Page 89 of My Killer Blind Date

We look at each other in silence for a second. His eyes on me are tender.

‘Maybe?’ I whisper.

Then I go on tiptoes and press my lips into his, casting my arms around him. He kisses me back, so gently it’s almost painful.

I slip my tongue into his mouth. He groans in response, and then his hands are on my ass, which is exactly where they’re supposed to be, and might possibly be the only thing that makes sense right now in the unhinged chaos of this world.

I’m not on a high like I was at his cabin. Right now, I’m low. But somehow, my desire for him is unchanged – a constant, an anchor. And the fact that I want him on the worst day of my life just as much as I wanted him when I was feeling euphoric … that means something.

As the kiss intensifies, I start working at the tiny buttons on his shirt, which are a damn struggle, but obviously the shirt must be off. Finally, I yank it open. He pulls back, panting, and struggles out of it, then I pull off his undershirt, leaving his torso bare and his hair mussed.

He’s even more gorgeous than he was in the outdoor shower – tall and lean, all toned planes of smooth, golden muscle. And those shoulders – wide and powerful and utterly delicious.

I want to say I need you but that feels way too vulnerable, so I just look at him instead and hope he understands. It’s like my whole heart is pressing up within me, demanding relief, demanding Liam.

‘You like what you see?’ he says, putting his hands behind his head and stretching, which showcases the bulge of his biceps as well as a bunch of other muscles rippling across his body that I don’t know the names of.

‘Yeah,’ I murmur as an alarming feeling ignites in my stomach. Leaning forward, I plant a small, experimental kiss on his chest – then another, then another.

‘Margot …’ he says with a low laugh.

I smooth my hands up his chest, moving my kisses up his collarbone, to his neck, the corner of his mouth. He tastes salty and warm. His body shivers under mine.

‘You like that?’ I say, pulling back a little.

His lips draw up at one corner in a half grin.

‘What do you think?’

His eyes drop, and mine do too, to the sizeable bulge in his pants. All of a sudden, my greedy little body sends a rush of heat through me.

I step forward, pressing myself against him, feeling the firmness of his arousal and the rock-hard muscles of his chest, licking up his neck with an urgency that surprises me – and him, based on the low sound he makes in his throat. His pulse throbs under my tongue, and with my hand, I cup his erection.

He grunts as his hand works under my shirt. ‘Whoa there, cowgirl.’

He unhooks my bra under my shirt. I gasp when he brushes my nipple, and he shudders against me. I still can’t believe he’s into me – emotional me as well as happy me. Fun me, sad me, too-much me. But the evidence is literally pressing, hard, against me.

And maybe that’s the sexiest thing of all. That somehow, he’s turned on by me. By this walls-down intimacy that’s totally uncharted territory for me. Is this what it feels like when someone loves you for you?

He squeezes my breast, sending a shock of pleasure through me that makes me yelp. My core clenches and suddenly my entire body is on fire, like a flame just lit. I grip his erection harder. I’m dizzy, like the world is spinning crazily around, but if I just grab on to him with all my strength, I’ll be all right, I won’t slip off the edge.

My shirt is all the way pushed up on one side now, my bra askew, his hand massaging me, both my nipples peaked, my skin aflame.

‘I want you,’ I whisper. ‘Really, really badly. Probably more than I’ve ever wanted anyone, ever.’

He grunts in approval. ‘Bedroom?’

‘Bedroom,’ I reply. ‘Condom?’

‘Always.’

The bedroom is dark, with a gentle light filtering in from the living room. We don’t bother closing the door. I like that there’s enough light to see his face – the hooded desire in his eyes, the effort of restraint showing in his rippling jaw.

‘May I?’ whispers Liam, fingering the hem of my shirt.

I nod. He slowly lifts it off me.

‘God, you’re gorgeous,’ he says. ‘Margot—’ but I stop him speaking with another kiss as I undo his pants. He steps out of them. His boxer briefs are next, and when I pull his cock free, even though I’ve seen it before, I’m honestly surprised that it is … really large, I mean really. Large. I suppress a smile thinking of George’s measuring stick emojis.