Which, okay, she did, but what she really wanted was a relationship.
Her mom’s words echoed in her head. Why buy the cow, when you can get the milk for free?
It was her mom’s way of saying that having sex with a guy didn’t mean he would want a relationship. When it came to Liam, Hilary couldn’t help but feel like she’d gone about everything all wrong. And yet... he was still here.
But he wasn’t going to get her milk today—no matter how much she might want to hand out samples.
After the game, Justin headed into the kitchen to make dinner, inviting Olivia and Liam to stay if they wanted to.
“I’ve got to head out,” Olivia said, shaking her head. “But thanks for having me over. It was... enlightening.”
She saw Liam shoot Olivia a look, but his face was turned away from her so she couldn’t see exactly what look. Olivia just grinned, then winked at Hilary before giving everyone a hug and loping out the door. Suddenly, Jessica and Chris had disappeared too, back somewhere in the apartment, and Hilary found herself standing alone with Liam in the living room. The kitchen was suspiciously quiet, considering Justin supposedly had gone in there to cook.
Traitors. All of them.
“I should get going too,” Liam said. He was standing just a few feet away from her, hands in his pockets, his body relaxed but alert, the most enigmatic look in his steely eyes. Feeling both disappointed and relieved, Hilary nodded her head. A small smile quirked his face as he walked toward her. As he moved closer, she could feel her body tightening with anticipation and tension. Part of her wanted to step away, but it was as if she was frozen in place, her tongue tied, and all she could do was tilt her head back to keep eye contact with him until he was standing right in front of her. If she swayed forward, just an inch, she’d be pressed against him. His voice was soft, not quite a whisper, almost a caress.
“I’d like to see you again. Can I take you to dinner on Friday?”
Hilary nodded, her heart pounding. Two minutes ago, she would have said a date with him was all she wanted. Now, she knew better. She wanted him to kiss her. Liam studied her face, still smiling, and pulled one hand out of his pocket to reach up and cup her chin, brushing his thumb across her lips. They parted in response as she sucked in a breath, and his expression changed from smiling to intense.
“Seven o’clock?”
She nodded again. Oh, why couldn’t she find her voice? His silvery eyes seemed like they were piercing her as if he could see all of her thoughts, all her confusion, and yearning.
“I look forward to it. I’ll see you then.”
Another brush of his thumb across her lips, then he was moving away and out the door.
“Bye,” Hilary finally managed to choke out. Liam smiled at her before the door shut.
Good grief... her knees felt like jelly. Did the man have any idea what kind of presence he had?! Okay, so most of Justin’s and Chris’ friends had presences that were equally powerful, but none of them made her feel quite like this. It must be the overwhelming animal attraction. Or maybe just the fact he’d finally asked her on a date, and she knew sex with him could be so... darn... good.
“Well? Well?” Jessica came bounding into the room just as Hilary sat back down on the couch, feeling shaken.
“I have a date on Friday,” Hilary said.
“You aren’t smiling? Why aren’t you smiling?”
“I think I’m still in shock,” she said truthfully. “He’s just so... overwhelming.”
“Ah,” said her friend in tones of sudden understanding. “Yeah, I remember how that feels. You should have seen me the first couple times I had to interact act with ‘Mr. Flood’ and ‘Mr. Fire.’ I was a wreck.”
“A wreck is exactly what I feel like right now,” said Hilary, leaning back against the sofa. Her head was suddenly pounding again as if Liam’s presence had kept her hangover at bay, and now that he was gone, it was returning. “Oh God... what am I going to wear?”
“Don’t worry, we have all week, we’ll figure something out,” Jessica said, looking gleeful.
“Guys don’t really care what you wear,” said Chris from the kitchen, breaking the illusion that Hilary and Jessica had any privacy for their conversation. “We’re just thrilled you want to go out with us.”
“We care,” said Jessica. “And trust me, he will too once he sees how fantastic Hilary looks!”
The girls went to look over their closets and have some private woman-to-woman chatting while the guys made dinner. Later that evening, Hilary finally checked her phone and saw the final message Liam had sent her last night. Yeah, she’d definitely seen him a lot sooner than she’d thought. If only she’d stayed awake a few more minutes, maybe she would have been prepared!
She guessed it didn’t matter, anyway. She studied the three outfits she and Jessica had narrowed down her wardrobe to, depending on where he’d be taking her. Hopefully, he’d call her sometime this week, and they could talk about it, but if not, then she’d text him. It’d be nice if he called, though.
Chapter 9
It had become a habit for Justin and Adam to have lunch together most days, the way he and Chris used to. They didn’t have quite the same camaraderie, of course, but they were quickly becoming very good friends. Adam particularly enjoyed hearing about the way things had gone during the football game.
“Realized it was better for him not to have the rest watching as well,” Adam said, clear blue eyes crinkled with laughter as he smoothed down the sides of his blonde goatee. “Probably for the best; we wouldn’t have been able to keep from flirting with her, just to tease him. Although if she decides she’s not interested in him…”
