Page 15 of Claiming Ours (Anchor Bay #2)

I slashed a hand through the air in disagreement. “No. I’m for real this time. One beer from here on out, that’s it. Oh, and I’m never taking another duck fart shot again.” Feeling my stomach roll, I pressed a hand to my stomach to calm the fresh wave of nausea that the drink’s name conjured.

With a slight shake of his head, Liam turned back to the stove, giving me a breather from his observant gaze.

“Hey, Liam?”

After setting aside the tongs, he turned, leaning against the counter, giving me his full attention. Fuck, why did that alone make me swoon?

“Yeah, Little Bit?”

I cleared my throat and shifted my focus to the fridge. “I’m drawing some blanks from last night. So, could you fill me in on what happened after we got in your truck?”

When I chanced a look, humor sparkled in his gray eyes and a smile slowly spread across his face. “Do you remember telling me you wanted to lick me like a Tootsie Pop?”

My features pinched with a wince. Yep, I totally remembered that part of my embarrassing verbal vomit. “That, yes, but nothing after.”

His smile slipped as he scanned my face. “You really don’t remember anything?”

“Not a single thing after you buckled me in and closed the door.”

Liam’s lips pressed into a tight line, and his dark brows pulled in tight.

“Even without the suspicious shit going on around Anchor Bay, getting that drunk is dangerous, Baylee.” Ah hell, he used my name.

He must be really worried or pissed. “You’re a grown woman.

I won’t tell you that you can’t, and I’m not saying this to control you, but I want you to be safe.

” His hands tightened on the counter beside his hips. “I need you to be safe.”

My heart stuttered at the worry in his tone and expression.

“I know,” I admitted, running a hand through my hair and gathering it into a low ponytail at the base of my neck while giving him a pleading look.

“It was dumb. I 100 percent agree with you on that. But I really didn’t expect yesterday to go the way it did.

It wasn’t smart, and I am definitely paying the consequences this morning. ”

His features softened as he released a heavy exhale. “Next time, just give me a heads-up. That way, I can be there to make sure you and your friends are protected while you have all the fun you want.”

I swallowed down the urge to vomit. “There will be no next time. I’m never drinking again, remember?”

With a huff, he released the counter and turned back to the sizzling bacon. “You fell asleep in the truck and snored the entire drive home.” His shoulders and back shook as if he was holding in laughter.

I gaped in a mix of annoyance and horror. “I did not! I do not snore.”

“Passed-out Baylee does, apparently,” he chuckled over his shoulder.

“I don’t snore.” Faking a pout, I folded both arms over my chest with an exaggerated huff.

“I carried you out of the truck and into your cabin—which was unlocked, I might add.” A grumpy Liam shot a faux glare my way. “Got you into bed, took off your shoes, covered you up with a blanket, and sat in that girly-ass chair in the corner of your room to watch you sleep.”

“Well, that’s a little creepy.”

Liam grinned and shook his head before twisting the knob on the stove, shutting off the burner. “I was worried you’d get sick and wanted to be there if you needed help.”

Okay, well, that was sweet, not creepy. It was hard to wrap my head around the fact that he sat in that uncomfortable chair all night watching over me just to be close if I needed him.

Liam wasn’t annoyed or frustrated with my actions or crazy talk, nor did he just drop me off like a delivered package, fulfilling the obligation to take care of me, and leave to sleep in his own bed.

No, instead Liam gave up his own comfort and sleep for me.

Inhaling deeply to keep my swelling emotions in check, I stood from the stool and rounded the island to wrap my arms around his waist, pressing my forehead against his spine.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “I’m sorry I was such a fucking mess that you had to?—”

Liam whirled around, somehow keeping my arms where they were, so when he stopped, my cheek rested on his taut chest. “Baylee, I didn’t have to do anything.

And you’re not a fucking mess.” I huffed in disagreement and shook my head.

“Okay, fine, maybe last night you were kind of a mess.” I shifted, placing my chin on his sternum to look up into his gray eyes, finding him gazing down at me.

“But you’re my mess. My perfect, smart-as-hell, na?ve, gorgeous mess. ”

Hot tears filled my lower lids at him claiming me as his—and his very inaccurate description of me. “I don’t deserve you, Liam.”

A large, hot palm cupped my cheek, thumb stroking along my skin. “I think you have it backward, Little Bit. You deserve the world, and I’ll do everything I can to make sure you have it.”

For several seconds, I stared up at his handsome face, memorizing every small scar until the moment was shattered by my stomach growling like a bear coming out of hibernation.

“And bacon,” he said after planting a soft kiss on the top of my head.

“You deserve crispy bacon to help with that hangover I’m sure you’re feeling.

Though you’re young enough that it won’t last multiple days like it does for me now.

” Spinning me around, he guided me back around the island and easily lifted me to set me down on the stool I vacated earlier.

“I wanted to make eggs, too, but there weren’t any in the fridge.

Hell, there isn’t much of anything in there other than condiments, cookie dough, and some moldy fruit.

When was the last time you went grocery shopping? ”

I watched his movements like a hawk as he slid the perfectly cooked bacon from the sizzling pan onto a paper towel–covered plate.

“Last week, the week before, maybe. I’m shocked I even had bacon, honestly.

” I pointed at the empty package on the counter with a wince.

