“And?”
“And I don’t even know him! He keeps shit from me, and even when I think he’s told me everything, some older-than-hell vampire tells me he’s hiding more. How can I spend the rest of my long, long life with someone who lies to me?”
He grunted. “You should go talk to him.”
“What the hell? First Philip, now you?”
Isaac gave me a squeeze and stood up. “Philip came because he cares about Liam. I came because I care about you. Go talk to him.”
“If it’ll get you guys to leave me alone, fine.” I stood with the blanket wrapped around me and walked with Isaac back to the house.
“You know, Em, just because he’s your mate doesn’t mean you need to play house right away. There is no rule that says you can’t take things slow.”
I smiled at him. “That’s true. That makes me feel a little better, thanks.”
As we stepped out of the trees, I saw Liam’s bedroom light through the curtains of his windows.
Isaac left me in front of Liam’s door. I watched him as he walked down the hall to his temporary room. Then I turned to stare at the doorknob. Deciding to knock first, I listened for him to call out. When he didn’t, I knocked again. Silence.
I was about to turn away and find another room to sleep in when the door opened. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and was drying his hair with another. My mouth watered as my eyes moved over him, and my fingers longed to travel over his chest hair down to the edge of the towel.
“You don’t have to knock,” he said, moving aside so I could enter the room.
“I wasn’t sure how welcome I’d be.” I wandered to one of the armchairs, but I just stared at it. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to shower again. My wolf can be a messy hunter.”
She’d been overzealous and had gotten blood on her chest, and it had transferred to mine when I shifted.
“Why would I mind?” He gestured to the bathroom. “Take your time.”
The bathroom smelled of him. His scent reminded me of the forest after the rain. Fresh pine and crisp air. No fragrance company could ever capture it in a bottle. There was nothing else like it. It was pure Liam.
A sigh escaped me as I stepped under the spray of the shower. I sat on the bench and let it run over me. I was dreading the talk with Liam. Not only did he have shit to tell me, but I had kissed Isaac twice after agreeing not to let another man touch me. Though, to be accurate, I promised not to let another man give me pleasure. The kisses with Isaac weren’t unpleasant, but they weren’t about pleasure either.
He tugged on our connection. It was faint, but I felt it. A smile played on my lips as I tugged back. Suddenly excited to see him again, I hurried through the rest of the shower, and as I was drying off, I noticed one of his pajama tops hanging out of the hamper and pulled it out.
I held it to my nose and inhaled. Liam. I slipped it on, buttoning it halfway up and slowly made my way into the bedroom. He was sitting in the chair facing the bathroom door. He’d put on pajama pants but not the top, and I smiled remembering our first night together.
“Hi,” I said.
He watched me, almost predatorily, as I moved closer to him.
I sat in the other chair. “I’m sorry.”
He tilted his head. “For?”
“For kissing Isaac. Twice.” He leaned back in his chair with his hands crossed over his stomach, and I felt like he was waiting for more. “I don’t know why I did it.”
“I do. You thought he was dying. When he didn’t, you were happy.”
“You’re not upset?”
He grinned. “I never said that. I was upset, but Isaac helped me with that.”
“You mean you fought?”
“Yes.”
“Seriously? You fought a man who was nearly tortured to death?”