Venus rising boxset, p.59
Venus Rising Boxset, page 59
She wasn’t sure he was having the same reactions. He was so controlled about everything, and it made her feel even more chaotic and frazzled. Liam stirred things in her no man ever had, making her imagination run wild and wanton, e specially when he’d talked about what he wanted from a woman. She’d wanted to tell him she would be happy to submit to him, that she wouldn’t treat it as a joke. She’d be more than happy to let him take complete control, each and every time.
But the other aspects of it had scared her once she’d started thinking with her brain again, instead of the throbbing pulse between her legs. In some ways, it almost sounded like he wanted a woman to hand over her heart, body, and soul to him, completely. Was she really able to say she could do that? She didn’t want to disappoint him... What if the fantasy in her head really was better than the reality? Thinking back to her time with him at Stronghold, she couldn’t quite believe that.
Submitting to Liam was so natural, so easy—too easy, really. Then again, it wasn’t like he gave her much choice. Maybe that was the real appeal. So many men seemed confident, then lost it the second things became intimate or were just selfish and overconfident instead of dominant. Finding a man who knew exactly what he wanted and didn’t hesitate about taking it while still paying such detailed and intimate attention to her own needs and wants, it was hard not to just give in and let him sweep her away. His very presence seemed to have a twofold effect on her—arousing her body and calming her nerves.
“Is it a movie?”
He shot her a disdainful look, telling her he didn’t think a movie would be much of a surprise. Hilary grinned.
“A club?”
“No.”
“A gun range?”
“What?” That surprised a laugh out of him, along with his question.
Hilary shrugged, trying to hide her grin and sound serious. “I would be very surprised if you took me to one.”
Laughing again, Liam reached over and took her hand, sending tingles up her arm. His hand was warm and dry, completely enveloping hers. It felt really, really nice—normal. The kind of comforting hand holding she really liked from a man and rarely got.
When they pulled up to the Strathmore Mansion, she felt even more curious.
“Are we going to see a play?”
“Nope.”
Liam handed a woman tickets at the door where Hilary could already hear the strains of music, some kind of jazzy, funky sound. They walked into the mansion, then a room to the right where the lights were dimmed and colored lights were flashing out from the stage. A ten-piece funk group was at the other end of the room, playing a seriously catchy song that already had her bouncing in rhythm. It was smaller than any concert Hilary had ever been to—even though it was standing room only in the room she knew the Mansion usually used for high tea—but the music called to her, and she couldn’t stop herself from moving.
They found a space to stand about halfway through the room, close enough they could see the musicians without having to push their way into the press of human bodies crowding the stage. Standing behind her, Liam was a large, solid warmth at her back, his hand splayed almost possessively over her belly. They swayed together, and Hilary allowed herself to relax against him, moving her hips in time with the beat of the drums, feeling the seductive heat of the music and the moment.
When he slid his other hand down to her hip, Hilary rested her own hands over his on her belly, and they moved together, her body following the slow gyration of his lower body. The darkness of the room only added to the seductive atmosphere, bringing back to mind the first time they’d been on a dance floor together, and her body flushed with desire.
“Have you ever been to something like this?” Liam asked in her ear, his lips grazing the sensitive appendage and making Hilary shiver against him. The way they were pressed against each other, there was no way she could hide her reaction to him, although at least with her back to him, he probably couldn’t see her nipples had puckered into hard little nubs. She shook her head and turned it slightly as he leaned forward so she could respond.
“I’ve been to concerts, but not quite like this one. What’s the band called?”
“Art of Funk.”
“I like it.”
“Then it’s a good surprise,” he said, pulling her tighter against him. She could feel the stiff ridge of his erection between her buttocks. On other dance floors, with other men, at other times, such a move would be unappreciated and have her stalking away in disgust. Now, on this dance floor with Liam, Hilary discovered such a reaction was due to the man in question, not the move. Feeling Liam pressed up against her like that only made her want to push back. So, she did.
With the music playing, she couldn’t hear his groan, but she could feel it, vibrating through their bodies. It was like playing with fire, she thought dizzily, and she couldn’t stop. Fortunately, he seemed to have more control, holding her in place and not moving his hands anywhere that would get them into further trouble. Part of her still resented his iron control, although she could feel he was just as affected by her as she was by him, and the other part of her was relieved.
After a while, they took a break from the room, getting some air outside. Liam got her a cookie and soda from the snack bar even though she’d only asked for a soda. He teased her that he’d seen the way she was looking at the cookie— truthfully, she had been.
All in all, by the time he brought her home, Hilary thought it was possibly the most successful first date she’d ever been on. Despite the obvious attraction between them, Liam had been nothing but a gentleman all night, and she’d truly enjoyed getting to know him over dinner, then seeing a bit of what he liked to do with his free time. About halfway through the concert, she’d realized he’d had the band’s CD playing in his car while he’d been driving them around—she hadn’t noticed until they’d done a song with vocals, and she’d recognized the tagline.