“Did you double-check the expiration date?”

The plate clinked against the concrete countertop, and a folded paper towel was placed beside it. Grabbing a piece, I broke it in half before shoving the fried goodness into my mouth, almost crying at how perfectly crispy it was.

Perfection. Absolute perfection.

Halfway through inhaling a third piece, its magic working instantly on my headache and upset stomach, I realized he hadn’t said anything. Peering up through my lashes, I caught him watching with a satisfied smile on his face.

“Now you enjoy watching me sleep and eat?” I tsked, pointing a piece of bacon at him. “I’m sticking with my creepy comment from earlier.”

His barked laugh had a smile growing as I chewed.

“Yes, I checked the expiration date. You know I wouldn’t serve you something that could hurt you.”

Pinching a piece between two fingers, he held it up to my lips and arched a brow in silent command for me to take a bite.

Our eyes locked. I pitched forward on the stool to seal my lips around the food, barely grazing his skin.

His heated stare followed me as I leaned back, tracking the movement as I chewed and swallowed.

Maybe I was still a little drunk, or his all-consuming, desire-filled stare just had that dazed effect on me. Before his hand dropped, I wrapped my fingers around his wrist and guided the grease-coated digits close, sealing my lips around the tips.

“Holy fuck,” he rasped, lids hooded.

He dared a step closer, only for the moment to shatter at a sharp squeak, followed by the distinct scratch of tiny claws on the hardwood floor. Sighing at the poor timing of my little friend, I sat back on the stool and turned to watch the slinky white ball of fur dashing around the living room.

“BamBam,” I called out as the ermine I rescued as a baby skidded to a stop near my feet. “The reason I had bacon.” I scooped him off the floor with one hand and placed him on my lap, where he immediately lifted onto his back feet, sticking his nose toward the last piece.

Before I could snag the meat for the hungry little guy, Liam snatched it off the plate with a disapproving expression aimed at BamBam.

“Don’t worry, I saved him a few raw slices.

” He tilted the piece of bacon in my direction in silent question.

At my headshake, he pushed it between his lips, chewing as he moved toward the fridge.

When he turned back around, shutting the metal door with his hip, he held BamBam’s dish piled full of raw bacon.

The ermine practically vibrated with excitement.

Acting more like a relative to a flying squirrel than a weasel, BamBam leapt off my lap, diving toward the meal waiting for him in the dish Liam set on the floor.

A small smile curled the corners of my lips as I watched him attack his food, remembering when I found him as a baby, injured and abandoned in the snow.

It was by luck that I caught his slight movement that morning when pausing to stretch along my normal running trail.

After I nursed him back to health and mothered the shit out of the little guy, he refused to leave.

Which I was totally okay with. It was nice having something to look after that was somewhat my own.

I wasn’t to the point of delusion in my grief that I thought I could truly own and tame a wild animal like BamBam, but I rejoiced every day when he came back to me—even if deep down, I knew it was just for the easy food supply.

What animal wouldn’t want their food delivered to them in a porcelain dish instead of hunting for hours in the cold?

The sound of the water running pulled my attention to where Liam stood in front of the sink, washing the dishes and utensils he used. Shaking my head, smile wide, I hopped off the stool and padded across the cold floor.

“I’ll do that,” I admonished, snuggling up against his side. “You cooked, I clean. That’s how it works, right?”

His returning sweet grin made my heart hammer painfully in my chest and my stomach do this weird flutter thing that seemed to happen a lot around him.

This massive man who towered over me and could snap me in half with hardly any effort, a literal badass from his fighting days and military training, was the sweetest, most considerate man I’d ever met.

Even more than Dean.

That disparaging thought about my late fiancé had the awe of my sweet giant evaporating, leaving me hollow like it always did.

But something was different this morning.

As I watched his massive hands gently wash the fragile plate decorated with blue flowers and vibrant birds, the sadness and guilt lifted almost as quickly as it appeared.

I was different. Stronger, maybe, was the right feeling. There must have been healing magic in those drinks, or maybe it was the hours of talking through my jumbled feelings out loud with friends, but this morning I wanted .

Wanted him and not the sorrow that had clung to me like a second skin.

Wanted hope and not regret.

Yesterday tipped me over that edge from surviving to truly moving on.

Gazing up at his handsome face, I couldn’t resist tracing a finger along his scruff-covered jaw. Those gray eyes cut my way, scanning my face. For what, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was the overwhelming desire and need to show this man how much I appreciated him, wanted him, was too much to ignore.

Like I had done for weeks now. Why? I could blame it on the heartache that still weighed heavy on my soul, but that wasn’t all of it.

Fear.

Fear of letting myself fall for someone again, giving away what was left of my heart. That thought was terrifying. There was also the dread of his rejection, of me not being enough, and of allowing this feeling welling in my chest to swallow me whole, forever changing me.

After last night’s drunken confessions, acting like an idiot, and Liam still being here this morning taking care of me, wanting me despite my actions and words, I was done being afraid. Tired of running from…

Actually living and not just surviving.

This wasn’t a switch that had flipped, cutting off the trauma that held me back before.

This healing process was a winding road that would be filled with setbacks and mountains to climb.

And that was okay because I knew, after yesterday with my friends and this morning with him, I had company on the difficult journey.

It might be a long road, but I wasn’t walking it alone.