some level, but... He shook his head, hand closing around Skye's wrist and turning to lead himthrough the club toward the hall leading to a handful of private rooms. He hadn't reserved one, but he didn't care. He'd deal with the consequences of commandeering one later. Right now, he needed Skye alone.
Skye didn't seem nearly as keen on the idea, though, dragging his feet a little. "Liam...Liam, I know I'mnot supposed to, but..."
Liam shook his head again. "Not here, just...wait." He could not have this conversationinthe middle ofLas Vegas's premiere BDSM club. He peered into one open doorway, breathed a sigh of relief to find it empty and pulled Skye inside, shuttingthe door behind them.
Skye rubbed his hands on his jeans, as if they were sweaty. They probably were. He looked scared as hell. Liamhated that look and wanted to wipe it fromSkye's face, but the only way to do it was to give himthings he wanted but weren't good for him. Namely, Liam himself.
Liamtook a deep breath. "Skye. I'mvery flattered, but--"
"Don't!"
Liamblinked, startled at the adamant snap inSkye's tone. "Don't what?"
Skye's eyes narrowed. "Don't tell me you're flattered in some condescending tone, as if it's very sweet the pathetic virgin fell in love with you, but you're just too detached and uninterested to ever feel the same." Skye straightened, chin lifting. "Because that's a
lie."Liam didn't want to argue, but this had to stop.
Neither of them had signed on for this. "You're sure? Skye, I'mnot saying I don't care about you. I do. But I don't..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "What happened to me beingthe teacher, Skye?"
Skye waved a hand at him. "See? You can't even say it! I knew it. Maybe you don't love me yet, maybe you do, but that's not the point, Liam! You feel something. You feel what I feel and it's real and it's not your job or my lessons or whether or not anyone's good for anybody else. It just is." He raked a hand through his hair, making it stick up the way Liam thought was adorable and Skye hated so much.
Liam's heart pounded and he shook his head. "No. This is impossible and it's ridiculous, Skye. You're going to get exactly what you paid for and that's it. My heart doesn't come as an added bonus, professor, sorry to
say."Skye reared back as if he'd been struck, and Liam
immediately regretted his harsh words. Before he could take them back, though, Skye had shifted into full-on firecracker mode. Before he even said a word, Liam felt like he was the one who'd been hit. Because when Skye glared at him, with fire in his dark eyes and determination written all over him, Liam got a good look at what he was giving up--passion, heart, bravery. Aman who would fight for himtooth and nailand damn the consequences.
It broke his heart he had to give that away. The selfish part of him railed at him, demanding he not let Skye go. He could keep him, he could hold onto him and theycould find a wayfor this to work.
"What are you going to do, Skye?" he snapped, chest tight. "Sit at home every night while I'm out 'working'? Does your devotiongo that far, huh? Waiting up for me to come home with a stranger's scent on me?" He shook his head, taking a step back. "This is not how I do things, Skye. I'm not ashamed of what I do. It doesn't make me feeldirty, but that's how it'd feel and what it'd become if you decide to martyr yourself just because you're afraid no one else will make you feelthis way."
Skye wasn't backing down, though, and he advanced on Liamby one step. "I'mnot stupid, Liam. I know that physically, sure, probably any number of guys could give me orgasms like you do. Touch me like you do. Fulfill the desires I didn't even know I had like you do. But for God's fucking sake, what on earth makes you think I put so much damned importance on the physical anyway?" He gave Liam's chest a hard shove. "And I don't care what youdo. "
"Now. Now when it suits you and benefits you. What about three months fromnow whenyou're sick to death of going to bed alone because I had a client? Whenyou're sittinginthe doctor's office gettingretested wondering if I was safe enough, did enough to protect myself and you? What then? Is it going to be so easy to accept then?"He knew the answer, evenifSkye didn't.
Skye hesitated, as he appeared to think about Liam's questions. "I don't know. I don't know, Liam, but I'mwilling to try. I'mwilling to risk it because you're worthit to me. The wayyoumake me feel, inhere"--he thumped his chest--"is worth it to me." He let out a heavy breath, his breath turning shaky as the emotion seemed to rear up and suffocate him. Liam knew the feeling. "I don't want to belong to anyone else, Liam. I want to belong to you. I don't...I don't want to let you go, please."
Liam closed his eyes, Skye's plea hitting him like a freight train. He hadn't expected it to be this hard to tell himno. He opened his eyes, determined not to crumble under the onslaught of Skye's frightened, pleading gaze. "You have to. And so do I." Even if it was the hardest thinghe'd ever done. And it was.
Skye shook his head. "You don't mean it. I don't believe you."
"You don't have to believe it for it to still be true, Skye." Liamturned to walk away, having to focus hard to put one foot in front of the other. Just as he reached the door, Skye called out.
"It goes bothways,"he choked out, and Liamcould hear the emotion, even if he couldn't bring himself to look back. "Just because you don't say you love me doesn't make it not true."Skye let out a harsh sounding laugh, the sound void
