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  But I know she’s had a massive shock tonight and she’s anxious about her test results. Something seems to steal her happiness whenever the doctors mention her mum’s medical condition. So instead of peeling the robe from her body and having my way with her, I tuck her into the bed in the spare room and kiss her on the forehead.

  She’s asleep as soon as her forehead hits the pillow. Which is more than I can say for myself. The boner that’s been pushing at my sweatpants all night refuses to subside. Her scent is all over the couch cushions. Every time I move, I get a waft of it and I’m hard all over again. I’ve never had this kind of reaction to a woman before. It would be frighting if I didn’t see the way Julie’s pupils dilate when she looks at me.

  I smile as I remember her reaction to the photo of Anna and Tammy. My sister and cousin are both pretty girls but Julie is something else. I’m almost salivating when I think about her bountiful breasts and those curved hips. It keeps me up all night so that I end up falling asleep on the couch. I’m awakened by the creaking of the floorboards just as the light is dawning in the sky through the front window.

  I raise my head to find Julie tip toeing to the bathroom in nothing but my T-shirt. The boner I’m still nursing becomes painful. Through sheer force of will, I manage to keep it together as I drive Julie to her place. She kept insisting that she could walk or take an Uber but I ignore her protests.

  She directs me to a small cul-de-sac a few streets away from the stretch of beach where I found her last night. This is the less affluent side of town. Some of the houses are a little run down, though they would still fetch a big price if they sold up. But I know a lot of the owners here are elderly or they’re beach houses that some people have had in their family for generations.

  Julie points to a white brick house that has seen better days. The garden is neat with coloured shrubs but the house itself is dilapidated. There’s a fresh coat of paint on it that seems to be the only thing keeping the place intact. Julie tries to jump out of the car as soon as I roll up her driveway. Her cheeks are tinged pink. It’s then I realise she’s embarrassed by her house.

  “Thank you so much for everything,” she says, trying to sidestep me so that she can run inside. I raise a brow at her, blocking her way with my chest. She does a funny little twisting motion with her body and somehow gets past me. Hmmm. She’s very flexible. And there goes my cock again.

  The front door sticks so that she can’t get it open unless she leans into it. On the walk to the front door, I catch about a dozen things that need to be fixed. My brain goes into overdrive. I think Julie believes this will be the last of me when she waves a hasty goodbye before shutting the door. That’s why her jaw is hanging open when she comes home later that night to find me on the roof.

  “Liam?” I give her a wave but can’t talk because I’ve got nails pressed between my lips. “What in the world are you doing?”

  I point to her crooked gutter and finish off hammering. She’s still there when I climb down the ladder against the side of the house.

  I tap my fist against the brick wall. “She’s got good bones,” I say by way of explanation. “She just needs a check up.”

  Her mouth is a perfect kissable O. Despite her surprise her lips curved into a soft smile when I capture her mouth again. She moans a little when I flick her tongue with mine. I can feel her weighted breathing in the push of her breasts against my chest. When I pull away she swallows hard and blinks a couple of times.

  “You don’t have to do this,” she says, her eyes filled with worry and something else. I can’t help reaching out and trying to brush the uncertainty from her features. After last night, I’ve decided that I never want to see her hurt or scared again. As I lay on the couch replaying what happened in the hospital over and over again, I know I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe.

  “It’s nothing,” I say. “This is what I do, after all.”

  “But you have a business to run. You can’t spend all your time working on my place.” She swallows again. “And…I can’t pay you.” She sees the way my eyes narrow and hastily adds, “I really am fine. Please don’t feel like you have to help.”

  The amount of times she says the word fine begins to set off an alarm in my head. It’s offset by the raging blood rushing to my cock as I run my gaze over the silhouette of her body. She’s standing there in a pair of cropped leggings and a tight T-shirt.

  “Where have you been?” I ask her, my hand reaching out to caress her hip.

