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Chapter Sixty-One

“I thinkI’m in the middle and I think I have stopped churning,” he says.

I squeeze his hand. “I think I’ve stopped churning too.”

The rest of the walk is done in silence. We’re both in our heads and in each other’s minds. I can tell by the way he glances at me, by the way his body brushes against mine, when we get to the mill and walk through the narrow opening into it. There’s nothing inside but the stone walls, high wooden beams, and the mill wheel in the center.

We make our way back to the truck and Liam helps me up into the back and onto the blankets.

I lean on a pillow and turn to face him.

“Are we going to talk about it?”

Liam reaches to me and tucks a lock of hair behind my ear.

“I’m a little scared.”

Finally. I let out a breath. I’m not alone in this.

“I’m a little scared too.”

He smiles then and his smile is all the confirmation I need that he still wants to be with me even if like me, he thinks that living together might be a mistake.

“We should set some ground rules. Make sure we’re not stepping on each other’s toes,” he says.

“I agree.”

“As much as I love sleeping with you, I think we should keep separate bedrooms. It will give us both an extra layer of privacy.”

Oh, thank God. I was so worried he’d feel obligated to share a bed every night.

“We’ll probably end up in each other’s beds anyway, but I agree. There might be times in which we just need some space,” I say.

“And I’ll pay for half of the rent and expenses. We also have to figure out chores and who does what.”

“My parents pay for the rent—”

“River, I’m not taking advantage of your parents like that. Whatever the cost for rent and utilities is, I’ll pay for half of it. I have money saved from all the years in service. I never spent much of it. I also have a trust fund I’ve never touched.”

Sorry subject.“Okay,” I appease him. “You can pay for half of everything. I’m not sure how much that will be. I’ll have to ask my parents.”

“Sorry,” he apologizes.

I smile. “No worries. Now, about meals. Neither one of us can cook. Maybe you can use that rent money for takeout.”

He grimaces. “I can’t do takeout every day, but maybe we can learn to cook. I saw an ad on a board at Riggins. This chef comes to your house and teaches you how to cook. He teaches you everything, goes to the store with you, tells you what to buy and then how to prepare, cook, and freeze leftovers.”

“That sounds cool. I think it would be fun and with a pro there, I’m sure we can have something edible.”

“Okay, I’ll take care of that and pay for it. It’ll count toward my half of the expenses. Now, for the chores, what do you absolutely hate?”

“This is going to take a while.”

He laughs. “Okay, how about I take care of all the floors, bathroom, garbage, and my own laundry? And you can do the dusting and cleaning up after meals? And we can adjust as needed.”

I think on it. It sounds fair. The apartment is small, and Skye said he’s a clean freak, which I can attest to if his bedroom at Logan’s is something to go by.

I give him my hand to shake on, but Liam has other ideas. He tucks me under him and with the grace of a panther, he pulls the spare blanket over us.

In the next second he’s kissing me and the moment his lips touch mine, all my doubts and fears are forgotten. There’s nothing but the heat of his body on mine, the press of his thigh between mine, the hardness of his erection on my hip. His hands pull me closer still. One tangles into my hair and the other curves over my ass, lifting me to him.

He moves completely in between my legs now and presses into my center, grinding into me. His tongue in my mouth mimics the rhythm of his hips.

Glorious sensations wash over me, the layers of fabric not in the least able to stall the orgasm building inside of me, I break the kiss and gasp for air. I open my eyes and see Liam’s beautiful face, framed by the bluest of skies, and in his gray eyes, the promise of much more. My whole body shudders under his when I let go of the last of my worries and come undone.