Page 128 of An Inevitable Marriage

When his voice was so desperate and his eyes so pleading, I had no choice. Moving fast—and ignoring the nervous rhythm of my heart—I undid the rest of my shirt. I shrugged it over my shoulders and immediately got to work on my pants.

A switch flipped somewhere in the process of pushing the material down my legs and kicking it to the side. And instead of feeling beautiful and proud, I felt naked and exposed. Like there was a giant spotlight on me, highlighting every flaw, every vulnerability.

I squeezed my eyes shut and stood still when I wanted to grab my clothes and run until my legs couldn’t carry me anymore.

Emotion bubbled through my veins, ruthlessly lodging itself in my throat. I couldn’t even swallow it down.

To make matters worse, Liam was quiet. Too quiet. There were no sharp breaths, no disgusted noises. There wasnothing.

Seconds—that felt like hours, days even—passed before I heard movement. He was leaving. My heart squeezed too tight, and the emotion stuck in my throat pushed its way up to my eyes.

It burned hot behind my lids. But I refused to cry. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t.

“Snow.”

I heard his voice before I felt the heat of his body in front of me. My poor heart didn’t know if it needed to thump out of control or stop beating altogether. And when Liam gripped my chin between his thumb and forefinger, my nerve endings joined in on the craziness.

“Will you look at me?” His tone was so soft, so careful, it split my heart right down the middle. “Please?”

Slowly, so very, very slowly, I opened my eyes. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. Liam’s gaze wasn’t filled with disgust or repulsion. He stared at me with carnal desire.

“Fucking exquisite,” he murmured.

My skin heated.

Licking his lips, Liam braced his forearm against the mirror next to my head. He released my chin to drag those impossibly long fingers down my throat and over my collarbone.

One finger slipped beneath my bra strap, and he pulled it away from my skin. His eyes shot to where he rubbed the material between his fingers.

“You’re even more beautiful than I imagined.” His intense stare was back on me. “And trust me, I’ve imagined plenty.”

With a bob of his throat, he slipped the strap over my shoulder. “Do you know what you do to me?”

When his voice was like that—gruff and way too sensual—I could not form words, so I shook my head instead.

Liam leaned in, lips brushing my ear as he spoke. “I want to fuck you raw until your voice breaks from screaming my name.”

I might’ve moaned at that.

“And then I want to slowly worship every inch of your body like the fucking queen you are.”

Holy hell, this man had a mouth on him. My breath snagged viciously in my throat and I rubbed my thighs together.

“Turn around,” he commanded.

I’d never snapped out of my little lust bubble so fast. There was a giant-ass mirror behind me, and I did not need to look at it. “Liam, I—”

“Do you trust me?” He dipped his head and stared into my eyes. “Trust I’d never do anything to harm you?”

If I trusted him not to do me physical harm, surely, I trusted him with my most vulnerable parts, too? “I do.”

A ghost of a smile touched his lips. “Then turn around.”

Holding my breath, I slowly pivoted to face the mirror. Instead of looking at my reflection, I met Liam’s stare. Immediately, he shook his head and jerked his chin at the reflecting glass.

“Tell me what you see?”

My brows furrowed. Did he want me to point out my flaws?