  She shivers. “I had a pilates class.”

  “You’ll have to show me some moves soon.”

  A husky sound comes out of her throat before she clears it. “I need to get ready for work.”

  I frown then. “You’ve just come out of the hospital. Should you be working?”

  If her mum’s MS is anything to go by, I don’t know if I want her working at all. The thought of her having another seizure while I’m not there makes my head pound.

  “I have to go,” she says. When I don’t move, she tries to go around me. I reach out as she passed and scoop her up in my arms. Her back is pressed to my chest, my erection rubbing against the firm, lush bauble of her ass. She inhales sharply.

  “Liam!” She twists out of my hold and runs for the front door. But I’m pushing it open when she tries to close it shut on me. The place is pretty stark inside. The paint is kind of peeling and there’s not much in the way of furniture.

  She’s almost crying when she turns to glare at me. “Why can’t you leave me alone?” she says, her voice wet with tears.

  “Don’t cry, baby,” I start to say but then she’s pushing at my chest until I’m out the door again. She closes it in my face.

  I sigh heavily. But it’s not in defeat. I grew up with an overly competitive older brother and a relentless younger sister. I’m a Baker. We don’t give up easily. And now that I’ve seen the way Julie lives, I’m more determined than ever that she’s going to be mine.

  4

  Julie

  I thought when Liam saw my house that it would be the last time I’d ever see him again. I’m barely making ends meet. After Dad left, Mum couldn’t afford to buy him out of his share of our house in Melbourne. So it was sold and she used the money to live off after we moved into my Gran’s beach house. This place is literally falling apart. The land is probably worth much more than the house but I can’t bear to part with it. I spent my childhood summers in this place, and it’s the only place where I feel like I have any control.

  All of that felt like it was worthless when I found Liam on the roof. Embarrassment and shame blasted through my veins as I watched him fixing the warped guttering. But it wasn’t until he was inside the house that everything crumbled. Last night I’d walked into his office by mistake in the middle of the night and saw the university degrees hanging on his walls. He’s an engineer and a builder. Meanwhile, I’m a twenty-six year old waitress at a dive pub where the clientele drink cheap beer in their board shorts and belch in my face.

  He’s so clean and put together. So grown up. I didn’t want him anywhere near my place in case a cockroach crawled on him and he realised just how pathetic I am. An urchin who somehow managed to lure a prince into her cave.

  I broke down when he latched his ladder to the roof rack of his truck and drove away. My salary doesn’t come close to all my expenses. Pretty soon I’ll have no choice but to sell up. But as I watched Liam drive out of my life, I wondered for the first time if keeping this place has just been pointless.

  I’m still thinking about him the next day after work when I turn my car into the driveway and find him carrying two planks of wood on his shoulder. There is another man crouched on the porch measuring the crooked beams. I don’t know where to look as I park my car on the street so I don’t block his truck. The other man looks so much like Liam that I know they’re related.

  My mouth is opening and closing like a fish when I walk up the driveway. Liam grins at me. “My brother Jared,”
he says, pointing to the man on the porch.

  “Hi,” Jared says.

  This is too much. I’ve come home from a brain numbing day at work and my house has been overtaken by bronzed gods who have no business looking this good.

  “I don’t understand,” I stammer.

  Liam shrugs. “I told you I’m not letting you out of my sight when you’re in danger.”

  “Please don’t. I really don’t need this.”

  “Not doing it for you.”

  He goes back to fixing the step with Jared. All I can do is stand there for the next few minutes trying to figure out how I can get them to leave. Short of calling the cops, I don’t think there’s anything. So I let myself into the house and pretend it isn’t happening. I can’t think of any other way to thank them except with beer and food. I’m not that great a cook but I can bake things from a readymade mix in a box.

  Liam and Jared shove two cookies each into their mouths before going right back to their construction site. I can just imagine them as two little boys playing in a sandbox.

