Liam got in and started the car. “You really need to think about this. If we go to my place, there won’t be any taking it back, Aggie. Things will never be the same between us. I want you to know that.” He pulled out of the parking lot. “I want you, I always have, but you need to be very sure this is what you want too.”
She pushed aside the doubt. She could do this, and there wasn’t a better person to do it with than Liam. “Stop talking and drive.”
By the time they got to his cottage on the outskirts of Hope Harbor town, Aggie was on autopilot. She hurried out of the car and up the path to his front door.
“Hang on, slow down. Are you sure, Aggie?”
She took the key off of him and groaned. “Stop being so bloody nice. I want you, you want me; that should be enough.” Aggie slid the key in the lock and pushed open the door. The next thing she knew, she was pressed against it with Liam devouring her mouth. She dropped her purse and slid her arms around his hips. A moment of panic crawled up her throat before the passion set in. Her hands went around his back, pulling his shirt from his trousers. She ran her hands under his clothing, relishing the feel of his skin.
He rained kisses over her face and down her throat. Aggie arched against him, desperate for the closeness she hoped would make her feel alive again. She ignored all the small warning bells going off inside her brain and slid off her shoes. Yes, this was wrong. Yes, she might regret it in the morning but heck, she needed to feel loved. She wanted that human connection that came to her with love, not fear or force.
Above all else, Aggie wanted to know if it was even possible for someone to love her. The used her, the wounded her. The hurting her. Liam was the only one she trusted enough to let her guard down with.
“Let’s take this to a comfortable bed.” Liam’s words barely registered in her brain. She was too busy trying not to fight her body’s urges and run away. It would be the sensible thing to do but Aggie desperately wanted to feel loved. Sensible didn’t come into it.
She needed this more than she knew. Aggie grabbed his hand and dragged him to his bedroom, throwing caution to the wind and shutting out her doubting voice. He brought up feelings she didn’t know she still had, and she needed to let them loose.
“Make love to me, Liam. Let me know how good it feels.” She pulled him down and pressed her body against his.
Chapter 10
Aggie rolled over, bumping into a warm body, and froze. She opened her eyes, knowing what she was going to find. He lay with one arm over his head on the pillow, his mouth slightly open in sleep and dreams flickering under his eyelids. She glanced down. The blankets were pushed away with only the sheet covering the two of them. When she peeked under it, all she saw was their naked bodies, one of which she’d spent hours discovering last night.
Of all the freaking stupid things to do, she’d slept with Liam. Not only slept with him but made love to him—and more than once. That was going to backfire on her in the near future. What other stupid things had she done in the moments when she’d let the emotion of the day take over? She lay still for a moment, trying to put last night into focus. So much had happened yesterday and last night had been amazing. She remembered catching the flowers and Liam singing to her. Had she protested at all? It was all a jumbled mess. That was what she got for letting the emotion of the wedding override her obviously terrible judgement.
She slid from the bed and picked up her underwear and her crumpled dress before sneaking into the bathroom. Aggie closed the door behind her and stood for a moment, cursing under her breath. This was hardly the way to move past her mistakes. At the time it felt right, but now all she saw in the mirror was shame.
How could she use him like this? Having sex wasn’t the cure for her insecurities. Certainly not with Liam. That was just plain mean of her.
She quickly dressed, determined to get out of the house without waking him. He didn’t need to see the shame she felt for using him like that. He’d been nothing but kind to her over the last few weeks and this was the way she repaid him? Aggie could always blame it on the emotions that weddings brought out in people but that wasn’t fair. She’d known exactly what she was doing and Liam didn’t deserve to be used like that. She was ashamed of herself.
Aggie vaguely remembered he’d said things would change between them, there’d be no going back, but she couldn’t let that happen. They couldn’t be any more than they were now: friends. This changed nothing.
She opened the bathroom door and looked over to the bed. He hadn’t moved. Still lay there looking as sexy as ever. Aggie gave herself a mental shake. This was no time to dream of what she couldn’t have. She couldn’t tell him what had happened two years ago. Sure, he’d give her sympathy and probably tell her everything would be okay. But it wouldn’t be.
She could imagine catching him looking at her sideways, wondering what she’d done to get assaulted. She’d seen it before on the news and on social media. People judged no matter how much they tried not to. She’d done it herself. Wondered why women dressed the way they did if they didn’t want attention or walked home in the dark through places they knew weren’t safe.
Until it had happened to her and
