“It’s okay. She was just taken off guard. I breached her defenses unexpectedly, if you know what I mean, so she had to let go with the heavy artillery.”
“Still…I’m sorry. It was never my intention to alienate you and your mother.”
“I know that,” Liam replied. Natalie became highly aware of the side of her hand resting on his muscular thigh and the way he stroked her wrist and thumb with warm, calloused fingertips. “Truth is, I’m mad at myself.”
“Why?” Natalie asked.
“I should have asked her years ago. I’ve been a coward, colluding with her silence.”
“No,” Natalie protested warmly, leaning forward. “You’re not a coward. That’s ridiculous. It’s like you said—families keep this stuff close. It’s normal that you and your brother and sister have followed Brigit’s lead in that regard.”
His low grunt sounded doubtful, but Natalie knew she likely wasn’t going to talk him out of his opinion.
“And so you told her that it was me who had asked you to do the investigation?”
“Yeah,” he said. He seemed preoccupied as he watched himself stroke her hand. She, too, was distracted. It was hard to concentrate while Liam touched her.
“Your mother couldn’t have been very thrilled about that.”
He looked up. “No. She wasn’t. That was about when she accused me of agreeing to investigate my father just because you were pretty. Apparently my mother thinks you charmed me into it, and I was too helpless to refuse.”
Natalie gave an uncomfortable laugh. “I know that made you mad.”
“It did.” He turned her hand and laced his fingers through hers. Natalie responded naturally and closed her hand, holding him. Her heartbeat started to throb against her eardrums.
“But like I told you yesterday, she was partially right,” Liam continued.
Natalie searched out his features in the dim light and saw the moonlight gleaming in his eyes.
“I do want you, Natalie,” he admitted with disarming honesty. “I have since that night I saw you on the beach.”
A swooping sensation occurred in her belly. She couldn’t identify it as nervousness or excitement. He wanted her…as in wanted her in bed.
Liam Kavanaugh. Wanted her.
Awkward, self-conscious, inexperienced, scarred Natalie.
He gave a small, incredulous laugh. Natalie realized several taut seconds had elapsed while her brain had tried to compute Liam’s words.
“You’re not going to say anything, are you? About the fact that I just said I wanted to make love to you?”
“I’m not so sure it’d be…wise,” she finally replied in a cracking voice.
“Yeah, I’d figured out that much myself, believe it or not. Knowing doesn’t seem to be quieting the need any. Not a bit,” he added wryly under his breath. For a few seconds, the silence stretched.
“But this has got nothing to do with wisdom,” Liam said suddenly. He released her hand only to bury his hands in her hair. Natalie sat in the car seat, frozen as he furrowed his fingers through the long strands. She couldn’t see his face, but she sensed his intensity.
“I’ve been wanting to do this all night. It ought to be made illegal for you to hide your hair. It’s so soft.”
Something swelled in her chest at
the sound of awe in his deep voice.
Her hair slid through his fingers as he released it. His hands settled on her jaw, bracketing her face. The gesture struck her as tender…cherishing even. His head lowered over her and he spoke a fraction of an inch next to her lips.
“Tell me that you feel it, too.”
She couldn’t squeeze a word out of her throat, so she just nodded once.