Page 29 of Rejected Heart (The Westwoods #5)

He was hard, ready, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever wanted anything more in my life than I wanted him inside me at that moment.

So, I tugged at his shirt, urging it up.

Liam lifted his torso, yanked off the shirt, and promptly dropped his pants.

Wearing nothing more than a pair of black boxer briefs, Liam’s body was on full display.

And even if I always thought he was something spectacular, it was clear he’d grown into a man in the years I’d been gone. He was even more breathtaking now.

Liam’s hungry eyes roamed over my thighs and my dress, which was now bunched up to just a few inches below my waist.

Reaching a hand out to me, he ordered, “Come here.”

When I placed my hand in his, Liam urged me off the bed. Then he brought his hands to the hem of my dress and lifted it over my head. I was wearing nothing but a pair of underwear.

If I thought Liam had looked hungry before, he was now ravenous. Famished. And he was going to do anything for a taste.

His mouth was on me again. But instead of kissing my lips and driving his tongue into my mouth, he had tugged back on my hair to angle my head, so he’d have unhindered access to my neck. He kissed and nipped along the column of my throat before he licked the indentation at the base of it.

There was heat in my body, shivers down my spine, and tingles between my legs that only grew more pronounced as he descended on my breasts.

Liam had released my hair, brought both hands to my chest, and buried his face there, inhaling the scent of me.

“I forgot about how good you smell, too,” he groaned, just before biting down gently on my nipple.

My nails dug into his shoulder at the pleasure sensations that shot through me. Liam soothed the spot his teeth had just clamped down on, using his tongue before sucking it into his mouth. He paid glorious amounts of attention to one breast before moving to the other.

Then Liam’s hands drifted down along my ribs to my hips as he dropped to his knees in front of me. His fingers curled around the material at my hips and dragged it down my thighs.

I barely had the chance to step out of my underwear before Liam gripped me around the backs of my thighs, leaned forward, and inhaled the scent of me again.

“Jesus,” he hissed.

A flush of heat and desire went right between my legs, the need to have him increasing with every ragged breath I took.

Liam had his own plans, and he didn’t hesitate to lift one of my thighs over his shoulder. A moment later, his hands were gripping my ass while his tongue swiped right through me.

“Oh, Liam,” I moaned, my hands going into his hair.

I thought I knew the hunger Liam had for me, but it took mere seconds for me to realize I didn’t have a clue. This man feasted on me like I was the single drink of water he’d had after years of being stranded in the middle of the desert.

My legs buckled and my head dropped back, but Liam wasn’t going to let me fall. Using the strength in his arms and the physical need he had for me, he held me up. He was too focused on what he was doing, and there wasn’t anything that was going to stop him.

Any of the tension I’d been feeling when I first entered the room with him had dissipated as he worked me with his mouth. And if he’d been interested in prolonging things, there was only so much he was going to be able to do.

It had been years since I’d had him .

Years since his mouth had been on me.

I couldn’t have fought against that pull that was quickly building deep in my belly. My fingers drifted toward the back of his head in a vain attempt to keep him where he was. It wasn’t like it mattered; Liam had no interest in pulling away.

My chin fell forward, and my eyes landed on Liam. Kneeling in front of me, his mouth was working its magic between my legs as he looked up my body at me. And it was the connection I felt between our gazes that sent me right over that edge.

Sparks of pleasure shot through my body. “Liam,” I panted, as my legs trembled.

He held on to me, worked me through the end, and pressed several soft kisses to my inner thigh when he finished.

Liam took his time to kiss his way up my body. It was like he was concerned he might accidentally leave a sliver of my skin untouched by his lips. He captured my mouth before he was even fully upright, allowing me to taste myself on his tongue.

Though I felt utterly sated, kissing him had somehow renewed that sense of need I had for him. I tore my mouth from his and was about to drop to my knees to return the favor, but Liam urged me onto the bed.

I had barely gotten there, and he had already disposed of his underwear. My lips parted at the sight of him completely naked, and I wasn’t afraid to allow my gaze to linger on his cock.

“I think I forgot what you feel like,” I confessed .

His eyes were smoldering as he put a knee on the bed. One half of his mouth quirked with a grin. “Lucky for you, I’m willing to help you remember.”

Lucky for me.

