Page 31 of The Arrangement (Executive Suite Secrets #3)

ROME ASHbrIDGE

Liam was in my home.

This was a big moment. Enormous. Monumental.

When I’d started this stupid arrangement, it had been with the idea that Liam would never step foot inside my home.

I would torment him, get even for years of pain and confusion, write a check to the museum, and walk away from him forever.

By not letting him into my sanctuary, I wouldn’t allow the old anguish and dark shadows to seep into my safe place.

At least, that was the bullshit I’d told myself.

Just because Liam wasn’t physically in my home didn’t mean that I hadn’t dragged all my Liam-shaped baggage through my house, dumping it in every room with all my fears, worries, and ancient anger.

But things were changing. He wasn’t my enemy any longer. Liam Rose was my friend, possibly more.

We could do this. I could do this.

Maybe. It wasn’t like I’d fucked up every relationship I’d ever been in because I was too much for anyone to want to tolerate. Yeah, it was going to be fine. Just fiiiinnnne.

Walking into my penthouse apartment was like taking a step back in time. I’d been meticulous about adhering to an art deco vibe in every room. Everything was sleek lines and elegant curves.

“Oh, wow…” Liam breathed as he walked inside. “This is…”

“Too much? Over-the-top?”

“Very you,” Liam answered, putting me out of my misery. Sort of. The man smirked at me as if he knew he hadn’t helped. “What I mean is that you’ve always been the type to go all in on something when it interested you. Why did you pick art deco?”

“The building itself had a lot of original art deco features, and I wanted to embrace it. Try to get a feel for the building, how it might have looked a hundred years ago.”

We wandered through the living room, dining room, my office, and library with Liam oooing and ahhing all the different things, warming my heart with his appreciation.

“Would you like something to drink?” I inquired as we turned toward the kitchen.

“Yes, please.”

I grinned at him. “An adult beverage, I take it.”

“Beer. Give me beer. Or whiskey. Yes, alcohol, please.”

Before taking another step, I took Liam’s hand and threaded our fingers together.

I pulled him into me so our chests bumped.

Nervous energy vibrated from him, and his features were tense.

Leaning in, I brushed my lips against his.

A small, tender kiss he returned instantly, but I pulled away the moment he tried to deepen it.

I returned several times, only tiny pecks.

“Breathe,” I whispered. “Nothing is going to happen that you don’t want.”

“What if what I think I want makes me nervous?” he asked with a little laugh.

“We will go slow. You always have the option to change your mind. Or we do nothing at all.” I drew away and shrugged. “I’ve got two spare bedrooms. You can crash in one of them. We can spend the night talking or watching a movie.”

“No, I want to. I want…” His voice trailed off as if he couldn’t put into words what he desired. He lifted his eyes, and his smile softened. “I want you.”

Oh, no.

No. No. No. No. No.

That wasn’t fair. He wasn’t allowed to whip out cool, swoon-worthy lines like that and expect me to stay strong. I was still human. A horny, stupid human.

Tightening my fingers on his hand, I pulled him to the kitchen. “Come on. Now, we both need a drink.”

Liam’s laughter chased me along the dimly lit hall and into the gleaming black-and-silver kitchen. Leaving him at the counter, I grabbed a couple of tumblers, some ice, and splashed some whiskey in our glasses. This was to help us reclaim some sanity.

“I do have one question.” Liam stood on the other side of the counter, sipping his whiskey.

“Shoot,” I said, taking a deep drink.

“How do you know if you’re a top or a bottom?”

Apparently, whiskey burned like the devil’s fire when it shot out of your nose. I gasped and coughed, trying to remember how to breathe. My sinuses were destroyed, and I was pretty sure I’d lost the lining in my throat as well. Don’t aspirate your whiskey. It’s not a pleasant experience.

Liam ran around the counter and stood beside me, pounding me on the back as I tried to suck in some air that didn’t hurt.

“You did that on purpose,” I wheezed, batting his helpful hand away.

“I did not!” My eyes narrowed on his in a scowl. “Okay, I thought it was a little funny, but I didn’t do it on purpose. It’s not like I expected the question to take you by surprise. I figured it was something that came up.”

My mouth opened, but nothing came out. This was…

Fuck, why wasn’t there a book out there to help all the baby gays? Well, there was Reddit, but God only knew the quality of the info people were spouting.

I took another sip of my whiskey, wincing.

