Page 65 of An Inevitable Marriage

Relax, I chided myself.It’s probably just Liam.

I barely breathed a sigh of relief when a string of curses filtered into the foyer. And even though it was a male voice, it wasn’t Liam.

Maybe Liam was with him? Cocking my head, I held my breath and listened. Sure enough, another voice filtered through. It was soft, but I knew without a doubt it wasn’t Liam either.

“Oh shit.”

I slapped a hand over my mouth. The last thing I needed was for whoever was in there to know I was here.

Slowly taking two steps back, I thought about what to do.

I was no coward, but I wasn’t stupid enough to take on intruders alone. I had to get the building security. They were equipped to deal with these things. With a plan formed, I spun around…and slammed straight into something hard.

A yelp left my throat, and my legs wobbled, tipping my world on its axis. I fell backward, arms flailing like windmills at my sides. I never hit the floor. Strong arms wrapped around me, pulling me into an even more muscular chest.

“Twice in one day.” Liam chuckled.

We were so close, the warmth of his breath coasted over my skin. I didn’t even care.

Staring up into those deep-blue eyes, I sighed, “Oh my gosh, I’m so glad it’s you.”

Chapter seventeen

Everlee

Ididn’tstepback.

Liam didn’t let go.

One hand smoothed up my spine while the other dove lower to dig into the small of my back.

“You’re glad it’s me?”

His voice did that raspy thing again. And the way he stared at me? Like he could see straight down into the bottom of my soul… Goodness, it was too much. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think.

Hell, I couldn’t even move.

“Why, Snow, couldn’t wait to be back in my arms?”

“Yes,” I said without thinking. The moment I realized what I’d done, I tried to recover. “No. I meant no.”

Liam’s grin just widened. My poor heart didn’t stand a chance. Beating to an erratic rhythm that showed no sign of slowing down anytime soon.

“Don’t worry, the—”

“There’s someone inside,” I blurted out. “I heard something break when I got here. I was on my way to get security.”

Liam’s body stiffened, and before I realized what was happening, he’d maneuvered us so I was behind him. He reached around and rested his hand on my hip.

“Stay behind me.”

“You can’t go in there.” I squeaked, curling my fingers into his suit jacket. “What if they’re armed?”

Before I could take my next breath, Liam faced me. He cradled my face between his palms and lowered his head to look into my eyes.

“I won’t let anything happen to you.” His gaze searched mine. “I swear it, Snow.”

His words were sincere, his stare intense. So, so intense, all I could do was swallow and nod.