He’d receive no argument from me on that one.

I knew precisely how lucky I was to even be here with him after what I’d done. He’d said it himself—I’d destroyed him. I made him stop dreaming.

Without a doubt, I was the lucky one.

Liam urged me to scoot back on the bed. I did so, ultimately parting my thighs for him to settle between them. Then he reached down and stroked himself as his gaze traveled over my body.

“Liam, please,” I begged.

A victorious smile spread across his face, but he gave me what I desperately wanted. He positioned himself, locked his eyes on mine, and pushed inside.

My lips parted as I felt myself stretching to accommodate every inch of him.

Too many years.

It had been far too many.

Once Liam had buried himself inside me, he didn’t move. “Do you remember now? Or do you need more?”

I swallowed roughly. “More. Please, I need more.”

With a satisfied smile and a gleam in his eye, Liam pulled back slowly before thrusting in. It wasn’t a rough stroke, but it certainly wasn’t gentle. It was a forceful reminder of what I’d given up.

“Again?” he pressed.

“Yes. ”

He did it again. And again. And again.

I had been surprised by the control he had seemed to have over himself, but after those three additional thrusts, he lost it.

“Damn it, Layla,” he clipped, pounding mercilessly. “Do you know what you do to me? What you’ve done to me for years?”

If it hadn’t been for the desperation I heard in his tone, it would have been easy to mistake his words for anger. It wasn’t like he hadn’t said enough down in the bar to inform me of how badly I’d messed him up.

But that neediness in his voice had kept me anchored to him, to what was happening between us. Lifting my head from the pillow, curling my fingers around the back of his neck, I urged his mouth to mine again.

I couldn’t kiss away all the hurt and fear and despair, but I could try to make it better for him. And I knew it helped when he moaned the moment my tongue slipped past his lips.

At one point, Liam pulled out, rolled onto his back, and urged me on top of him. I swung my leg over and sank down on top of him. My eyes closed, and my head dropped back as his hands roamed over my body. I relished the feel of his hands on my skin until he rolled us again.

It was easy to get caught up, to get lost in the gentle brushes of our lips and the sweet tangle of our limbs. It was easy to have everything else melt away as Liam moved inside me.

There were undeniable groans of pleasure and moans of delight. All the things that had torn us apart simply faded away with each touch, kiss, and thrust.

And years apart meant doing everything we could to prolong it, to stop it from hitting too fast. But eventually, there was nothing we could do to prevent it.

It was coming.

Fast and hard.

All I could do was hold on to him and brace for it.

“Layla,” he whispered, his unblinking gaze on mine.

“Liam,” I rasped, my fingertips pressing in.

Then it happened.

We came together, the warmth spreading through my body so deep and gratifying.

When we made it to the other side, Liam rolled onto his back and took me with him. Our labored breaths mingled, sweet and warm, and I felt a level of exhaustion that had more to do with feeling so fulfilled than being tired.

“It’s nothing like I remembered,” he finally said. “At the same time, it’s just like I recall it being with you. How is that possible?”

I wasn’t quite sure I knew how to describe it, but I certainly understood it. Lifting my head from his chest, I smiled at him. “I think it’s the details we forget. But there are some things I don’t think you can ever really fail to recall. The way it feels inside, the connection, is what sticks.”

“Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

We stayed like that for a while before we moved to get ourselves cleaned up. When we returned to the bedroom, I didn’t get the chance to get my clothes and put them on. Liam wrapped his arms around me and took me down to the bed with him.

And for a long time, he held me close, kissing me and allowing his hands to roam over my body. We worked ourselves up to another round, which was far less frantic but much more emotional.

Afterward, Liam pulled me close in the bed again. This time, he didn’t kiss me into a frenzy. He simply held on tight and allowed himself to succumb to the exhaustion.

For a while, I simply watched him as he slept, feeling such a mix of emotions over everything. I thought about all I’d done wrong and how I wished I could have gone back to fix my mistake.

Eventually, even though it hadn’t felt like nearly enough time with him, I glanced at the clock and noted just how many hours had passed since I’d left my mom’s house. I’d lost track of time with him.

So, as carefully as I could, I slipped out of his hold and got myself dressed. Then I pressed a soft kiss on his cheek before I tiptoed out of the room.