  This pattern goes on for almost two weeks. I get a call from the hospital a week later but can’t find the wherewithal to ring them back. They leave a message but I don’t listen to it. My life is already a mess. I can’t handle another thing on top of it.

  I come home from a Saturday pilates class to find my front lawn empty for the first time in weeks. For some reason it makes me feel rudderless. When I get to the front door though, I realise there’s a note taped to it.

  Have dinner plans tonight. See you tomorrow ~Liam

  The message fills me with both relied and unease. I can’t help wondering who he is having dinner with. My mind goes right back to those nurses who couldn’t keep their eyes off him. I don’t blame them for looking but the thought of another woman having his attention makes me feel like weeping. Instead of allowing myself to dwell on it, I take a shower and get ready for my evening shift at the pub.

  The place is crawling with people at this time of year. I’m run off my feet the moment I arrive. One of the other waitresses has called in sick. I have to take over her section of the pub. I’m not sure if it’s the full moon but there are more drunken louts around tonight than usual. The locals are a harmless bunch but every once in a while we get tourists from the city who come here and have a bit too much to drink. Normally they’re good natured but tonight there are a few whose catcalling makes me cringe.

  I’m clearing away one of the tables when I feel a hand cover my bottom and squeeze. Startled, I scream. I whip around in time to see a figure barrel into the guy who just groped me. I take steps backward as the pub erupts into enthusiastic chanting. It takes me a second to register that it’s Liam who has my attacker pressed up against the wall, his forearm cutting off the guy’s circulation.

  The guy’s friends attempt to jump into the fray but Jared steps in front of them accompanied by my boss Artie. There’s a lot of shouting happening. All I can focus on is the dark look that blanket’s Liam’s usually sunny disposition. My attacker attempts to struggle against Liam’s hold but he’s got no chance. Even compared to these other men, Liam is huge. The guy’s face is turning a distinct shade of purple as Liam continues to cut off his circulation. I see his shoulder rearing back like he’s going to throw a punch. I step forward and clutch at Liam’s arm.

  “Don’t,” I say, even though I want to slap this guy in the face too. “You’ll get in trouble.”

  Liam’s nostrils flare. He doesn’t care if he gets in trouble. Right now, he doesn’t look like he cares about anything but pounding the guy into the wall. Artie places a hand on Liam’s shoulder.

  “All right,” Artie says. “I think you’ve sufficiently scared the bastard.”

  Liam growls and throws him off. Artie glances in warning at me. He’s not a bad boss but it’s his business and this is bad for it. “Liam, please.”

  For a second the muscles in his arm constrict. This time, it’s Jared who tries to pry him away. It’s only then that Liam lets the guy go. My attacker staggers and bends over as he gulps in. “Get going,” Artie says to him. “We don’t want trouble.”

  I don’t get a chance to see what happens after that because Liam turns, catches hold of my wrist and pretty much drags me out of the bar.

  5

  Liam

  My blood is still boiling even as I catch Julie’s arm and lead her outside into the laneway beside the pub. Jared gives me a concerned look but I ignore him. If some guy had put his hand on Rosie, Jared’s fiancé, my brother would kill him. So he’s not one to talk right now. I also ignore Anna’s bemused expression and Tammy’s incredulous one.

  We were in the middle of dinner on the other side of the pub when I looked through the partition and saw the guy grope Julie. Something switched on in my brain. Next thing I knew, I was choking the life out of the guy. If she didn’t have such a terrified catch in her voice when Julie said my name, I might not have stopped. Turning her on the spot and pressing her back to the brick wall, I cup her face with my hands.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, the edge of rage still racing through my blood.

  She nods. Hair long brown hair has been braided so that is hangs over her shoulder.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” she says, like it’s no big deal. It makes me wonder if this is the first time something like this has happened. Thinking about another man’s hands on her makes the lava running through my veins burn. The way she bites her bottom lip redirects the heat into my cock. Two weeks of patching up her place, being so near her that I can smell the shampoo when she comes home from pilates and showers, has my balls tightening to almost bursting.

