I’ve done some messed up stuff in my life, but whatever I did to deserve this… kill me now and save me the misery.
I give in, allowing Liam full control and trusting he’ll get us where we’re going without me breaking a bone. Without further incident, we finally reach his destination. It’s still hard to see, but I can tell we’ve come to a lake.
Stepping away from Liam’s hold, I follow the sound of water, and stare out into the wet darkness, irritated that I almost broke my favorite stilettos to be shown something that I can’t even properly see.
“You brought me to a lake.” I huff. “But you’re not trying to kill me?”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re a tiny bit dramatic?” I can’t see it, but I can hear the smirk in his tone.
I bite my lip, trying to hold back what I really think about this little midnight adventure to nowhere.
“What are we doing here, Liam?” I ask, my tone as calm as I can muster.
Liam doesn’t answer my question right away. It seems like he’s deep in thought, but without seeing his body language or facial expressions, I have to go on a gut feeling.
The wind picks up, dropping the temperature a little more. Most of the trees are dead by this point in the season, but I can hear some rustling leaves, holding on for dear life.
A shudder runs down my spine before I feel Liam’s hard body close in behind me. He presses his chest to my back, and I stiffen at the sudden contact.
“I come here to think,” he says, trailing his fingers down my arm. “My dad used to bring me here to fish when I was a boy. This is my safe place.”
A piece of me knew friendship would never be good enough for him. The attention I crave from him calls to me every time he’s near. Goosebumps blanket my skin, from Liam’s body so close to mine, from the feather-light touch of his fingers. I’m not used to this kind of reaction.
If all I wanted was a man’s attention, I wouldn’t even have to look for it. But I yearn for this man’s attention. With him, I feel things that aren’t anger, bloodlust, or aggression.
He’s brought a sense of humanity to a wicked soul. That feeling of normalcy is like a drug I can’t kick. I’m addicted to it.
And it’s fucking with my head.
“That doesn’t tell me why I’m here, now does it?”
My snarl is losing its edge with these conflicting emotions. Liam’s enormous arms wrap around me, pulling me close. He releases a deep breath, and I fight against melting into his arms.
But, allowing this and loving the way his arms feel around me, I’ve already compromised so much.
“I had a rough mission tonight,” Liam begins but is quickly cut off when the clouds open up, and we’re suddenly caught in the downpour of Mother Nature’s ungodly piss.
That’s it—I’m burning these woods down when it dries up.
Lightning flashes, and my body goes rigid. The cold, hard rain assaults our bodies like needles. Liam laughs, and I groan… loudly.
“Follow me. I know a cave close to here.” He grabs my hand and pulls me with him as he darts off in the opposite direction from the car.
“Or we could just leave!” I try to protest, but the rain drowns out my whining.
Following blindly, I keep up as he leads me to the cave. He clings to my hand, making sure I don’t lose him as his long legs eat up the ground. Lightning lights up the woods, and I see the opening not far ahead. Liam guides us effortlessly, as though he’s done this a thousand times before.
The icy rain picks up and beats down on us, the cold seeping into my bones despite our running. Liam stops and catapults me into the cave just as lightning crashes again. It’s rare to have thunderstorms in late fall, but nature is doing its best to inconvenience me with the unusually warm day.
A bright light illuminates the cave, stealing the dark, momentarily blinding me. I shy away from the brightness as Liam curses under his breath.
“Sorry,” he says, placing his phone face down on a rock and pointing the flashlight at the ceiling.
My body shakes severely. I huddle in on myself, trying to gather as much warmth as possible.
“I fucking hate you,” I spit, though the words lose their bite to the chattering of my teeth.
Liam chuckles then takes a few steps toward me. I inch away, not wanting him to get any closer. At this point, I just might kill him and use his body as a blanket.