Page 17 of Love in Times of Contempt

He scrunched up his face. "What would you think if we offered him the Manager of Operations position?"

"Yep. I saw that coming." She squinted at him. "Tell me more."

"It's something Linda said, asking me to think about what I'd be willing to do to help Alex. Did you see him during dinner? When he wasn't restless, he looked so…"

"Vacant."

Liam sighed. "Yeah. That fits."

"So you want to hire him… to help him." She frowned. "Sounds like the production company may yet be a family business, then."

"I get it if you have concerns. I would have them, too— I do. So let's interview him like we did Ely. And I hope you know… I wouldn't do this if I didn't think he's good. This just happens to kill two birds with one stone. I can't do much about his painting but this… I can help him a bit with the job situation. If you're okay with it."

"It's kind of… daring, wouldn't you say? He may be good with business things, but if he's going to fight you all the time…"

"Maybe. I just had this image in my head, let's say, or hope— that if we worked together and spent more time together, we'd have a chance to get a bit closer."

She shook her head with a hesitant smile escaping her. "You know that if you tell me like that, I'm more likely to want to say yes, don't you? Just to support you."

He grinned, unapologetic. "Yeah."

She chuckled and shook her head. "Let's talk to him and see. Good thing I'm a latina and we do this kind of thing for family all the time."

He pushed her to her back and climbed on top of her. "You're my favorite latina."

"Oomph, get off," she said. "You're too heavy! I can't breathe."

He laughed and turned them again, this time bringing her to rest on top of him, the blankets messy and half-off them.

"It's all of the muscle mass," he explained, unnecessarily. His hands traveled from her waist and lower back to her ass, where he grabbed two handfuls.

She rolled her eyes. "Of course. We don't want to forget your physique is well built."

"It's for work." His smile was impish.

"So you've said in the past." She tried to hide her smile, but suspected she was unsuccessful. She ignored the way he squeezed her flesh. "You've also said you liked being looked at for it."

His eyes shone with playfulness. "No, I said I like that you like it."

"That was before I realized how hard it feels." She arched an eyebrow and used her index finger to poke on a hard pectoral muscle. "Like granite. No give. Not very cuddly, you know?"

His laugh filled the room, the rumble of it reverberating under her.

"Ssshh," she exclaimed. "Remember Alex is in the room next door."

"I just finished filming; I haven't had the chance to fully rehydrate myself. Eat yummy treats again."

His grin didn't dim. It lit up her heart.

She kissed his temple, his high cheekbones, the curve of his jaw. "We sure should make the most out of the time we have until your next project. Feed you properly."

His hands came up to run his fingers through her hair and fan it around her face. He sighed again, but this time it held a note of pleasure, rather than exhaustion.

"I love you, Ana Lira."

"I love you too, Liam McMillan."

He cradled her face, guiding her down to his lips. He kissed her with reverence; melting into the moment was easy. Pressing her pelvis against his hardening cock even more so.