  “Come home with me,” I say, no longer caring if it’s too forward. I want her. I think I’ve made that perfectly clear.

  “I can’t –”

  I press my mouth against her bite swollen lips. She parts for me immediately, her tongue already flicking out in invitation. I lean into her, feel her tits strain against the pressure of my chest and deepen the kiss. Her mouth is so hot and wet. But it’s the heat I feel when I stroke my fingers up her skirt and between her legs that almost has me cuming in my jeans.

  A moan spills into my mouth when I push the soaked fabric of her panties aside and plunge a finger into her slit. “Jared!”

  “Come home with me,” I repeat. This time it’s more of a warning. If she doesn’t agree, I can’t trust myself not to spread her apart right here and now and plunge into her. She nods against my neck.

  On the way, I text Jared to let him know where I’m going. She calls her boss to tell him she’s not coming back. I see red when I hear his voice rise through the phone. Snatching the phone from her, I tell him that if he gives her a hard time I’m going to make him regret it.

  The aggression in my voice stuns her into silence. I’m a little shocked myself. I’m normally a pretty steady guy, but when it comes to Julie, I’ve regressed into a Neanderthal. Even though she says nothing, I can smell the musky tang of her arousal. I’m going to get pulled over by the cops if they catch me at my current speed. To take the edge off, I place my hand on Julie’s thigh and squeeze. She hisses. I pull back thinking I might have hurt her. Instead, she latches onto my wrist with both her hands to keep me there.

  At the red light, I pull up next to a muscle car. The driver is a guy about my age wearing a baseball cap. He turns his head in our direction just as I slide my fingers between the elastic of Julie’s panties. She gasps, throwing her head back, her mouth open. The guy’s eyes widen as the light turns green. I put my foot down and take off, disliking the idea of anyone else seeing Julie in this state. Her pleasure is for my eyes only. Still, it doesn’t stop me from continuing to stroke her until I pull up into my driveway. She tries to go for her seatbelt but I hit the button for the garage door with one hand and flick her clit with the other.

  “Oh God,” she moans. Her pussy is dripping wet. Inside the confines of the car, the scent is heady. It overwhelms me to the po
int where I have to roll the car forward very slowly or I’m going to scrape the sides. No sooner does the door begin to roll down do I slide my hands under Julie’s ass and drag her towards me. The gearstick is in the way so I push it down, not caring if the car is damaged.

  “What are you doing?” she says, her hands coming down on my shoulders as I lean forward.

  “I want to taste you.”

  Her cheeks flush again but this time it’s not from embarrassment. “But we’re home.”

  I like the sound of that. Home. Our home. But it’s not enough. I need to have my mouth on her. She makes a sound of protest as I snap the lacy material of her panties. Pushing her skirt up until it’s bunched around her waist, I grope her ass and lift her up towards me.

  I take a long, slow drag of her glistening pussy. She’s sweeter than I imagine and I’m immediately addicted. My cock is so hard in my jeans that I can feel the zip imprinting on my skin. But there’s no way I can stop. One taste isn’t enough. I open my mouth over the entrance of her pussy and suck. She lets out a series of moans as her hips buck up to meet me. As her pussy gives up its juice, I lick it clean. I run my tongue all the way up one side and down the other, working it in slow circles that have her panting. When I feel her thighs clenching around my head, I know she’s close to coming.

  Latching on to the sensitive mound of her clit, I suck hard. The next time she bucks, I shove two fingers inside her. She screams as her pussy clenches around my fingers, her hands grasping the hair at the back of my head. I work her in ever increasing circles as she rides the wave of the orgasm. It’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I want to do it again immediately as soon as she gets her breathing under control. But by now my cock is about ready to snap in half. I’m going to go blind or crazy if I don’t take her.