Page 95 of An Inevitable Marriage

I slammed a hand over my chest and spun around. Liam stood in his doorway. His chest was bare and oh-so sweaty, but it was the look in his eyes that weakened my knees.

“Morning,” he said.

“Hi.” I nibbled on my lip, a little nervous and a whole lot exposed. “You’re up early.”

Ugh. I wanted to put my foot in my mouth. To make the situation even more weird, Liam didn’t say anything. Nope, all he did was stare. That wasn’t entirely true. He didn’tjuststare. The man drank me in.

Slowly, steadily dragging his gaze over every inch of my body. He was across the freaking room, and yet it felt like he was right there in front of me, trailing his big hands over my skin.

“I thought nothing was more stunning than watching the sun rise from that very spot you’re standing in.” Gaze boring into mine, he licked his lips. “I was wrong.”

What the heck was I supposed to say to that?Thank you for thinking my disheveled morning appearance is pretty?Yeah, somehow, that didn’t sound quite right.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to say a thing. Liam swept into the room, and it was only when he got to where I’d slept that I noticed the tray in his hands. Curiosity and a desperate need to be close to him drew me to the bedside table.

“I wanted to make breakfast.” A chuckle rumbled through his chest, the light and happy sound laced with a healthy dose of embarrassment. “But I have no idea what you like.”

I inspected the tray’s contents. My heart just about lurched out of my chest. A teapot with a matching cup, a honey jar, and a plate with perfectly sliced apples.

He’d said he didn’t know what I liked. But he did. He knew exactly. There weren’t any funny dips behind my ribs or butterflies fluttering through my belly. Whatever went on inside my body was so much bigger than that.

It was the top of the roller coaster right before you surged forward at breakneck speed. It was free-falling out of a plane thirty thousand feet in the air without a parachute.

“It’s perfect,” I whispered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Liam’s big frame turning toward me. I couldn’t look at him. Not yet. What if my eyes betrayed me? What if everything he made me feel was right there for him to see?

A featherlight touch brushed over my shoulder, forcing my attention away from my crazy thoughts. Knowing I couldn’t avoid him forever, I finally met his gaze.

“There’s something I need to say to you,” he said, voice low and gritty.

I swallowed, then swallowed again when he invaded my space and slid his palm along the back of my neck. Those long fingers slipped into my hair and I barely suppressed a shiver.

“I’m sorry.” He stepped even closer, tightening his hold on the back of my head.

He was hot and sweaty, yet somehow, he smelled like a walk in the woods. I wanted to bury my nose in the crook of his neck, close my eyes, and breathe him in. Until his words registered.

My stomach dropped. “What are you sorry for?”

Liam’s gaze roamed over my face for a few treacherously long seconds. “My grandfather,” he rasped. “He shouldn’t have treated you that way. I shouldn’t have let it happen. I’m sorry.”

A wave of relief washed over me. “Oh, Liam.” I pressed my palm to the ink scribbled below his left pec. His heart went wild, slamming furiously against my touch. “You have nothing to apologize for. His actions are his own.”

His throat bobbed. “Maybe so, but I should have stopped him.”

“You threw him out.”

“Not soon enough,” he said quickly. “It will never happen again. Never. I’d rather take a knife to the heart than allow anyone to treat you like that.”

His voice’s earnestness and the serious expression on his impossibly handsome face wreaked havoc on my already overloaded system.

My heart beat to a dangerous rhythm, whispering things I didn’t want to say out loud, let alone allow myself to think.

But it was there all the same. Simmering just below the surface.

“To think we share the same blood makes me sick.” Liam dropped his hands and took a step back. “I have this deep-rooted fear that someday I’ll wake up and be just like him.”

“You won’t,” I said honestly. “The fact that you’re standing here apologizing for something he did tells me I’m right.”