“So…um…some people just know. Deep down. I’m a bottom.

I’m a top. However, I’ll admit that I’ve known a few tops who were probably bottoms but were scared to try it because all they hear about is the pain or that it says something about their masculinity.

” I leaned across the counter and looked at him.

“And if they’re worried about the pain, that means they’re a shitty top, because if you’re doing it right, your bottom shouldn’t be in pain. ”

“Oh…”

“Many people will try both and figure out which they prefer. But there are some people out there who don’t like penetrative sex at all, and there’s nothing wrong with that. There are plenty of other things you can do to get off with your partner.”

“And you?”

It was on the tip of my tongue to demand he guess, but I didn’t want to make him more nervous than he clearly was.

“Most of the time, I’m a top. It’s what I enjoy most. However, I guess I’m technically vers. Every once in a while, the mood will hit me, and I’ll want to be bent over and fucked hard.”

And after that announcement, I was sure I’d never seen Liam’s face turn quite so red.

“But I don’t want you to get hung up on who’s putting what where. Sex is only a part of the relationship. I mean, you dated women, and I’m sure that the sex might have been hot, but things didn’t click outside of bed, and vice versa.”

Liam went as quiet as the grave, and I had a scary feeling sink into the pit of my stomach.

My friend slid his empty glass across the counter. “Fill ’er up.”

I had wanted to limit how much we drank. No one was allowed to make excuses later that we’d done things because we were drunk, and that was the only reason it happened. But if Liam had something to say about his experiences, I figured we might need a drink to deal with it.

Grabbing the bottle of whiskey by the neck, I poured a shot into our glasses. We threw them back, and Liam hissed.

“Okay, here’s the thing. I’m shit with people.

Total shit. I can’t talk to them. Everything I say is the most awkward thing under the sun.

Fiona talked to me for the first time because she needed some tutoring in math, and I was offering a tutoring service to have extra spending money.

We talked, hit it off. Whatever. I’ve fucked no one other than her.

She was like the second or third person I’ve kissed. ”

All those words poured out of Liam as if someone had opened up a fire hydrant. Part of me was horrified for him because I’d been a fucking slut most of my life. I loved sex and enjoyed hooking up with people. But for Liam to have missed out on all that was terrible.

At the same time, the idea that he was pretty much untouched, a blank slate waiting for my dirty hands to give him the kind of pleasure he’d never known in his entire life, was mind-blowing. Fuck, I was so turned on I thought I was going to snap in half.

“Then you’re talking about casual sex. Me?

Casual sex? I almost laughed my balls off,” Liam continued.

“The concept is so foreign to me. My brain equates sex to being in a relationship. That’s straight sex, though.

I’m thinking gay sex would break my brain.

” He took a breath and flashed me a nervous smile.

“This isn’t casual for me, Rome. I don’t know what this is, but I know I enjoy hanging out with you, and yeah, okay, you’re sexy as fuck. ”

Done.

Stick a fork in me. I’m done.

No more defense or even common sense. He’d blasted through them both.

I was around the island in a heartbeat, grabbing him and pulling him tight into my arms. He welcomed my kiss, melting into me as if it were the most natural thing in all the world. Liam moaned, and it was the best sound. I wanted to discover all the things I could do to get him to make that sound.

My hands slid up and down his back, pressing into muscles and molding him into my body. We needed to be naked so I could feel the heat of him, the softness of his skin. But that was moving too fast.

Each time I kissed him, it got better. He relaxed more and allowed himself to get lost in the pleasure of what we were doing. And just maybe he got more accustomed to the scratch of the beard.

But we needed to move. The kitchen was not a good place to pursue this. At least not on a beginner level. We needed somewhere that would require us to fight gravity less.

I broke off the kiss and grasped his hand. “Pause for a change of venue.”

Before he could speak, I tugged him along the hallway and into the library.

“In here?” he asked.

“I thought all the books would make you feel more comfortable.”

Liam cackled, allowing me to press him onto the leather sofa.

I flopped on the cushion next to him and pulled him in for another deep kiss.

This was easier as I held the nape of his neck with one hand and ran my other hand down his chest. His heart raced under my fingers, but he didn’t shy away or retreat.

Liam wrapped his arms around my shoulders and dragged me even closer.

This was a taste of heaven, but it wasn’t enough.

I wanted to make him lose himself, even if it was for only a few minutes.