Dancing with him had been one big tease, the way his body pressed against hers, then move away, h er chest brushing against his, his hands on her hips and waist... There were moments when she would look up at him and feel sure he was going to kiss her, but then he always moved away or turned her around—talk about frustrating. In the car on the way home, he’d held her hand again, which reassured her he wasn’t resisting kissing her because he didn’t like her. Actually, holding hands had been rather distracting. He hadn’t just held her hand, he’d used his thumb to rub over her skin and caress her hand as they’d talked about the music. Apparently, Liam liked to go to smaller venues to hear local bands play rather than large concerts where there was a crush of people. Considering how much fun she’d had tonight, Hilary could easily see herself going out to small concerts more often.
He walked her up to the door of the apartment, and Hilary hesitated. “Um... do you want to come in for coffee or something?”
The thing was, she was quite sure if he did come in, coffee wasn’t all he would get. That was part of the downside to having been engaged in something intimate before their first date—she didn’t know what his expectations were and wasn’t sure what she truly wanted.
Liam cupped her face in one hand, his fingers curling under her chin as he tilted her head back to look at him, a small smile of amusement on his face at her half-reluctant offer.
“No, I have things to do tomorrow morning before classes.”
Relief warred with disappointment.
“Must be hard not having a real weekend,” she said, reluctant to let the night end here, especially when he was holding her face like that. Knowing he was about to leave, only made her want to extend the conversation.
“I can have a real weekend if I want, but I like teaching. I don’t mind working irregular hours most of the time. I make my schedule work for me.”
His thumb brushed over her lips.
“Oh.” She let out a soft huff of air, uncertain what to say when he was looking at her with all the desire and heat, she felt coiling inside of herself as if their bodies were having an entirely separate conversation from the inanities her mouth was uttering.
He lowered his head, and his lips followed his thumb, pressing against her softly and seductively. Hilary felt her insides tighten as she opened her lips, letting his tongue slide into her mouth as she kissed him back. Keeping one hand on her chin, the other slid around her back, he bent her body into his as she clutched at the lapels of his jacket. The kiss was sweet and hot, not forceful but commanding as if he was slowly leeching control away from her body. Heat and need flared between her legs. She pressed against him, and he pressed back until she suddenly found herself trapped between his body and the door, her arms around his neck and both of his hands on her hips, pulling her against him.
The hard ridge of his erection pressed between the softness of her legs, and Hilary moaned into his mouth.
Unfortunately, that moan seemed to bring him back to himself, and Liam pulled away, looking a little dazed. Hilary was more than a little dazed herself. Making out in her apartment complex’s hallway was so, so not like her at all. Anyone could have walked by and seen. A goodnight kiss was one thing, but that had been more than just a mere kiss. Trying not to pant, Hilary leaned against the door, feeling her cheeks burning.
“Sorry, honey-girl,” Liam said, looking a little rueful as he jammed his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t mean to ah... let things get quite so out of hand.”
“No apology necessary,” Hilary smiled, feeling just as rueful. He definitely shouldn’t be taking the entire blame. “I certainly wasn’t trying to slow down.”
This time, Liam leaned in carefully and gave her a soft press of lips against her own as her eyes fluttered shut but kept his hands to himself… darn it. She kept her own behind her back as they explored each other’s lips… without tongue. When Liam drew back, Hilary sighed, then blushed as he grinned down at her.
“I had a good time tonight. Can I call you again?”
“If you don’t, I’ll call you and ruin your dom-iness,” Hilary threatened.
Laughing, Liam turned and walked away, giving her a wave as he reached the stairs. She waved back and let herself into the apartment, feeling both wrung out and incredibly happy.
Chapter 11
Not only did Liam call the very next evening, he texted her on Sunday as well. On Monday, she texted him a picture of a chubby squirrel who was eating one of the Halloween pumpkins out in front of her apartment complex, hoping he would think it was funny. Later that night, he called her to laugh about the squirrel and ask if it finished the pumpkin; it hadn’t, but Hilary felt sure it would be back. Somehow, the silly little snippet turned into a three-hour conversation where he talked about his parents, a little sister who had just graduated college, and growing up in Cocoa Beach, Florida. Although he missed the year-round warm weather when winter hit, he had to admit, he truly enjoyed the opportunity for snow every year, something he’d dreamed about when he was growing up. Hilary ended up telling him a lot about her family, too, as well as plenty of embarrassing stories about her failures to live up to her mother’s graceful ideas of how a woman should behave.
He laughed a lot over that, especially when she told him about the time she’d deliberately sat in wet paint to get out of wearing a pink, ruffled dress her mother had forced her into at the tender age of fifteen—well beyond when she should have known better.
“If they’re so well off, why aren’t you living in the lap of luxury?” he teased.
“Have you been listening to what I said? If I let them pay for anything, I’d have to be at Mother’s beck-and-call in order to show ‘proper gratitude’ for their help. They paid for my college, but as soon as I was done, I high-tailed it out of there, and I haven’t taken anything but birthday and Christmas present money from them since.”
