Page 69 of Between Control and Chaos
Liam raises an eyebrow at me. “Your house or mine?”
“Your house is mine.” I grin wickedly up at him. “At least until I start next semester and move into the dorms.”
“Promise me you’ll get a single.” He leans in closer, dropping the softest and lightest of kisses over my eyes, nose, cheeks. He’s taking forever to actually kiss my lips, but I don’t entirely hate it.
The teasing is making my body tingle all over.
“Why? Worried we’ll get interrupted at your place?” I steal a kiss from him, and he chuckles and grabs a fistful of my hair, bringing my lips back up to him.
“More concerned with everyone hearing you scream my name when you come,” he whispers and covers my mouth with his.
The feel of his fingers in my hair, keeping me against him, his firm grip excites something deep within me. My heart quickens and my hand grips his forearm, steadying myself.
“You okay, Firebreather?” he asks, pulling back slightly and tilting his head, studying my features.
My cheeks flush, but it’s entirely his doing. His fingers loosen their grip, his hand caressing my scalp, my neck, and I inadvertently lean into his touch.
“You like that,” he says with a smile, realizing what he’s doing and seemingly proud of the response. His lips lean toward my ear, his breath a mere whisper that excites me. “You’re flushed, all because of me.”
He’s right, and as much as I’d hate to give him the satisfaction, I also don’t want him to stop. “Think we can find somewhere quiet?” I ask, and he chuckles.
“No, Firebreather. Not until we get home. Making you wait is hot.” He kisses my nose and opens the front door.
I’m absolutely breathless, staring at him, watching him stalk inside like we weren’t just making out, and he didn’t just rev up my engine.
The cool air outside isn’t enough to calm me down.
Liam glances behind himself when I don’t follow and he grabs my hand, laughing as he pulls me inside the Ricci home.
My breath catches in my throat, my nerves entirely alive, and it feels like wild electricity, sparking and sizzling just beneath my fingertips, like right before you shock someone from a simple touch.
“Come on,” Liam says, seemingly without a care in the world.
How does he do it? Feel so unburdened after everything that just happened?
I want to ask him about what happened, see how he’s doing, but knowing there’s a police officer nearby, I don’t want to do anything that might interfere with Harper’s story. Because I have no idea what she’s telling the officer in her statement. There’s no way to know how much is true and how much are kernels of the truth.
He drags me through the house; it’s massive in size and I’ve stepped foot in some pretty fancy digs since I grew up around professional hockey players. The place reeks of royalty.
Liam pulls Luca aside while Harper is still going over what happened. “We’re heading back,” he says, nodding toward me.
“We should be done soon if you want to ride back with us.”
Liam glances back at me, and I nod in agreement, “Sure, that’s fine.”
I’m okay with waiting, as long as I’m with Liam. I wouldn’t want to wander into anything sinister or untoward, but I can’t imagine anything bad is happening under Dante’s roof while the police interview Harper.
Luca leads us into a small library. “You guys can wait here. As soon as we’re done, we’ll let you know.”
“Okay. Thanks,” I say and peruse the titles on the shelves.
“Anything interesting?” Liam asks, coming up from behind, his arms encircling my waist, and his breath teases my neck, pushing my hair to one side.
I slink back into his embrace, the titles blurring together, making it difficult to read as he steals away my attention.
“Tell me what you did while we were away,” Liam whispers into my ear, his teeth tugging the lobe.
My body instantly freezes, the tension roiling over me, and I’m not sure if he senses it, but his hold on me tightens.
