Page 16 of Darkest Game (The Dark Mafia #3)

“Of course.” I want nothing more than to see my sisters again and yet… I can’t deny the slight disappointment in my gut at the thought of never seeing Liam again.

And why does it sound like he feels the same way?

We pull up to a cheap motel for the night.

“We’re still a few hours away from the city and I don’t want to travel at night,” Liam explains. “Elaine will know about the businesses I own. She’ll be watching them to get back at us. I need to make a few calls so this motel will have to do for the night.”

“You have money?”

“Just enough in my wallet to pay for this. Let’s go.”

The only room available is a single bed. Liam buys it without hesitation even though I’m unsure. Can I really sleep next to Liam for the night?

Turns out, I don’t have to worry about it. He tells me to get some sleep while he’s going outside to call a few of his men.

My wedding dress is itchy and compressing having been in it for the entire day. It’s covered in blood and sweat and dirt. But I have nothing else to wear and the last thing I’m going to do is get naked before Liam.

I try to fall asleep but my mind is racing from the day. The fact that I was almost raped twice. The fact that I could have died. The fact that Liam, who initially wanted nothing to do with me, is now trying to save my life.

He comes back in after about thirty minutes. “You’re still awake.”

“I can’t sleep. I’m too frazzled.”

“I hear that.” He sits down at the end of the bed, on the very edge, like he doesn’t want to get too close to me. Is he repulsed by me? Or does he not want to make me uncomfortable?

“You can sit more on the bed,” I offer.

“I’m good.” He clenches his hands into fists.

“Did I do something wrong?”

He glances at me with a shocked expression before shaking his head. “No. It’s more that… it’s more that I don’t want to do something I’ll regret.”

“What could you regret?”

“Getting too close to you.”

His admission catches me off guard. “Like… hurt me? Like Jack tried to do?”

“No. But… fuck. Irina. I’m not even sure you realize how desirable you actually are.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Fuck. I can’t want you. I have to find a way to return you to your family.

I like knowing that Nico and Mikhail are probably freaking out right now.

It’s what they deserve after Nico killed Cillian and after Mikhail stole a lot of power from me.

But… I also don’t want to get killed for something I didn’t do.

Jack was the one who wanted to bring war down on Nico and Mikhail. I can’t get more involved.”

“More involved how? You’re already involved. You’re my husband.” The word catches in my throat. My husband. In all the craziness, it never fully dawned on me that I have an actual husband.

“I mean, I can’t have feelings for you. And if I get in that bed… and I see how vulnerable and cute you are and… fuck. I have to be smart about this.” He stands up and starts pacing around the room.

“Well, we can just talk. Get to know one another more. What else are we going to do for the night?”

Liam shoots me a dark look and I flush. It is technically our wedding night. Most couples have sex on a night like this. My face turns hot the longer he looks at me.

“Fine,” he says, averting his gaze. “Let’s talk.”

“You know about me. That I’m a ballerina and that I’ve been kept locked up most of my life. What about you? Any hobbies? Interests?”

“It’s cute that you ask that. No woman has ever asked me about my hobbies before.”

“No?”

“No.”

“Then what do they usually talk with you about?” I ask.

“Usually we don’t talk.” He gives me a pointed look.

“Oh.” I duck my chin. I may be inexperienced in life but it doesn’t take a genius to figure out what he’s talking about.

“Most women I meet, they want one thing from me. They want to fuck. Have a nice time. And then call it a day.”

“How can you speak so… casually about that?”

“Because it’s the world I was raised in. How can you be so shy about it?”

“Because I was taught to never say that word.”

Slowly, he sits back down on the bed – still keeping his distance. “What word?”

“You know.”

“No. What word?” There’s a teasing smile on his lips that makes my stomach flutter.

“You know .”

“What? I’m going to need to hear you say it.”

I shake my head and finally force the word out. “Fuck,” I whisper.

Liam leans back against the head board, laughing to himself. “You are cute. I’ve never met a woman as innocent as you. Usually the women I meet are at my club and they know what they’re looking for.”

“A fun night with you.”

“Exactly.”

“How many…”

He raises an eyebrow. “How many what?”

“How many women have you been with? I know it doesn’t matter since we’re never going to be together. But I… I just want to know more about you.”

“Um, well.” He stares down at his hands.

For the first time tonight, he actually looks sort of uncomfortable.

“I can’t remember how many women I’ve been with.

They all blur together after a while. There is this one woman, Amanda, who I’ve been having a fling with.

But… it’s not serious. We both know it’s just sex. ”

“You’ve never been in love?”

“I guess not.” He turns his eyes to mine and they’re blue and piercing and I could get lost in them forever. “How sad is that? I’m a thirty year old man and I’ve never been in love.”

“I haven’t even had my first kiss yet. So, don’t feel bad.”

“At least you had an excuse. You were being held prisoner by your uncle for the past couple of years. What’s my excuse?”

I shrug, not quite believing that I’m actually having this conversation with a man like Liam. “Maybe you just haven’t found the right woman yet. I’ve read about love in books and sometimes it hits you. When you know, you know. You can’t force it.”