Liam burst out laughing. “Did you just say ‘high-tailed’?”
“Oh, ah...” Although she enjoyed talking to him in person, at the moment, she was rather relieved they were on the phone, considering how red her face had just become. “I have a bad habit of using old expressions. My Dad’s really into old literature and uses them a lot, and they just ended up being part of my vernacular.”
“I don’t think it’s a bad habit. It’s kind of cute.”
“Really?” Most people looked at her like she was crazy when she talked like that or the very least, laughed at her.
“Absolutely. It’s part of what makes you unique. Any other conversational habits I should know about?”
“I don’t curse, and I have a ‘word of the day’ calendar in my office, which I actually try to utilize.” Two more things her friends just liked to tease her about, but she knew they didn’t actually look down on her for her habits, they just found a lot of amusement in them.
“So, what’s today’s word of the day? Vernacular or utilize?”
Hilary giggled. “Ecdysis.”
“What?” He sounded completely taken aback, and she laughed even louder. “How on earth are you supposed to use a word no one knows the meaning to?”
“Some people probably know. I could suggest we go see some ecdysiasts this weekend.”
“Do I want to know what that is?”
“Ecdysiasts are strippers. Ecdysis means to shed skin, which got changed to shedding clothes for ecdysiast.” There was a long silence as Liam took this in, and she wondered what he was thinking. Perhaps her interest in language and unusual words wasn’t nearly as interesting to him as he’d first indicated. Maybe he thought she was a complete freak now—a word freak.
“Did you just invite me to go to a strip club with you?”
Oops. Kind of. Yes.
“Ah... I was just pulling your leg?”
The warm chuckle sounded in her ear, making her feel all fuzzy inside.
“You really do like old sayings.”
“You have no idea.”
They didn’t talk or text on Tuesday, but he called her on Wednesday to ask her out on a date for Friday. Of course, she said yes. Jessica was thrilled for her, Justin seemed pleased, and Chris constantly teased her about it, so it was hard for her to think about anything but Liam, although she was getting more and more worried about Jessica. She’d tried calling her brother, who never called her back, and now she was worrying her parents had talked to him even though her Mom had said they wouldn’t. She still hadn’t decided if she was moving in with Chris and Justin, which Hilary could tell put a strain on all of them.
She was pretty sure Jessica wanted to but wasn’t sure whether she could handle telling her parents the next time she talked to them. Not like she had to tell them right away, but... Jessica wasn’t the type to back down from a challenge. Hilary would probably wait. After all, she hadn’t even mentioned Liam when her Mother had called on Tuesday, despite her mother’s pressure when it came to her love life.
“So, are you seeing anyone?”
“No.”
“You know, my friend Patty has the nicest son, he’s just your age…
“I’m not interested, Mother.”
“He’s just passed his bar exam, very handsome…”
“So, what’s the charity of the month, Mother?”
It hadn’t occurred to her until now, she’d been subconsciously choosing the same kind of men her Mother chose for her, guys who would gain instant approval in her parents’ eyes.
Hilary rarely introduced anyone to her parents. In fact, the last time she had was college. It was just too embarrassing. Mother would immediately go into interrogation mode, and if she liked the guy, start making hints about a wedding, even if it was only a casual date or a male friend Hilary had no interest in romantically. For some reason, her Mother assumed anyone being introduced to her was of utmost importance in Hilary’s life, and if he was male, a possible future son-in-law.
So, it was just better not to introduce anyone to her unless Hilary was sure that’s where she thought things might go. It was also better not to mention anyone to Mother because she’d never hear the end of it until Mother did meet him. She’d learned not to give Mother any names either. The woman had no shame or qualms about arranging her own introduction—with or without Hilary’s knowledge. While it was kind of funny to imagine Liam’s reaction if her socialite mother showed up at his dojo, there was no way she would do that to the guy—not after one date. She was too afraid if she did, there would never be a second.
She skillfully avoided her mother’s questions about her social life and spent half an hour listening to her rattle on about her latest charitable interests. Her mother would actively seek out a new organization every few months to devote her time and money to, trying to work her way around as many issues as possible—Hilary noticed most of them had to do with children of needy families. It was one of the most admirable things about her mother, the amount of time she spent volunteering and doing what she could to better the lives of others.
Kind of funny how she craved a dominant man when all her life she’d watched her mother in the more dominant position of a relationship.
When Justin and Chris showed up at the dojo Thursday night, Liam could tell they needed to blow off some steam. Justin’s jaw was tightly clenched in the way he got when he’d been holding in his emotions for too long, and Chris took to the punching bag with an intensity he rarely exhibited.
So, he did what any good friend would do— completely exhausted them. After going through the forms, he had them practice high and low kicks, one hundred on each side. Followed by another hundred high kicks on each side. At which point, Chris’ form was looking pretty shaky, and even Justin’s was starting to wobble.
Liam, of course, was used to it and maintained his form throughout, although if they’d done another hundred, he probably would have started to lose his form as well.
