Lazily, Paige peeked over the edge. “Wow. Lake Liam.”
She settled against my chest, and I stroked her hair that had come loose, the ends trailing in the water.
“I like this tub,” she whispered.
“I like you.”
“I liked you fucking me in this tub.”
I grinned against her head. “You’re going to love what I do to you in my bed, then.”
She giggled, lifting her head. “Not sure if I can move right now.”
I kissed her, my mouth lingering on her softness. “I’m not in a hurry. We have all night. We can soak for a while.”
She burrowed closer. “Good.”
Chapter Ten
Paige
I snuggled closer to Liam, his body shifting to align with mine. He loved to be close when sleeping. If I shifted, so did he. When I rolled, he followed. I had to admit, I loved it. I opened my eyes, studying his face as he slumbered. He looked younger than his thirty-three years in repose. His skin was smooth, his body relaxed. He made the occasional face, pursing his lips as if tasting something, and every so often a small snore escaped.
After we had climbed out of the tub and dried off, we slid under the softest sheets I’d ever felt. He pulled me to his chest, the flicker of the candles reflecting in the bathroom mirror the only light.
“Tell me about growing up here,” I asked. I wanted to hear his voice, listen to his stories. We’d talked enough about me and my past. I wanted to hear something light. Joyful.
Liam chuckled and shared some funny moments from when he was young. Adventures he and his brothers had. The times he got into trouble. The way they teased Ava mercilessly.
“Once when I was about seven or eight, the triplets and I were climbing on the rocks in the cove I showed you today,” he recalled. “We were specifically told not to play there. It was dangerous—which made it that much more inviting.” He chuckled. “We were playing pirates, I think, and Paul slipped and got his foot caught between some rocks. We tried and couldn’t get it out, so Ronan went home and came back with a bottle of olive oil. He figured if we made Paul’s skin slippery enough, we could get it out, and our parents would be none the wiser.”
“Makes sense.”
“Unless there was water all around the rocks and an entire bottle of olive oil made no difference. Then Jeremy got it in his head that a wave might come in and be so big it would drown Paul, and he started to freak out. He ran screaming before I could stop him, and of course, that brought all the ’rents to the cove.”
“Uh oh,” I giggled. “How’d you get Paul’s foot out?”
Liam shifted, his chest shaking with laughter. “My dad just lifted the damn rock. But getting caught in the rocks wasn’t the big thing. The bottle of olive oil Ronan grabbed was from a little town in Italy. My dad had given it to my mom as a gift. It was some exclusive, rare pressing and was expensive as hell. She only used it for special dishes. And we had just poured it into the water.”
I joined in his laughter. “What happened?”
“We had to do extra chores until we paid for the olive oil. And we had to go to bed after supper for a week with no dessert. That was the worst part.”
I stroked his face. “Poor baby. You were probably starved.”
“My dad still laughs about it, but my mom gets downright irate when he does. She liked that olive oil.”
I hummed. “Good olive oil is a wonderful thing.”
“Maddox and Dee bought her a different bottle when they went to Italy a few years later. She kept it in the cupboard with a lock.”
I snickered in amusement.
“Your mom and Ava were outnumbered all the time.”
“They hold their own,” he stated dryly. “I know not to mess with them. My back still hasn’t recovered from the last skirmish with Ava.”
“How long ago was that?”
“About nine years.”
I lifted my head. “What happened?”
He groaned. “I was teasing her. She’s pretty jumpy sometimes, and I scared her as she walked around the corner. She got pissed and told me off, which made me laugh. She’s half my size, so I wasn’t worried.” He met my eyes. “I forgot about the black belt. I did it again the next day, and before I could blink, she had flipped me. One moment, I was standing. The next, I was flat on my back on the floor, blinking up at the ceiling, wondering how a truck had gotten into the Hub and hit me.”
I tried to hold back my laughter and failed. “I guess you don’t hide around corners anymore, do you?”
“Nope.”
I kept my head down, the laughter bubbling up. Suddenly I found myself pinned under a growling Liam. “You think that’s funny, Sweet Pea?”
“No,” I lied.
“How do you like being flipped? Trapped under me?” He ran his hands up my arms, lifting them over my head. “At my mercy?” he rasped, holding my wrists with one large hand and feathering the other over my skin, making me shiver. He lowered his head to my neck and kissed it, swirling his tongue on my skin. “I think I promised you a long, slow lovemaking session,” he breathed into my ear. “And I think you’re about to get it.”
I tugged on my arms, and he released his grip, letting me wrap them around his neck. “I do love a man who keeps his promises.”
His mouth covered mine, and I was lost.
I blinked, realizing I had been reliving last night. I glanced up and met Liam’s sleepy gaze. His hazel eyes were soft, his voice low as he kissed me.
“I could get used to waking up with you tucked against me.”
“Lucy would be in here driving you crazy.”
He smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners. “My little munchkin. I guess I’ll have to wear sleep pants.”
“Unless you want a lot of personal questions in the mornings, yes.”
He kissed me again. “I look forward to it.” He glanced at the clock. “Speaking of which, I need to get you home.”
Part of me hated the fact that I had to get out of this comfortable bed. Leave Liam’s arms and face the day. But I also knew Lucy would be awake soon, and I needed to be there. I sat up and yawned. “Okay, Mr. Callaghan. Take me home.”
Ronan was sitting on the steps as we pulled up, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand. He smiled at me as I got to the steps.
“How was your night, kids?”
I laughed. “Good. Yours?”
“Awesome. We built a pretty cool Lego house, watched Finding Nemo—twice—and ate popcorn. Lucy fell asleep on me, Evan passed out on the sofa, and Beth said we were all snoring.”
“Wow, you know how to party.”
He took a sip of coffee, suddenly serious. “I wanted to take everyone’s mind off all the shit. I think it worked.” He nodded at Liam, who came up behind me, resting his hand on my hip.
“You ready for tomorrow?”
“Yep.”
“Good.”
“You guys have a big project tomorrow or something?”
Ronan nodded. “Something.”
I patted his shoulder as I went past. “Good luck with it.”