His smile makes my stomach flip around upside down. “Spoken like a hopeless romantic.”

“I want to be in love someday. Who doesn’t?”

“Now you’re stuck with me. Sorry about that.”

Liam is not the sort of man I can fall in love with. Yet, I can see myself falling for him. He’s brave and handsome and makes me feel seen and alive for the first time in my entire life.

It’s probably just the trauma , I remind myself. I feel close to him because of what we went through. Not because I actually like him.

That’s what I just have to keep telling myself. Even though he is my husband.

“I guess we’ll divorce when you bring me back home,” I say.

“Or you’ll become a widow when Nico and Mikhail undoubtably kill me.”

I place my hand on his strong arm. “I won’t let them.”

He stares down at my hand for so long, I remove it from his arm, my face on fire.

“Right. So, I spoke to a few of my men. We can hide out at a safehouse of mine for a few days. I need to get word to Nico and Mikhail that I have you and that I’m willing to give you back as long as they don’t kill me. ”

“Ok.” For some reason, disappointment enters my chest at the thought of never seeing Liam again.

“We’ll move out in the morning.”

“I guess that means I should try to sleep.”

“Yeah. You should try.”

I nod down at my dress. “It’s uncomfortable. Is there anything else I can wear?”

He thinks on it for a moment before he says, “I can give you my shirt. You could wear it.”

“Your shirt?” I feel lightheaded just thinking of it.

“Yeah. Probably be more comfortable than the wedding dress. And I normally sleep naked anyway.” He chuckles when he sees my eyes widen. “Don’t worry. I’ll sleep with my pants on tonight. What do you say?”

I look at his shirt for a moment before I nod.

He slips his jacket off, then takes his shirt off, exposing his muscular chest covered in tattoos. I almost pass out from the sight. My core throbs between my legs at the sight of him. Never have I had this visceral of a reaction to a man’s body before. It makes me want to touch him.

It makes me want to let him touch me.

He hands me the simple white button down and I go into the bathroom to change. I’m able to get my wedding dress off with no problems before slipping his shirt on. It smells just like Liam. Cinnamon and winter bark and all things masculine.

His shirt falls to the top of my thighs. At least I still have my bra and underwear on, even if I would prefer to sleep without my bra on. I don’t dare take it off though. That’s way too intimate for a man I barely know.

Except, I do know him. I know about his parents and his love life and how brave he’s been in saving me. Liam isn’t a stranger any longer like I want to pretend he is. He’ll never be a stranger to me again.

I exit the bathroom and Liam’s eyes lock right onto my legs. I’m frozen in places as he looks me over. “You shouldn’t do that,” I whisper.

He clears his throat and gives me one more lingering look before turning his head away. “You’re right.”

I hurry into the bed and wrap the cover up around my chin. After a beat, Liam gets under the covers too. Just knowing he’s behind me, shirtless, is doing wild things to me.

“Liam,” I whisper into the dark after he turns the light off.

“Yes?” His voice is deep and warm and I could snuggle right into it.

“Thank you again. For saving me. You didn’t have to.”

I can’t see his expression in the dark as he answers me. “Trust me, Irina. I had to.”

With those words floating around in my mind, I finally manage to fall asleep. In fact, I fall asleep more easily knowing Liam is beside me, keeping me safe.

I wake up to the feeling of someone watching me.

My eyes blink open and I look up to see an unfamiliar man looking down at me. A huge gasp escapes my throat as I sit up. Liam quickly gets up after that, reaching for his gun…

But his gun isn’t there.

“Looking for this?” It’s Elaine. She walks forward, holding Liam’s gun. But I only see one gun. I know Liam had another one in his jacket pocket. Did they find that one too?

Elaine is with two men. Jack’s men, I’m assuming.

“How the fuck did you find us here?” Liam snarls.

“Chris, the man you left in the woods, left his phone in the car. We were able to track it. Found you right here.”

Oh no. I didn’t see any phone but it must have been hidden. The glove compartment maybe. Or the backseat.

“I wasn’t happy you escaped,” she continues. “So, you’re both going to come with me and pay the price for my husband’s death. Irina never got to face the consequences. She’s still needs to be raped.”

“You’re a bitch,” Liam growls.

Elaine laughs as she pokes Liam’s nose. He doesn’t even flinch. “And you’re going to watch it happen and then you’re going to die.” She stands back. “Grab the girl and get her in the car first. She’ll be less of a problem than he will be.”

“No!” I scream as the two men drag me out of the bed. Elaine gives me a smug grin.

“You’re going to get what’s coming to you.”

Liam dives off the bed and grabs his other gun hidden in his jacket and points it at Elaine. She fires first, landing a bullet to the bed while Liam lands a bullet in the wall behind her.

Elaine runs out of the room, motioning at the men carrying me to move too. Liam gives chase but Elaine shoots at him again, making him dive back into the room to avoid getting hit.

The men shove me into a car and the three of them dive inside and take off before Liam can save me.